PopMatters
@popmatters.com
Essaying the pop culture that matters since 1999. Independent, women/LGBTQ-owned. Made by humans. PM is 26! linktr.ee/popmatters
Pinned
10 David Gray Songs You Need to Hear (That Aren't "Babylon") » PopMatters
David Gray's Life in Slow Motion is out in a new anniversary deluxe edition. We dig into his rich archive to recommend tunes that speak to songwriting brilliance.
tinyurl.com
10 David Gray Songs You Need to Hear (That Aren't "Babylon")
David Gray's 'Life in Slow Motion' is out in a new anniversary deluxe edition. We delve into his rich archive to recommend tunes that showcase his songwriting brilliance.
READ: tinyurl.com/DavidGray10
David Gray's 'Life in Slow Motion' is out in a new anniversary deluxe edition. We delve into his rich archive to recommend tunes that showcase his songwriting brilliance.
READ: tinyurl.com/DavidGray10
10 David Gray Songs You Need to Hear (That Aren't "Babylon")
David Gray's 'Life in Slow Motion' is out in a new anniversary deluxe edition. We delve into his rich archive to recommend tunes that showcase his songwriting brilliance.
READ: tinyurl.com/DavidGray10
David Gray's 'Life in Slow Motion' is out in a new anniversary deluxe edition. We delve into his rich archive to recommend tunes that showcase his songwriting brilliance.
READ: tinyurl.com/DavidGray10
10 David Gray Songs You Need to Hear (That Aren't "Babylon") » PopMatters
David Gray's Life in Slow Motion is out in a new anniversary deluxe edition. We dig into his rich archive to recommend tunes that speak to songwriting brilliance.
tinyurl.com
November 11, 2025 at 2:17 PM
10 David Gray Songs You Need to Hear (That Aren't "Babylon")
David Gray's 'Life in Slow Motion' is out in a new anniversary deluxe edition. We delve into his rich archive to recommend tunes that showcase his songwriting brilliance.
READ: tinyurl.com/DavidGray10
David Gray's 'Life in Slow Motion' is out in a new anniversary deluxe edition. We delve into his rich archive to recommend tunes that showcase his songwriting brilliance.
READ: tinyurl.com/DavidGray10
Reposted by PopMatters
Jewish immigrants music-saturated synagogues and rich theater, flavored with humor and lament, were a magical formula for the birth of the American Songbook.
The Jewish Immigrant Song » PopMatters
Jewish immigrants music-saturated synagogues and rich theater, flavored with humor and lament, were a magical formula for the birth of the American Songbook.
www.popmatters.com
November 7, 2025 at 7:58 PM
Jewish immigrants music-saturated synagogues and rich theater, flavored with humor and lament, were a magical formula for the birth of the American Songbook.
‘Die My Love’ is about destruction and the tearing down of things, including, sadly, the film itself.
READ: tinyurl.com/DMLRamsay
READ: tinyurl.com/DMLRamsay
'Die My Love' Is An Act of Self-Destruction » PopMatters
Die My Love is about destruction and the tearing down of things including, sadly, the film itself.
tinyurl.com
November 10, 2025 at 4:58 PM
‘Die My Love’ is about destruction and the tearing down of things, including, sadly, the film itself.
READ: tinyurl.com/DMLRamsay
READ: tinyurl.com/DMLRamsay
Tortoise's TOUCH is a cinematic record that is profoundly human and entirely spectral. It’s a world unto itself, filled with beautiful landmarks and perplexing questions.
TOUCH is a #PMPick [9/10] out now via @intlanthem.bsky.social
REVIEW: tinyurl.com/Tortoise25
TOUCH is a #PMPick [9/10] out now via @intlanthem.bsky.social
REVIEW: tinyurl.com/Tortoise25
Post-Rock Icons Tortoise Return with Transportive LP » PopMatters
Tortoise's Touch is a cinematic record that is profoundly human and entirely spectral. It's a world unto itself, filled with beautiful landmarks and perplexing questions.
tinyurl.com
November 10, 2025 at 3:54 PM
Tortoise's TOUCH is a cinematic record that is profoundly human and entirely spectral. It’s a world unto itself, filled with beautiful landmarks and perplexing questions.
TOUCH is a #PMPick [9/10] out now via @intlanthem.bsky.social
REVIEW: tinyurl.com/Tortoise25
TOUCH is a #PMPick [9/10] out now via @intlanthem.bsky.social
REVIEW: tinyurl.com/Tortoise25
The music is beautiful in jazz pianist Aaron Parks' new album, but the truth of 'By All Means' is more wonderful and complicated than that.
