Local news outlets reported that Charles, who had been in Amsterdam to speak on a panel at the Amsterdam Dance Event, died on Oct. 14 after a collision with a garbage truck by the Passeerdersgracht canal.

Charles’ husband, Ricky Fishman, paid tribute to his late wife on Facebook.

“My family and I have been devastated by this loss. I met Cindy fifty years ago at SUNY Buffalo. Though we didn’t date at the time, we were good friends, running with the same motley crew. We lost touch after college, both got married, each had a son, and reconnected at a thirty year ‘friends reunion,'” he wrote. “We have been together ever since, living bicoastal lives, between Manhattan and Berkeley.”

“There will be no filling the hole in the universe left by Cindy’s departure from this world. She gave love and she received love, building a network of friends unrivaled by any person I have ever known,” Fishman continued. “So many are grieving right now.”

Fishman added, “Life is such a fragile affair, and what we have today, we may not, tomorrow.
Sending love to you all, but especially to Cindy, who graced the world with her presence. Her life was cut short, but it burned brightly as her memory surely will.”

Cindy Charles Remembered by Her Colleagues

Charles was an advisor to the Board of Governors of the Recording Academy and fostered opportunities for women in the business through She Is the Music’s San Francisco chapter, which she co-founded.

Daniel Clancy, Twitch‘s CEO, commented on the “truly tragic” news on X.

“Cindy was killed in a traffic accident when she was traveling in the Netherlands,” Clancy wrote. “Most of the members of the Twitch community are probably not familiar with Cindy’s work, but she has been leading our team that manages our relationship with the music industry. Cindy has a deep history in the music business and she has been critical in creating the strong relationships that we have today.”

“Anyone that uses music on Twitch owes a debt of gratitude to Cindy’s work. She always had a bright smile on her face even as she negotiated unprecedented music licensing agreements for Twitch including the recent DJ agreement,” he continued. “Anyone that worked with Cindy knows how much she cared about everyone with whom she worked. I know everyone that has worked with her was shocked to hear the news.”

Clancy concluded, “We will all dearly miss her and we are sorry to see her go. A little bit of her will remain with all of us that worked with her all of these years.”

In a post on Medium, Charles’s colleague Kira Karlstrom called the late executive “the heart and soul of our team, and a force for good in everything she touched.”

“Though we started as colleagues, Cindy quickly became so much more. She was a mentor, a confidante, a friend, and to me, one of my closest,” Karlstrom wrote. “She was family. Cindy had this magnetic presence — she was the light that filled every room, the laughter that broke through even the hardest moments, and the energy that kept us pushing forward when we needed it most.”

Charles is survived by her husband, her son, Ben, and her stepson, Sam.

The post Cindy Charles, Twitch’s Head of Music, Killed by Garbage Truck appeared first on VICE.

“When I wrote it, I had no idea what I was doing,” Bogart said. “The whole second verse of that song is ’80s song titles strung together as sentences because I thought it would be super clever.”

Indeed, the verse in question starts with Rihanna singing, “Take on me a-ha.” That first three words of that line are the title of a 1985 song, while the final word is the name of the band who performed the track, A-ha.

Later, she sings “I could just die up in your arms tonight.” That line references Counting Crows’ 1986 track “(I Just) Died in Your Arms.”

Next, Rihanna sings the line “I melt with you,” which is the title of Modern English’s 1982 song.

“You got me head over heels” comes next on the Rihanna track, which references Tears for Fears’ 1985 track of the same name.

Rihanna goes on to sing, “Boy, you keep me hanging on.” That particular line is borrowed from Kim Wilde’s “You Keep Me Hangin’ On,” which was released in 1986.

The verse ends with Rihanna singing, “The way you make me feel.” That’s a ’80s reference too. Michael Jackson released “The Way You Make Me Feel” in 1987.

All the tracks he alluded to in the song, Bogart said, are “No. 1 songs from the 80s.” When the host expressed awe and surprise at the reveal, Bogart admitted that “no one” knew his writing secret until now.

“SOS” appeared on Rihanna’s second album, A Girl Like Me. Bogart co-wrote the track with J. R. Rotem. Ed Cobb also nabbed a writing credit for the song, as he penned “Tainted Love,” which “SOS” sampled. “SOS,” which was certified triple platinum, topped the Billboard chart for three weeks, marking Rihanna’s first No. 1 single.

