The Pop Corporation
WORDS ABOUT MUSIC + POP CULTURE
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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…
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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…
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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.…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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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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…
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If you’re a fan of vinyl and Daniel Johnston – good news! His debut ‘Songs of Pain’ is going to appear on record for the first time and you can get your hands on it some time in March. There’s probably some pre-orders knocking around if you have a look. Originally, ‘Songs of Pain’ was…
STOP HOARDING TUNES
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AI + BOTS + SCAM
There’s clearly a scam afoot which needs addressing – streaming platforms are making money from A.I. music with inflated streaming numbers from bots. If the audience is removed, and platforms benefit from programs generating income for themselves, then that’s a con, right? We wrote about the AI group who had amassed millions of listens, but…
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OZZY SHOWERED IN LOVE
What can you write about Ozzy Osborne? A man who lived enough life for all of us put together. A pioneer. A funny swine. A heroic effort to hedonism. An unlikely reality TV star. The man who, with Black Sabbath, pretty much invented heavy metal. A great fella. While tributes pour in from every corner,…
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FREE RANGE / JULY 2025
Our new radio show has been uploaded and features music from Argentina, Malawi, Madagascar, the former Yugoslavia, Japan, and more places besides! There’s funky stuff, power pop, new releases including the new one from Tchotchke and a gem from Domenique Dumont! We’d include the tracklisting, but we encourage you to listen to the show and…
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NEW CATE LE BON + WORRYING ABOUT A DOG
The new Cate Le Bon track is out and it’s called ‘Is It Worth It (Happy Birthday)?’ and it’s a moody, psychedelic synth track and, predictably, it’s very good. The accompanying video is left-of-centre, and we spent a good chunk of it worrying about a fun little dog who gets tied to a bollard. We’re…
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