Anthropic created a test marketplace for agent-on-agent commerceIn a recent experiment, Anthropic created a classified marketplace where AI agents represented both buyers and sellers, striking real deals for real goods and real money.

2026 Green Powered Challenge: Ventilate Your Way To Power!Have you ever looked out across the rooftops of a city and idly gazed at the infrastructure that remains unseen from the street? It seems [varunsontakke80] has, because here’s their project, harvesting energy from the rotation of a rooftop ventilator.
The build is a relatively straightforward one, with a pair of disks with magnets attached being mounted on the ventilator shaft inside its dome. A third disk sits between them and is stationary, with a set of coils in which the magnets induce current as they move. A rectifier and charge circuit completes the picture.
This appears to be part of a college project, but despite searching, we can’t find any measure of how much power this thing generates. We’d be concerned that it might reduce the efficiency of the ventilator somewhat. There will be an inevitable tradeoff as power is harvested. Still, it’s a neat use of a ubiquitous piece of hardware, and we like it for that.
This hack is part of our 2026 Green Powered Challenge. You’ve got time to get your own entry in, so get a move on!

Bitcoiners cast doubt on the US military's understanding of the networkBitcoin advocate Matthew Kratter said US Navy Admiral Samuel Paparo's Senate testimony on Tuesday sounded like it was written by an "intern."

Kulshan Studios Rivet Industrial Soundset for Roland JP-8080 & JP-8000 & JE-808650 gritty Industrial dual-layer performances, compatible with the Roland JP-8000 and JP-8080 hardware synths. This soundbank is 100% Industrial-oriented, which means no weird brass, pianos, or FX. The sounds in Rivet were referenced against classic and modern tunes of the 80s, 90s, 2000s, 2010s, and 2020s. So this soundset is designed to fully exploit the JP's iconic SuperSaw oscillator, gritty distortion, Ring Mod, Cross-Mod, and virtual analog sound engine to their fullest potential. Performances in Rivet are based on sounds by the likes of Rammstein, Deathstars, Combichrist, White Zombie, Motionless In White, OOMPH!, Faderhead, Studio-X, Front 242, Rob Zombie, Perturbator, Godflesh, Skinny Puppy, Grendel, Extinction Front, Noisuf-X and many many more. And to cap off the bank some slots were set to INIT, so you have room to write and store your own sounds without overwriting any existing presets. Only 3rd party FX used in the demo was Virus TI2 reverb, on the leads, pads, and plucks. Sounds in this preset pack are suitable for the Industrial Rock, Industrial Metal, EBM, and Aggrotech genres, and are organized by category into Leads, Plucks, Pads, and Basses, for quick reference. All performances are royalty-free and delivered instantly via email as a 24-hour download link. Requirements: Roland JP-8000 or JP-8080 synthesizer. Also compatible with Adam Szabo Airwave, The Usual Suspects JE-8086, DiscoDSP Retromulator, DiscoDSP Corona VSTi using included .syx file, and Arturia Jup-8000 V VSTi using included split Performance files. Read More

NEP at Cat’s Cradle, Carrboro, NCWeb: robertlesterfolsom.comContact: dshaw@baselinemusic.comPlayers: Nep, vocals; Tyler Pons, drums; Sophia Damiani, bass; Jake Sonderman, guitar

Grab your slide rules: Albert Einstein almost had it right, but the real equation on display at Cat’s Cradle was E = NEP².

That proof arrived in the form of NEP (yes, that’s really her name)—a shadow-boxing indie-pop artist who brought a cocktail of swagger, nervous laughter, and Daytona Beach daydreams to the adoring Back Room crowd.

NEP burst onto the stage with a quick four-song salvo: “Daytona,” “Fender,” “Lovelace,” and “Milktown,” followed by the brisk pop flash of “Rocket Ship.” None of it calmed the room. If anything, the next stretch detonated the place: “Teddy,” “Biketoberfest,” “All Around Beauty,” and “Soundtrack” spilled out in a sugar rush of jangling guitars and nervous giggles.

The crowd surged toward the stage in what became a kind of musical cyclone. The quartet itself looked almost comically small against the swell of bodies pressed forward—NEP, her guitarist, and drummer hovering around the five-foot mark, while the bass player stood like a benevolent giant beside them.

Add NEP’s constant giggle—somewhere between nervous energy and mischievous charm—and the whole affair began to resemble a cinematic “escape from the kids’ table at Thanksgiving.”

