The Pop Corporation

WORDS ABOUT MUSIC + POP CULTURE

  • NICO IN PRESTON

    We’re not arsed if you already knew about this, because some of us didn’t. Below is a video of Nico (Velvet Underground/Warhol) playing in Preston, and that’s exciting. Nico’s time with the Velvets is well documented, but ever the Bohemian, she moved from romantic partner to country and was generally a nomad going where the…

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  • BARRETT STRONG RIP

    It really is hard to imagine the shape of pop and soul music without Barrett Strong. While he may not have been the household name that many of his peers were, where would popular music be without his hugely influential and soulful powerhouse that is ‘Money (That’s What I Want)’? There’s more too – he…

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  • Imagine for a second, you’re driving past Abbey Road, and you nearly hit a pedestrian on that famous crossing. Imagine some more, that the pedestrian in question is Paul McCartney. The car in question is a Prius, so it’s kinda funny that he nearly got offed by a green motor. Also, let’s go with the…

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  • GULP YOURSELF DAFT

    We all need cool stuff to read. Finding it in the soup of the algorithm can be tricky, with a bunch of former broadsheet sorts going solo, and trying to flog subscription content on their mailers and whatnot. No harm, no foul – but these things tend to skew toward the po-faced and overly earnest.…

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  • CAROLINE POLACHEK 2023?

    Caroline Polacheck’s is an adventurous pop star, and that’s always a good thing. She’s recently hit out at lazy comparisons to Bjork and Kate Bush, preferring to make music under her own steam, which is fair enough. She’s got a big voice and likes to be mildly awkward, which we say as a compliment of…

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  • ROB MAZUREK FUTURE SHAMAN

    Hey! Do you like new music and, not just new music, but slightly difficult music that’s fun? Well, you should check outy Rob Mazurek’s Exploding Star Orchestra newbie, ‘Future Shaman’. Apply here if you like wonky jazz and post-rock. It’s discordant, good stuff. Mazurek is a composer/trumpeter and the Exploding Star Orchestra features Damon Locks…

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  • SAM SMITH VERSUS SAUCEPAN

    We like a popstar making bold choices, and Sam Smith has been doing exactly that lately. It doesn’t matter whether you like the tunes or not, we should absolutely support a commercial artist when they lean into the experimental and off-kilter. Did you see them on SNL, with Sharon Stone draping themselves all over the…

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  • BJORK’S DAUGHTER RELEASES MUSIC

    It feels kinda shitty referring to a new artist as ‘Bjork’s daughter’, but needs must. Isadora Bjarkardottir Barney is her name, and she’s released her debut solo work as part of a comp showcasing Icelandic music. The comp is called ‘DRULLUMALL 4’ and Isadora’s track – ‘bergmál’ – is really good, you’ll be glad to…

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  • NEW PET SHOP BOYS DUE

    The mighty Pet Shop Boys are all set to share some previously unreleased songs in April. It’s all part of a new thing they’re doing and that new thing is a book called ‘Annually’. The 2023 edition of the yearly release (hence the name) will be a 64-page hardback affair, containing journals, photos from their…

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  • INNER CITY WERE GREAT

    You can try and be as clever as you want, deep diving on this, that, and the other… but sometimes it’s just worth reminding yourself how great a band were. From Detroit, America’s greatest music city, Inner City was the brainchild of the great Kevin Saunderson and Paris Grey. Saunderson of course, was one of…

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STOP HOARDING TUNES


  • NEW OBONGJAYAR IS ACE

    He’s based in the UK, but Nigerian born, Obongjayar – who is new to us – has announced a new record called ‘Paradise Now’, which we’ll all be able to hear in May. ‘Sweet Danger’ is the name of the new track, and honestly, whatever we were expecting from looking at a thumbnail, this ain’t…

  • MORE WORDPLAY FROM AESOP ROCK

    He’s one of the hardest lyricists on the planet, with almost unmatched wordplay for the most part, and with that, has come a legend cemented in the underground. He’s not likely to trouble a Top 40, but that’s not Aesop Rock’s M.O., so that’s fine. There’s a new track from a new album to listen…

  • MICHAEL HURLEY, RIP

    One of outsider folk’s greatest, Michael Hurley, has passed away aged 83. The sad news was confirmed by his family. Hurley was an influence on a host of artists and responsible for some of the greatest slices of American freak-country ever recorded. In a statement to Rolling Stone, they said: “It is with a resounding sadness…

  • TURNED OUT WU LYF WERE COMING BACK

    Remember us telling you that we thought WU LYF were coming back? Turns out they were. And if you like them, then there’s a new song to listen to and… well… a lot of words to read. We’ll get to that. This is their first new song in a decade, after the LP ‘Go Tell…

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