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PopMatters
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Essaying the pop culture that matters since 1999. Independent, women/LGBTQ-owned. Made by humans. PM is 26! linktr.ee/popmatters
The post-human speculative sci-fi series ‘Pantheon’ asks, can humanity recognize itself in its digital reflection?

READ: tinyurl.com/PantheonMrr
November 20, 2025 at 6:39 PM
The American Dream promises that anyone can build a better life through hard work. 'The Brutalist' demolishes this notion. –

READ: tinyurl.com/BrutalistWreck
November 20, 2025 at 3:42 PM
For all of AVTT/PTTN's shadows and splinters, it features some of the most heart-on-sleeve tunes that the Avett Brothers and Mike Patton have made. #PMPick

REVIEW: tinyurl.com/AVTT-PTTN
November 20, 2025 at 2:33 PM
In this excerpt from 'Rock of Pages', which delves into heavy metal videos, William S. Burroughs, some coming-of-age insights, and more, Jesse Kavadlo shows how heavy metal, literature, and the Cold War were bonded from the beginning.

READ: tinyurl.com/RockOfPages
November 19, 2025 at 5:22 PM
Much of 'hooke's law' is a cry for help from the voice within. keiyaA says she would do anything to see god or find a purpose. Like a spring, she is resilient. #PMPick

READ: tinyurl.com/keiyaAHookes
November 19, 2025 at 3:27 PM
At Brazil's MADA Festival, a new generation of pop and hip-hop visionaries channel a serious madness and turn psychedelic delirium into art.

READ: tinyurl.com/MADADelirium
November 19, 2025 at 2:45 PM
Amir ElSaffar’s New Quartet have pulled off the trick of creating something that moves and sounds like jazz, but with a much deeper resonance.

'Live at Pierre Boulez Saal' is a #PMPick out now.

READ: tinyurl.com/Elsaffar25
November 19, 2025 at 2:12 PM
Southside Johnny was a link to American pop music from the 1940s to the 1980s, when blues, soul, jazz, and garage rock created a new pop culture.

READ: tinyurl.com/SthsdJohnny
November 18, 2025 at 5:26 PM
INTERVIEW: For his current timeline-centric release, the R&B/pop polymath Cautious Clay navigates from dawn to dusk with sly ease, discussing his creative process.

READ: tinyurl.com/CautiousC25
November 18, 2025 at 1:35 PM
Bill Callahan’s “The Man I’m Supposed to Be” is a call to action, a carpe diem for the advanced middle-age malaise that will eventually come to us all. tinyurl.com/BCallahan25
November 17, 2025 at 4:19 PM
Alt-country's Boy Golden duets with newcomer Cat Clyde in the search for the meaning of love in "Cowboy Dreams".

'Best of Our Possible Lives' releases on 2/13/26 via @sixshooterrecords.bsky.social

WATCH: tinyurl.com/BoyGold25
November 17, 2025 at 3:57 PM
Brandi Carlile has returned to herself, but it doesn’t mean isolation; she is her own awareness, embracing community, knowing what to treasure, and making sure to speak it.

REVIEW: tinyurl.com/Brandi25
November 17, 2025 at 3:09 PM
One of Emmylou Harris's most unusual releases, SPYBOY expands her catalog, offering many revelatory glimpses into a unique facet of her artistry.

READ: www.popmatters.com/emmylou-harr...
November 17, 2025 at 2:42 PM
For listeners drawn to the art of hip-hop, the music meant to stand the test of time, Armand Hammer and the Alchemist's MERCY is a feast.

MERCY is a #PMPick out now via @backwoodzstudioz.bsky.social

REVIEW: tinyurl.com/Armand25
November 17, 2025 at 1:44 PM
GWAR have always existed on the edge of chaos, a grotesque blend of satire, violence, and spectacle, but now, it's predictable and choreographed.

READ: tinyurl.com/GWAR25
November 13, 2025 at 3:54 PM
GWAR have always existed on the edge of chaos, a grotesque blend of satire, violence, and spectacle, but now, it's predictable and choreographed.

READ: tinyurl.com/GWAR25
November 13, 2025 at 3:53 PM
Whitney's new album, 'Small Talk', is less about drifting through melancholy and more about staying still long enough to understand it.

#PMPick out now via @awalofficial.bsky.social

REVIEW: tinyurl.com/WhitneyLP25
November 13, 2025 at 3:07 PM
SPRINTS remain emotive but more polished and reflective, questioning rather than acting—though often admitting defeat as the songs grow louder.

'All That Is Over' is a #PMPick out now via @subpop.bsky.social

REVIEW: tinyurl.com/SPRINTS25
November 13, 2025 at 2:26 PM
Derived from a dream, the Mountain Goats' new musical tells the intimate and vivid tale of the lone survivors from a shipwrecked crew.

'Through This Fire Across From Peter Balkan' is out now.

REVIEW: tinyurl.com/MtnGoats25
November 13, 2025 at 1:56 PM
'Tremor' feels like the start of a brand new chapter for Daniel Avery. While he paints with a lot of familiar colors, there are also many new shades.

'Tremor' is a #PMPick out now via @dominorecordco.bsky.social

REVIEW: tinyurl.com/DAvery25
November 13, 2025 at 1:23 PM
Shudder to Think pick up where they left off with two new singles, “Thirst Walk” and “Playback”. tinyurl.com/k2etreuh
November 12, 2025 at 8:46 PM
INTERVIEW: Dandy diarist extraordinaire Dickon Edwards talks about how his diary writing is a queer, articulate, and pointed retort to the pressures of conformity.

READ: tinyurl.com/DndyDckns
October 28, 2025 at 8:50 PM
'Telepathic Fish: Trawling the Early '90s Ambient Underground' is a cleverly curated album that captures a unique DIY moment in UK electronic music. #PMPick

REVIEW: tinyurl.com/TeleFish
October 2, 2025 at 12:43 PM
While Nietzschean themes haunt the Harry Potter series, JK Rowling conveys her morality tale of the Übermensch.

READ: tinyurl.com/HPNietzsche
September 22, 2025 at 4:43 PM
Brad Mehldau's tribute to Elliott Smith, 'Ride Into the Sun', is brimming with incredible ideas and brilliant musicianship, and may be one of the finest albums in his illustrious discography.

#PMPick [9/10] out now via @nonesuch.com.

REVIEW: tinyurl.com/Mehldau25
September 8, 2025 at 3:06 PM