The guitar work was simple and unadorned—almost stubbornly so—but it carried a kind of innocence that fit the material. The grooves were uncomplicated, the structures tidy, and the melodies had the breezy, slightly sunburned feel of songs written somewhere between a dorm room and a beach parking lot.

At times, the silliness threatened to overwhelm the music. There were genuinely lovely musical moments that got sliced apart by NEP’s constant asides and laughter. The vibe in the room became so beach-soaked you could almost smell the Coppertone and feel sand under your feet. The sugary, slightly smug Hello Kitty delivery sometimes obscured the delicate little juxtapositions the band—competent if understated—was putting together.

Mid-set, the groove settled into something like autopilot before reanimating with “I Close My Eyes,” “Florida Girl,” and the crowd favorite “Pup.” Without a dominant soloist or any real instrumental grandstanding, the evening became less about virtuosity and more about atmosphere: a blend of sonic melancholy and occasional Beach Blanket Bingo chaos.

The songwriting itself showed care. Songs were thoughtfully paced and clearly diaristic. There may not yet be an obvious hit single lurking in the catalog, but a certain gravitational pull—something about Daytona, about leaving and remembering—kept the set moving forward.

That Florida lineage occasionally bubbled at the surface. The warm embers of Tom Petty and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers flickered here and there, and the ghost of Southern guitar traditions that ultimately fed into The Allman Brothers Band hovered around the edges of the sound.

Elsewhere you could hear faint splashes of quirky new-wave DNA—moments that hinted at the playful pop instincts of Bow Wow Wow and the bright theatricality later embraced by Culture Club—another clue to the mixing bowl of beach culture, pop instinct, and youthful irreverence that NEP seems to inhabit. The post NEP at Cat’s Cradle, Carrboro, NC first appeared on Music Connection Magazine.

MNTRA releases FLTRS-LE, a FREE Roland Jupiter-6 filter plugin
MNTRA has released FLTRS-LE, a free filter plugin based on the Roland Jupiter-6 filter circuit. FLTRS-LE is a trimmed-down version of the developer’s full FLTRS plugin, which costs $49 during the launch sale (regular price $79) and packs 37 analog circuits and experimental physics engines. The filter we get in the freebie is called EUROPA-6, [...]
View post: MNTRA releases FLTRS-LE, a FREE Roland Jupiter-6 filter plugin

Brainworx introduce bx_tonebox Aimed at obvious, creative processing rather than subtle shaping duties, bx_tonebox comprises six modules that can be freely reordered and offer a mixture of compression, saturation, filtering, noise and more. 

80s KIDS at The Virgil, Los Angeles, CAIn the world of independent artists, there are those whose musical aesthetics evolve gradually, while a rare few create rare transformations that feel almost cinematic—where everything that came before suddenly clicks into a vivid, fully realized expression. Watching Shannon Curtis confidently strut onto the stage at The Virgil as one half of 80s Kids, it’s impossible not to think back to a much earlier version of her: seated behind a keyboard at Molly Malone’s in 2009, delivering the intimate, heartfelt songs of I Play the Piano and Sing Love Songs with grace, warmth and a quietly captivating emotional pull. That artist is still very much present. But what she’s become, alongside her husband, producer and creative co-conspirator Jamie Hill, is something far more expansive, theatrical and electrifying.

What Curtis and Hill have built with 80s Kids isn’t simply a nostalgic cover project. It’s an immersive, vibrant and intricately woven aesthetic experience—a retro radio broadcast, underground synth club and deeply personal time capsule. From the moment fans entered the venue, the world was established: purple-lit ambience, a neon logo, a wall for photos, merch tables stacked with cassettes and vinyl, and the brilliantly conceived “80s Kids Radio” playing over the speakers—complete with faux ads and an over-caffeinated DJ named Ronny Rocket hyping the cultural breakthroughs of 1985 with just enough ironic hindsight to make it both hilarious and subtly dark.

This level of detail speaks to the duo’s long-standing DIY ethos. As pioneers of the modern house concert movement, they’ve spent over a decade redefining what independent artists can be—building a sustainable, community-driven career outside traditional industry structures, releasing albums at a remarkable pace, and cultivating a fiercely loyal audience through their Misfit Stars ecosystem. That same spirit of independence and innovation fuels 80s Kids, which began almost accidentally during a pause between original album cycles and quickly evolved into a full-fledged band vibe, complete with two releases (80s Kids and the just released 80s Kids 2) and a touring identity all its own.

But it’s onstage where the concept completely ignites.

