
If you’ve been reading the music press this week, there was some alarm or peevish glee (depending on where you were doing your reading) that vinyl sales had dropped. A Billboard piece stated that vinyl sales dropped by 33%, which is not insignificant. That’s selling 34.9 million units, down to 23.3 million in 2024. Are…

At the country music awards, they didn’t nominate Beyonce for anything despite her all-conquering country LP and while many shrugged, many were irritated by the whole thing. The irritation came from all sides, but more importantly, so did the shrugs – apart from something for the shelf in the spare toilet or a sticker to…

There’s something about golden era rap that just loves a fancy action figure, to place on your shelves next to your collected essays from hip hop journalism, tchotchkes, rap comics and high-end record middles and the like. It’s very wholesome, honestly. Well, Doom’s ‘Mm… Food’ is getting a reissue for its anniversary on November 15th,…

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…

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…

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…

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…

Lambrini Girls are one of the most popular grot punk bands around right now, and they have a new single out called ‘God’s Country’ which goes after the state of the place we call home, and while it’s about as subtle as a brick in the teeth, you have to admire them for not hiding…

Iron Maiden are funny aren’t they? They’re real ale metal. It’s all little England flirting with Satan rock ‘n’ roll. There’s a place for it, obviously, but did you know just how much lead singer Bruce Dickinson cares about asthma? Now, for the uninitiated, Brucie Baby is the kind of rock ‘n’ roller that a…

Warpaint are ace. They’re psychedelic and groovy and don’t make any bad records. To celebrate 20 years together, they’ve put out a new song called ‘Common Blue’ which is as wonderful as ever. This is classic Warpaint, if you’re wondering and being a bit of a drag. Sidenote: Warpaint have the best drummer on the planet…

Too often, when a musician in the current period of music takes on something that’s akin to ’90s indie rock or grunge, they forget one crucial thing – the melody. If you look at The Breeders and the songs of Kurt Cobain, a love of tunes and hooks is evident, so when someone disaffectedly hides…
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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