I.C.Y.M.I.: Virtual Concerts, New Movies, and Co-Op Video Games to Occupy You at Home

Greetings, fellow pop culture aficionados, and welcome to week six of our I.C.Y.M.I. (In Case You Missed It) blog series. Our museum may be temporarily closed to visitors based on guidance from public health officials to slow the spread of coronavirus, but we're still here to recap a handful of trending tidbits from the past week in popular culture, in case you missed them.

Last Friday, with COVID-19 top of mind, we shared a handful of pop culture hits to hum while washing your hands for the CDC-recommended length of at least 20 seconds. This week, as several communities around the world commit to social distancing, we bring you a handful of ways to stay connected to your favorite artists, bands, museums (hey, that's us!), and more. Let's get down to it!

Virtual Concerts, Tours, and Online Content Offerings

The coronavirus has forced many artists to cancel or postpone upcoming shows and tour dates, but musicians are finding creative ways to bring live music to their fans (and in some cases, raise money for charities or individuals in need). NPR put together an exhaustive list of virtual concerts, which includes a mention of daily 4 p.m. PT streams from Ben Gibbard of the Bellingham band Death Cab for Cutie. Other major artists including John Legend, the Indigo Girls, and Common have all gotten into concerts at home, so it's definitely worth heading to your favorite artist's social media feed to see what they've been up to during this pandemic.

Moving to the museum world, Google Arts and Culture provides virtual tours to more than 2,500 galleries worldwide, which should be enough content to consume you (and, perhaps more importantly, your kids) for a while. Plus, this week we launched our 'MoPOP Don't Stop' campaign aimed at keeping our audience connected, engaged, and distracted during a difficult time. Throughout our temporary closure we'll be bringing you an influx of digital content offerings, an effort that started Friday with our 'MoPOP Madness' bracket where visitors can learn about and vote for their favorite exhibitions from our 20-year history.

What To Watch This Weekend

Since we're all likely spending a little bit more time at home these days, this section is starting to feel like an auto-include each week. If you're looking for a laugh (and let's be honest, who isn't right now?), UPROXX ranks the best comedy stand-up specials available to watch on Netflix. Universal Pictures, meanwhile, is taking some of its film releases currently in theaters and making them available to watch on demand (you bet I'm going to watch The Invisible Man from the comfort of my own home this weekend).

Co-Op Games To Play While Stuck at Home

Music and movies aren't the only mediums providing a much-needed distraction at this time. Lists of video games to play while you're stuck at home have been popping up across the interweb. We're particularly fond of this one from Nerdist, which focuses on co-op titles at a time when the companionship those type of games provide may be needed most. And, one of the games Nerdist highlights is Minecraft, which we know a little somethin' about here at MoPOP.

Now that we've filled you in on a few things, what do you feel we failed to mention? Let us know in the comments, or hit us up with a suggestion on Twitter @MoPOPSeattle. We'll look to include your ideas in our next edition of 'I.C.Y.M.I.' 

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