Tag: music

Combining Marijuana And Music Enhances Medical Benefits, Reduces Prescription Drug Use And Boosts Emotions, Government-Funded Study Shows

A new government-funded study is putting quantifiable evidence behind the idea that marijuana use enhances the experience of listening to music. But the new research also suggests that the combination can bolster the therapeutic benefits of cannabis.

The study, published in the journal Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research and conducted by researchers at Dalhousie University and other schools in Canada, examined self-reported data from 122 marijuana consumers who completed an exhaustive, 176-question survey.

The findings support one of most anecdotally well-established effects of marijuana use: That is, “most participants viewed the combination of cannabis and music favorably, reporting enhanced relaxation, improved mood, and increased feelings of connection,” the paper says.

Marijuana use was further linked to “altered responses to imposed music in various settings and a heightened likelihood of using music during routine activities,” the research, which was partially funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, determined.

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Grammy-winning Democrat boasted about recruiting sex offender bandmate days before they performed together at school concert

Bobby Pulido, a Democrat and Grammy-award-winning musician performed at a middle school alongside a convicted sex offender bandmate.

Pulido’s close relationship with embattled accordionist Frankie Caballero is under increased scrutiny as his race for Congress heats up.

He is running against Texas Republican Monica De La Cruz in a crucial neck-and-neck race for control of the House of Representatives. Democrats only need to flip four seats to seize the majority.

The Democrat’s appearances with Caballero occurred both before and after he served a four-year sentence for indecent sexual contact with an eight-year-old girl from 2014-2017, the New York Post first reported.

In May 2018, one year after Caballero was released from prison and placed on Texas’ Public Sex Offender Website, Pulido boasted of recruiting Caballero to his band.

Days later, the Tejano singer played with Caballero at a benefit concert for a Texas middle school. Children were present at the concert held at the Richard R Flores Stadium, according to a report from Axios. 

The Daily Mail had previously reported on Pulido’s partnership with Caballero, but the middle school show was unknown until this week.

Caballero reportedly played with Pulido as long ago as the 1990s, when the accordionist faced other charges for sexual assault that were eventually dismissed.

He continued to be featured in Pulido’s shows from time to time until 2021.

His campaign manager, Abel Prado, previously told the Daily Mail in a statement: ‘Bobby extends his deepest sympathies and support to all of the victims involved.

‘Bobby was never made aware of Caballero’s sex offender registration and would never knowingly associate with anyone with that kind of history.’

But Pulido’s campaign has indicated that the singer was aware of some of his accordionist’s problems, acknowledging a struggle with ‘addiction.’

‘When Jimmy Montez management learned of Caballero’s criminal history in 2021 he was immediately fired and that relationship was severed.’ 

The Pulido campaign did not respond to the Daily Mail’s requests for comment about the school concert gig.

A spokesperson told Axios that Republicans planted the ‘nothing story’ and that Pulido is a ‘public figure who has been an open book for over 30 years.’

Comments from a 2019 podcast interview indicate that Pulido knew about his fellow musician’s brushes with the law. 

‘He can do anything with the accordion,’ Pulido said. ‘But get this, they locked him up. I remember when I started out, I went to get him out of jail.’

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Iran Sentences Singer Parastoo Ahmadi to 74 Lashings for Performing Without a Hijab

An Iranian singer, along with her production team, has been sentenced to 74 lashings for performing a patriotic song without a hijab in a viral video.

In 2024, Parastoo Ahmadi, age 29, livestreamed a video of her singing the patriotic song Az Khoone Javanane Vatan (From the Blood of the Youth of the Homeland) that went viral, generating millions of views. She and several musicians who performed with her was briefly detained before being released, but according to court documents obtained by The Guardian, she received a harsh and brutal punishment by the regime for not wearing a hijab.

According to court documents, the criminal court of Qom province sentenced the artists to flogging, a two-year ban on leaving the country and a two-year ban on engaging in artistic activities on charges that include offending public decency through the production and publication of “vulgar and immoral content” online.

Although the official judiciary news agency has yet to publish the ruling, rights groups and lawyers who reviewed the documents said the pattern of arrests and legal cases against artists publicly defying the regime reflects a broader effort to deter cultural dissent.

Bahar Ghandehari, the director of advocacy at the US-based Center for Human Rights in Iran, said that the punishment shows the severity of Iran’s human rights abuses.

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Biden-Appointed Judge Dismisses Kennedy Center Lawsuit Against Jazz Musician Who Canceled Christmas Eve Show in Hatred for Trump Name – Orders Center to Pay All Legal Fees

District of Columbia Superior Court Judge Tanya Jones Bosier, a Biden appointee, on Friday tossed out a breach-of-contract lawsuit filed by the Kennedy Center against jazz musician Chuck Redd.