#PMPick out now via @bluenoterecords.bsky.social
REVIEW: tinyurl.com/AaronParks25
#PMPick out now via @bluenoterecords.bsky.social
REVIEW: tinyurl.com/AaronParks25
Aaron Parks Looks Back and Points Forward with Gorgeous LP » PopMatters
The music is beautiful in jazz pianist Aaron Parks' new album, but the truth of By All Means is more wonderful and complicated than that.
tinyurl.com
November 10, 2025 at 3:26 PM
The music is beautiful in jazz pianist Aaron Parks' new album, but the truth of 'By All Means' is more wonderful and complicated than that.
#PMPick out now via @bluenoterecords.bsky.social
REVIEW: tinyurl.com/AaronParks25
#PMPick out now via @bluenoterecords.bsky.social
REVIEW: tinyurl.com/AaronParks25
Laufey is a prodigious talent, but also immensely relatable: she's a nerd, and everyone was at the concert because, well, we're all nerds too. – @adrienbegrand.bsky.social
REVIEW: tinyurl.com/LaufeyLive25
REVIEW: tinyurl.com/LaufeyLive25
Laufey's Massive Rise Was Just a Matter of Time » PopMatters
Laufey is a prodigious talent, but also immensely relatable: she's a nerd, and everyone was at the show because, well, we're all nerds too.
tinyurl.com
November 10, 2025 at 2:57 PM
Laufey is a prodigious talent, but also immensely relatable: she's a nerd, and everyone was at the concert because, well, we're all nerds too. – @adrienbegrand.bsky.social
REVIEW: tinyurl.com/LaufeyLive25
REVIEW: tinyurl.com/LaufeyLive25
Working with the acclaimed JACK Quartet, the multitalented Travis Laplante unleashes compositions of intensity and beauty on 'String Quartets'.
'String Quartets' is a #PMPick [9/10] out now via @newamrecords.bsky.social
REVIEW: tinyurl.com/Laplante25
'String Quartets' is a #PMPick [9/10] out now via @newamrecords.bsky.social
REVIEW: tinyurl.com/Laplante25
Travis Laplante Creates Beautiful String Quartets » PopMatters
Working with the acclaimed JACK Quartet, the multitalented Travis Laplante unleashes compositions of intensity and beauty on String Quartets.
tinyurl.com
November 10, 2025 at 2:25 PM
Working with the acclaimed JACK Quartet, the multitalented Travis Laplante unleashes compositions of intensity and beauty on 'String Quartets'.
'String Quartets' is a #PMPick [9/10] out now via @newamrecords.bsky.social
REVIEW: tinyurl.com/Laplante25
'String Quartets' is a #PMPick [9/10] out now via @newamrecords.bsky.social
REVIEW: tinyurl.com/Laplante25
MetalMatters: The Best Metal Albums of November 2025
Yellow Eyes are in their finest moment, Barren Path rise from the ashes of Gridlink, Blut Aus Nord navigate dreamscapes, and more.
READ: tinyurl.com/BestMetal1125
Yellow Eyes are in their finest moment, Barren Path rise from the ashes of Gridlink, Blut Aus Nord navigate dreamscapes, and more.
READ: tinyurl.com/BestMetal1125
MetalMatters: The Best Metal Albums of November 2025 » PopMatters
In November's best metal, Yellow Eyes are in their finest moment, Barren Path rise from the ashes of Gridlink, and Blut Aus Nord navigate dreamscapes.
tinyurl.com
November 10, 2025 at 1:58 PM
MetalMatters: The Best Metal Albums of November 2025
Yellow Eyes are in their finest moment, Barren Path rise from the ashes of Gridlink, Blut Aus Nord navigate dreamscapes, and more.
READ: tinyurl.com/BestMetal1125
Yellow Eyes are in their finest moment, Barren Path rise from the ashes of Gridlink, Blut Aus Nord navigate dreamscapes, and more.
READ: tinyurl.com/BestMetal1125
Jewish immigrants music-saturated synagogues and rich theater, flavored with humor and lament, were a magical formula for the birth of the American Songbook.
The Jewish Immigrant Song » PopMatters
Jewish immigrants music-saturated synagogues and rich theater, flavored with humor and lament, were a magical formula for the birth of the American Songbook.
www.popmatters.com
November 7, 2025 at 7:58 PM
Jewish immigrants music-saturated synagogues and rich theater, flavored with humor and lament, were a magical formula for the birth of the American Songbook.
