Big Questions: Are Music Festivals Cooked? Was 2014 A Good Music Year? Will Steven Ever Win A Fantasy Albums Draft?

It's the most wonderful time of the year! We're giving out our annual Indiecasties awards for 2024. Steven and Ian start with a brief conversation about the modern state of Spin magazine (0:00) and some big-picture thoughts on 2024, and then get about the business of giving out their trophies for the best and worst things of this year (9:40). Categories include: Most Valuable Annoying Music Story (15:59), Feel-Good Story Of The Year (23:27), Most 2024 Album Of 2024 (28:57), Most Memory-Holed Album (37:28), Best Musician Catastrophe (47:28), The Hyped Album That Was Actually Really Good (54:15), The Most Egregiously Overrated Album On Year-End Lists (59:57), and the year's MVP (1:06:50).New episodes of Indiecast drop every Friday. Listen to Episode 219 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 X (formerly 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 and Ian begin this week's episode by recapping the new Yacht Rock documentary and Ian's Toto-related takeaways on the film that Steven worked on (0:00). Then they reflect on the week's deluge of year-end albums lists and they hash out the emerging trends, i.e. Brat is hot and Taylor Swift is not, and hip-hop is very chaotic (9:55). Finally, the guys dig into their own favorite albums of the year, sharing five choices each (25:44).New episodes of Indiecast drop every Friday. Listen to Episode 218 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 X (formerly 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 and Ian open this week's episode with a quick (actually kind of long!) "yay or nay" segment on Thanksgiving food. Does anyone actually like turkey? Let's find out (3:30)! After a quick Plug-cast on the yacht rock doc that Steven worked on (14:32), the guys confirm that Steven finally won an Fantasy Albums Draft thanks to the latest Father John Misty record (16:30).From there, they talk about the "surprise" Kendrick Lamar album that dropped last week, GNX, and what it means for the man's overall legacy (20:50). They also discuss the latest Coachella lineup and whether the festival is finally cooked (35:53). In the mailbag, they do an update on the "Dudes Rock!" QB conversation (48:51).In Recommendation Corner, Ian talks about the new Tegan And Sara documentary and Steven recommends the latest record from Office Culture (53:57).New episodes of Indiecast drop every Friday. Listen to Episode 217 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 X (formerly 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 and Ian begin this week's episode with some shocking news: It looks like Steven is going to win the Fantasy Albums Draft this quarter (1:57)! Big help comes courtesy of new albums out today from Michael Kiwanuka and Kim Deal of the Breeders, which have been very well reviewed. Then the guys talk about candidates for "Album Of The Year" according to critical consensus, including Charli XCX's Brat, Beyoncé's Cowboy Carter, MJ Lenderman's Manning Fireworks, and Cindy Lee's Diamond Jubilee (13:00). Then they dive into the new album from Father John Misty, Mahashmashana, and how it compares to his previous records (32:25).In the mailbag, the guys address one of their all-time best questions: Who is the most "dudes rock" quarterback of all time (45:24)?In Recommendation Corner, Ian talks about the Philly indie band 22° Halo while Steven stumps for the cult singer-songwriter Lee Baggett (56:11).New episodes of Indiecast drop every Friday. Listen to Episode 216 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 X (formerly 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, the guys recorded Indiecast a few days early, so they apologize in advance for missing any potential indie news. Steven was off to NYC for the film festival premiere of Yacht Rock: A Dockumentary — which he worked on as story producer — ahead of streaming on HBO/Max on November 29 (2:24). After a brief conversation about yacht rock, the guys talk about the exodus on social media to Bluesky and how the new-ish app feels like a Christian rock alternative to X/Twitter (10:09).Then they hash out an unfortunate trend: The end of Pitchfork Fest. They share memories of the festival and discuss how it was like a convention for music writers (17:57). From there, they review the recent Grammy nominations, some truly weird picks for Best New Artist, and some surprisingly good picks for Best Alternative Album (30:40). Finally, they discuss the meteoric rise of the indie-adjacent singer-songwriter Mk.gee and whether it annoys Alex G (43:00).In Recommendation Corner, Ian talks about the Chicago emo band Bottom Bracket and Steven recommends the LA post-punk quartet Bondo (53:52).New episodes of Indiecast drop every Friday. Listen to Episode 215 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 X (formerly 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 and Ian begin this week's episode by reflecting on this week's election (0:57). Steven just woke up from a week-long coma and