Is it fair to say 2022 is already a better music year than 2021? After all, 2021 might have been a year without an all-time classic album. But so far, The Weeknd has dropped an Album Of The Year contender with Dawn FM and now, Big Thief has delivered the masterpiece of an album, Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You. This week on Indiecast, Steven Hyden and Ian Cohen talk new LPs by Big Thief (24:12) and Black Country New Road, rank Spoon's discography (40:09), and discuss some indie music discourse (which includes Steve Albini defending... Juggalos?).

With the biggest sports event of the year coming up this Sunday, Hyden and Cohen touch on this year's Super Bowl (5:42). Though the stacked halftime performance with Dr. Dre, Eminem, Snoop Dogg, and Mary J. Blige is sure to be a showstopper, the NFL also signed The Chainsmokers onto a very weird, virtual TikTok tailgate event. This begs the question: "Does anyone lean into doing the most unlikeable thing more than The Chainsmokers?"

The NFL's bizarre tailgate aside, Indiecast wouldn't be the same without Cohen and Hyden suggesting some great reads. In this week's recommendation corner, Cohen spotlights the books Endless Endless: A Lo-Fi History of the Elephant 6 Mystery and Dilla Time: The Life and Afterlife of J Dilla (49:58).

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