Technologies

How to Rock the Afterlife With Spotify and Liquid Death’s Diabolical New Device

Melt faces from beyond the grave.

Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to discuss a new music streaming device from Spotify and Liquid Death. The Eternal Playlist Urn, a music-playing cremation urn (yes, a real one) is meant to help you enjoy your music long after you shuffle off of this mortal coil.

«With the Eternal Playlist Urn, now the dead can listen to their favorite jams for all of eternity,» Liquid Death said in a statement. «Upgrade any post-life experience with this latest revolution in being dead.»

The urn has a wireless Bluetooth speaker embedded in the lid and can be charged with a USB-C cable. Liquid Death says there will be only 150 urns available for purchase, priced at $495 each.

The Eternal Playlist Urn is the latest creation from a beverage company that likes to push the envelope with a morbid motif. Its drink lineup includes flavors such as Berry It Alive, Convicted Melon and Severed Lime.

Admittedly, an urn seems an odd spot for music, which is likely the joke. Although some people bury their loved one’s urn with cremains inside, others keep Grandpa’s ashes displayed on their shelf or fireplace mantel, so at least that way, you’d be able to hear the tunes.

Create your afterlife playlist

You may not want to buy a musical cremation urn, but Spotify has another gimmick. It’ll help you create the playlist it thinks you’ll want to listen to after death. Go to the Eternal Playlist Generator on the Spotify mobile app, then select Let’s Go at the button at the bottom. It’ll create your eternal playlist after you answer some questions.

The first question was, «What’s your eternal vibe?» I chose Very, very chill. Then, «Fill in the blank: Rest in ——.» I chose Bass. «What’s your getting-ready-to-haunt music?» Pump up tracks. Lastly, «What’s your go-to ghost noise?» I selected Bwaah Mwahahaha.

Spotify then gave me my eternal playlist, which included Tears by Sabrina Carpenter, Attention by Charlie Puth and That’s What I Like by Bruno Mars, among others. It’s not a list of death-themed tunes, although there are certainly enough songs like Seasons in the Sun, Don’t Fear the Reaper and Tears in Heaven that could’ve made a death-themed list. Apparently, it’s supposed to be the list your cremains wouldn’t mind hearing over and over again.

I’m ready for the urn! Whenever that may be.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for March 12, #535

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for March 12, No. 535.

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Connections: Sports Edition is a tough one, with some very unusual categories. The blue one is pretty fun, actually. If you’re struggling with today’s puzzle but still want to solve it, read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by The Times. It doesn’t appear in the NYT Games app, but it does in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can play it for free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: City of Brotherly Love.

Green group hint: NBA star.

Blue group hint: Grr! Meow! Roar!

Purple group hint: Think alphabet.

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: Philadelphia teams.

Green group: Associated with Larry Bird.

Blue group: Sports figures with animal names.

Purple group: Sports figures whose first names sound like two letters.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is Philadelphia teams. The four answers are 76ers, Flyers, Penn and Temple.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is associated with Larry Bird. The four answers are Celtics, French Lick, Pacers and Sycamores.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is sports figures with animal names. The four answers are Bear Bryant, Cat Osterman, Catfish Hunter and Tiger Woods.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is sports figures whose first names sound like two letters. The four answers are Casey Stengel (KC), CeeDee Lamb (CD), Katie Ledecky (KT) and Vijay Singh (VJ).

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Thursday, March 12

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for March 12.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? I found 7-Across tricky. Read on for all the answers. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: Like jerk chicken and chicken vindaloo
Answer: SPICY

6A clue: Capital of Vietnam
Answer: HANOI

7A clue: «Well, would ya look at that!»
Answer: ILLBE

8A clue: Gem in an oyster
Answer: PEARL

9A clue: Thick roll of cash
Answer: WAD

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Part of a naval fleet
Answer: SHIP

2D clue: The «P» in I.P.A.
Answer: PALE

3D clue: Relative by marriage
Answer: INLAW

4D clue: King ___ (venomous snake)
Answer: COBRA

5D clue: Sign obeyed by merging traffic
Answer: YIELD

Technologies

TikTok to Let Apple Music Users Stream Full Songs Without Ever Leaving the App

TikTok and Apple Music come together to introduce two new features to the music listening experience.

If you’ve ever scrolled TikTok, caught a snippet of a tune, and thought, «I wish I could play this song all the way through,» this is for you. TikTok and Apple Music announced on Wednesday that they have partnered on two new features, Play Full Song and Listening Party. The goal is to offer listeners a seamless music listening experience without ever leaving the social media app.

Apple Music subscribers who discover a song on their TikTok For You Page or on the Sound Detail Page will be able to click Play Full Song to open the Apple Music player and listen to the track in its entirety. From there, subscribers to the music streaming service will be able to save the song as a favorite, add it to a playlist on Apple Music and listen to a customized stream of recommended songs.

When a full-length song is played, the stream will pay artists through Apple Music.

«Tapping into the music you love should feel effortless,» Ole Obermann, co-head of Apple Music, said in a statement. «With Play Full Song, Apple Music subscribers can move easily from discovering a track on TikTok to listening to it in full instantly, without breaking the flow. This integration not only makes it easier for fans to discover, listen to, and engage with the artists they love, but also creates a powerful new pathway for artists — turning moments of discovery into deeper connection and sustained engagement in one simple, seamless experience.»

Listening Party sounds somewhat like Spotify‘s feature of the same name. Fans join a shared, real-time session where they listen to the same tracks together and interact live, with the songs streamed through Apple Music inside TikTok. Musicians can also join and chat with their fans.

«TikTok is where music discovery and culture move at the speed of the community,» Tracy Gardner, global head of music business development at TikTok, said in a statement. «Thanks to Apple Music, Play Full Song gives fans a seamless way to go from discovery to full-length listening, and Listening Party provides a shared place to experience music together in real time. It’s all about bringing artists and fans closer, and turning shared moments into lasting connections.»

Play Full Song and Listening Party will launch globally on TikTok over the next few weeks.