The boys are back! Steven and Ian catch up after the holiday break with a quick Sportscast about college football and the NFL [2:58]. Then they do their Fantasy Albums Draft for Q1 of 2025 and discussing upcoming records from FKA Twigs, The Weather Station, Ethel Cain, and more [18:45]. (Also, is it possible that Steven didn't win the Q4 2024 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). Categ…

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, …

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 Jo…

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" accor…

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 …

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…

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 m…

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…

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 f…

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 w…

Steven and Ian begin this week's episode by discussing Ian's upcoming trip to London, which is quickly interrupted by a quick rant by Steven about the (improving!) state of tour T-shirts (4:06). Then the guys commence a conversation about Pitchfork's recent list of the best albums of the 2020s, and what some notable exclusions and slights say about…

Steven and Ian begin this week's episode with the first ever "Furnace-cast" about the current state of Steven's heating and cooling units at his house. Both were being installed during this episode, which might have resulted in some post-punk-style background noise. What's more indie rock than that? After a quick Sportscast about the latest from St…

Steven and Ian begin today's episode by reacting to the recent Sean "Diddy" Combs news (1:22), and speculate on whether Get Him To The Greek is the most cancelable movie of all time. From there, they talk about the Father John Misty album announcement, and muse about the Pure Comedy album cycle (8:22). Steven then brings up Ian's great recent profi…

Steven and Ian open today's episode with some jokes (and some empathy!) directed at Dave Grohl. The president of rock is down this week, but the guys are not going to kick him. Steven then laments the state of the Green Bay Packers in a quick Sportscast, and the guys marvel at the unintentional comedy of Donald Trump in Politicscast. Steven gets re…

Steven begins today's episode by apologizing to Ian and the Sum 41 fan community for his recent disrespectful comments on the pod -- new information has come to light that made him rethink his snarkiness (0:58). Then there is a short Sportscast about the new NFL season (4:25), and more despair from Steven about the state of his fantasy albums draft…

Steven and Ian begin this week's episode by talking about a big potential reunion in the rock world. Of course we're referring to... TV On The Radio! The band appears to be teasing something right now, which the guys assume is probably their first concert dates in five years (1:38). After that, they of course talk about the return of Oasis. Steven …

Steven and Ian open this week's episode by talking about pontoon boats -- Steven was on one this week, and he listened to Steve Winwood's "Back In The High Life Again" on a loop. Ian shares his own pontoon story about someone named Uncle Zippy (2:05). After a brief look at the Fantasy Albums Draft (5:05) -- Steven has records from Sabrina Carpenter…

Steven and Ian begin today's episode with a review of Phoenix's performance at the Olympics last weekend, and the maddening idea that every band from the aughts is now being lumped into the made-up phenomenon known as "indie sleaze" (1:09). From there, they move on to the news that the proggy British post-punk band Black Midi has apparently broken …

Steven and Ian open this week's episode with a quick Politics-cast about Tim Walz, the VP candidate whose life resembles a middle-aged man's version of a Hold Steady song (2:05). From there, they discuss a range of not-quite-indie topics — the retirement of Aerosmith from the road (15:30), the explosion of Chappell Roan (24:33), and whether John Ma…

Today's episode begins with Steven and Ian dipping into Sportscast discourse about the Olympics and Jordan Love's recent historic NFL contract (2:20). After that, they delve into the week's new releases, which include a Smashing Pumpkins album not even Steven and Ian care about (11:25) and an Ian fantasy draft pick that might have been a reach. The…

Today's episode begins with an extended rant from Steven about a big pet peeve: The conflation of music taste with personal morality and/or ideology. This came up multiple times this week, first with Charli XCX's apparent endorsement of Kamala Harris and the deep investigation into JD Vance's Spotify playlists (2:17). After Steven's rant, Ian share…

Steven and Ian begin today's episode by reflecting on what they were doing when you-know-what happened last weekend. Then they get down to what is truly the biggest news of the week: The release of EA College Football 25, which is about to become Ian's obsession (6:00). After Video Game-cast, they pivot to a discussion about Tenacious D and their i…

