The Pop Corporation

WORDS ABOUT MUSIC + POP CULTURE

  • RIP JOSEPH BYRD – A TRUE ONE-OFF

    After his father bought a mine in Tucson, Arizona, Joseph Byrd grew up and found himself drawn to music. Initially, it was vibraphone and accordion in pop groups, he soon branched out into local TV arrangements and college jazz combos. A talented kid, he found himself in a fellowship at Stanford, where he rubbed shoulders…

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  • SHOEGAZE DANIEL AVERY MIX

    You may know Daniel Avery for his smart techno music, but there’s more strings to his bow than thunderous beats and brain frazzling synths. To show that, he’s done a really nice shoegaze mix which is perfect for transporting you out of the gloomy weather at the tail end of 2025. While this mix may…

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  • WEYES BLOOD FEATURES ON SPELLING TRACK

    If you’ve been waiting impatiently for a new album from Weyes Blood, you need to chill your boots. All good things come in their own time. Of course, she featured on a Drugdealer track earlier in the year, but she’s also appearing on a new track from SPELLING. And yes, we kinda feel bad that…

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  • ORVILLE PECK RETURNS

    Orville Peck is one of the leading alt-country voices – thankfully, that means his musical choices, rather than simply branding him as ‘alternative’ because he isn’t a heterosexual man – although you’d be forgiven for thinking that’s the case. He’s got a new EP coming out on November 14th called ‘Appaloosa’ and there’s a song…

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  • VIAL’S GLAM GRUNGE

    A lot of punk has a hardcore or pop punk bent at the moment – makes sense given the early Noughties are officially retro and the kids are looking to the past for comfort. Well, it’s nice to see some other genres bleeding into the scene. We look to VIAL, who have put a single…

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  • DISCUSSING ROISIN MURPHY

    We wanted to write something about this Whole Thing with Roisin Murphy, but didn’t get much further than “why can’t some people just shut their mouths about other communities, especially ones who loved them so much?” Well, we just watched a very sensitive and well thought out video essay from The Last Mixed Tape, which…

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  • CHECK THE CONVENIENCE

    There’s a certain twang in alternative rock that really works the gears of music nerds. You look at Pavement, Television et al, and you find that the discordant guitars aren’t simply playing out of key, but makes you feel a bit smarter. It’s a cunning trick. Well, we got that feeling from the new song…

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  • FREE RANGE NOV 25

    Hello there. We remembered that listeners of our related radio show – FREE RANGE – might like to read the tracklisting for the show, instead of just listening to the words being pronounced badly throughout it. It’s the last show of the year before the round-up of 2025’s best music, so the last time where…

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  • SURPRISE NEW NONAME TRACK!

    We’re big fans of NONAME who is someone who absolutely marches to the beat of her own drum, and she’s at it again with a surprise new track! Called ‘Hundred Acres’, it appeared on the algorithm which did its job for once, and as you’d expect, it’s smart as hell, funky, irresistible chorus, and is…

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  • LANKUM WITH A HALLOWEEN TREAT

    If you’ve heard ‘Dig My Grave’ by Lankum, you’re probably still a but spun out by it (or thunderously turned on if that’s you’re thing) and it’s gothic bedlam. Well, they’re at it again with a little treat for Halloween (and the general state of the world, sadly) with a unique take on ‘Ghost Town’…

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STOP HOARDING TUNES


  • THE STORY OF KING CURTIS

    To many, King Curtis is the emotional saxophone at the start of Withnail & I, as his take on ‘A Whiter Shade Of Pale’ drifts over the two unfortunate souls in ’60s London. To others, he’s the blistering sound that made Aretha’s ‘Respect’ pop so hard, as well as ‘Yakety Yak’ by The Coasters and…

  • ELLIOTT SMITH’S TEENAGE BAND

    Elliott Smith has basically become something of an American Nick Drake – gone too soon and a voice for sensitive and introverted around the world’s bedrooms. Of course, there’s joy in both of their music and so much to love, but it’s the downer, depressed element that made both artists so enigmatic. And when you…

  • MORE UNEARTHED STEELY DAN

    By now, you’re probably aware of the unearthed and lost track ‘The Second Arrangement‘ by Gaucho-era Steely Dan seeing the light of day. This new bit of news isn’t quite that level, but it’s still fun stuff! A performance of ‘Reelin’ In The Years’ from the Midnight Special has turned up online and finds the…

  • CHECK OUT THE VEGAS SPHERE // PURE MADNESS

    Venues are every bit as interesting as the bands that play them, and there’s a new one over in Vegas which is psychedelically odd. It’s fun, even if a bit of a mind melter. Technically, it’s called the MSG Sphere (that’s Madison Square Garden, not the stuff you put in food) and it’s innards are…

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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.