The judge ordered the Kennedy Center to pay all of Redd’s legal fees and court costs after ruling there was no signed contract and that the case qualified as a Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation (SLAPP) under D.C. law.

As The Gateway Pundit previously reported in December 2025, Redd abruptly canceled his long-running free Christmas Eve Jazz Jam after the Kennedy Center Board of Trustees voted unanimously to rename the facility the Donald J. Trump and John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts.

The board acted to honor President Donald Trump’s transformative work in saving and revitalizing the once-troubled national performing arts center.

Former Kennedy Center President Ric Grenell called the cancellation exactly what it was: a “political stunt.” He sent Redd a letter giving “official notice that we will seek $1 million in damages from you for this political stunt” that harmed the nonprofit and the families who counted on the free Millennium Stage holiday tradition.

Now Judge Bosier has ruled the lawsuit itself was improper political retribution.

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More top artists drop out of Freedom 250 event

Headline musical artists slated to perform at the Great American State Fair on the National Mall as part of the 250th anniversary of the nation’s founding have withdrawn from the event amid backlash.

Poison’s Brett Michaels and country singer Martina McBride both withdrew from the event after other artists denied their involvement or withdrew due to political concerns.

Michaels stated that “what was presented to us as a celebration of our country has evolved into something much more divisive than what I agreed to be a part of.”

McBride, for her part, stated that she had been invited to perform under the premise of a non-partisan event, but said that assertion had proven “misleading.”

Their withdrawals followed Young MC, Morris Day & The Time, and C+C Music Factory confirming they would not participate after a Freedom 250 promotional post featured them as booked performers.

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Beatles manager Brian Epstein was murdered by US mafia, Reggie Kray claimed in newly unearthed interview

Reggie Kray has claimed that Brian Epstein was murdered on the orders of the American mafia, according to an unearthed prison interview revealed in a new book.

Epstein, the influential manager of The Beatles, was found dead at his Belgravia home in 1967.

At the time, a pathologist concluded he had accidentally overdosed on Carbrital, a sedative prescribed to treat his insomnia. 

However, Beatles biographer Philip Norman’s new book suggests the circumstances surrounding Epstein’s death may not be as straightforward as originally believed.

It raises the possibility that his death could have been connected to a failed US merchandising arrangement, which left several American businesses facing serious financial losses.

In a 1985 interview conducted at Parkhurst prison by Liverpool Echo journalist Peter Trollope, Kray gave a striking account of Epstein’s death. 

‘It’s easy to kill someone and make it look like an overdose,’ he said.

The Kray twins, notorious figures in London’s criminal underworld, also claimed they had planned to blackmail Epstein using compromising photographs taken at parties they hosted in the 1960s.

At the time, homosexuality was illegal in Britain.   

‘We were just going to blackmail Epstein over the photographs, but then he goes and dies,’ Kray said.

He added that organised crime groups could act indirectly through established British criminals: ‘For us, the Mob were always in the background. They knew that if they wanted anything done in England, they could do it through the Krays. But it [Epstein] wasn’t us.’

Norman writes in his book, Mr Moonlight: Brian Epstein and the Making of the Beatles, that Kray appeared to suggest Epstein may have been targeted by the American mafia, rather than his own gang.

‘This ultimate insider in British organised crime seemingly knew for certain that Brian had been murdered, albeit not by his own ‘Firm’… but, he’d hinted, by the American mafia to which the Firm had been fraternally linked,’ Norman wrote.

The book also details how Epstein became embroiled in a controversial US merchandising deal connected to the Beatles band.

According to Norman, Epstein licensed a group of New York entrepreneurs to produce official merchandise, but the agreement was heavily weighted against him and the band, who reportedly received just 10 per cent of profits.

As the arrangement unravelled, Epstein is said to have attempted to renegotiate more favourable deals from London.

The confusion allegedly led major US retailers, including Macy’s and JCPenney, to cancel orders, leaving some small manufacturers financially exposed.

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Antifa activist who celebrated Charlie Kirk murder arrested on child sex crime charges in New York

A queer-identified Antifa activist who celebrated the assassination of Charlie Kirk has been arrested in upstate New York on suspicion of felony child sex crimes.

Justin Robert Stroup, 37, of Plattsburgh, N.Y., was arrested on April 30 by the New York State Police following a joint investigation involving Plattsburgh City Police and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). He allegedly shared child sex abuse material.

Stroup is a leftist activist and guitarist for the left-wing death metal band Dead Solace. The band announced on Instagram after the news of his arrest that they were immediately disbanding.

“This decision follows recent actions by a member that do not align with our values, our expectations of one another, or the respect we believe should exist within our community,” the band said in a statement.

In 2022, Dead Solace performed a charity concert in Burlington, Vt., co-organized by Planned Parenthood. 

