The Pop Corporation
WORDS ABOUT MUSIC + POP CULTURE
-
We’re not arsed if you already knew about this, because some of us didn’t. Below is a video of Nico (Velvet Underground/Warhol) playing in Preston, and that’s exciting. Nico’s time with the Velvets is well documented, but ever the Bohemian, she moved from romantic partner to country and was generally a nomad going where the…
-
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…
-
We all need cool stuff to read. Finding it in the soup of the algorithm can be tricky, with a bunch of former broadsheet sorts going solo, and trying to flog subscription content on their mailers and whatnot. No harm, no foul – but these things tend to skew toward the po-faced and overly earnest.…
-
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…
STOP HOARDING TUNES
-
IVOR NOVELLO RUNDOWN
Do we care about awards these days? Especially in the music industry, they seem rather quaint and outdated, and great within the industry for sure – but should we care about who wins a BRIT any more than who gets Best New Restaurant at the Leicester City Council Awards? Either way, we’ll do a rundown…
-
BONEY M CHOSE STRANGE COVERS, MAN
Boney M are brilliant and if you look through their back catalogue, there is a lot of strange gold in there. And a load of gems, obviously. Now, we considered making a running, regular piece on strange or unlikely cover versions (and we still might) but for now, we’ll focus on Boney M. For example,…
-
STEVIE NICKS: ENDURES NOT LIKE OTHERS
What is it with Stevie Nicks? It doesn’t matter what generation you’re from, you either love her or are witnessing everyone else fall head-over-heels for her. In 2023, there’s scores of young women in floaty clothes twirling around on TikTok or wherever, fuelled by the power of Stevie Nicks. Now, of course, Stevie is made…
-
FRANK OCEAN, MAN, WHAT GIVES?
Frank Ocean is, occasionally, brilliant. Sometimes, you’ll hear glimpses of something approaching genius – ‘Pink & White’ and ‘Thinking Bout You’ are impossibly wonderful – but he can be frustrating. That’s fine. We allow people to be the artists they want to be, right? Provided of course, we’re allowed to be the fans we want…
Search for a Topic
Categories
- 10 SONGS WITH
- BEGINNER GUIDE
- CHECK THE HARD DRIVE
- COOL STUFF
- HERE'S A COOL SONG
- MIXES
- MOVIES
- NEW TUNES
- NEWS
- NOT MUSIC
- OPINION
- REAPPRAISAL CORNER
- REVIEWS
- WE FORGOT TO TAG THIS
Posted Recently
Submissions
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.
CHAT
POP CULTURE IS WORTH TALKING ABOUT.
CONTACT: HOWDYPOPCORPSATGMAILDOTCOM
The Pop Corporation 