The post Rihanna’s ‘SOS’ Lyrics Are Full of 1980s Easter Eggs, Songwriter Reveals appeared first on VICE.

And that’s all super awesome for everyone, except for fans who were waiting for their paycheck to hit before they could get tickets. ‘Cause the Hit Me Hard and Soft Tour is sold the fuck out, from start to finish.

But just because you can’t get tickets from the Billie Eilish official website doesn’t mean you’re totally SOL. You can actually still get official tickets—and we’re about to tell you how.

How to get tickets to Billie Eilish’s Hit Me Hard And Soft Tour

Tickets to the Billie Eilish Hit Me Hard and Soft Tour are available via StubHub, where orders are 100% guaranteed through StubHub’s FanProtect program. StubHub is a secondary market ticketing platform, and prices may be higher or lower than face value, depending on demand.

You might also have luck finding tickets for the Hit Me Hard and Soft Tour at other secondary markets such as Ticketmaster, Vivid Seats, and SeatGeek.

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Billie Eilish: Hit Me Hard and Soft Tour (opens in a new window)

Available at StubHub

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Available at Ticketmaster

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Available at Vivid Seats

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Available at SeatGeek

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The Hit Me Hard and Soft Tour has already begun blasting through North America, so check the full tour routing to make sure Billie hasn’t already blown past you. The shots she’s posted from the shows thus far look craaazy—fans, don’t miss out.

Billie Eilish Hit Me Hard And SOft Tour Dates

• September 29: Québec City, Québec, Canada at Centre Videotron
• October 1: Toronto, Ontario, Canada at Scotiabank Arena
• October 2: Toronto, Ontario, Canada at Scotiabank Arena
• October 4: Baltimore, Maryland at CFG Bank Arena
• October 5: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at Wells Fargo Center
• October 7: Detroit, Michigan at Little Caesars Arena
• October 9: Newark, New Jersey at Prudential Center
• October 11: Boston, Massachusetts at TD Garden
• October 13: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania at PPG Paints Arena
• October 16: New York, New York at Madison Square Garden
• October 17: New York, New York at Madison Square Garden
• October 18: New York, New York at Madison Square Garden
• November 2: Atlanta, Georgia at State Farm Arena
• November 3: Atlanta, Georgia at State Farm Arena
• November 6: Nashville, Tennessee at Bridgestone Arena
• November 8: Cincinnati, Ohio at Heritage Bank Center
• November 10: Saint Paul, Minnesota at Xcel Energy Center
• November 11: Saint Paul, Minnesota at Xcel Energy Center
• November 13: Chicago, Illinois at United Center
• November 14: Chicago, Illinois at United Center
• November 16: Kansas City, Missouri at T-Mobile Center
• November 17: Omaha, Nebraska at CHI Health Center Omaha
• November 19: Denver, Colorado at Ball Arena
• November 20: Denver, Colorado at Ball Arena
• December 3: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada at Rogers Arena
• December 5: Seattle, Washington at Climate Pledge Arena
• December 6: Seattle, Washington at Climate Pledge Arena
• December 8: Portland, Oregon at Moda Center
• December 10: San Jose, California at SAP Center at San Jose
• December 11: San Jose, California at SAP Center at San Jose
• December 13: Glendale, Arizona at Desert Diamond Arena
• December 15: Inglewood, California at Kia Forum
• December 16: Inglewood, California at Kia Forum
• December 17: Inglewood, California at Kia Forum
• February 18, 2025: Brisbane, Australia at Brisbane Entertainment Centre
• February 19, 2025: Brisbane, Australia at Brisbane Entertainment Centre
• February 21, 2025: Brisbane, Australia at Brisbane Entertainment Centre
• February 22, 2025: Brisbane, Australia at Brisbane Entertainment Centre
• February 24, 2025: Sydney, Australia at Qudos Bank Arena
• February 25, 2025: Sydney, Australia at Qudos Bank Arena
• February 27, 2025: Sydney, Australia at Qudos Bank Arena
• February 28, 2025: Sydney, Australia at Qudos Bank Arena
• March 4, 2025: Melbourne, Australia at Rod Laver Arena
• March 5, 2025: Melbourne, Australia at Rod Laver Arena
• March 7, 2025: Melbourne, Australia at Rod Laver Arena
• March 8, 2025: Melbourne, Australia at Rod Laver Arena
• April 23, 2025: Stockholm, Sweden at Avicii Arena
• April 24, 2025: Stockholm, Sweden at Avicii Arena
• April 26, 2025: Oslo, Norway at Telenor Arena
• April 28, 2025: Copenhagen, Denmark at Royal Arena
• April 29, 2025: Copenhagen, Denmark at Royal Arena
• May 2, 2025: Hanover, Germany at ZAG Arena
• May 4, 2025: Amsterdam, Netherlands at Ziggo Dome
• May 5, 2025: Amsterdam, Netherlands at Ziggo Dome
• May 7, 2025: Amsterdam, Netherlands at Ziggo Dome
• May 9, 2025: Berlin, Germany at Uber Arena
• May 29, 2025: Cologne, Germany at Lanxess Arena
• May 30, 2025: Cologne, Germany at Lanxess Arena
• June 1, 2025: Prague, Czechia at O2 Arena
• June 3, 2025: Kraków, Poland at Tauron Arena
• June 4, 2025: Kraków, Poland at Tauron Arena
• June 6, 2025: Vienna, Austria at Stadthalle
• June 8, 2025: Bologna, Italy at Unipol Arena
• June 10, 2025: Paris, France at Accor Arena
• June 11, 2025: Paris, France at Accor Arena
• June 14, 2025: Barcelona, Spain at Palau Sant Jordi
• June 15, 2025: Barcelona, Spain at Palau Sant Jordi
• July 7, 2025: Glasgow, United Kingdom at OVO Hydro
• July 8, 2025: Glasgow, United Kingdom at OVO Hydro
• July 10, 2025: London, United Kingdom at The O2
• July 11, 2025: London, United Kingdom at The O2
• July 13, 2025: London, United Kingdom at The O2
• July 14, 2025: London, United Kingdom at The O2
• July 16, 2025: London, United Kingdom at The O2
• July 17, 2025: London, United Kingdom at The O2
• July 19, 2025: Manchester, United Kingdom at Co-op Live
• July 20, 2025: Manchester, United Kingdom at Co-op Live
• July 22, 2025: Manchester, United Kingdom at Co-op Live
• July 23, 2025: Manchester, United Kingdom at Co-op Live
• July 26, 2025: Dublin, Ireland at 3Arena
• July 27, 2025: Dublin, Ireland at 3Arena

