What’s your favorite type of music? Simple question. What genre when it comes to music flips your BIC? Or do you have more than one favorite type of music?
For me it’s definitely Classic Rock. But I do like other types of music. So, play your favorite songs and if one style of music is favored over others, please tell us.
For the first time in 17 years, we’ve completely remade our list of the best songs ever. More than 250 artists, writers, and industry figures helped us choose a brand-new list full of historic favorites, world-changing anthems, and new classics.
An MTV Favorite.
Someday I’ll tell my story about a person in this video. Today’s not the day.
Just putting this out there. From Science to Humanity’s Well-Being: 9 Extraordinary Examples of the Power of Music.
AUTHORMarika Spitulski
Anyone who listens to music — which is around 90% of the population — has likely experienced its power to soothe, stir up emotion, connect, and jog memories. Whatever the mood or moment, the soundtrack possibilities are endless. But the power of music stretches far beyond merely comforting or entertaining its listener — studies show that the art form is also full of possibilities when it comes to the world of science.
Research has proven that music can be harnessed to improve mental health, reduce pain, and otherwise profoundly affect our brains. From the fields of neurology to astronomy, music has contributed to unique advancements in the way we understand ourselves and the world. These findings support the idea that music can serve as a catalyst for healing, breaking barriers, and connecting — sometimes without us even being aware of its impact.
The relationship is a two-way street: Scientists have used music to enhance their field, and musicians have used science to enhance their art. To highlight this intersection, we compiled the below music-meets-science examples, ranging from music being used to help people with dementia to astrophysicists using planets’ orbits to create musical rhythms.
Well-Being and Music: Using Music to Reduce Pain and Feelings of “Unpleasantness”
Aleksei Morozov/ iStock
Research has shown that music has the power to reduce physical pain and provide comfort. And an October 2023 paper published in Frontiers in Pain Research added to that body of research, finding that listening to your favorite songs is particularly effective.
“In our study, we show that favorite music chosen by study participants has a much larger effect on acute thermal pain reduction than unfamiliar relaxing music,” lead author Darius Valevicius said in a statement. “We also found that emotional responses play a very strong role in predicting whether music will have an effect on pain.”
The scientists also evaluated musical themes to see if they affected pain relief, and found that “moving or bittersweet emotional experiences” seemed to result in lower ratings of pain and unpleasantness.
Neurology and Music: Scientists Re-Create Pink Floyd Song by Analyzing Listeners’ Brain Waves
In August 2023, Scientists re-created a portion of Pink Floyd’s 1979 hit “Another Brick in the Wall, Part 1” by analyzing the brain waves of people listening to it.
Researchers played 90% of the song for epilepsy patients undergoing surgery to curb seizures, and trained a computer model on their neural activity collected via brain electrodes, per Science. The team then programmed the algorithm to come up with the remaining 10% — about 15 seconds of music — based on the patterns it had learned. The resulting audio is an eerie, echoey simulacrum.
“We’re on the threshold of lots of things — the fusion of neuroscience and computer engineering, and really, in many ways, the sky’s the limit,” study lead Ludovic Bellier told Fortune. The work provides insight into how the brain processes music, and may be used to help people who struggle to speak due to injuries or diseases.
Mental Health and Music: Study Shows Music May Benefit Mental Health as Much as Exercise
AsiaVision/ iStock
Music lovers will tell you that bopping along to your favorite song is a surefire way to feel better, but a scientific review published in JAMA concluded that music’s benefit to mental health is actually comparable to that of exercise. In other words, singing your heart out in the shower could be as good for your mind as a jog around the block.
Researchers analyzed data from 26 studies involving a combined 779 adult participants. Each study measured the impact of making and listening to music on health-related quality of life (HRQOL). The review, published in March 2022, found “moderate-quality quantitative evidence of associations between music interventions and clinically significant changes in mental HRQOL.”
After comparing that evidence to data on other approaches, the authors noted that the results are within the range of the “average effects of established non–pharmaceutical and medical interventions (e.g., exercise, weight loss).” Read more.
Technology and Music: Machine Turns Heartbeats of Children With Heart Defects Into Rhythms
About 40,000 children in the U.S. are born with congenital heart defects, or CHD, each year. In an effort to hold space for this condition in an intentional way, a father of two sons who have heart issues reached out to Swedish audiovisual artist and woodworker Love Hultén.
From there, the CHD-4 was born: a unique drum-like machine that decoded electrocardiograms from four children with heart defects and transformed the patterns into sequences, which ultimately produced sounds based on their unique heartbeats (the individual shape, pace, and beats per minute).
