Year: 2024

Generative artificial intelligence is getting pretty good, especially considering it’s a relatively young technology in terms of being a consumer-facing product. But, in terms of AI-made art being indistinguishable from human-created works at first glance, it’s not quite there yet. Fine details are often off, and it’s not yet at the point where it consistently portrays text in images correctly. The latter is why it sure looks like Kesha used AI for a new single cover.

Kesha recently announced a single called “Delusional,” and she did so by sharing the cover art on Instagram. The image features a bunch of leather handbags, with the word “delusional” spray-painted on them, strewn about a street. It seems whoever approved the art didn’t inspect it too closely, though, as the word is frequently spelled incorrectly, sometimes even written with characters that aren’t quite real letters.

Many people picked up on the AI-ness of the situation and shared their thoughts in the post’s comments. One user wrote, “why did u choose AI,” and another replied, “this AI is ruining our lives.” Somebody else commented, “Girl a selfie would’ve been better than AI art,” and another user said, “new single cover please mother shot by a human being.”

This comes after Tears For Fears faced backlash for using AI in a cover of their own in September.

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! 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. Then they dive into the new album from Father John Misty, Mahashmashana, and how it compares to his previous records.

In the mailbag, the guys address one of their all-time best questions: Who is the most “dudes rock” quarterback of all time?

In Recommendation Corner, Ian talks about the Philly indie band 22° Halo while Steven stumps for the cult singer-songwriter Lee Baggett.

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.

Lil Nas X has a life-altering crush in his new single “Need Dat Boy.” Over a slowly morphing beat that goes from moody ballad to an uptempo, drum-n-bass beat, Nas describes the feeling of yearning, admitting, “I been lookin’ for a muse, need a new persona / Put your picture on my wall, you my new Madonna.” However, as he reveals in the second verse, it isn’t just about satisfying his physical needs, but also kick-starting his creativity. “Man, f*ck this pity party,” he sneers. “When I’m back up I’m shootin’ shots at everybody.”

He already got started on that goal, clapping back at Azealia Banks after she called him washed up. Even before this, Nas wasn’t shy about supporting his claim in “Need Dat Boy” that “a lot of y’all are just my peers, y’all ain’t my friends,” noting that only Jack Harlow was down to collaborate with him after he came out.

Still, it seems the goal of his new album, Dreamboy, is more to recenter himself, seeking his own validation rather than that of peers, partners, or fans. His Dreamboy trailer and the album’s first single, “Light Again,” addressed this goal, and from the sounds of things, he’s well on his way.

You can listen to Lil Nas X’s new single, “Need Dat Boy,” above.

Dreamboy is coming soon via Columbia Records.

If anyone has the right to brag about having “the biggest” year in rap, Bossman Dlow certainly has a claim. The Port Salerno, Florida native had his biggest career break yet this year when his single “Get In With Me” became a runaway hit on TikTok in January, leading to his first placement on the Billboard Hot 100, just five years after starting rapping professionally. He followed up in February with “Mr Pot Scraper” and in March with his third mixtape, Mr Beat the Road. His latest single, “The Biggest P. 2,” celebrates all of that success while predicting even more ahead.

Bossman Dlow first started taking rap seriously in 2019, fresh off a stint in county jail. His debut mixtape, Too Slippery, came out in January 2023, leading to a record deal with Alamo Records that summer. In December, Too Slippery was re-released as 2 Slippery, while “Get In With Me” was initially released this year as a freestyle on Kreepin Through the Streetz, a Jacksonville-based YouTube series. The resulting buzz led to Dlow landing on the 2024 XXL Freshman class, being tapped as a feature Ciara, Nardo Wick, and Rob49, while singles like “Come Here” with Sexyy Red, “Finesse” with GloRilla, and “PJ” with Lil Baby helped further solidify Bossman Dlow’s rise.

Watch the video for “The Biggest, Pt. 2” above.

Blackpink member Rosé is building up to the release of her solo album, Rosie, and her latest video makes her intentions clear: She wants to be your “Number One Girl.” As the second single from her album, it’s also the second co-written by Bruno Mars, who also appeared on the lead single, “APT.” This time, though, they go in a different direction, delivering a heartfelt ballad, assisted by collaborators Amy Allen, D-Mile, Omer Fedi, Carter Lang, and Dylan Wiggins.

“APT.” was already a history maker, debuting at No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100, making Rosé the first female Korean solo artist to chart in the top ten. Meanwhile, it’s also been a worldwide hit, appearing on the Global 200 and holding the top spot for the past four weeks. Ahead of the album’s release, Rosé explained the album’s title: “Rosie is the name I allow my friends and family to call me. With this album, I hope you all feel that much closer to me.”

Meanwhile, the rollout for Rosie has brought the K-pop star to some unexpected places, like the set of Hot Ones, where she gave a shout-out to her dog, which is named after actor Tom Hanks.

You can watch the video for Rosé’s new single “Number One Girl” above.

Rosie is due on 12/6 via Atlantic/The Black Label. You can find more information here.

The Charlotte Hornets and the Detroit Pistons squared off on Thursday night in a battle of two up-and-coming teams that hope to take a step forward in the Eastern Conference this season. While neither of them are expected to compete for a championship or anything, both are built around promising young players and hope that better days are on the horizon.

One of the brightest young stars in Thursday’s game was Brandon Miller, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft who flashed as a rookie and has built on that in a big way during his second year in the league. Unfortunately for the Pistons, that meant finding out that Miller is a freak of nature, as evidenced by him making one of the best defensive plays you will ever see when he single-handedly blew up an attempted alley-oop by picking a Wendell Moore lob out of mid-air.

