
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…

Often misunderstood, quite possibly because they’ve been ahead of the curve or sheer unwillingness to stick to a formula, Dexys (FKA Dexy’s Midnight Runners) are a joy behold. Kevin Rowland and his cohorts are back with a new LP and it’s a mixed bag judging by the singles. Rowland says that the title track –…

Everyone loves a bit of mellow, well-made, ’70s folk-rock. And if you don’t, that’s on you. Grow up. With that, it’s all well and good delving into the past and ferreting out forgotten gems – but what of the new bands carrying the torch? Well, let’s have a listen to Mapache. Mapache have announced a…

The BBC Archives have hit gold again, this time with a brilliant look back at a London pirate radio station back in 1982. You’ll hear killer reggae from those with radio shows made with pure love. Pre internet, pirate radio was vital because often, it was one of the only opportunities anyone got to hear…

One of the most underrated bands of the ’90s are Urusei Yatsura. They were noisy good fun and could deliver sugary sweet punk as well as delivering all manner of unholy noise on your ears. Hailing from Glasgow and with good hair, their gigs were chaos, with drumsticks used as blunt force to hit guitars…
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.
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