The post You Can Still Get Tickets to Billie Eilish’s Sold-Out Hit Me Hard and Soft Tour appeared first on VICE.

It began when local councils granted permission for five huge telecom units to be installed right outside the front of the restaurant in 2012. The boxes obscure Umana Yana almost entirely, an absurd piece of town planning that the Monfrieses say is severely damaging trade. One council officer has admitted that it is the “worst case” of its type he’s ever seen.

This summer, their campaign to have the boxes relocated went viral on TikTok, giving the Monfrieses hope of a resolution at last. However, to their dismay, Southwark Council restated that it won’t be taking action, insisting the boxes were installed “lawfully.”

Now, Central Cee is adding his voice to Umana Yana’s noble fight, in a special episode of Family Food by Munchies—you can watch it now, in the player below:

In the film, the rapper—who himself has Guyanese heritage, and who recently found out his dad used to eat at the restaurant—aprons up and joins Debbie in the kitchen to whip up a delicious feast of chicken curry and paratha roti. “I couldn’t even imagine the biggest rapper in the UK would be at my shop,” says Debbie.

Central Cee enjoyed the shoot so much that, afterwards, he donated £15k to the cause of the restaurant—whose name means “meeting place of the people” in the language of the Wai-Wai, the Amerindian tribe indigenous to Guyana.

To support Umana Yana’s campaign, visit linktr.ee/umanayanaa.

Watch the film at the Munchies YouTube channel now.

The post Central Cee Is Joining the Fight to Save a Beloved London Restaurant appeared first on VICE.

Johnny says this would never have happened without the presence of the dogs. For years, panicked reactions such as his have regularly led to overdoses, and sometimes death. 

“There were two sniffer dogs on the go,” Johnny, not his real name, told me. “I tried to time it right, not walk right past them.” Alas, that didn’t work. “The [private security dog handler] ran out and was all over me.” After being asked whether he had anything on him that he shouldn’t, and told to hand it over if he did, Johnny was led to a separate queue to be more thoroughly searched in a tent. 

