
“The Monkeys we loved are gone” wrote someone about the Arctic Monkeys headlining set at Glastonbury. “They used to be good” wrote another. Critics and fans alike had certain demands and preconceived notions, and it turns out that the Arctic Monkeys may have outmanoeuvred or outgrown fair weather music fans. Or do they just suck…

Whether you know Carwyn Ellis as Colorama, or through his Rio 18 work, being pals with The Pretenders, his Soho radio show, working with Edwin Collins, or just by being a humble, lovely man from Wales, you’ll know that his name means good music isn’t far away. Adding to his considerable bow already, he’s teamed…

Stan Culture – the act of feverishly following a band and defending and promoting them at every conceivable turn – is widespread and has been for a while now. Literally named after the Eminem track of the same name about a dangerously obsessive fan, countless internet pile-ons are present daily, as one fan group goes…

The death of any format is usually incorrect, but it’s true that trends can wax and wane. For years, vinyl was dying and of course, vinyl enthusiasts cleaned up down the record shops during the lean years while everyone else pressed and bought compact discs. Cassettes too, fell by the wayside with new tape releases…

One of the best hidden gems of the Noughties is Eiafuawn’s ‘Birds In The Ground’ LP and perfectly captured that weird need for music to provide a sense of unease as well as comfort in post 9/11 America. Think of how much we were all listening to Grandaddy and Will Oldham records, right? An off-shoot…

Our pal Aphex Twin is back with some new music, and it’s a mid-tempo breakbeat affair which won’t give you a nosebleed! Nice stuff, although we also like the nosebleed stuff too, for the record. It’s called ‘Blackbox Life Recorder 21f’ and it originally appeared on Soundcloud, then vanished, then reappeared on your favourite streaming…

Big Freedia always goes hard and there’s a new LP due called ‘Central City’, which is exciting! That’s out this Friday, so you don’t have to wait long, which is even better! She’s sharing a track to whet the whistle called ‘El Niño’,” which happens to feature fellow New Orleans legend Lil Wayne and longtime…

Let’s not mess around here – if you’re reading about Fonteyn on these pages, we’re going to go absolutely over the top about her. She’s brilliant. She is making exactly the kind of yearning, swoonsome ’70s pop that makes us tick. Previous outings have shown us the joys of sweet pop, huge soaring hooks and…

Kate Bush is great. What a treasure she is to have around. This was probably meant as an advert for Record Store Day (which is the Valentine’s Day for vinyl lovers, for better or worse), and the reissue of a Kate Bush track, which of course, we’ll talk about – but we’re more interested in…

Everyone’s favourite cosmic cowboys, The Hanging Stars, are coming back with a new LP and that’s always great news. While many Nu Country outfits wander past the gorgeous, ethereal nature of much of country music, not this lot. The new album is called ‘On A Golden Shore’ and you’ll be able to get your hands…

There’s a book coming out real soon that looks super interesting. We’re always in the market for learning something new, because who on earth can possibly know everything when it comes to music? The book looks at the pioneers of electronic music who were Latin American women, and it’s available to pre-order through Contingent Sounds…
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.
CONTACT: HOWDYPOPCORPSATGMAILDOTCOM