‘Chequered!’ is an obscure, long-out-of-print “psychedelic” album from 1971 by the most unlikely musician: Chubby Checker, the man behind the 1960 hit “The Twist”.
Chubby Checker's Unexpected Journey Into Psychedelia
Chequered! is an obscure, long-out-of-print psychedelic album from 1971 by the most unlikely musician: Chubby Checker, the man behind the 1960 hit "The Twist".
www.popmatters.com
November 7, 2025 at 7:10 PM
‘Chequered!’ is an obscure, long-out-of-print “psychedelic” album from 1971 by the most unlikely musician: Chubby Checker, the man behind the 1960 hit “The Twist”.
The Beach Boys’ biography ‘Surf’s Up’ makes sense of a clan of brothers who created some of the most dazzling pop of the 20th century.
READ: tinyurl.com/BeachBoysPD
READ: tinyurl.com/BeachBoysPD
The Beach Boys Sing for Peter Doggett » PopMatters
The Beach Boys' biography Surf's Up is Peter Doggett's way of making sense of a clan of brothers who created some of the most dazzling pop of the 20th century.
tinyurl.com
November 5, 2025 at 7:00 PM
The Beach Boys’ biography ‘Surf’s Up’ makes sense of a clan of brothers who created some of the most dazzling pop of the 20th century.
READ: tinyurl.com/BeachBoysPD
READ: tinyurl.com/BeachBoysPD
David Garland's 'The Spark' may be an expression of loss, but it also overflows with kindness, positivity, and the endless curiosity of a truly original artist.
REVIEW: tinyurl.com/DGarland25
REVIEW: tinyurl.com/DGarland25
David Garland Eloquently Navigates Loss on 'The Spark' » PopMatters
David Garland's The Spark may be an expression of loss, but it also overflows with kindness, positivity, and the endless curiosity of a truly original artist.
tinyurl.com
November 5, 2025 at 4:30 PM
David Garland's 'The Spark' may be an expression of loss, but it also overflows with kindness, positivity, and the endless curiosity of a truly original artist.
REVIEW: tinyurl.com/DGarland25
REVIEW: tinyurl.com/DGarland25
With their new album, the Dears add some complex sounds to expand their universe, even if their consistency was never in question.
@thedears.bsky.social's Life Is Beautiful! Life Is Beautiful! Life Is Beautiful! is out on 7 Nov.
REVIEW: tinyurl.com/TheDears25
@thedears.bsky.social's Life Is Beautiful! Life Is Beautiful! Life Is Beautiful! is out on 7 Nov.
REVIEW: tinyurl.com/TheDears25
The Dears Celebrate the Beauty Surrounding Them » PopMatters
With their new album, the Dears add some complex sounds to expand their universe, even if their consistency was never in question.
tinyurl.com
November 5, 2025 at 3:33 PM
With their new album, the Dears add some complex sounds to expand their universe, even if their consistency was never in question.
@thedears.bsky.social's Life Is Beautiful! Life Is Beautiful! Life Is Beautiful! is out on 7 Nov.
REVIEW: tinyurl.com/TheDears25
@thedears.bsky.social's Life Is Beautiful! Life Is Beautiful! Life Is Beautiful! is out on 7 Nov.
REVIEW: tinyurl.com/TheDears25
Naked Eyes' 1983 debut, 'Burning Bridges', is a good album for reflecting on our ironic modern world, as it can't help but wax nostalgic for the sincerity of the past.
READ: tinyurl.com/NakedEyes83
READ: tinyurl.com/NakedEyes83
Naked Eyes' 1983 Debut Delivers Sincerity in an Ironic World » PopMatters
Naked Eyes' 1983 debut, Burning Bridges, is a good album for reflecting on our ironic modern world, as it can't help but wax nostalgic for the sincerity of the past.
tinyurl.com
November 5, 2025 at 3:16 PM
Naked Eyes' 1983 debut, 'Burning Bridges', is a good album for reflecting on our ironic modern world, as it can't help but wax nostalgic for the sincerity of the past.
READ: tinyurl.com/NakedEyes83
READ: tinyurl.com/NakedEyes83
Sessa makes magic. Refreshing musical subtleties and emotional complexities make 'Peqeuna Vertigem de Amor' worth repeat listens.