While waiting, he made a snap decision that he later went on to regret. “I bit off the corner of the baggie and put it in my mouth,” he recalls. “Because I knew they were going to find it. I thought about putting it up my arse, but I couldn’t do it in the queue. So I thought, ‘Fuck this, you are not having my drugs, I’m going to eat it.’” 

This is what happened next: “I can’t remember anything about being searched. I just woke up in the paramedics tent. It was the end of the festival. It felt like I’d time-traveled.” I asked him if he’d have necked his drugs in that reckless way had it not been for the dogs. “No,” he says. “It’s their fault really, isn’t it? I’d never have done that. I could have died.” 

Some might say that the dogs weren’t wholly to blame, and that taking illegal drugs to a festival apportions at least some responsibility to the raver. So I asked Johnny again who was to blame for his overdose at Field Day: the festival, the dogs, or him? “That’s a complex question,” he replied. “If the ticket said you could risk your life entering, would you still go? It should at least be in the small print, the terms of service… so you know in advance that you’re sending yourself into that kind of situation.”

Emily Lyon, a 17-year-old A-level student in London, was not as lucky as Johnny. Shocked to see sniffer dogs while attending Red Bull Culture Clash in 2017, she panicked and promptly necked her MDMA. She was taken to Queen Elizabeth Hospital where tragically she passed away. An inquest heard that the teenager took the fatal dose “because she was concerned sniffer dogs would detect the narcotics.” According to research, “panic consumption may have been a factor” in the tragic death of 21-year-old student Calum Gill in 2017. He never arrived at BBC Radio 1’s Big Weekend, having taken a high dose of MDMA on his way to the venue.

All of these deaths were avoidable. MDMA is a drug with a relatively low risk profile. It’s hard to overdose on, unless you really fuck up. Sniffer dogs—and excessive intimidation from their handlers—are forcing (often inexperienced) ravers into a split-second decision that could cost them their lives. 

The scare tactics themselves are largely theoretical. It’s illegal for a private security guard to perform a strip search, so it’s still relatively easy to conceal a personal amount of drugs throughout the secondary vetting stage. Even if it were legal, what are they going to do? Strip all 200,000 Glastonbury punters naked and line them up across the perimeter fence for a cavity inspection? Haphazard and overzealous, it’s hard to escape the feeling that these security measures are actually making festivals more dangerous than they ever need to be.

Another thing it’s important to know is that members of the public can’t be detained in these situations: these are private security guards, not the police. You can remove consent to the search at any point and simply walk away. It’s true that the search is a condition of entry, so you can’t refuse the search and head on in (a dynamic referred to as ‘coercive consent’). In theory, there’s nothing to stop someone leaving, getting rid of the drugs, and walking through again a few hours later. That might work or it might not (some festivals have a central CCTV control room to thwart these kinds of plans), but it’s certainly better than overdosing.

“We were in the queue for Parklife,” 34-year-old Peter tells me. “And as we got to the front we noticed the dogs. You had to sort of run the gauntlet to get through.” That’s when he noticed a girl, estimated by Peter to be 20 years old, who seemed to be panicking. “She freaked out, put her hand into her pants, and pulled out her drugs. To me it looked like [MDMA] pills. I think she was about to throw them away, but suddenly she just necked them all. We were like, ‘What the fuck!’ About an hour later we saw her being removed by medical staff on a stretcher.” 

This phenomenon, of sniffer dogs making festivals more dangerous, has not gone unnoticed by scientific researchers. “Drug detection dogs have been shown to have unintended negative consequences, including both panic consumption of drugs prior to entry—particularly for one-day events—and increased demand to buy drugs inside the festival,” said research published last year in the journal of Drug Science, Policy and Law. They added: “Panic consumption can increase the risk of overdose […] the unintended consequence of security operations and associated deterrence at these events may be to increase the risk of drug-related incidents such as overdose and poisoning.”

The second point the researchers make about sniffer dogs increasing the risk of poisoning is interesting, and points to users surrendering drugs before going on to buy unknown chemicals from dealers they’ve never met inside. I spoke to a 34-year-old computer programmer who was busted at the gates of Boomtown this year with a personal amount of cocaine and mushrooms. He’d purchased the gear from a dealer in London who has been supplying him for the best part of a decade. He’s even had drugs from this source tested in the past, with no dubious results, hence the long dealer-customer relationship. 

