Pop con, more writing and music!

Michael Barthel

19 Feb 2026

A lot has happened since my last update in July—let's just run 'em down.

I will be presenting on Miley Cyrus and politics as fandom at the 2026 Pop Conference in Los Angeles, March 12-14. More info here, with a schedule coming soon.
I released another EP as Apophra, which you can listen to and/or buy here: https://apophra.bandcamp.com/album/the-approach
I published a long piece on Billy Joel and listening across time, which you can find here: https://ihavethatonvinyl.com/essays/life-in-a-glass-house/
My piece "Known Unknowns" was nominated for Best of the Net!

Does Spring Breakers Have a Moral? (Bullett, 2013)

I was thinking the other day about Spring Breakers, and went looking for the piece I wrote about seeing it in a nearly-empty Indiana theater, only to find that the site has been stricken from the internet. Rereading it, I see some interesting parallels with my other writing on pop,

Known Unknowns + EP

I have a story out in Fish Barrel Review, called "Known Unknowns." I've also released an EP of experimental guitar/noise music as APOPHRA. You can hear it on all the streaming services, or get it on Bandcamp.

Vibrational Match

Looks like the publisher of this story has gone fully offline, so I’ll post it here! "What is that sound?" said Sutwin. "A Hobart CLeN?" “Can I get a consensus check?” said Ally. It was quiet in the room as we listened, but then, it

Skies of America (X-R-A-Y, 2024)

Very excited to have a short story in X-R-A-Y as part of their "sad Christmas" theme. Check it out here: https://xraylitmag.com/skies-of-america-by-mike-barthel/fiction/

Read more

Does Spring Breakers Have a Moral? (Bullett, 2013)

Known Unknowns + EP

Vibrational Match

Skies of America (X-R-A-Y, 2024)