Fast Company described Hultén’s invention as a “one-of-a-kind machine designed to produce rhythm and music where there is none,” with Hellqvist adding that “it takes dark and heavy experiences and transforms them into something beautiful. Into hope and change.”
Astrology and Music: Astrophysicists Bring a Sound to Saturn’s Moons and Rings
Astrophysicists at the University of Toronto used music to bring a sense of Saturn to Earth — despite the planets being hundreds of millions of miles apart.
The team “converted Saturn’s moons and rings into two pieces of music,” said astrophysicist Matt Russo in a press release from the institution. They made the music based on the patterns of “orbital resonances” and “rhythmic gravitational tugs” that were then converted into musical harmony. This data was collected via the Cassini spacecraft, a mission that orbited Saturn from 2004 to 2017.
Dan Tamayo, a postdoctoral researcher at CITA and the Centre for Planetary Sciences at U of T Scarborough, explained: “Saturn’s magnificent rings act like a sounding board that launches waves at locations that harmonize with the planet’s many moons, and some pairs of moons are themselves locked in resonances.”
A March study published in Alzheimer’s Research and Therapy also found that while music helped improve cognitive functions of patients with Alzheimer’s, the influence was even greater when the patients were involved in the music making.
Attention and Music: Using Music to Stay Focused
Have trouble staying focused? Consider turning on some tunes. A Stanford study showed that “music moves [the] brain to pay attention” by engaging certain areas and, ultimately, increasing cognitive activity. Per a press release from the institution, “Music engages the brain over a period of time … and the process of listening to music could be a way that the brain sharpens its ability to anticipate events and sustain attention.”
That being said, music isn’t broadly beneficial to every task on your to-do list. Psychologists have found that music is more distracting than beneficial when it comes to studying.
“Multitasking is a fallacy; human beings are not capable of truly multitasking because attention is a limited resource, and you can only focus on so much without a cost,” cognitive psychologist Brian Anderson said in a Texas A&M University press release. “So when you’re doing two things at the same time, like studying and listening to music, and one of the things requires cognitive effort, there will be a cost to how much information you can retain doing both activities.”
Artificial Intelligence and Music: AI Completing the Beatles’ Final Song
Forty-five years after John Lennon first started working on the song, artificial intelligence put the finishing touches on what we know today as “Now and Then.” According to the official video’s description, the unexpected gift is thanks to a software system that allowed for the song to be completed with contributions from all four Beatles in the piece — and is a reflection of the band’s “endless creative curiosity and shared fascination with technology.”
There’s no question AI is changing the way music is being curated, played, and created, and this is one example of how it can be used to salvage something beautiful.
“It marks the completion of the last recording that John, Paul, George, and Ringo will get to make together,” the video’s description reads, “and celebrates the legacy of the foremost and most influential band in popular music history.”
Music and Togetherness: Singing With Others Is Good for Us
Vladimir Vladimirov/ iStock
A growing body of research shows that singing together at any occasion boosts well-being. One of the reasons for that is endorphins, those happy hormones runners are always going on about.
“Singing is one of the mega-mechanisms we use for bonding,” Robin Dunbar, a professor of evolutionary psychology at the University of Oxford, told The Guardian. “Singing in the shower gives you a bit of an uplift, but when doing it communally, there’s something about the synchrony of singing that creates this massive endorphin uplift.”
Dunbar set out to prove singing’s bonding power in a 2015 study, in which strangers sang together for an hour and left as, well, not strangers. “It was as if they’d known each other since primary school,” he recalled.
He noted that the prolonged exhalation and breath work required while singing likely contributes to its health benefits. Going forward, this research could help inform therapies for dementia, Parkinson’s, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, long COVID, and more.
EXCLUSIVE: Gibbs is returning to the NCIS universe as the lead of a new CBS drama, which serves as a prequel to the long-running procedural. The network has given a straight-to-series order to NCIS: Origins, about young Leroy Jethro Gibbs, for the 2024-25 broadcast season. The project comes from the two actors who have portrayed Gibbs on NCIS, Mark Harmon and his son Sean Harmon, veteran NCIS writers-producers, Gina Lucita Monreal and David J. North, as well as CBS Studios, which is behind the NCIS franchise.