“They said the dog had indicated I had drugs and I was taken away,” he recalls. “It was stashed in my tent.” He voluntarily surrendered his party prescriptions and was allowed in, after the festival had collected data about him and the bust. “I bought more coke from a dodgy guy inside the event,” he says, “and I don’t know what was in it but it made me ill. I was having heart palpitations.” He ended up in the medical tent. Research estimates that 25 percent of drugs sourced onsite at music festivals are estimated to be missold, as in the customer is not being given the substance they thought they were getting. When you consider that, is taking people’s drugs away from them on a gate really a good idea? 

Especially when you consider that sometimes, the security are the dealers themselves. In 2019, BBC reporter Livvy Haydock covertly filmed a festival security guard providing a service by bringing in stashes for dealers, in exchange for a hefty fee. He was working at multiple festivals across the summer, but earning more money as a festival drug trafficker. “If security are caught doing something that they shouldn’t be doing, they get evicted by their own company who brought them in,” a bouncer who’s worked across three major UK festivals told me. “The security compound [where their tents are pitched] can be searched by dogs, but nine times out of ten word spreads about the search before it happens.”

When you look at the evidence, it seems obvious that we can make festivals safer by doing two things. One, the security on the gate should have a more ‘hands-off’ approach when it comes to catching people with personal amounts of drugs. The focus instead should be on measures that will reduce potential harms (like weapons pat-downs or confiscating glass) not increase them. Two, the government should allow front-of-house drug testing (where drugs can be tested and harm reduction information given out). It’s something that was allowed in the past, but has been effectively banned by the Home Office in recent years. 

Nobody––the sesh heads, their families, the festival organizers, the councils that license the events, or the government––wants to see young people die unnecessarily. Everyone has the same aim, so it’s difficult to see why these two obvious safety measures are not brought in. 

I presented the findings of this article to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and asked them for a comment. They directed me to the Home Office, who in turn said I should speak to the National Police Chiefs’ Council. They said: “The protocols of how festival security is handled is generally the responsibility of the festival organizers and not police forces” and it’s “the security firms and festival organizers” who are responsible for managing the harms at festivals with private sniffer dogs. 

We put the findings contained in this article to Field Day, Parklife and Boomtown. At the time of publication, they are yet to respond to the story. 

The post Are Drug-Sniffer Dogs to Blame for Festival Overdoses? appeared first on VICE.

In Texas, an 11-year-old boy named Yuvi Agrawal is harnessing the power of music to help shelter dogs become more adoptable. He first realized the calming effect music had on his own dog. As he played piano—which he’s done since he was 5 years old—he noticed that his usually energetic pup seemed to simmer down without trouble.

Agrawal founded a nonprofit organization called Wild Tunes by Yuvi, visiting local shelters to help the dogs relax and become more readily adoptable via his piano playing. 

“When I walk in, the dogs are really excited,” he said. “But once I start playing, within five or ten seconds, they start calming down and lying down and listening to the music.”

Why Music is Therapeutic for Dogs

It sounds cute and all, but there’s actually a lot of science to back up the idea.

Signs of aggression and anxiety might dissuade adopters from choosing a specific dog. Additionally, these symptoms can be distressing for the animal itself. Many shelter dogs struggle with high levels of stress, but with the intervention of music therapy, they can have a brighter future. 

Thankfully, music therapy has proven to be successful in dogs. They tend to appear less agitated when listening to classical music, whereas heavier music has the opposite effect. Research also suggests that music therapy positively impacts animals’ health and behavior when in stressful environments, such as a shelter.

Specifically, one study found that a simple piano with low tones and a slow tempo calms dogs the most—which is exactly the type of music Agrawal plays for the pups. 

He said he composes his music on the spot: “I just play what comes to my fingers.”

The post Adorable Kid’s Charity Does Music Therapy for Shelter Dogs appeared first on VICE.

In a paper titled “Exploring the interaction between cannabis, hearing, and music,” the researchers found that people experience significant changes in their perception and cognitive engagement with music when they are high on weed as opposed to sober. 

Through surveys and several interviews with 104 participants, the researchers narrowed down four aspects of the music-listening experience that were altered when people were under the influence of cannabis: 

• Altered Cognitive Processes and Reinterpretations
• Auditory Perceptual Effects
• Emotional Openness and Sensitivity
• Embodiment and Immersion.

