
“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

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…
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