Narrated by Mark Harmon, NCIS: Origins begins in 1991, years prior to the events of NCIS. In the new series, Gibbs starts his career as a newly minted special agent at the fledgling NCIS Camp Pendleton office where he forges his place on a gritty, ragtag team led by NCIS legend Mike Franks. (On the mothership series, Franks has been a recurring character played by Muse Watson. Franks was fatally stabbed in Season 8 but continued to appear to Gibbs when he needed a sounding board on hard cases.)
The idea of exploring Gibbs’ early years originated with Sean Harmon, who recurred on NCIS, playing the younger version of Mark Harmon’s character in seven episodes from 2008-2020. Along with his father, who starred as Gibbs on NCIS for more than 18 seasons, Harmon approached Monreal, North and CBS Studios about expanding the NCIS universe with a Gibbs-centered offshoot.
Sean Harmon is focusing on executive producing duties for the new series alongside Mark Harmon, who continues to executive produce the flagship NCIS, as well as Monreal and North, who are co-writing the premiere episode and will serve as co-showrunners. North also will continue his duties as executive producer and co-showrunner (with Steven D Binder) on the mothership. Search will be launched for an actor to play the lead in the spinoff.
“The character of Gibbs has been an important part of my life for 20 years, both in watching my father craft the role and previously having the honor to play young Gibbs myself,” Sean Harmon said. “I always felt there was a tale worth telling about his earlier years, so I am thrilled to be stepping into a producing role alongside Gina, David and my dad as we tell this story and reveal a new side of this beloved character.”
Monreal and North, who said they are “thrilled to be bringing this new chapter to life along with Mark and Sean Harmon,” teased more revelations in the new series.
“This really is the making of Leroy Jethro Gibbs,” the duo said. “And even the most dedicated NCIS fans will discover that they don’t know the whole story.”
NCIS: Origins is taking a route that proved successful for another flagship CBS series, comedy The Big Bang Theory, which spawned a successful prequel, Young Sheldon, about the early years of one of the lead characters.
“We are elated and honored to continue the expansion of the NCIS universe in such a unique and unexpected way,” said Amy Reisenbach, president of CBS Entertainment. “Viewers can look forward to Mark Harmon returning to CBS to narrate the complex and mysterious backstory of Leroy Jethro Gibbs’ early years in NCIS: Origins, which will build on the rich legacy of this character while reintroducing fan-favorite characters and meeting new ones.”
This is CBS’ fourth new scripted series for the 2024-35 season, joining dramas Matlock and Watson and comedy Poppa’s House.
NCIS is one of CBS Studios’ most valuable franchises. Twenty one seasons in — currently ranking as the third-longest-running U.S. primetime drama — the mothership series remains the most watched non-sports program on broadcast. A big global seller, which once ranked as the most watched drama in the world, the venerable procedural has spawned three spinoffs in the U.S., NCIS: Los Angeles, NCIS: New Orleans as well as NCIS: Hawai’i, which is headed to its 3rd season. The franchise recently went international with its first non-American offshoot, NCIS: Sydney, which also has done very well in the U.S. Used by CBS on its strike-impacted fall schedule, it has ranked as the most watched new series of the 2023-24 season to date.
According to Nielsen and internal data, during the 2022-2023 TV season, the NCIS franchise had over 300 million viewers around the world across all platforms including broadcast, cable, streaming and syndication.
“There’s no denying the cultural and global phenomenon of the NCIS franchise for the last 20 years,” said David Stapf, president of CBS Studios. “When Sean and Mark approached us all with this exciting expansion of the universe – exploring a young Gibbs – we knew it was the next story that needed to be told. We also couldn’t be luckier to have Gina and David at the helm as co-showrunners who are not only brilliant and adept writers but know this character and universe so well.”
NCIS: Origins reunites North and Monreal, who both wrote on NCIS for 10 years. Monreal, who left the CBS series a couple of years ago, has recently worked on Netflix’s Griselda, Star Wars: The Bad Batch and the upcoming Dan Fogleman/Sterling K. Brown project for Hulu.
Casting on the spinoff is being handled by NCIS casting directors, Jason Kennedy, Krysti Baxter, and Meredith Goble.
Mark Harmon is repped by Gersh and attorney Barry Axelrod. Sean Harmon is repped by 3Arts Entertainment, Gersh and Genow Goodman. Monreal is repped by CAA, Mosaic, and Felker Toczek Suddleson Abramson McGinnis Ryan. North is repped by Dan Halsted Manage-Ment.
