The Pop Corporation

WORDS ABOUT MUSIC + POP CULTURE

  • WHICH GRAMMY NOMS DO YOU REALLY CARE ABOUT?

    The 2024 Grammy nominations have been announced. Awards ceremonies suck, we know, we know. But honestly, more than ever, recent ceremonies gave seemed so wildly out of step with what people are listening to, and looking at this year’s Grammy nominations, we’re insert shrug emoji here. For starters – record of the year has the…

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  • ANNIE-CLAUDE DESCHÊNES SOUNDS LIKE YOU HOPE

    With a name like Annie-Claude Deschênes and a track called ‘Menace Minimale’ on a label called Italians Do It Better, you’d hope she’d be putting out pumping, darkwave synthpop, wouldn’t you? Good thing that this is exactly what we’re looking at here. She’s a member of Duchess Says, and this we think, is her first…

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  • NEW FRANK OCEAN? / HEARD THAT BEFORE, MATE

    Frank Ocean is not a reliable source. That’s not a criticism per se, but it is something of a fact given the amount of times he’s done things his own way, shied away from the churn of pop culture, and all the rest. We only mention that because you should at least be allowed to…

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  • SUPER SOUNDS OF THE SEVENTIES FROM SINKANE

    Look, there’s no point pretending that the soul music released during the 1970s isn’t one of mankind’s greatest ever achievements. With that in mind, it’s not surprising that so many artists draw inspiration from that period. Sinkane’s new one – in tandem with Tru Osborne – is exactly that, and called ‘Everything Is Everything’ and…

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  • TIERRA WHACK / BACK AND IT SLAPS

    Tierra Whack makes ace music and has confirmed that a new LP is on the way. She has a new single out to whet our whistles in the meantime, and it’s called ‘Chanel Pit’ and it’s a stop-start banger that has echoes of prime Missy Elliott on the drum machine beat, if more trappy sparse.…

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  • GIRLS ALOUD 2024

    We ranked every Girls Aloud single simply because we love them. We’d like to say we had inside information on them making a comeback, but we didn’t. We could pretend we did, but honesty is in such short supply in music journalism that we’re not going to try putting you on. The thing is though,…

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  • FREE RANGE NOVEMBER

    The sister to The Pop Corps is the Free Range radio show, which is available online for your listening pleasure whenever you like. Next month of course, will be an End Of Year affair, where we look at the best music released in 2023. We’ve covered a lot of the songs over the months on…

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  • COOL ERIC B & RAKIM FIGURES

    It’s great having collectibles on your shelf isn’t it? Whether it’s Funko Pops of your fave horror films, art bits and cassettes when you don’t have a tape player, whatever. With that in mind, wouldn’t you like to have Eric B & Rakim on your shelf? Course you would! Eric B & Rakim are amazing!…

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  • REFLECTIVE CLOUT AND FEEDING THE GIANTS

    Music is a funny ol’ business, and in the days of streaming, something interesting has happened. Thanks to algorithmic sentiments, it feels like it’s never been harder for smaller artists to reach an audience. Radio play is decided by committees and focus groups, which leaves us with a trace amount of DJs playing whatever they…

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  • SPOTIFY TO STOP PAYING SMALL BANDS

    Well, Spotify have decided the way to fix the broken royalties model is to stop paying small bands. Now, that’s not how they’ll be spinning it, but it’s the reality of the situation. See, Spotify have a problem with ‘noise’ tracks and those generating plays by making ‘non music’. So, to fix that, they’re going…

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STOP HOARDING TUNES


  • ROB MAZUREK FUTURE SHAMAN

    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…

  • SAM SMITH VERSUS SAUCEPAN

    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…

  • BJORK’S DAUGHTER RELEASES MUSIC

    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…

  • NEW PET SHOP BOYS DUE

    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…

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