Revisiting Jellyfish’s Pop Masterpiece ‘Spilt Milk’ 30 Years On
Spilt Milk is one of the great accomplishments of pop history: a colossus that bestrides pop music and crushed Jellyfish, the band that made it.
pop rock
A-ha’s Debut ‘Hunting High and Low’ Gets a Vinyl Deluxe Edition
Norwegian synthpop trio a-ha’s not-quite-classic 1985 debut Hunting High and Low is once again reissued in expanded form, this time on vinyl.
Pink’s ‘Trustfall’ Is Her Most Resistless Work Yet
Trustfall is the most vulnerable pop star Pink has been in years in a way that doesn’t sound formulated but rather honest and reflective.
Graham Coxon’s Memoir ‘Verse, Chorus, Monster!’ Sees Beyond the Blur
Graham Coxon could have made his memoir Verse, Chorus, Monster! a Blur / Britpop tell-all, but he wraps up honest observations in a lovely, conversational tone.
All Things Reconsidered/Featured: Top of Home Page/Features/Interviews/Music/Music Features/Pop Past
Revisiting Cotton Mather’s Classic ‘Kontiki’ 25 Years on with Robert Harrison
Cotton Mather’s Kontiki sports almost relentless invention, vitality, toughness, brightness, and irrepressible exuberance—a powder keg full of the joy of making music.
Carly Simon’s ‘No Secrets’ Created the Bond We Feel with Singer-Songwriter Music
Carly Simon’s No Secrets established what’s known as the “Carly Simon Principle”: the bond we feel with singer-songwriter music and how fans map their own meaning onto popular songs.
Carly Simon Performed at an Unpublicized Concert at Grand Central Station in 1995
Carly Simon’s literate, confessional songwriting opened the door for other artists to do the same, including Olivia Rodrigo, Sara Bareilles, and Taylor Swift.
All Things Reconsidered/Featured: Top of Home Page/Features/Interviews/Music/Music Features/Pop Past
Jeff Heiskell Discusses the Judybats’ Exquisite ‘Pain Makes You Beautiful’ at 30
Brisk, dreamy, achingly plaintive: Rarely has such a ghostly character been maintained so steadily, and so well, as on the Judybats’ ephemeral masterpiece.
One Direction’s ‘Take Me Home’ at 10: Patriarchy with a Pretty Face
One Direction’s Take Me Home proved that masculinity is not just based on toughness, stoicism, or any of the qualities traditionally associated with it.
Bala Desejo’s ‘SIM SIM SIM’ Is a Tale of Narcissism and Privilege
In Bala Desejo’s SIM SIM SIM I hear a lack of self-awareness and embarrassing naiveté that only the wellborn can afford to experience.
Natalia Lafourcade Finds the Heart in Darkness
Mexican pop-rock and folk singer-songwriter Natalia Lafourcade releases her first album of original songs in seven years and tells PopMatters all about it.
Chicago’s ‘Born For This Moment’ Leaves a Lasting Impression
If Chicago’s Born For This Moment is the last album of new material from the group, they exit with a welcome collection that imparts their worthy reputation.