Indiecast

Loyal listeners are aware that Steven is currently wiping the floor with Ian in their Fantasy Fall Albums draft (3:24). But Ian has a shot this week to make up some ground with the release of Javelin, the new critically acclaimed album by Sufjan Stevens (9:58). While Steven respects Sufjan's talent and stature in the indie world, he's never quite warmed up to the singer-songwriter, due to his undeniable "theater kid/youth pastor" vibes. Ian meanwhile is a big fan and considered Javelin a return to form. Hear the guys hash it out over one of indie's most beloved legacy acts.

From there the conversation shifts to Steven's recent trip to Las Vegas to see U2 play at the new state-of-the-art venue Sphere (24:55). We have all seen video clips of this thing by now, but what was it like to be there in person? And what other acts can possibly play this thing? Changing gears dramatically, the guys get down to talking about the amazing popularity of Duster, the '90s-era slowcore band that was mostly ignored in their time and now ranks as one of the most streamed bands of the era. What's it like to see your own musical past re-written by future generations? (37:19)

In Recommendation Corner (55:31), Ian talk about the emo revival band Bewilder while Steven recommends the emerging Minneapolis alt-rock outfit Prize Horse.

New episodes of Indiecast drop every Friday. Listen to Episode 158 and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. You can submit questions for Steve and Ian at [email protected], and make sure to follow us on Instagram and Twitter for all the latest news. We also recently launched a visualizer for our favorite Indiecast moments. Check those out here.

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Steven and Ian begin today's episode by reflecting on the news that John Darnielle and Lin-Manuel Miranda are apparently friends and consult each other on songwriting. They also tiptoe around their mixed feelings on both artists, while pointing out that they might be more alike than people want to admit. As if this wasn't enough to alienate part of the Indiecast audience, Steven and Ian also did a short Sportscast on the relationship between Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce (8:22).

After that, the guys get into a discussion about new albums by two big legacy acts, Wilco and Animal Collective. Their latest records, Cousin (for Wilco) and Isn't It Now? (Animal Collective), are worthy efforts. But is it possible for even great bands to wear out their audiences? How many new albums is "enough"? Steven and Ian get into a deep conversation about legacy bands and how we as listeners respond to them (18:39).

Then they segue into a discussion about two bands who are even older: The Replacements and Talking Heads (33:34). Both bands are having a moment right now due to seminal work from the mid-'80s being re-released, the remixed album Tim and the refurbished concert film Stop Making Sense. Steven wonders: Does Ian like or care about either band? How relevant are they as influences on contemporary music?

In Recommendation Corner (53:28), Ian talks up the Brooklyn emo band Good Looking Friends while Steven recommends the Chicago indie band Slow Pulp and the heartland rock singer-songwriter Jerry David DeCicca.

New episodes of Indiecast drop every Friday. Listen to Episode 157 here and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. You can submit questions for Steve and Ian at [email protected], and make sure to follow us on Instagram and Twitter for all the latest news. We also recently launched a visualizer for our favorite Indiecast moments. Check those out here.

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It's been a week since former Rolling Stone publisher Jann Wenner gave a disastrous interview to the New York Times to promote his upcoming book of classic rocker interviews, The Masters. Thankfully, it lingered just long enough in the news for Steven and Ian to talk about it on the pod. The guys reflect on Wenner's legacy, why he chose to say out loud what many assumed were his feelings about women and black musicians, and what this means for the discourse overall. Also, they talk about the surprise re-emergence of Spin's Bob Guccione Jr. aka the guy Axl Rose threatened to beat up in "Get In The Ring." (:25)

From there they talk about Laugh Track, the surprise new album by The National that dropped earlier this week (23:33). It's their second LP of 2023 after First Two Pages Of Frankenstein, and it sounds a lot like that record. Steven and Ian are somewhat lukewarm on both records, though Steven believes that a very good single National album could have been made from their best material. What's going on with this band, and have they lost the ability to self-edit?

In the mailbag, a listener takes the guys to task for talking about sports too much (33:43), and another letter writer asks an important CD-related question: jewel case or digipak? (41:52)

In Recommendation Corner (49:51), Ian talks about the Grimes-like singer-songwriter Yeule while Steven recommends the Summerteeth-like rock band Slaughter Beach, Dog.