When you read the results, it almost sounds like marijuana gives you music-specific superpowers. Half of the participants said they could hear the music better when they were high. A lot of them experienced a deeper connection to the music as the weed allowed them to focus more deeply on the rhythms and lyrics.

One person said, “When I’m not high, I just don’t pay enough attention to the music; it’s like background noise. When I am high, it’s the only thing I am focused on.”

That unnamed participant basically stated the conclusion of the study: cannabis creates a more immersive listening experience that leads to deeper cognitive and emotional engagement with music. 

The influence of marijuana not only brings people more deeply into the nuances of a track but allows for a critical analysis of music and helps trigger nostalgic memories people might have with a song, the researchers noted.

There’s some variance in the intensity of all of these effects from one participant to another, they said. Some study participants said their cognitive and emotional awareness of the music was enhanced pleasantly, while others said being high created a sense of sensory overload that felt overwhelming.  

Ultimately, the research didn’t really say anything we didn’t already know, but it’s nice to get specific minute details of the different ways people interpret art under mind-altering chemicals. 

The ultimate lesson of the research is that when you’re all done with your responsibilities for the day, go ahead and spark up a bowl and throw on your favorite tunes to immerse yourself within the hypnotic rhythms so you can experience your favorite songs.

The post Does Weed Really Make Music Sound Better? Science Has Answers appeared first on VICE.

Neon City Festival announced its 2024 headliners​​ via an Instagram post yesterday, adding a note in the caption: “Macklemore will no longer be performing due to unforeseen circumstances.” While the festival didn’t specify its reasoning for cutting Macklemore out of the event, many assume it has something to do with the recent viral chant.

Earlier this month, Macklemore released his second song in support of the UN’s agency for Palestinian refugees. Then, he performed the song at the Palestine Will Live Forever Festival in Seattle, where he led the crowd in the “Fuck America” chant—which caught the attention of a few prominent right-wing trolls on X.

View on X

“Hind’s Hall 2” is a sequel to his previous song of the same name, and it features Gaza-born rapper MC Abdul, Palestinian-American singer Anees, and the L.A. Palestinian Kids Choir. Both tracks are named after a building at Columbia University that students occupied and renamed after Hind Rajab, a 6-year-old Palestinian girl killed in Gaza.

At the concert, he said the current war in Palestine is “a genocide and it has been since 1948,” the year Israel was established. 

The song’s lyrics are just as pointed: “Long live the resistance if there’s something to resist/ Had enough of you motherfuckers murdering little kids,” Macklemore raps. “But there’ll never be freedom by pleading with Zionists/ World screaming Free Palestine/ We see the manual, we know how you colonized.”

He also called out presidential candidate Kamala Harris, rapping, “Hey Kamala, I don’t know if you’re listening/ But stop sending money and weapons, or you ain’t winning in Michigan/ We uncommitted, and hell no we ain’t switching positions/ Because the whole world turned Palestinian.”

This isn’t the first time the rapper has stood his ground on this issue—and odds are, it won’t be the last. Back in August, he went as far as canceling his October Dubai show due to the United Arab Emirates’ role “in the ongoing genocide and humanitarian crisis.”

The post Macklemore Dropped from Festival Lineup After ‘F*ck America’ Chant appeared first on VICE.

Users on the Suno AI subreddit have reported that some of their AI-generated music has been hunted with bizarre human sounds that they didn’t ask the AI to include. In particular, Reddit user u/BloodMossHunter posted a video showing their AI-generated track ending with what sounds like a person crying, even though they didn’t ask the software to do that.

The post gave other users on the subreddit the chance to finally admit that they have also experienced these weird ghostly AIs tacking on disturbing human sounds all on its own. Another person going by AIMoeDee said that a song generated by Suno that they published on Spotify ends with nearly 30 seconds of the AI screaming, occasionally shouting the word “no.”

User SkyDemonAirPirates got Suno to make a catchy, down-tempo pop song. It’s a two-minute track. The song ends after about a minute and a half. There’s a bit of silence before a glitchy AI woman’s voice says some gibberish but in the middle of it it seems to say the words “still alive.” Then, it laughs a little.