Curtis appears in a striking, high-voltage look that channels the raw energy of an underground ‘80s new wave club—sheer black mesh, high-waisted shorts, fishnets, over-the-knee boots, fingerless gloves, her silver-gray hair loose and electric under saturated pink and purple lights. Gone is the seated singer-songwriter; in her place is a commanding, kinetic performer who stalks the stage, dances between vocal lines, and radiates a fierce, unapologetic presence. Part Pat Benatar grit, part Berlin-era cool, she embodies the era without ever feeling like an impersonation.

Alongside her, Hill remains mostly silent but absolutely essential, triggering meticulously crafted synth arrangements via a Roland controller and custom-programmed soft synths that recreate the original sonic architecture of each track with stunning precision. And that’s one of the show’s most refreshing choices: there’s no ironic reinterpretation, no attempt to “update” the songs. Instead, Hill faithfully rebuilds them—allowing Curtis’ powerhouse voice, drenched in reverb and heartfelt intensity, to step into and often elevate the original performances.

The set leans heavily into British and European synth-pop—a-ha, Pet Shop Boys, Erasure, OMD, New Order, Yazoo—with only a few American detours, including a crowd-erupting “Dancing in the Dark” and a torchy, deeply felt take on Berlin’s “Take My Breath Away.” From the opening pulse of “Take on Me,” Curtis commands the room with boundless energy, hitting every soaring high note while channeling the wide-eyed exuberance of her younger self discovering this music for the first time.

One of the night’s most unexpected highlights is 80s Kids’ fiery rendition of Sheena Easton’s “Strut,” a track notably absent from the 80s Kids albums but perfectly suited to Curtis’ commanding stage presence. Leaning into the song’s sly, confrontational edge, she channels its proto-feminist spirit with a knowing wink—transforming what once felt like a playful ‘80s pushback against objectification into something that resonates even more sharply in a post-#MeToo cultural landscape. With a throbbing groove beneath her and a torchy, defiant vocal delivery, Curtis turns the performance into a moment of empowerment, strutting, twirling and locking eyes with the crowd as if reclaiming every lyric in real time.

Highlights come in rapid succession. “It’s a Sin” builds from a mystical opening into a raucous, dance-fueled explosion, with Curtis punctuating each refrain with sharp, physical movement. “A Little Respect” becomes a total audience clap-along, her voice effortlessly riding the track’s emotional peaks. “If You Leave” transforms the seated crowd into a communal dance floor, while “Bizarre Love Triangle” pulses with hypnotic intensity as both performers lock into its groove.

Just as infectious is their take on The Human League’s “Don’t You Want Me,” which becomes a playful, semi-theatrical duet. As Hill steps in with the filtered vocal in the second verse – interestingly taking the female role – Curtis reacts in real time, half incredulous, half amused, turning the song’s familiar back-and-forth into a bit of live storytelling. She leans into the drama, punctuating lines with expressive gestures and sly glances, transforming the synth-pop classics into a wildly retro yet freshly animated crowd pleasing singalong.  

Yet what truly elevates the evening is the storytelling woven throughout. Curtis is a natural, hilarious and disarmingly honest narrator, spinning anecdotes about Gen X identity, early encounters with technology, adolescent crushes and the cultural artifacts that shaped her worldview. A particularly memorable sequence leads into “Take My Breath Away,” where she recounts seeing Top Gun at age eleven, sitting between her parents while processing the film’s now-iconic love scene knowing her ex-beau is in the audience—an experience she describes with such vivid, comedic detail that the eventual performance lands with both humor and genuine reflective resonance.

Elsewhere, she riffs on everything from Short Circuit to menopause to mixtapes, framing her generation as “punks and weirdos, theater kids and band geeks” who found belonging through music. These moments aren’t filler—they’re connective tissue, grounding the performance in lived experience and reinforcing the idea that 80s Kids is as much about identity as it is about sound.

Musically, the band moves fluidly between high-energy dance numbers and more introspective ballads. “Broken Wings” showcases Curtis’ ability to pull back into a more restrained, haunting delivery, while “Only You” creates a hypnotic, almost intimate atmosphere. Even lighter tracks like “Always Something There to Remind Me” carry a sense of joy that balances their lyrical melancholy.

By the time the show closes with “The Promise” and a soaring, deeply felt “Forever Young,” the through-line becomes clear. This isn’t just a fond, powerfully produced look back - it’s reclamation. Curtis and Hill aren’t simply revisiting the music of their youth; they’re reinhabiting it, reinterpreting their own histories through it, and offering it back to an audience that, whether they lived it or not, can feel its enduring pulse.