New episodes of Indiecast drop every Friday. Listen to Episode 156 and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. You can submit questions for Steve and Ian at [email protected], and make sure to follow us on Instagram and Twitter for all the latest news. We also recently launched a visualizer for our favorite Indiecast moments. Check those out here.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Those following the Fall Albums Fantasy Draft are probably aware that Steven is off to a big lead, as Olivia Rodrigo's Guts (his no. 1 pick) is already one of the year's best reviewed albums. But how do Steven and Ian feel about it? After a mini "Sportscast" episode featuring a surprisingly contentious debate about NFL vs. college football (7:19), the guys get into the album (19:11). Here's the verdict: the "bubblegum rock" half of the record is really fun. But there are also a ton of melodramatic ballads with intense theater kid energy that are... less fun. Why are critics overlooking the weaknesses of Guts? And is it possible that Rodrigo is more of a singles artist than an album artist?

You know who is an albums artist? Mitski. While Steven wasn't a fan of her previous record, 2022's Laurel Hell, he loves her latest work, The Land Is Inhospitable And So Are We, which he considers one of the very best albums of the year (39:00). Ian also likes The Land, though he still prefers her mid-2010s punk/emo era to her current soft rock incarnation.

In Recommendation Corner, Ian talks up the latest album by the Chemical Brothers while Steven stumps for the new Wild Pink side project, Lilts.

New episodes of Indiecast drop every Friday. Listen to Episode 154 and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. You can submit questions for Steve and Ian at [email protected], and make sure to follow us on Instagram and Twitter for all the latest news. We also recently launched a visualizer for our favorite Indiecast moments. Check those out here.

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The NFL season is upon us, and Steven and Ian are marking the occasion by launching their first ever Fall Albums Fantasy Draft. Here's how it works — they each pick five albums that are coming out this fall with the object of accumulating the highest overall Metacritic score. In this scenario, Olivia Rodrigo is like Patrick Mahomes and Taylor Swift is like Justin Jefferson. Does that make sense? No? It will when you listen! (36:34)

Before that, Steven gives a recap of his weekend in Dayton for the 40th anniversary Guided By Voices shows (4:16). Was the line for the men's bathroom a disaster? Of course it was! Also, the guys delve into the online dust-up between Jeff Rosenstock and Steve Albini — and the Canadian punk band Propagandhi (?) — over music venues that take a portion of artists' merch sales. Finally, they pay tribute to the recently fallen icons Jimmy Buffett and Steve Harwell of Smash Mouth.

In Recommendation Corner (1:03:30) Ian talks up a new posthumous album from Sparklehorse while Steven recommends the latest power-pop gem from Cory Hanson.

New episodes of Indiecast drop every Friday. Listen to Episode 153 and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. You can submit questions for Steve and Ian at [email protected], and make sure to follow us on Instagram and Twitter for all the latest news. We also recently launched a visualizer for our favorite Indiecast moments. Check those out here.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week's Indiecast was recorded a few days earlier than usual, so if there was some major indie news that is not discussed, that is why. Why did the guys record early? Well, Steven shipped off to Dayton, Ohio to see the 40th anniversary shows for Guided By Voices. Before he left, he previewed the weekend — which he dubbed "45-Year-Old Indie Fan Woodstock" — with Ian (1:45).

After that, Steven and Ian review the new self-titled album from Zach Bryan, a country superstar who has some strong indie/emo guy tendencies (13:32). Then the guys discuss the new album by actual emo-adjacent star Jeff Rosenstock, who attempts to segue to a more mature sound with Hellmode. (30:20)

In Recommendation Corner (47:54), Ian talks about a new EP from the darkwave act Drab Majesty, while Steven recommends the 1980s era Australian indie band Died Pretty in light of the recent death of lead singer Ron Peno.

New episodes of Indiecast drop every Friday. Listen to Episode 153 here subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. You can submit questions for Steve and Ian at [email protected], and make sure to follow us on Instagram and Twitter for all the latest news. We also recently launched a visualizer for our favorite Indiecast moments. Check those out here.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week it was reported that Ed Droste of the fine art-rock band Grizzly Bear is now working as a therapist (:25). That this was news at all speaks to the weird navieté that we as indie-rock fans have about the financial realities of the musicians we love. Steven and Ian begin the episode by talking about the "Joe jobs" of indie-rock lifers, and the potential "indie star to therapist" pipe line.

From there, the guys talk about Steven's recent column on the best soundtrack albums of all-time, and why the golden age for soundtracks is from the mid-'80s to the early '00s. While it's true that a big film like Barbie can still spin off a successful soundtrack, the golden age of B and C-tier soundtracks — when an otherwise forgotten film like 1993's Judgment Night can be paired with a famous soundtrack — seems to be over (11:08).