he asked Ian to tell him who won. After they, delve into a less depressing topic: The music of The Cure! They talk about their strong new album, Songs Of A Lost World, and where it fits in the band's career. Then they talk about the best Cure albums, and also rank their top five Cure songs (16:02).In Recommendation Corner, Ian talks up the new Connor O'Malley comedy Rap World while Steven recommends the Jason Molina biography, Riding With The Ghost (51:58).New episodes of Indiecast drop every Friday. Listen to Episode 214 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 X (formerly 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 and Ian open today's episode with a quick Sportscast about the World Series and the Yankees fan who almost ripped Mookie Betts' arm off. Bad fans is actually an overarching theme of the show — the guys start with the upcoming election, and whether we're headed for a wave of anti-PC entertainment if Trump wins. Then they address this week's music-critic controversy involving a bad review of the new Halsey album, and the predictable freakout from chronically online fans.After that, they check in on the Fantasy Albums Draft and talk about the latest from Mount Eerie as well as Phil Elverum's career with The Microphones. Then they do a "Scene Report" segment on recent concerts by Knocked Loose and Drive-By Truckers.In the mailbag, the guys are asked about "time and place" bands, i.e. acts that were set up to make one perfect album and nothing else. Finally, in Recommendation Corner, Ian talks about the emo band Ben Quad while Steven endorses Philly power band 2nd Grade.New episodes of Indiecast drop every Friday. Listen to Episode 213 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 X (formerly 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 and Ian open this week's episode with some Halloween discourse, which unexpectedly dips into some Kindergarten Cop discourse (1:43). Then they turn to the Fantasy Albums Draft (11:23), which includes two new releases on Steven's team, Soccer Mommy's Evergreen (15:45) and Laura Marling's Patterns In Repeat. They also talk about the careers of both artists, and the state of 2010s era singer-songwriters in the mid-2020s. They also discuss the upcoming Tyler The Creator record, which drops on Monday, and the benefits of putting out music during the week rather than right before the weekend (24:01). From there, they talk about the recent Bon Iver EP Sable, which is the most straightforward music he's ever made, and his influence on contemporary artists (32:58).In the mailbag, they address a listener question about cover songs. How many is too many? Does Vampire Weekend tip into "too many territory" on their current tour (42:22)?In Recommendation Corner, Ian stumps for electronic artist Kelly Lee Owens and Steven talks up the Nashville trio Styrofoam Winos (48:52).New episodes of Indiecast drop every Friday. Listen to Episode 212 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 X (formerly 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 episode begins with a quick Sportscast on some of the biggest buffoons in sports, who happen to work in Philadelphia and New York (1:34). From there, Steven and Ian talk about the final album from Japandroids, Fate And Alcohol, and how it gives their career closure (9:30). Then they discuss two recent critically acclaimed metal albums from Blood Incantation and Chat Pile, and how the genre has evolved in the past decade (26:05).In the mailbag, a listener fact-checks Steven's recent rant about sports stadiums in Milwaukee (41:30). They also address an email about "slow burn" album openers on recent LPs by MJ Lenderman and Waxahatchee, and whether they set a good tone or are simply boring (45:20).In Recommendation Corner, Ian talks about the latest from Touche Amoré and Steven recommends the new album from Tim Heidecker (51:00).New episodes of Indiecast drop every Friday. Listen to Episode 211 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 X (formerly 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 welcomes Ian back to America after his trip to London. Ian regales us with tales of fish and chips-eating and musicals-watching (3:38), and then Steven lurches into a quick Sportscast about annoying NFL teams from New York City (5:33). (Sorry, New Jersey!) The guys also discuss their plans to see Foxing (Ian) and MJ Lenderman (Steven) this weekend (13:35), and the latest status of Ian's Fantasy Albums Draft (20:10).In the mailbag, the guys answer questions about the current state of Bandcamp (26:51), the best musical guests on The Simpsons (33:00), the best decade for music (38:48), and the artists the guys can't believe they haven't seen live yet (47:00).In Recommendation Corner, Ian stumps for veteran singer-songwriter Fred Thomas and Steven recommends the latest from the shape-shifting LA band Peel Dream Magazine (55:06).New episodes of Indiecast drop every Friday. Listen to Episode 210 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 X (formerly 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.