How the “Indian Liberace” Korla Pandit Swept Hollywood
Were it not for Hollywood credence Korla Pandit – who could only realize himself by pretending not to be who he was – would have been little more than Missouri snake oil.
pop past
Racializing Rock: The ’60s and the White Sounds of ‘Pet Sounds’
The Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds is not a racist text, but its impact was racist because it further encoded rock as a white genre, perpetuating the institutionalized prejudice that relegated African Americans to the margins of rock.
Sci-Fi ‘Seconds’ Offers a Second Chance At Life: Dare You Take It?
Think it’s right to want seconds in life? A second chance at life? Sci-fi thriller Seconds will have you think again.
Paul Simon’s ‘Graceland’ and Everlasting Redemption
Thirty-five years later, the redemption narrative driving Paul Simon’s Graceland has expanded to excuse the morally questionable decisions he made in recording the album.
Jan de Bont’s ‘Twister’ Wreaks Havoc for 25 Years
In the 25 years since Jan de Bont released Twister, it has not stopped tearing through my life. This is my devastating love story.
The 10 Best Electronic Albums of 2010
Let's take a journey to Pop Past and re-experience the best electronic albums from a decade ago. Many electronic sounds in 2010 remained in the margins, using the lexicon of its predecessors to define what they were.
Culture/Featured: Top of Home Page/Features/Love in the Time of Coronavirus/Music/SAVE/ IGNORE: popular
Nick Drake’s ‘Pink Moon’ and Finding a Place to Be During Coronavirus
Shuttered inside our homes, contending with the COVID-19 outbreak, Nick Drake's third album promises rebirth and renewal: the pink moon is coming.
Be Kind. Please Rewind: An Ode to the VCR
Like Netflix, the VCR diluted and transformed the film itself.
The Dust Blows Forward: ‘Trout Mask Replica’ at 50
In 1969, the deeply strange musician known as Captain Beefheart released an album that is still ahead of its time a half-century later. PopMatters spoke with musicians and writers about this landmark work of art and why it continues to fascinate.
Randy Newman and the Magic of the Unreliable Narrator
After 45 years, Randy Newman's Sail Away remains one of the most beautiful, difficult, evocative testimonies to lust, desire, and America's collective racist past.
A Connoisseur of Fine Things: Interim Thoughts on the Life and Career of Chubby Checker
While Bob Dylan was furiously writing “A Hard Rain’s a-Gonna Fall” Chubby Checker was busy with his Trinidadian dance for the teenybopper diaspora.
The Highway Is for Gamblers: Joyce Carol Oates, Bob Dylan, and Bruce Springsteen Take a One-way Trip
How Joyce Carol Oates, Bob Dylan, and Bruce Springsteen traveled out of a small town towards the great unknown.