#PMPick out 7 Nov via @mexicansummer.bsky.social
REVIEW: tinyurl.com/Sessa2025
#PMPick out 7 Nov via @mexicansummer.bsky.social
REVIEW: tinyurl.com/Sessa2025
Sessa Harnesses Soulful Sparks on Gorgeous LP » PopMatters
Sessa makes magic. Refreshing musical subtleties and emotional complexities make Peqeuna Vertigem de Amor worth repeat listens.
tinyurl.com
November 5, 2025 at 2:24 PM
Sessa makes magic. Refreshing musical subtleties and emotional complexities make 'Peqeuna Vertigem de Amor' worth repeat listens.
#PMPick out 7 Nov via @mexicansummer.bsky.social
REVIEW: tinyurl.com/Sessa2025
#PMPick out 7 Nov via @mexicansummer.bsky.social
REVIEW: tinyurl.com/Sessa2025
Whether intentionally or not, Babymetal's "Elevator Girl" feels like an unspoken pop culture echo of one of the most chilling and inexplicable deaths of the digital era.
READ: tinyurl.com/ElevGirl
READ: tinyurl.com/ElevGirl
Babymetal's "Elevator Girl" and Echoes of the Elisa Lam Case » PopMatters
Whether intentionally or not, Babymetal's "Elevator Girl" feels like an unspoken pop culture echo of one of the most chilling and inexplicable deaths of the digital era.
tinyurl.com
November 5, 2025 at 1:48 PM
Whether intentionally or not, Babymetal's "Elevator Girl" feels like an unspoken pop culture echo of one of the most chilling and inexplicable deaths of the digital era.
READ: tinyurl.com/ElevGirl
READ: tinyurl.com/ElevGirl
Reposted by PopMatters
How Vampires Became Rock Stars
The mythical creature of ancient folklore relentlessly feeds on our creative works, and through generations, we willingly succumb to the #vampire made rock star. #Halloween
READ: tinyurl.com/VmpRckStrs
The mythical creature of ancient folklore relentlessly feeds on our creative works, and through generations, we willingly succumb to the #vampire made rock star. #Halloween
READ: tinyurl.com/VmpRckStrs
How Vampires Became Rock Stars » PopMatters
The mythical creature of ancient folklore relentlessly feeds on our creative works, and through generations, we willingly succumb to the vampire made rock star.
tinyurl.com
October 30, 2025 at 6:56 PM
How Vampires Became Rock Stars
The mythical creature of ancient folklore relentlessly feeds on our creative works, and through generations, we willingly succumb to the #vampire made rock star. #Halloween
READ: tinyurl.com/VmpRckStrs
The mythical creature of ancient folklore relentlessly feeds on our creative works, and through generations, we willingly succumb to the #vampire made rock star. #Halloween
READ: tinyurl.com/VmpRckStrs
Reposted by PopMatters
Can the #NoKings protest humor shrivel away authoritarianism?
Can "No Kings" Protest Humor Shrivel Away Authoritarianism? » PopMatters
Besides billionaires—and without needing to beg or bribe—comedians and No Kings jesters may be the next highest demographic that is thriving during these Trump-led authoritarian times.
tinyurl.com
November 3, 2025 at 5:43 PM
Can the #NoKings protest humor shrivel away authoritarianism?
In Hollywood’s eternal battle between the puritan and the prurient, Arthur Hiller's ‘Promise Her Anything’ shows the puritan still holds the whip. Oh, baby.
READ: tinyurl.com/PrmsAnthng
READ: tinyurl.com/PrmsAnthng
'Promise Her Anything' Leaves Us Holding the Baby » PopMatters
In Hollywood's eternal battle between the puritan and the prurient, Promise Her Anything shows the puritan still holds the whip. Oh, baby.
tinyurl.com
November 4, 2025 at 6:06 PM
In Hollywood’s eternal battle between the puritan and the prurient, Arthur Hiller's ‘Promise Her Anything’ shows the puritan still holds the whip. Oh, baby.
READ: tinyurl.com/PrmsAnthng
READ: tinyurl.com/PrmsAnthng
Music theorist Steven Rings helps readers understand Bob Dylan the performer, not the lyricist or songwriter, in a welcome and indispensable addition to Dylan scholarship.
READ: tinyurl.com/DylanRings
READ: tinyurl.com/DylanRings
Bob Dylan Rings in His Ears » PopMatters
Music theorist Steven Rings helps readers understand Bob Dylan the performer, not the lyricist or songwriter, in a welcome and indispensable addition to Dylan scholarship.
tinyurl.com
November 4, 2025 at 5:41 PM
Music theorist Steven Rings helps readers understand Bob Dylan the performer, not the lyricist or songwriter, in a welcome and indispensable addition to Dylan scholarship.
