Welcome to this month’s roundup of our favourite entertainment related stories on the internet. We’ve gathered together a few interesting articles to give you an idea of what’s going on in the world of entertainment. Think we’ve missed any big stories this month? Let us know!
The hand is quicker than the eye
It’s one of the oldest tricks in the book, but the classic cups and ball trick still has plenty to teach us. After analysing a performance by Penn & Teller, neuroscientists discovered that the trick was even more effective at manipulating the audience than was previously thought and may help shed light on basic brain processes like cognition. If you’re interested in finding out more about the history of the cups and balls trick, our sister agency Sternberg Clarke have a (very old) blog on the subject that’s well worth a read.
In other magic news, magician Rick Smith Jr. scored a minor viral hit earlier this month with a video in which he slices an olive in half with a thrown playing card. One thing we can all agree on is that this is a pretty incredible feat. Another thing we can all agree on is that olives are gross and throwing things at them is better than eating them.
Fake muse!
Is Spotify gaming the music industry with fake music, bots and spammers? This piece in Vulture suggests it might be, claiming that among other things, the streaming giant is stuffing its own playlists with ‘fake artists’ to avoid paying streaming fees to musicians and producers. These nondescript instrumental tracks can often be found padding out playlists like ‘Classical Intimate Dinner’ or ‘Instrumental Study’ and despite their overwhelming blandless, have racked up millions of hits from unsuspecting users.
Spotify has strongly denied using fake artists in any of their playlists, but whether or not you believe there’s a sinister ‘fake music’ conspiracy corrupting the streaming world, it does go to show how music is, in the words of this Gramophone Magazine piece, being treated like wallpaper:
“How did we get to a situation in which music has become so de-valued that it is packaged into chunks of anonymous sound, written by who-cares-who, to accompany – as the title of some of the most listened to playlists suggest – another, presumably more important, activity?”
The birds are swinging
Do birds have rhythm? New research suggests not only that they do, but that that rhythm is swing. Using a mathematical analysis of the slowed down song of the thrush nightingale, scientists noticed that the bird sang in a distinctive offbeat rhythm. Even more interestingly, some believe that the purpose of this swinging rhythm is much the same as it is for humans, to make the listener want to dance.
So do you think they rehearse their songs, or do they just wing it?
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