If Miller became horizontal during this, it’d look an awful lot like Odell Beckham Jr.’s famous one-handed catch from when he played for the Giants. Anyway, the Hornets won in overtime, 123-121, with Miller leading the way, as the former Alabama standout went for 38 points, seven rebounds, four assists, four steals, and a block in 42 minutes of work.

The Minnesota Timberwolves were one of the best teams and stories of the 2023-24 season, as Anthony Edwards made the leap into superstardom, Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert figured out how to play off of each other around him, and they made a run to the Western Conference Finals.

The vibes in Minnesota were, as they say, immaculate, but then a week before training camp they traded Towns to New York for Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo in a trade that has seen both the Knicks and Wolves struggling to build chemistry early in the season. Both teams are still hovering around .500, but the Knicks can get away with that in the East and still have a good look at a top-4 seed. In the West things are very different, as the Wolves came into Thursday’s game in Toronto with a tenuous hold on sixth at 8-6, needing a win to avoid dropping to a tie for 10th early this season.

In theory, the 3-12 Raptors should’ve been a good spot to get a win for the Wolves, but Minnesota found themselves in a dogfight with Toronto (on their incredible alternate court) late in the fourth quarter. With the game tied at 95-95 and five minutes to play, the Wolves chemistry issues became apparent when Randle waved off Gobert who had deep post position under the hoop, and the 4-time DPOY responded by walking to the other side of the lane to get a 3-second violation.

While Gobert’s frustration is understandable, as he had two feet in the restricted area with a seal on a smaller defender and didn’t get the ball, you also can’t purposefully get a turnover in a tie game in the fourth quarter. That was what Anthony Edwards was thinking, as he got on Gobert as they came down the floor, letting him know that’s not an acceptable reaction to not getting the ball. That turnover proved to be important as the Wolves saw the Raptors pull away late for a 110-105 win, dropping Minnesota to 8-7 and a tie for 10th in the West with Dallas and Sacramento.

Photo by Ekaterina Belinskaya

The microwave may be one of the greatest inventions, at least in the kitchen. It ensures you can make quick and easy meals without being a world-class chef. With so many new models on the market, it’s important to know that you’re getting the full potential out of these machines.

All sorts of features and functions are offered. Here’s one that I hadn’t been fully taking advantage of: the power-level button.

Some people call it the popcorn button. After all, it’s the button that you use to ensure you don’t burn your popcorn. It’s so much more than that.

Image by Frank Wittkowski from Pixabay

Why use the power-level button? There’s no need to blast everything you cook at full power. Some foods are delicate, and they’ll burn and change texture if they’re cooked at full power. Sure, you’d still eat it, but don’t you deserve better than that?

Think of it as a dimmer switch.

You may only need 50% power so that the food is cooked a bit more gently.

If you’ve cooked pizza at 100% before, you know it’s a soggy, gooey mess. Cooking it on 50% or “5,” depending on the microwave, may be a bit better.

When you cook leftovers or fish, a lower power is better, too.

I play around with the power-level button all the time now. 10-30% is great when I’m melting things, and 40-60% is great for reheating foods and soups. 70-100% is only used if I’m boiling water or cooking something from frozen.

Image by Rebecca Varney from Pixabay

The never-ending pile of laundry can be a problem, especially if you need it when you’re trying to rush out of the house for a meeting or you need to pack for a trip. It seems like most of your time may be spent waiting for the clothes to finish drying in the dryer.

What if you could speed up the process? Wouldn’t that make your laundry routine more efficient?

Good news! There are a few tips to help you. It can speed up the drying cycle and improve your laundry experience.

#1: Sort the Laundry

By spending a few minutes sorting your laundry based on thickness, color, and fabric type, you can be sure that everything dries properly. If you throw everything in together, it overloads the dryer, slowing down the drying process.

#2: Clean Your Lint Filter

A clogged lint filter can be a huge problem for your dryer. By cleaning the lint filter after every load, your dryer becomes more efficient. Plus, you’ll prevent a fire hazard.

Photo by Ekaterina Belinskaya

#3: Choose Dryer Balls

Sure, you may use dryer sheets…but dryer balls are a great way to reduce the drying time. They are spiky balls that help to keep wet clothes from clumping together. Essentially, it improves the airflow so that your laundry dries evenly.

#4: Be Smart About Loading Your Dryer

Don’t overload your dryer as it will take longer for everything to dry. Additionally, dry similar items together – like sheets, towels, etc.

#5: Choose the Right Settings

Your dryer probably has a few different settings for heat, time, and such. Choosing the right setting will ensure that you’re getting everything dry without damaging your fabrics in the process.

Image by Aritha from Pixabay

By the time laundry day rolls around, you may have mountains of dirty laundry to deal with. It’s time-consuming when you think about having to sort through it all, separating out colors, reading labels, and determining what should get placed into what pile.

There’s a growing debate about whether it’s even necessary to sort laundry still. After all, with all of the modern features on washing machines, is it necessary? Some say sorting is a thing of the past.

We’ve got a few things to look at…

Laundry is Evolving

Sorting laundry used to be mandatory. If you didn’t want colors to bleed or fabric to get damaged, you had to sort. Delicate items might need special care, like hand washing.

Most machines today have advanced technology that will sense loads. You can choose various cycles and temperatures. Plus, laundry detergents have evolved, claiming that they won’t allow colors to bleed.

Image by PDPics from Pixabay

To Sort or Not to Sort

Not sorting has its benefits:

• It will save time
• Detergents prevent colors from bleeding
• Washing machines will make it easier to handle mixed loads
• Larger loads are more economical

Sorting has its benefits, too:

• Fabrics will last longer
• You can focus on treating stains more effectively
• Colors can stay more vibrant
• You won’t damage specialty items like silk, wool, or lingerie

Ultimately, you have to find a middle ground for what works based on the machines you have, the detergents you use, and the kinds of things you wash on a regular basis.