
It really is hard to imagine the shape of pop and soul music without Barrett Strong. While he may not have been the household name that many of his peers were, where would popular music be without his hugely influential and soulful powerhouse that is ‘Money (That’s What I Want)’? There’s more too – he…
Imagine for a second, you’re driving past Abbey Road, and you nearly hit a pedestrian on that famous crossing. Imagine some more, that the pedestrian in question is Paul McCartney. The car in question is a Prius, so it’s kinda funny that he nearly got offed by a green motor. Also, let’s go with the…

Caroline Polacheck’s is an adventurous pop star, and that’s always a good thing. She’s recently hit out at lazy comparisons to Bjork and Kate Bush, preferring to make music under her own steam, which is fair enough. She’s got a big voice and likes to be mildly awkward, which we say as a compliment of…

Hey! Do you like new music and, not just new music, but slightly difficult music that’s fun? Well, you should check outy Rob Mazurek’s Exploding Star Orchestra newbie, ‘Future Shaman’. Apply here if you like wonky jazz and post-rock. It’s discordant, good stuff. Mazurek is a composer/trumpeter and the Exploding Star Orchestra features Damon Locks…

We like a popstar making bold choices, and Sam Smith has been doing exactly that lately. It doesn’t matter whether you like the tunes or not, we should absolutely support a commercial artist when they lean into the experimental and off-kilter. Did you see them on SNL, with Sharon Stone draping themselves all over the…

It feels kinda shitty referring to a new artist as ‘Bjork’s daughter’, but needs must. Isadora Bjarkardottir Barney is her name, and she’s released her debut solo work as part of a comp showcasing Icelandic music. The comp is called ‘DRULLUMALL 4’ and Isadora’s track – ‘bergmál’ – is really good, you’ll be glad to…

The mighty Pet Shop Boys are all set to share some previously unreleased songs in April. It’s all part of a new thing they’re doing and that new thing is a book called ‘Annually’. The 2023 edition of the yearly release (hence the name) will be a 64-page hardback affair, containing journals, photos from their…

You can try and be as clever as you want, deep diving on this, that, and the other… but sometimes it’s just worth reminding yourself how great a band were. From Detroit, America’s greatest music city, Inner City was the brainchild of the great Kevin Saunderson and Paris Grey. Saunderson of course, was one of…

It’s not often you get new Steely Dan material to listen to, even moreso now that only Donald Fagen remains since Walter Becker shrugged off his mortal coil. However, there’s a new Steely Dan song to listen to! With The Dan were recording the hipsters’ favourite LP – ‘Gaucho’ – they recorded a track that…

Girl Ray, later this year, will release an album that absolutely deserves to be topping all kinds of charts and finishing toward the top of critic lists. We know this because the singles that have been released from it so far have all been unequivocally brilliant. They deserve all the success, truly. And they’ve just…

“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…
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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