In that sense, 80s Kids represents not just an artistic evolution for Shannon Curtis, but a kind of full-circle arrival. The young woman who once sang alone at a keyboard has become a fearless, totally embodied performer—one who understands that the songs we grow up with don’t just shape us; they stay with us, waiting for the moment we’re ready to truly live inside them.

Photo credit: Nancy SchoegglThe post 80s KIDS at The Virgil, Los Angeles, CA first appeared on Music Connection Magazine.

Palantir is reportedly helping the IRS investigate financial crimesThe IRS has used Palantir's software since at least 2018, The Intercept reports.

Top memecoin holders expected to attend Trump luncheonThe US President has confirmed his attendance for the Florida event, but it's unclear whether Tron founder Justin Sun, suing the Trump family's crypto business, will appear.

A Smart Thermostat For 120V Fan Coil SystemsMany HVAC systems in North America operate off 24V systems, which can be readily upgraded with off-the-shelf  smart thermostats quite easily. However, there are many people living in buildings with 120-volt fan coil units who aren’t so lucky. [mackswan] is one such individual, who set about building a smart thermostat to work in these situations.
The build is based around an ESP32 running ESPHome firmware. It rocks a 2.42″ OLED screen with automatic brightness adjustment for showing temperature and control parameters. There’s a rotary encoder on the front with an integrated button for control, with [mackswan] building the physical device to look as clean and neat as possible. The device uses a relay to switch the fan coil system on and off to heat or cool as needed, with an SHTC3 temperature and humidity sensor used to monitor current conditions in the home.
If you’re in an apartment building or live in a condo with this kind of setup, [mackswan’s] build might be just what you’re after to improve your HVAC control. We’ve featured plenty of other DIY thermostat hacks over the years, too. Meanwhile, if you’re finding creative ways to better heat and cool your living space, we’d love to hear about it on the tipsline!

Saint Mike DSP PitchCureMost vocal tuners make you choose. You can sound perfectly in tune, or you can sound human. PitchCure gives you both. It is a high-end vocal tuner. Some plugins turn real singing into robot sounds. PitchCure does not do this. It tracks the voice and keeps the real feeling safe. Words stay crisp. Breaths stay natural. The tuning feels subtle and natural. It is built for fast work. You do not have to draw lines on a screen. Find your key with one click. Pick your voice range. Then, turn the main knobs. Use Speed to fix bad notes. Turn up Humanize to keep the song's emotion. Use Transition for smooth slides between notes. Use the Color knob to add rich tone. You might want hidden tuning for a quiet song. You might want fast tracking in the vocal booth. Or, you might want vocals locked to your MIDI chords. PitchCure gives you great pitch that still sounds human. Features: - Transparent Tuning: Artifact-free, time-domain pitch shifting without metallic phase-smearing. - Vibrato Protection: The Humanize engine actively maps and preserves natural vibrato and emotional expression. - Fluid Transitions: Control the glide between notes—from instant hard-snaps to smooth, natural portamento. - Auto Key & Custom Scales: One-click key detection, or build your own scales using the interactive Edit Notes matrix. MIDI Target: Override the scale and force the vocal to follow the exact chords or melodies you play on your keyboard. One-Knob Color EQ: A built-in tilt EQ to instantly add chest warmth (Dark) or brilliant air (Bright). Live Tracking Ready: Near-zero latency in Real Time mode, or switch to HQ for maximum processing quality during mixdown. Ultra-Light CPU: Highly optimized to run at low CPU, easily handling massive multi-vocal sessions. Read More

From 75,000 AI tracks hitting Deezer daily to UMG’s copyright lawsuit against Quince… it’s MBW’s weekly round-upThe biggest headlines from the past few days...
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Tori Letzler and Steven Richard Davis showcase their film scoring setups
Expert composers Tori Letzler and Steven Richard Davis give us an exclusive tour of their two incredible home studios.

Stone Voices releases Retro Radio, a FREE AM radio simulator plugin
Retro Radio from Stone Voices is a free plugin for macOS and Windows that emulates the sound of vintage AM radios. The sound of AM radio is generally characterised by low fidelity and numerous flaws. But, if there’s one thing that we all share as music makers, it’s that we strive for imperfection! Joking aside, [...]
View post: Stone Voices releases Retro Radio, a FREE AM radio simulator plugin