The Pop Corporation

WORDS ABOUT MUSIC + POP CULTURE

  • PLAY EARTHGANG NOW

    EarthGang are great – they’re about as psychedelic as hip hop gets in the current climate, mixing elastic funk with future trap, and generally, they’re making people who yearn for the times of Missy and OutKast very happy indeed. ‘Mirrorland’ is one of the great modern hip hop LPs and they’ve been releasing stuff since…

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  • CSS TOUR!

    Arguably the best group to come from the Indie Sleaze period are Brazil’s CSS, who managed to manage their spontaneity with fabulous grooves and playfulness. For the first time in over a decade, they’re going to be doing a European tour called ‘It’s Been A Number Of Years’, which it has! Remember how good ‘Off…

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  • OH HI SZA, NEW MUSIC WE SEE

    SZA is a unique little soul and there’s usually a lot of excitement when she springs music on everyone. With that, there’s new music from her on the back of a bunch of wins at the Grammys. She teased a new song during a Mastercard commercial (get paid, we guess) and now she’s put it…

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  • SUGABABES SINGLES, RANKED

    Oh, the fractured and chequered history of the mighty Sugababes. There’s been six members, and you could only really argue that four of them really count, and the puritans, three. Obviously, the holy trinity are Mutya, Keisha and Siobhàn, but Heidi’s tenure involves some of the group’s most iconic moments, even if deep in our…

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  • GREAT JAPANESE JAZZ BOOK

    BBE Music put out good shit, and if you’ve heard their J-Jazz compilations, you’ll know that they’re some of the finest, most adventurous comps around. In addition to that, they’ve put out a brilliant book chronicling Japanese jazz called J Jazz: Free and Modern Jazz From Japan 1954-1988, which is a look at some super…

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  • KHRUANGBIN EASING BACK

    Khruangbin are back everyone, and yes, they’re wigs! The new song is called ‘May Ninth’ and, for fans of the trio’s sound, it sounds like Khruangbin, so no worries – they’ve not pivoted to sounding like dubstep or anything. It’s taken from the imminent ‘A La Sala’ and it’s gently psychedelic, woozy stuff. The album…

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  • IRAQ, NAPSTER, BOOMER KICKBACK, STEELY DAN VS BACKSTREET + WHAT?

    It’s 2001 and the USA, UK and pals are carpet bombing the Middle East. January, George Dubya Bush is sworn in thanks to some hanging chads, Apple launches iTunes and, later that year, 9/11 would change everything forever. While US democracy looked shaky, while war saw people taking to the streets in protest, people set…

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  • HEAVY ’84 BOOGIE

    When Mr Bongo say they’ve got a record in and describe it as “a heavy Boogie-Funk gem from 1984”, your ears should really prick up. That track is ‘Take A Chance’ by Marshall Titus (re-issued by Peoples Potential Unlimited), and it slaps. If you’re into super hot, sleazy ’80s disco that’s got a whiff of the…

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  • WRITING ABOUT THE NME WRITING ABOUT WORDLE

    It’s tough out here in these music criticism streets. If you have staff that need paying, you need to get the clicks in so the ad revenue, revenues. Is writing reviews about up-and-coming artists who might be future superstars going to cut it? Well, you have to wait ’til they become famous, and then link…

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  • TEMPTED TO MAKE JOKES ABOUT LIL JOHN’S MEDITATION ALBUM

    Lil John is a genius. Let’s first get that on record. His Miami Bass and Crunk work, huge club bangers and scene-stealing guest spots make him one of the most loved MCs. He’s also a super good sport, which only makes us love him more. When Chappelle sent him up with ‘AHWHUT?‘ and ‘OKAAAY‘, John…

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STOP HOARDING TUNES


  • SILENT MUSIC TO PROTEST AI

    A new album comprised of silent music has been released to protest against changes in copyright law, regarding AI. There’s some big hitters on it too, including Kate Bush, Annie Lennox and Damon Albarn, as well as Billy Ocean, Tori Amos, Hans Zimmer, and loads more. You can’t hear them of course, but still. Also…

  • REVIEW / MANDRAKE HANDSHAKE / EARTH SIZED WORLDS

    They call themselves a Flowerkraut Collective, because inventing genres for yourself is fun, but its a pretty handy Post-It for what the group are trying to achieve – an embellished, psychedelic rock that swerves between global psychedelia, German Kosmiche, and a whiff of Library electronics. A sprawling array of members that sometimes reaches double-digits, the…

  • MUMFORD & SONS CAN’T SHAKE THE FAR RIGHT

    Do you remember in 2021, when STOMP STOMP CLAP stadium folk group Mumford & Sons were thrown into disarray after it turned out one of their members was a bit fashy? Winston (Aubrey Aladar deBalkan) Marshall praised a book by Andy Ngo which was deemed ‘supremely dishonest’ in its criticisms of the anti-fascist movement, and…

  • ROBERTA FLACK, FAREWELL

    For fans of R&B, and soul music infused with jazz and classical, Roberta Flack was one of the greatest to ever do it. She had hits with Killing Me Softly, and the utterly gorgeous The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face, as well as the wonderful Feel Like Makin’ Love which would be covered…

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THERE’S NO MONEY IN THIS GAME ANYMORE, BUT IF YOU WANT TO WRITE SOMETHING FOR THE POP CORPS, YOU ARE WELCOME TO GET IN TOUCH. HAPPY HUNTING.