Many DJ are acutely aware of the mental and physical risks of the typical "DJ lifestyle", Mix Magazine says in an interesting article about a change in nightclubs post-Avicii. With a new and welcome transparency around artists’ mental health and addiction, DJs feel more at ease to make a big change. The other big thing is that much of the club scene has changed, in many cases becoming less a place of expression than of consumption: a circuit for DJs and artists, where the emphasis on ever-grander spectacle and production can alienate not only the crowd but the DJs from the music, eating away at the idea of the club as a place of subculture and resistance.

Streaming was already a popular hangout for Chinese musicians and artists across the region, and now with a general shutdown of public space with coronavirus online interaction is becoming essential, because people are effectively all isolated at home. Every streaming platform is full of music across genres, that includes major virtual nightclub-style events, one of which reportedly reached millions of viewers.

Misophonia, also known as sound rage, is a negative predilection for the body sounds of others - rubbing, sniffing, scratching, crackling, wheezing, whistling. Those suffering from it react to specific trigger sounds, not necessarily loud sounds but repetitive ones, with negative emotions and thoughts. Could misophonia also be triggered with push notifications, like the ones in smartphones - "I wonder whether the recurrent retreat to a digital space can contribute to the intensification of misophonia or to its development. The risk here is to consider any manifestation of life as a push notification, to see other people’s activity as an enduring attentional bombardment".

Keith Richards said he hasn’t touched a cigarette since last October and attributed the decision to his desire to remain active in music for as long as possible - “I think both Mick and I felt that on the last tour we were just getting going. [We]’ve got to continue this”. The Rolling Stone said it's harder than heroin - “Quitting heroin is like hell, but it’s a short hell. Cigarettes are just always there, and you’ve always done it". Now, Richards says his vices are limited to “a little wine with meals, and a Guinness or a beer or two”.

Toronto company WHUT!? Earplugs has begun putting earplug vending machines inside Toronto clubs. The machines are similar to a classic gumball machine, the earplugs are reusable and the case doubles as a storage container. In a study conducted last year, 47% of adults who listened to very loud music in their teens now face hearing issues.

Paramore's singer Hayley Williams is preparing to release her debut solo album this spring, quite different from music she made with her band. The subjects are more personal also, as she explains during the very revealing conversation with Beats 1 host Zane Lowe where she talks about depression - “My dog is the reason I’m alive, because he would’ve been waiting on me to get home, no matter what. You know how little sweet little puppies sit and they wait? I couldn’t think about it". Williams credits visualization therapy for helping her understand the power of protecting oneself during her dark times. The album 'Petals For Armor' comes from “the idea that being vulnerable is a shield. Because how else can you be a human that’s inevitably gonna fuck up and trip in front of the world a million times?".

Many young rappers have died in the past few years. Mac Miller died in 2018 aged 26 of a cocaine-fentanyl overdose, Lil Peep died at 21 in 2017 of accidental fentanyl and Xanax overdose. Juice WRLD died late last year after a drug-induced seizure. XXXTentacion was killed in 2018 aged 20 in a robbery. In March 2019, Nipsey Hussle was shot dead outside his Los Angeles clothing store. What can be done to stop this?

Listening to 78 minutes of music each day is recommended for maintaining good mental health, five minutes is enough to feel happier, and 11 minutes per day can deliver therapeutic benefits, a new study by the British Academy of Sound Therapy suggests. BAST concluded, based on a study on 7,500 people globally, that a “balanced diet” of […]

Neuroscience News reminds of some of the health benefits of heavy metal music: heavy metal fans are happier in their youth and better adjusted in middle age compared to their non-fan counterparts; fans who were made angry and then listened to heavy metal music did not increase their anger but increased their positive emotions (seems […]