READ: tinyurl.com/DylanRings
READ: tinyurl.com/DylanRings
If there’s an undercurrent throughout the Japanese horror in 'Daiei Gothic Vol. 2', it’s how women's suffering is so embedded in Japanese folklore.
READ: tinyurl.com/HorrorDaiei
READ: tinyurl.com/HorrorDaiei
Three Japanese Horror Classics Haunted by Women's Agony » PopMatters
If there’s an undercurrent throughout the Japanese horror in Daiei Gothic Vol. 2, it’s how women's suffering is so embedded in Japanese folklore.
tinyurl.com
November 4, 2025 at 4:38 PM
If there’s an undercurrent throughout the Japanese horror in 'Daiei Gothic Vol. 2', it’s how women's suffering is so embedded in Japanese folklore.
READ: tinyurl.com/HorrorDaiei
READ: tinyurl.com/HorrorDaiei
Wolf Parade's 2005 Debut Is Still a Revelation 20 Years Later
The group's haphazard formation and instant momentum yielded their most captivating work, including what would become their defining anthem.
READ: tinyurl.com/WolfParade05
The group's haphazard formation and instant momentum yielded their most captivating work, including what would become their defining anthem.
READ: tinyurl.com/WolfParade05
Wolf Parade's 2005 Debut Is Still a Revelation » PopMatters
Montreal band Wolf Parade's haphazard formation and instant momentum yielded their most captivating work, including what would become their defining anthem.
tinyurl.com
November 4, 2025 at 3:26 PM
Wolf Parade's 2005 Debut Is Still a Revelation 20 Years Later
The group's haphazard formation and instant momentum yielded their most captivating work, including what would become their defining anthem.
READ: tinyurl.com/WolfParade05
The group's haphazard formation and instant momentum yielded their most captivating work, including what would become their defining anthem.
READ: tinyurl.com/WolfParade05
These are the last songs of a dying man, #SouthernRock's Tommy Talton, joined by his peers. He's just doing what he loves one more time with his friends. #Americana
REVIEW: tinyurl.com/TommyTalton
REVIEW: tinyurl.com/TommyTalton
Tommy Talton's Posthumous Southern Tales » PopMatters
These are the last songs of a dying man, Tommy Talton, joined by his peers. He's just doing what he loves one more time with his friends.
tinyurl.com
November 4, 2025 at 2:16 PM
These are the last songs of a dying man, #SouthernRock's Tommy Talton, joined by his peers. He's just doing what he loves one more time with his friends. #Americana
REVIEW: tinyurl.com/TommyTalton
REVIEW: tinyurl.com/TommyTalton
Argentine singer Milo J's 'La Vida Era Más Corta' is a display of youth inserting itself into an ancient landscape with more pride in its history than anxiety about modernizing it. #PMPick
REVIEW: tinyurl.com/MiloJ2025
REVIEW: tinyurl.com/MiloJ2025
Milo J Shows Off the Beauty of Argentine Folk » PopMatters
Milo J's La Vida Era Más Corta is a display of youth inserting itself into an ancient landscape with more pride in its history than anxiety about modernizing it.
tinyurl.com
November 4, 2025 at 1:47 PM
Argentine singer Milo J's 'La Vida Era Más Corta' is a display of youth inserting itself into an ancient landscape with more pride in its history than anxiety about modernizing it. #PMPick
REVIEW: tinyurl.com/MiloJ2025
REVIEW: tinyurl.com/MiloJ2025
This music fascinates and scintillates.
'2' is an exciting new step for Yalla Miku as the group harness their collective chemistry and finds ways to elevate it.
REVIEW: tinyurl.com/YallaMiku
'2' is an exciting new step for Yalla Miku as the group harness their collective chemistry and finds ways to elevate it.
REVIEW: tinyurl.com/YallaMiku
Yalla Miku Pack a Cosmopolitan Punch on '2' » PopMatters
The music fascinates and scintillates. 2 is an exciting new step for Yalla Miku as the group harness their collective chemistry and finds ways to elevate it.
tinyurl.com
November 4, 2025 at 1:30 PM
This music fascinates and scintillates.
'2' is an exciting new step for Yalla Miku as the group harness their collective chemistry and finds ways to elevate it.
REVIEW: tinyurl.com/YallaMiku
'2' is an exciting new step for Yalla Miku as the group harness their collective chemistry and finds ways to elevate it.
REVIEW: tinyurl.com/YallaMiku