Today is a very packed day for album releases, ranging from acclaimed indie acts (Clairo! Cassandra Jenkins! ) (34:00) to the opposite of acclaimed indie acts (a new Eric Clapton live album!) (10:15). Steven and Ian looked at the slate and decided to play FMK (2:00), touching on albums from Cigarettes After Sex (19:50), Eminem (17:00), Sturgill Sim…

Steven and Ian are true patriots, and they pay tribute to the ol' U.S. of A at the start of this week's episode by picking some of their favorite patio music albums of 2024 so far, as well as their picks for the greatest patio album of all time (2:29). This is the music you'll want to rock at your July 4th weekend gathering. From there, they do a q…

Steven and Ian begin today's episode by reflecting on the short-lived beef between Dave Grohl and Taylor Swift, which was initiated by a dad joke told on stage by the former about the latter (0:26). The guys also discuss the new album announcement from MJ Lenderman, and Steven tries not to be too annoying about what will likely be one of his favori…

Today's episode begins with Steven confronting Ian over a difficult subject: The big plate of donuts that Ian stole from Steven at his book event in Los Angeles last week (0:25). Will the guys be able to get past this? Yes, they will. But not before some serious donut shaming! After resolving the donut issue, they briefly discuss Steven's plans to …

Steven is on the road this week doing book promotion and other fun things, so it seemed like a perfect time for he and Ian to answer some listener emails. As always, our listeners stepped up with some amazing topics this week. First, the guys talk about the recent Sufjan Stevens Illinois musical and discuss other albums that might warrant the adapt…

After a brief Sportscast on the media meltdown over Caitlin Clark’s early stint in the WNBA (0:30), Steven and Ian have perhaps the least likely conversation in Indiecast history about Ian going to a Sarah McLachlan concert (!) and seeing a fight almost break out (!!) (7:21). They also talk about Steven’s upcoming book event on June 11 at Book Soup…

This week's episode begins with Steven talking about his visit to Brooklyn as part of the promotional tour for his new book, There Was Nothing You Could Do: Bruce Springsteen's "Born In The U.S.A." And The End Of The Heartland (7:15). They also commence a quick Sportscast to talk about the state of jinxes and reverse-jinxes concerning the Minnesota…

Steven and Ian open this week's episode by recapping Ian's epic technical fail that canceled last week's episode (0:26). They also revisit last week's lost Kings Of Leon conversation and this year's wealth of memory-holed albums (2:43). Finally, Steven expresses gratitude that his Sportscast rant about jinxing the Timberwolves in the lost episode n…

A short explanation from Steve about why there's no episode this week. 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 today's episode with a quick recap of the seemingly on-pause rap battle between Kendrick Lamar and Drake (0:25), as well as a Sportscast segment on Steven's bandwagon-jumping with the Minnesota Timberwolves (3:39). After that, they address the sad news about the death of Steve Albini at the age of 61 (16:11). They recap the mus…

Steven and Ian begin today's episode by catching up with "Euphoria," the diss track that Kendrick Lamar unleashed on Drake this week. Did Kendrick really confuse The Sixth Sense star Haley Joel Osment with Texas televangelist Joel Osteen? Looks like it! (0:30) They also check in with the buzzy Sabrina Carpenter pop hit "Espresso," which has signale…

Steven begins this episode like he has many other installments of Indiecast — by complaining to Ian about the performance of his Fantasy Albums team. In this instance, he thought he had a sure thing — a new Taylor Swift album — but after a predictable wave of early raves, Taylor’s Metacritic score has tumbled amid a critical backlash. What happened…

Steven and Ian begin this week’s episode by talking about shows they plan on seeing this weekend — Ian is going to check out the buzzy retro-pop master Cindy Lee (3:56) while Steven is venturing to Las Vegas to see Phish play the Sphere (0:29). They also briefly touch on the iffy-looking Taylor Swift album out today, The Tortured Poets Department, …

Steven and Ian open by talking about J. Cole’s botched diss track targeted at Kendrick Lamar (0:26). Is it lame to record a diss track and immediately apologize? Or is this actually a sign of personal growth? From there, the guys talk about the slumping ticket sales for Coachella (12:43). Is this a temporary bump or is the festival headed for a per…