Music is one of the most powerful forms of expression, and songs are the embodiment of that. Songs can make us laugh, cry, dance, or think. They can inspire us, comfort us, challenge us, or entertain us. Songs can capture the essence of a moment, a feeling, or a story. They can transcend time and space, and connect us with people from different cultures and backgrounds. Play your favorites.
It’s the weekend and now play your favorites. The other day we did the songs you didn’t like. Let’s do the songs you do like. Also you can play your favorite bands.
It can be favorites songs or favorite bands. I’m sure you all have a few of each.
Play songs that you normally wouldn’t. This is a different one for me. Never done something like this. So, play a song that you normally wouldn’t play.
It can be a genre you normally wouldn’t play or it could be a song or songs that you don’t like. Let it fly and let’s see what you come up with.
It shouldn’t be hard to come up with songs that you don’t like or normally wouldn’t listen to.
Let’s be real, the 70’s and 80’s produced some of the greatest songs ever. Songs that are nearly 40 years old are still sung by people of all ages. It doesn’t matter if you were around during the 70’s or the 80’s, there’s still a high chance that you know (almost) every word to many songs. Whether you’re with a group of people at a party, in the car with friends or by yourself in the car and a hit from those decades comes on, it’s kind of hard not to start jammin’ your heart out. Although I can list hundreds of amazing songs, I listed my top 25 choices that instantly makes me want to scream the words to whether alone or at a party.
The only bad taco is a taco you don’t eat! Spice up taco night with these this scrumptious recipe.
INGREDIENTS
INSTRUCTIONS
1.Heat oil in a skillet over high heat. Add ground beef. Stir fry, breaking up the pieces with a spatula, for about 7-10 minutes, until the beef is browned, and moisture has evaporated.
2. Stir taco seasoning into the ground beef until well combined. If you like, you can also add 1/4 cup of water when adding the seasoning and let it simmer a bit.
3. Meanwhile, combine all remaining ingredients in a large bowl. Add the ground beef. Toss everything together.
‘We’ll leave the light on for you’: America’s last lighthouse keeper is leaving her post.
Sally Snowman, 72, became guardian of the historic lighthouse constructed in 1716, in 2002. She is its 70th keeper. “The first 69 were all men,” she proudly told CBS News
“It’s called a stewardship transfer,” she said. There will be a transfer of ownership through the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act of 2000.
Such a sad day. this ended a tradition that started when the lighthouse was built in 1716.
Her hope is that she can keep working at Boston Light as a volunteer tour guide, Snowman shared with NPR.
Peanut butter lovers, you won’t be able to resist a slice of this decadent pie. It’s shockingly easy to make and the result is a creamy, dreamy dessert you’ll crave constantly.
Ingredients
FOR THE CRUST:
25chocolate sandwich cookies, such as Oreos
5tbsp.salted butter, melted
FOR THE FILLING:
1c.creamy peanut butter
1(8 oz.) package cream cheese, softened
11/4c.powdered sugar
8oz.whipped topping, such as Cool Whip, thawed
Directions
For the crust: Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Place the cookies in the bowl of a large food processor. Process until finely crushed, about 1 minute. Transfer to a bowl and pour the melted butter over top. Stir with a fork to combine. Press the Oreo mixture firmly into the bottom and up the sides of a pie plate. Bake until set, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely.
For the filling: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat the peanut butter with the cream cheese until smooth. Add the powdered sugar and beat until smooth. Add the thawed whipped topping and beat until smooth, scraping the sides as needed.
Pour the filling into the crust, evening out the top with a knife or spatula. Chill for at least 4 hours before serving.
Tip: This is ultra, ultra-rich. Cut small slivers—your guests will thank you!
Songs to kick in The New Year Join in with songs that you think are great for ringing in the New Year. Anytype of songs will do. Have a great New Year.
Hopefully you had a safe and enjoyable New Year’s Eve if you went out.
December 30, 1968, Led Zeppelin is recorded live for first time at Gonzaga University. My all-time favorite. So, play the songs of your favorite group.
Led Zeppelin, one of the most celebrated and influential bands in rock ‘n’ roll history, was recorded live before a dazed and confused audience for the first time on this day in history, Dec. 30, 1968.
“The show took place at Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington, and saw them opening for Vanilla Fudge,” writes Canadian entertainment site Exclaim!
All of my love was a tribute to Robert Plants son who was five when he died.
Hits of the 40’s. I’m going back in time. Music was king. Before my time and I’m sure the same is true for most of us here. But I’m sure you can find songs from that era.