Some members of the subreddit theorized that it could be the AI trying to mimic the outros that are commonly found in songs. You know the ones. The song ends, and then there’s a few seconds of raw audio of the singer talking to a producer or something. Some candid little moments that the artist decided to leave in. But the AI doesn’t have much sense of context, so it just creates these bizarre instances of human speech that aren’t as candid as they are unsettling. Adding prompts with a degree of human emotionality may make the AI add elements like crying.

For BloodMossHunter, it was probably the keyword “psyche” in his prompt. He wanted the song to show some emotional range, and the AI couldn’t think of anything more expressive of the human psyche than a person sobbing, so it adds that in. It’s pretty fucked up, but it at least has a possible logical explanation to it. That doesn’t make it any less creepy. 

The post AI Adds Human Cries and Creepy Laughs to People’s Songs Without Warning appeared first on VICE.

We pinned down the smuggest pairs we could find and quizzed them on the secrets of love.

Karina, 35 and Jeff, 34

VICE: How long have you both been together?
J: Eight months ago we went on a first date to a horror theme park, where you go into the haunted mazes, and they scare the shit out of you.

So the fear of death brought you together.
J: I think it enhanced our relationship immediately.

Do you have ‘a song’ yet?
J: We have a song we… enjoy together.
K: Which one?
J: Motley Crue, “Home Sweet Home”. It’s because of Hot Tub Time Machine, which we’ve watched like nine times together.

Wait, so you’ve watched it every single month you’ve been together?
J: We watch it often.

Joshua, 23, and Cody, 19

VICE: How long have you been together?
Cody: We met at Wetherspoons where we both work two years ago.

Do you remember the first time you said, “I love you”?
C: I think it was over text, which is quite cringe. But I knew very quickly that I liked this man. I didn’t fart around him.

What advice would you give to other couples?
C: A lot of people try too hard.

Thomas, 26 and Alice, 27

VICE: How long have you been together?
[Both]: A year!

Yeah?
[Both again]: Yeah!

What was your first date?
T: We knew each other for two years before we started going ‘out out’. We were planning out a podcast one evening about: ‘When a nuke fell on Fashiontown’.

What was that about?
A: It was about a world called ‘Fashiontown’ that got nuked.
T: But the nuke didn’t really do anything, it just made things weirder. And we just talked absolute nonsense about this for hours.

Sounds great. What advice would you give to other couples?
T: Be silly and gracious.

Daniel, 39 and Laura, 29

VICE: How long have you been together?
Laura: Married for nearly a year, but five years total.

And where did you meet?
Daniel: We’re both school teachers, so at work. Our first date was a Bowling For Soup show around Christmas. Actually, it might have been Slipknot. All the patches on our jackets are the bands we’ve seen together.

I love the jackets.
L: They were made for our wedding. We wore them for our first dance.

What was the song?
L: We danced to “Song 3” by Corey Taylor, and we had patches made from lyrics to the song. It really resonated with us.
D: Every line is us.

What dating advice would you give to other moshers in love?
L: He’s more pop punk and I’m more glam metal, but we’re both happy to go watch the bands we’re each into.

Amy, 29 and Joe, 33

VICE: How long have you been together?
Joe: Seven and a half years.

What was your first date?
J: Breakfast after a night out.
Amy: We were both really hungover and craving fried food, so we ended up eating breakfast at 3 p.m. in the afternoon.

What advice would you give to other couples?
J: Chill out, and/or grow up.
A: You don’t have to live in each other’s pockets. Just chill out. If you trust and love the other person then it’s easy.

Tori, 24 and Callum, 25

VICE: How long have you been together?
Tori: Not long, like a month or two?

Has anyone said the L word?
T: Yeah, straight away.

That’s quite quick?
Callum: We just knew. It was the second time we hung out.
T: We went partying again, we like a party. And we haven’t really left each other since.
C: We’re inseparable now.
T: We got a cat together. He’s the cat dad.

What’s your advice to those looking for love?
T: Every bad thing is a lesson that will lead you to the right place. If I hadn’t gone through the bad things, then I wouldn’t have found him. And I’m so grateful for it all.

Bhavandeep, 35 and James, 35

VICE: How long have you been together?
Bhavandeep: Fifteen years!

What advice would you give to other couples?
James: A long-term relationship is a decision you make every day. The secret to it is not giving up on it. It’s not always easy—there’s better times and there’s harder times—but the secret is staying on the same team and pushing in the same direction.
B: A healthy dose of mockery is always good, too.

@christopherbethell

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