This week's episode opens with Steven and Ian remembering the old Pitchfork "stunt" review of Jet's 2006 album Shine On (0:27), which was dissected this week in an article by The Ringer. While stunt reviews are kind of dumb, Steven and Ian still miss them a little. The guys also explore the indie-rock guest stars on Beyoncé's new blockbuster album …

Steven and Ian begin this week's episode in an unlikely place — a discussion of the 2010 comedy Get Him To The Greek, which in light of the recent (horrifying) Sean Combs' news might be the most canceled film of the 21st century. From there, they quickly pivot to two other films about musicians, the forthcoming Bob Dylan biopic starring Timothée Ch…

Steven and Ian begin this week's episode with a very non-indie rock topic — the story about Bruno Mars owing $50 million to a Las Vegas casino (4:29). They shoehorn a brief Sportscast about the emerging gambling scandal involving Shohei Ohtani, lamenting the bad side effects of gambling while also hoping to get some gambling sponsorships for the Fa…

Steven and Ian open this week's episode by rehashing a surprising trend from last week — Indiecast angered some people online! The (minor) mishap prompts a discussion about previous Indiecast-related controversies. After that they proceed to a quick Sportscast about the latest insanity over Aaron Rodgers, and Steven's inability to simply enjoy the …

Indiecast went on as usual last week, but Steven and Ian haven't actually recorded together in about two weeks. (It feels more like six months.) Steven was off recording the audiobook of his forthcoming Springsteen book There Was Nothing You Could Do (out May 28!), and he recounts the experience. (It was hard but rewarding!) (9:45). After a brief t…

Was this a big indie news week? Steven and Ian hope it wasn't. Steven was off recording the audiobook version of his forthcoming book There Was Nothing You Could Do (out May 28, you can pre-order now!) so the guys had to bank this episode ahead of time. And you can immediately tell this was a banked episode, as they spend several minutes talking ab…

Steven and Ian begin this week's episode with an impromptu Moviecast about the news that Sam Mendes is directing four separate biopics about each member of The Beatles. Steven has often said that he can't ever have too much Beatles content, but this might finally test that theory. The guys also try to think about music biopics that are actually goo…

Steven and Ian open this week's episode by doing something they promised themselves they wouldn't do — taking shots at the new Idles album out today, TANGK (Even the title is annoying). Of course they then proceed with a quick Sportscast about the Super Bowl in which Steven explains how he can't bring himself to hate the Kansas City Chiefs in their…

Steven and Ian start today's episode with an in-depth critical analysis of one of the hottest songs in pop right now, Ice Spice's "Think U The Shit (Fart)." Probably too in-depth, really. But the song is truly a rich text. From there they do the inevitable Sportscast on this weekend's Super Bowl game. Anyone who gets their sports news from indie ro…

Steven and Ian begin this week's episode by discussing the recent story about Talking Heads being offered $80 million to reunite for some festival gigs... and turning it down. Do they really hate each other that much? Or do they accept that you can't perform Stop Making Sense-style magic in your 70s? (2:34) The guys also apologize to the city of Sa…

Today's episode begins with a quick Sportscast in which Steven mourns the defeat of his surprisingly good Green Bay Packers and pays tribute to the lovable Detroit Lions (3:49). He and Ian also compare Detroit and San Francisco as music cities — it's Bob Seger vs. Huey Lewis time! Then they do a quick update of the winter Fantasy Albums Draft, as i…

Steven and Ian recorded this week's episode a day earlier than normal, which means that the guys just missed the big (and bad) news about Pitchfork suffering massive layoffs and being folded into GQ. So they got together later and recorded an emergency 30-minute segment about what this all means for the fragile music media ecosystem and put it befo…

Before Steven and Ian get into this week's episode, they had to hash out a longer-than-usual Sportscast about their respective football teams (the Packers and the Eagles) making the playoffs and the absolutely insane and hateful video Stephen A. Smith dropped about Jason Whitlock this week. Sports media in general is melting down this year, and the…