
Blur announced some massive Wembley gigs and that was that, right? Wrong. They have surprised everyone by announcing a new album! It’s called The Ballad of Darren and is out July 21 via Parlophone. Their first since ‘The Magic Whip’. And there’s a new song too, called ‘The Narcissist.’ Damon Albarn: “This is an aftershock record, reflection and…

Donald Trump’s use of ‘YMCA’ (and to a lesser degree, ‘Macho Man’) by the Village People has been a curious thing. For someone who is, and represents everything virulently homophobic and a whole other bunch of phobics in the US, it’s particularly strange that he’d plump for a song that is not only very camp,…

You’ve invariably picked up a Beatle LP, seen that famous green apple, got an emorous sense of well-being, and got on with your day (unless you’re one of those terrible hipsters who think it’s fashionable to hate The Beatles – you do you, boo). Anyway, the famous split apple across two sides of a Beatle…

The late Japanese composer and Yellow Magic Orchestra founder Ryuichi Sakamoto’s management have shared the last playlist compiled by the late, great musician. Calling it ‘Ryuichi’s Last Playlist’, they wrote: “We would like to share the playlist that Ryuichi had been privately compiling to be played at his own funeral to accompany his passing. He…

When SBTRKT were around last time, they were known for their forward thinking dancefloor chuggers, designed for those kids who weren’t necessarily into dance music and a bit frightened of Techno Lads on pills, but still wanted to scuff their sneakers up on the dirty dancefloors. ‘Pharaohs’ and ‘Wildlife’ were solid gold bangers, but in…

Very few of us are immune to a blast of breezy, pure pop. Or is it power pop? Whatever it is, we were very pleasantly surprised to find that Haircut 100 had returned with Nick Heyward and pals, with a new track called ‘The Unloving Plum’. With some very lovely horns, jangly guitars and loads…

Look. We get it. It’s nigh on impossible to get people to get people to talk and read about music. And this is not a boring hit job on the sensation that is Taylor Swift – she’s musically fine, and all. But c’mon. Do we need this?

When the world finds itself in dark times, art responds in a number of ways – one of the valuable replies to the horror of it all is the chance to escape. Lately, there’s been a number of great songs and albums that deal in dissolving your troubles away or living in pursuit of pleasure.…

Ashley Beedle’s involvement with X-Press 2, being namechecked in Daft Punk’s ‘Teachers’, sending Elton John’s ‘Are You Ready For Love?’ to number one, and decades of wonderful, rafters rattling DJ sets means that no-one should be in any doubt that he’s one of the legends of dance music. And when a legend needs your help,…
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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