The Pop Corporation

One of our favourite illustrators on the planet right now is the supremely talented and unique Carly Jean Andrews. Based out on the West Coast of the United States, she’s been winning hearts with her bold, brilliant art for a while now.

Her work touches on a host of things, including complex, ’70s inspired typeface work, the echoes of airbrushed disco and racy fantasy paperback covers, as well as her own inimitable collage style and self portraits that leave her in a league of her own.

Musicians and album-ish graphic design is found throughout her brilliant work, so we thought she’d be a perfect person to sit down with, for the latest in our 10 Songs With feature. She says of her ideal music: “a favourite song to me is a) One that I would strip to if I was a dancer and b) One that I would walk down the aisle to even though I don’t plan on getting married.”

We can all agree on that as a vibe.

If you want to buy a copy of Carly Jean’s book – The Dome: Throat Heart Mouth – then you can visit Big Cartel and grab a copy right now!

Add her on Instagram too, if you’d like to see her fabulous portraits and, if you’re in LA she hosts cool life-drawing classes too.

Without further ado, let’s find out what music has been making Carly Jean tick.

Bonnie Prince Billy and Cynthia Hopkins – 2/15/ New Partner

“This is a live mash up of 2/15 and New Partner. 2/15 lyrics come from the poem Gitanjali by Rabindranath Tagore. It opens with “when you ask me to sing, feels like my heart would burst with pride.” I love that.”

“New Partner is a song by Palace. Cynthia Hopkins accompanies him and plays the accordion. They harmonise so nicely. I do not like the versions of these songs separately. It’s just not the same!”

RK One – Crunk in Time

“This is my favourite mashup ever, I love mashups. I love Enya and I love Lil Jon. It’s just everything. It just fills me with light.”

Dorothy Moore – Misty Blue

“This is such a good broken heart song. It’s very visual too. “Baby…I should forget you…” I makes me so emotional. I don’t know, you can feel the mist.

Ros Sereysothea – I Will Starve Myself to Death 

“I love the pitch of this song. It’s so loud even when it’s quiet. It just itches my brain it feels so good. I love all of her songs and Cambodian Rock in general.”

Ry Cooder – Drive Like I’ve Never Been Hurt

“This song is so meaningful to me, it’s just perfect. The lyrics are so vulnerable. I like songs that seem like if the person sang it live, they might get choked up in the middle and the crowd would have to help them sing it.”

“This song also sounds like every instrument ever is playing over each other but it’s perfectly organised at the same time. I don’t know music terms, there’s probably a name for this.”

Jimi Jamison – I’m Always Here

“This song is used as the Baywatch theme song – it’s just one of the ultimate ’90s ballads to me. It obviously accompanies Pamela Anderson running in the credits, but the music also sounds Iike running. It makes me want to run… in an emotional way not like exercise.”

“I love the line “cause I’m always ready, I won’t let you outta my sight.” This is breaking the rules maybe but this song is equal to Meatloaf’s I Would Do Anything For Love, featuring Lorraine Crosby for me.”

Alanis Morissette – Hand In My Pocket

“This is the exactly what it feels like to be a girl. When she strays from the format of the song – I’m ____ but I’m _____, and goes “I’m wrong, and I’m sorry baby.“ UGH I tear up every time.”

“My older brother got this CD for his birthday when he was like 8 from another boy, ha! Seeing the album artwork – I was like, whoa something is happening with this woman and that something is gonna happen to me.”

Shania Twain – You’re Still The One

“Perfect love song, I listen to it multiple times a week – good mood or bad mood. You know when she’s like “They said, I bet”.”

Nina Simone – New World Coming

“I love how this song builds. All the instruments come in one by one. At 2:10 it starts to get really big and powerful. It actually is inspiring that things can change and rebuild but first the past has to die.”

“It’s beautiful like every Nina Simone song, it’s hard to choose one.”

Kate Bush – Wuthering Heights

“Okay… I just got done with my standing ovation striptease at the bar, it’s the 80’s and I’m (again) running in slow motion to my wedding, I’m late and I’m wearing a huge classic wedding dress but it’s hemmed to be really really short and I’m barefoot and tan.”

“The electric guitar solo at the end of this song is playing the whole time…”