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. After Steven’s rant, Ian shares his review of EA Sports College Football 25 and how it might impact his music writing career.
The guys then talk about new albums from Jack White and Childish Gambino, and the diverging paths both artists are taking in 2024. They also discuss two records that turned 10 this week, Joyce Manor’s Never Hungover Again and Alvvays’ Alvvays, and the value of song power over short-term cultural relevancy. In the mailbag, a listener asks Steven and Ian to recount their biggest musical disagreements.
In Recommendation Corner, Ian talks up the latest from Ben Seratan and Sinai Vessel while Steven stumps for Wand and American Aquarium.
New episodes of Indiecast drop every Friday. Listen to Episode 199 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.