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Leftist Mob Runs Trump Supporter Out of Concert: Crowd Erupts in Vulgar ‘F-ck Trump’ Chants Until They Flee in Viral Video

A Trump supporter wearing a MAGA hat was mercilessly harassed and driven from an Ashnikko concert at Hard Rock Live in Orlando after the liberal crowd spotted him and unleashed a torrent of obscene anti-Trump chants.

The disturbing incident occurred Tuesday night during the performer’s “Smoochies Tour” stop at the venue.

A viral TikTok video captured the moment the crowd noticed the man’s red MAGA hat, immediately jeering and shouting him down before breaking into repeated chants of “F-CK DONALD TRUMP! F-CK DONALD TRUMP!”

The supporter, clearly caught off guard, covered his face and quickly left the venue as the mob continued its tirade.

The TikTok user who posted the clip, who uses the name @ahorrorborealis, captioned the video, “He got so embarrassed he covered his face and left! Like literally WHO told you you could be HERE?!”

The video has since exploded online, with many on the left celebrating the public shaming of a conservative simply for wearing political apparel to a concert.

Reddit’s r/PublicFreakout thread was filled with mocking comments speculating the man was either “delusional” about Trump support or trying to provoke a fight.

Ashnikko announced that she is “queer,” “gender-fluid,” and uses she/they pronouns after facing backlash for “fetishizing” transgender people.

The Hollywood Mask reports, “In May 2021, Ashnikko came out as pansexual on Twitter while she was being criticized for fetishizing transgender people because of her song.”

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Rapper M.I.A. Kicked Off Kid Cudi Tour for Telling Audience: ‘I Never Thought I Would be Canceled for Being a Brown Republican Voter’

Kid Cudi has kicked rapper M.I.A. from his Rebel Ragers Tour after the British-Sri Lankan artist was heavily booed during a performance in Dallas over the weekend for going on a political rant that included admitting she had “been canceled for being a brown Republican voter.”

The incident occurred at the Dos Equis Pavilion, where M.I.A., whose real name is Mathangi Arulpragasam, was opening for Kid Cudi.

According to videos from the show, M.I.A. told the crowd, “I’ve been canceled for many reasons. I never thought I would be canceled for being a brown Republican voter.”

She then teased her song “Illegal,” saying, “Can’t do ‘Illegal’ ’cause some of you could be in the audience.”

When the crowd began booing, M.I.A. added, “All right, I’m illegal. Half of my team are not here because they didn’t get the visa, OK? I want you to know that. All right? So don’t listen to what the bots say on the internet, OK?”

Two days later, on Monday, Kid Cudi announced on Instagram that M.I.A. was off the tour.

In his statement to his 3.3 million followers, Cudi wrote:

TOUR UPDATE

M.I.A. is no longer on this tour. I told my management to send a notice to her team before we started tour that I didn’t want anything offensive at my shows, cuz I already knew what time it was, and I was assured things were understood. After the last couple shows, I’ve been flooded with messages from fans that were upset by her rants. This, to me, is very disappointing and I wont have someone on my tour making offensive remarks that upset my fanbase. Thank you for understanding.”

M.I.A. has long been known for her outspoken political views, including fierce defenses of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.

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Steven Tyler is headed to trial, following child sexual assault claims

A Los Angeles court has determined a child sexual assault case filed against Aerosmith frontman, Steven Tyler, will proceed to trial.

The singer is accused of grooming, sexually assaulting and impregnating a 16-year-old Julia Misley in the 1970s. The suit, first filed in 2022 in Torrance, claims he “used his role, status, and power as a well-known musician and rock star” to exploit Misley. The complaint also argues Tyler admitted to the alleged crimes in his own memoir, “Does the Noise in My Head Bother You?” where he refers to her as his “teen bride.”

Earlier this week, a judge dismissed most of the case, citing the statute of limitations in Massachusetts, where the pair lived during their three-year relationship. But they allegedly crossed state lines while Tyler toured the country with his band, including to California. Because of California’s Child Victims Act – a 2020 statute that allowed a “lookback window” where alleged victims can file lawsuits regardless of a statute of limitations – a portion of the case will still be tried.

“This is a massive win for Steven Tyler. Today, the Court has dismissed with prejudice 99.9% of the claims against Mr. Tyler in this case,” Tyler’s lawyer David Long-Daniels said in a statement to Billboard. “The court has decided that only one night, fifty-plus years ago, out of a three-year relationship is allowed to remain.”

New York has a similar statute that was recently employed by singer Casandra “Cassie” Ventura, in her case against Sean Combs. She filed a sex-trafficking and sexual assault lawsuit against the music mogul in 2023, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, just days before the expiration of a “lookback window.”

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