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IT’S A MEMOIR, IT’S A WRITING GUIDE, IT’S THE THORN NECKLACE: AN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH FRANCESCA LIA BLOCK

Posted on May 8, 2018

interview by Michael McCarthy When I first interviewed Francesca Lia Block during August of 2016, she was hard at work on a memoir, which I was very excited about. Since that 2016 interview, I’ve taken one of Francesca’s popular online courses. It was a lot of fun and quite educational, especially when it...

A EULOGY FOR MISTER WHITE, BELOVED CAT

Posted on May 5, 2018

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You may be wondering why I haven’t posted anything this week since I had written that I’d be back in the swing of things on April 30th. Well, there’s a reason why I haven’t posted anything since I’ve been back and that’s because my best friend, my cat Mister White, passed away a...

A WORKING VACATION…

Posted on Apr 24, 2018

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I just wanted to let you all know that I will resume Love is Pop activities, like conducting the interviews you all know and love, on the 30th of this month. I’m taking a little break so that I can work on editing Book of Shadows 4: In Memoriam. To subscribe to my...

MUCH MORE THAN THE VOICE: AN INTERVIEW WITH WHITNEY FENIMORE

Posted on Apr 16, 2018

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interview by Michael McCarthy The reason this interview is titled Much More Than The Voice is that today’s subject is Whitney Fenimore, who you may recall from season 13 of a little show called The Voice. She did a touching rendition of Drake’s “Hold On, We’re Going Home,” which she rearranged herself, at...

CONCERT + VENUE REVIEW: JULIANA HATFIELD WITH ABBIE BARRETT AT ONCE, SOMERVILLE, MA 4/6/18

Posted on Apr 10, 2018

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review and photos by Michael McCarthy This past Friday night I finally saw the legendary Juliana Hatfield – one of my favorite artists – in concert. Being a fellow Masshole (slang for Massachusetts resident), I should’ve seen her years ago. I’m honestly not sure why I didn’t. I’m sure I wanted to and...

DANSEZ DANS LE BLEU DE NUIT: AN INTERVIEW WITH BALOJI

Posted on Apr 10, 2018

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interview by Michael McCarthy Congolese-born Baloji’s new LP, 137 Avenue Kaniama, was released on March 23rd, 2018 via Bella Union. Prior to when the label approached me about the album, I’d never heard of Baloji, but then I suppose very few people here in the States would’ve heard of him. That’s exactly why...

EVERYTHING YOU EVER WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT JON FRATELLI: THE LOVE IS POP INTERVIEW

Posted on Apr 10, 2018

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interview by Michael McCarthy It’s been roughly 12 years since the release of The Fratellis’ universally loved debut album, Costello Music. Their newly released album, In Your Own Sweet Time, is their fifth and certainly one of their best. I was, honestly, blown away from the first time I heard it. I wouldn’t...

THE FOURTH TIME’S A CHARM: AN INTERVIEW WITH MICHAEL SWEET OF STRYPER

Posted on Apr 9, 2018

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by Michael McCarthy Yes, it may be hard to believe, but this is my fourth interview with Stryper frontman/co-lead guitarist Michael Sweet already. What can I say, he keeps putting out fantastic albums and I love to ask him questions about them. Between making records with Stryper, his solo projects and Sweet &...

#songoftheday / #amlistening = LOWELL: “WAR FACE”

Posted on Apr 6, 2018

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"I wear my war face," proudly proclaims captivating singer/songwriter Lowell on "War Face," the first single from her mind-blowing new album entitled Lone Wolf. The album is her second and was released today on 4/6/18 and my jaw is still on the floor after it dropped as I...

DARK -AND- LIGHT: AN INTERVIEW WITH LOUIS TORRE

Posted on Apr 5, 2018

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interview by Michael McCarthy You may be familiar with Louis Torre because you’ve heard his popular, stripped-back covers of songs like “There’s Nothing Holding Me Back” by Shawn Mendes, “Don’t Take The Money” by Bleachers and “Toxic” by Britney Spears. He’s released roughly two dozen covers already, and we discuss those at length,...

#songoftheday / #amlistening = SALT: “HELIUM”

Posted on Apr 3, 2018

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Today we have "Helium," the excellent second single from the artist simply known as Salt. I love the way the track blends synthesizers and snappy beats with her sometimes ethereal vocals. The artist she most reminds me of is the great Florence Welch (a.k.a. Florence + The...

IRELAND ON THE LINE: AN INTERVIEW WITH HARRY HUDSON TAYLOR

Posted on Apr 2, 2018

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interview by Michael McCarthy Hudson Taylor, the duo comprised of Harry and Alfie Hudson Taylor, is not easy to pin down. As I said in the first question below, I hear so many genres all at once when I hear their upbeat songs. Folk, Americana, Country, Pop – it’s all in there. The...

FROM L.A. TO THE SKIES: AN INTERVIEW WITH MARQ TORIEN OF BULLETBOYS

Posted on Mar 29, 2018

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interview by Michael McCarthy I’ve heard lots of different things about BulletBoys frontman Marq Torien over the years. Whether it was people accusing him of having LSD (lead singer disease) or other things, it seemed like he had a larger than life personality. I was even a bit intimidated going into this one,...

#songoftheday / #amlistening = BALOJI: “Peau de Chagrin/ Bleu de Nuit” (Contains one very brief image NSFW)

Posted on Mar 28, 2018

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Baloji's "Peau de Chagrin/ Bleu de Nuit" is one of the most stimulating videos I've ever seen. Lots of beautiful colors and spell-binding imagery that could only come from Africa. There are also quite a few disturbing images in this video that you won't be able to...

BULGARIA CALLING: AN INTERVIEW WITH RUTH KOLEVA

Posted on Mar 26, 2018

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interview by Michael McCarthy Ruth Koleva might be from Bulgaria, but after doing this interview I feel confident in saying that she speaks English better than I do. That’s the God’s honest truth. She makes better music, too! In other words, she’s quite the talented person, which you can discover by listening to...

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