
End of year round-ups can be a pretty predictable affair, with publications counting on fandoms of massive stars boosting their signal, be it an inflated spot on the chart, or a provocatively low spot designed to agitate. Of course, some massive releases are worthy of lofty positions, but we prefer to give spots to the…

On Monday, we’ll be announcing our LPs of 2023. We figured that this will leave it late enough that no-one will surprise us with a complete masterpiece and ruin everything. We’ve tried to go for albums that are away from the grain, but honestly, it’s what we were listening to the most, so we’re not…

We are prepping ourselves to do our End Of Year lists, but it’s more of an emotional readying because they take ages to do. What doesn’t help is that everyone has started releasing Christmas songs to really give us a deadline. Thankfully, the one we’re sharing from Anastasia Coope is a little freaky gem. While…

Just the other day, everyone was sharing their Spotify Wrapped graphics and having a giggle and all that, but things were about to get tremendously serious at Spotify HQ. This week, the streaming behemoth announced that they’d be sacking 17% of their staff. That’s around 1,500 people losing their pay just before Christmas. Pretty brutal.…

Kiss are no longer real people, and will be forever young as some imaginary thing. See, they’ve announced the ‘end of its physical existence’ because now, they’ll be digital avatars. They’ve copied ABBA obviously, because pop walks so rock can run. Anyway, it all feels a bit weird and this whole scenario is like when…

Kenya Grace apparently had a viral smash, but virality is something that passes us by so we’ll just have to accept what’s been said regarding all that. What we do know, however, is that Kenya’s new single ‘Paris’ is a slice of future pop that we like a whole bunch. Writing, producing and performing her…

Michael Head and The Red Elastic Band are bringing back the jangle, with Ciao Ciao Bambino! Recorded in West Kirby with Bill Ryder-Jones (him again!), Head says: “’Ciao Ciao Bambino’ came to me one night when I was thinking about the first words I ever heard. It was a song called ‘Ciao Ciao Bambino’ that my…

Instead of shrugging at the inevitability of everything being bad in the world of music, maybe we could all take a few minutes out of our day, to contribute to the future of it. If you want to have your say about the state – and future – of live music, then you’re invited to…

The new radio show of ours – Free Range – is out. Music from all over the globe as ever, with new music from Panda Bear, Hayley Williams’ granddad, Everything Is Recorded, Vulfmon, and loads more. There’s a tribute to dear Marianne Faithfull too, as well as the usual shenanigans with a dreadful AI co-host.…

Das Koolies – the band that are Super Furry Animals without Gruff – have more acid fried music out! It’s a mixture of Furry psych and acid house (so both kinds of acid then!) and is called ‘Som Bom Magnifico’ and will feature on the new LP, ‘Pando’, which is out in May. Go. Press…

Jamie XX has teamed up with Erykah Badu for a day-glo chugger that sounds like it’ll be a staple in the festival sets this summer. Jamie says: “A few years ago, I was playing at a Primavera afterparty in Barcelona with Erykah Badu. The decks stopped working and she just freestyled this incredible acapella performance,…
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.
POP CULTURE IS WORTH TALKING ABOUT.
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