After that, Steven and Ian review new albums by hardcore collective The Armed and the Chicago guitar-pop band Ratboys (27:39). In Recommendation Corner (56:01), Ian praises the bloghouse throwback DJ Sabrina The Teenage DJ and Steven gives the nod to the new solo album from Big Thief guitarist Buck Meek.

New episodes of Indiecast drop every Friday. Listen to Episode 152 here and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. You can submit questions for Steve and Ian at [email protected], and make sure to follow us on Instagram and Twitter for all the latest news. We also recently launched a visualizer for our favorite Indiecast moments. Check those out here.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Steven was on vacation for part of the week, so he was checked out of the discourse. When he returned, he kept seeing the same face in his social media feed — the "Ginger Mumford" himself, Oliver Anthony. The folk-country artist went mega-viral this week with his right-wing, anti-welfare song "Rich Men North Of Richmond." Steven asked Ian if he's heard the song, and about the recent upswing in reactionary hits and whether this is a path forward for new artists looking for a way to break.

After that, the guys talk about Ian's recent list of the greatest blog rock albums of all time. They debate Ian's choices, and compare that mid-aughts era when amateur curators were obsessed with hyping obscure bands with today's safer, superstar-obsessed era. Have things gotten better or worse?

In Recommendation Corner, Ian talks about the indie-pop band dreamTX while Steven recommends the Philadelphia country-rock outfit Florry.

New episodes of Indiecast drop every Friday. Listen to Episode 151 and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. You can submit questions for Steve and Ian at [email protected], and make sure to follow us on Instagram and Twitter for all the latest news. We also recently launched a visualizer for our favorite Indiecast moments. Check those out here.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Every summer, the music press tries to figure out the song of the summer. For Steven, this can be a tedious exercise that feels like one of those fake holidays made up by greeting card companies to sell product. Nevertheless, the discourse is welcome during an otherwise dead time of the year. So Steven and Ian are getting down to the task this week of determining the defining track of the season.

Before that, the guys discuss the latest dust-up between musicians and music critics to unfold online. What is at the heart of this conflict, and can it ever be resolved? Also, there's a conversation about memorable review-related feuds that Steven and Ian have had over the years, including the time that Donald Glover threatened to beat Ian up. (Steven never tires of hearing this story.)

Along with talking about the song of the summer, Steven and Ian also talk about patio music, a concept that has particularly interested Steven during the summer months. What makes a good patio music album? And is it possible to appreciate this concept if (like Ian) you don't have a patio and live in a place where it's always warm?

In Recommendation Corner, Ian talks about the new release from Spirit Night while Steven recommends an overlooked album from 2022 by Greg Freeman.

New episodes of Indiecast drop every Friday. Listen to Episode 150 and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. You can submit questions for Steve and Ian at [email protected], and make sure to follow us on Instagram and Twitter for all the latest news. We also recently launched a visualizer for our favorite Indiecast moments. Check those out here.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week, indie-rock institution Wilco announced a new album. It's called Cousin, and Steven and Ian naturally wondered: Is this a deliberate reference to The Bear? After all, the hit FX show is known for multiple Wilco needle drops. Did Jeff Tweedy return the favor? The verdict is "probably not," but it's fun to speculate about regardless (:28).

From there, they take a hard left to talk about Utopia, the new album by rapper Travis Scott. Utopia is the sort of big tent rap record that used to be common, but in 2023 the genre seems more insular than usual. Is this a temporary blip or a sign of things to come? And is Utopia — an album that includes more than a few signifiers that evoke Kanye West — a conscious attempt to make the kind of album that achieves critical and commercial acclaim? (9:45)

Another hard left: Steven tells Ian about "Young Love And Saturday Nights," a (terrible) new country song by Chris Young that borrows the riff from David Bowie's "Rebel Rebel." It's part of a trend called "interpolation pop" where songwriters go to song publishers in advance to get permission to use the spare parts of classic tunes. After that, the guys talk about the recent controversy concerning Lizzo (38:50), and give the "yay or nay" treatment to the Semisonic reunion (45:16).

In Recommendation Corner (51:24), Ian talks about the new George Clanton while Steven recommends the recent four-part Spector music documentary.

New episodes of Indiecast drop every Friday. Listen to Episode 149 and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. You can submit questions for Steve and Ian at [email protected], and make sure to follow us on Instagram and Twitter for all the latest news. We also recently launched a visualizer for our favorite Indiecast moments. Check those out here.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.