The Pop Corporation

WORDS ABOUT MUSIC + POP CULTURE

  • REVISITING RIDE’S CARNIVAL OF LIGHT

    Even though Ride referred to their 1994 LP ‘Carnival of Light’ as “Carnival of Shite”, and being a departure from their usual jangle of noise and shoegaze, many fans regard it a lesser work. The Pop Corporation disagrees, and disagrees hard. You see, back in ’94, Britpop was kicking in and a number of groups…

    Read more

  • PARIS TEXAS / MAKING RAP ROCK A NON DIRTY WORD

    Perhaps it’s testament to Outkast that any new genre-blurring rap group that emerges immediately makes us think of them. The latest group who are surely getting tickled with that brush are young hot-shots, Paris Texas. That’s nothing to do with the film of the same name, so calm down country boys. It appears that Paris…

    Read more

  • PHIL HARTMAN // BEFORE COMEDY, LP SLEEVES!

    You’ll know Phil Hartman whether you know it or not. He was the voice of Simpsons character Troy McClure, Lionel Hutz, Duff Man and more. He was a pivotal member of the SNL cast, and featured in a number of movies and all that good stuff. Normally, any piece about Hartman soon moves into the…

    Read more

  • LISTEN TO KIDS PLAY SHE BLINDED ME WITH SCIENCE

    If you’re not following Mystery Discs on YouTube, you’re denying yourself one of the most brilliant and unusual record collections on the planet. With the tagline ‘obscure records are fun’, you’ll find high school bands and amateur outfits performing shaky, gorgeous heartfelt music, Steely Dan covers, big jazz, wonkiness and loads of magic treasure that…

    Read more

  • REVIEW // AVA ROCHA / NEKTAR

    It’s poor form to liken a new artist to a legend straight off the bat, but there’s a wriggling, unescapable something about Ava Rocha that reminds us of Gal Costa. Gal, is of course, one of the most legendary artists to come out of Brazil and the Tropicalia movement, so no pressure Ava. However, while…

    Read more

  • REVIEW // APHEX TWIN / BLACKBOX LIFE RECORDER

    Aphex Twin, we’re happy to say, is at it again. Even though he’s not been especially prolific with sensible, mainstreamish releases, he’s been quite busy with a number of lung busting, eye frying shows around the world. Of course, there’s a been a slew of things released for the ultra-dedicated. Like what? Well, devotees will…

    Read more

  • CITY POP // Hiroshi Nagai SOUND BURGER

    Hiroshi Nagai is the man who you may have seen the work of on a number of City Pop releases – for the uninitiated, that’s the cool ’70s and ’80s Japanese pop music that’s impossibly sophisticated; a bit like Yacht Rock with a smidge of disco and jazz fusion. Nagai’s work is synonymous with Japanese…

    Read more

  • REVIEW // TRAVIS SCOTT // UTOPIA

    2023 has been a lean year for big time, platinum plated releases, and with the fact that there’s been a sore lack of number ones for the most competitive genre on the planet (after all, hip hop is a contact sport), Travis Scott is here to generate the fuss. And is there much fuss to…

    Read more

  • NEW MACCA TOUR?

    Looks like Paul McCartney – the greatest living human on planet earth – is planning a big ol’ tour, which is great news for those of us who like seeing someone take yet another victory lap for a frankly absurd life of insane quality. On his social channels, it said ‘GOT TO GET YOU INTO…

    Read more




STOP HOARDING TUNES


  • THE RETURN OF TUNNG

    Once upon a time, music retreated away from the bombast of Britpop and US rap-rock, and all over the place, more introspective bedroom producers were making tricky electronic music and singer-songwriters gravitated toward the acid-folk of the ’70s, focusing more on cottage industries and community. Tunng managed to straddle both worlds, with critics dubbing their…

  • 2ND GRADE’S POWER POP REVIVAL!

    Look, most bands put a song out to let you know new things are coming, but not 2nd Grade. The power poppers from Philadelphia have chucked THREE whole songs at our ears and mercifully, they’re all really fun and filled with skuzzy pop hooks and jangly guitars. The revival of power pop is very welcome…

  • AMBIENT LENNON IS SURPRISINGLY GREAT

    Today is John Lennon’s birthday – he would have been 84 – and to celebrate this, we’ve been treated to something rather surprising. While a lot of repackaged music from musicians can feel a little exploitative at times, churning out old stuff without much new going on, that’s not the case with this latest Lennon…

  • GULP ISSUE LAUNCH PARTY

    The excellent GULP are having a party for the 8th instalment of their broadsheet counter-culture magazine, which features all the wonderful words, tidbits, diatribes and cool design we’ve come to expect from them now. The issue drops on Friday 11th October and you can get down in person at The New Cross in Manchester’s Northern…

Search for a Topic
Categories
Posted Recently
Submissions

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.