The 1940s was a decade marked by significant global events, including World War II and the post-war period of recovery and reconstruction. Throughout this time, music played an important role in boosting morale, providing comfort and entertainment, and reflecting the social and cultural changes of the era. The 1940s saw the rise of popular music genres such as swing, jazz, and big band, as well as the emergence of iconic performers such as Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, and Billie Holiday.
Homemade Sweet Potato Soup Recipe | A Different Type of Potato Soup! Fall is here, and there’s no better way to usher in the change of the season than a bowl of this delicious Sweet Potato Soup! Featuring sweet and rich flavors, this dish will warm you up on a chilly day. Make a big pot for your friends and family!
Ingredients
1tablespoonflour
1tablespoonunsalted butter
1 1/2cupchicken broth
1tablespoonlight brown sugar
1 1/2cupsweet potatoes
1/4teaspoonground ginger
1/8teaspooncinnamon
1/8teaspoonnutmeg
1cupmilk
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
Instructions
Peel 2 medium sweet potatoes.
Chop peeled sweet potatoes until you have 1 1/2 cup’s worth
Boil the sweet potatoes until soft.
In a heavy saucepan over medium-low heat, cook 1 tablespoon flour and 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, stirring constantly until it achieves a light caramel color.
Add 1 1/2 cup chicken broth and 1 tablespoon light brown sugar. Bring to a boil and then lower to a simmer.
Stir in sweet potatoes, 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger, 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon, and 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg. Bring to a simmer and cook 5 minutes more.
You can’t beat shopping in Amish Country. Last week we celebrated with another couple (my birthday). Before we met them, we stopped at three of our favorite stores. A Swiss cheese factory and two Amish grocery stores.
You need to look closely at the best buy dates. Everything we bought was best by in 2024 and 2025. Sometimes the boxes have dents as do the cans.
The featured picture is one of my favorite desserts.
How can you beat $1.99. Best buy 02-2025.
I’ll post more in the comments section. If you live near Amish country stop in. The stores go by bent and dent plus Salvage.
Christmas Cookie Club delivers memories annually. These women have been friends since they were 7 years old. What’s remarkable is the fact that the women are developmentally disabled.
Since 1992 they got together and baked their Christmas cookies. 31 years.
They enjoy a special connection which has become a testimony to the joy of the season, and an act which offers a deeper meaning — that the most important part of the Christmas holiday is being together.
The four starts at 10:30 am and bake till 4:30 pm. After baking, the group will go Christmas caroling at the homes of family members and then have dinner together. “They love that, they love going out to eat,” Bobbie said.
Merry Christmas weekend filled with Music. In case you haven’t noticed Christmas music has been playing on many of the radio stations and internet websites.
Let us join in and continue that tradition of Christmas songs. Now if anyone feels the urge to play another Holiday type song, feel free. Here’s a little tidbit I saw the other day.
There’re are over 500 different versions of White Christmas. I’m sure Bing Crosby’s is the most known. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
So, let’s take this throughout this long weekend. Play the songs that are old and new.
Mary Yoders is the place to be. Part 2. Back in July I did an article on one of my favorite Restaurants. Mary Yoder’s. Since we’re going there tomorrow to meet some friends, I thought I would post a link and an Amish recipe.
We’ve had their bread, pies, pastry, plus jelly and jams. For those who don’t live nearby, they have online ordering.
Wilt cabbage leaves by placing them in boiling water for 3 minutes and then drain. Mix all other ingredients together except soup. Shape meat mixture into oblong rolls and wrap in cabbage leaves. Fasten with toothpicks. Put tomato soup in a skillet and add rolls. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 45-60 minutes or until meat mixture is well done. You may need to add a little water during cooking period. Serve immediately.
MC’S Family Christmas Decorations 2023. Part 2. Living Room. It took a few days but here’s our Living Room. Our Living room does feature the fine furniture we have bought over the years.
But the way my wife did the decorating is something else. The first picture you see is what she did with our bookcase.
Next three is the start to finish of decorating our tree
Of course the fireplace.
The entrance way below contains a reproduction piece that was made by a famous maker of reproduction furniture. It took a years wait before he was finished.
MC’S Family Christmas decorations 2023. Part one Kitchen. I’ve decided to do this in two parts. The first one being the Kitchen. My wife and I put a lot of time and preparation into this.
Actually she does the majority of the work. I carry the decorations up from the lower level of our house up to the main floor.
Hopefully you enjoy the decorations. show us yours if you don’t mind.
I’ll post the rest of the pictures in the comments. Feel free to post any Christmas decorations that you may have.