Steven and Ian open with an acknowledgement of the show’s fifth anniversary, which actually occurred a few weeks ago. From there, they note the announcement of yet another new Taylor Swift album and liken her to the MCU. They also talk about Steven’s son recently getting into Eminem, and the scarcity of “danger-coded” music now. After that, they talk about the new Ethel Cain album and disagree slightly on its strengths and weaknesses. They also note the arrival of a new Chance The Rapper album, and how such news would have been a much bigger deal 10 years ago. Then they do a “yay or nay” on My Chemical Romance.
In Recommendation Corner, Ian talks about the slow-core band Teethe and Steven goes for veteran indie rocker Cass McCombs.
New episodes of Indiecast drop every Friday. Listen to Episode 252 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.
SZA is expanding her creative portfolio with an unexpected new role. After conquering music with her record-shattering albums CTRL and SOS and breaking into film with One Of Them Days, the multihyphenate adds another hyphen, announcing her appointment as the first-ever Artistic Director for skate shoe brand Vans.
According to Women’s Wear Daily, the brand will be putting SZA “in charge of reimagining and overseeing the brand’s upcoming campaigns and co-creating and designing exclusive production collections.” The brand’s first campaign stars SZA herself, wearing her usual uniform of baggy clothes paired with a signature set of Knu Skools, which she told Vogue she actually hikes in between stops on her and Kendrick Lamar’s ongoing Grand National Tour.
“I had these Knu Skools made into cowboy boots,” she said. “It sounds bizarre, but they’re so ugly that they’re great.”
In her official statement about the appointment, she said, “I’ve been wearing Knu Skools and other styles for years, they’ve always had an ethos I connect with. As Artistic Director, my mission is to show that joy, community, creativity, and fashion are all still intersectional. That humanity, culture, and connection are still the access points… I’ve learned that bravery and curiosity are the cures for uncertainty; it’s a lifestyle, and Vans champions that spirit. They stand where I stand, and I’m honored to invite a whole bunch of people to stand Off the Wall with us.”
You can check out the campaign photos, shot by Sophie Jones, here.
Los Angeles Metro is honoring one of the city’s most accomplished and beloved residents with a renamed rail station and transit cards. From Friday, August 15th through August 31st to commemorate his 40th birthday, Hyde Park station will temporarily be renamed the Nipsey Hussle Station after the rapper whose efforts revitalized the neighborhood surrounding it. Those familiar with Hussle’s music can probably figure out where it’s located, even without being from LA: right there on the corner of Crenshaw and Slauson.
In addition, the city is issuing two limited-edition TAP cards (the NFC-enabled cards used by Angelenos to get around), which feature the rapper’s likeness. The first, “Crenshaw & Slauson,” bears the iconic image of Nipsey at that intersection taken by Jonathan Mannion, while the other, “Watts,” was taken of Nipsey sprawled in the backseat of a Metro bus. The cards will be available at select stations and at Metro Customer Centers on Friday, August 15.
The cards and station renaming are part of the agency’s Metro x Culture initiative, which “aims to connect the agency with the heart of Los Angeles’ vibrant cultural landscape by collaborating with prolific local artists, musicians, community heroes and influential brands,” according to the press release. Only 12,000 of the cards will be released. See below for photos and a list of stations where they can be obtained.
The Hyde Park, Crenshaw, Slauson, Compton, Hollywood/Vine and Expo/Crenshaw Stations will carry the cards at their dispensers. New participants signing up for Metro’s LIFE Program in South Los Angeles will receive one of the commemorative cards, as well. For more info, you can visit metro.net/nipsey.
Kenny Beats is as busy as they come, but he has a career first coming up: his first film score. The Lurker soundtrack is set to drop on August 22, and ahead of that, Beats has shared “Love And Obsession,” which he co-wrote with Rex Orange County and which is sung by one of the film’s stars, Archie Madekwe. (Beats has recently started going by his legal name, Kenneth Blume, but this project is credited to Kenny Beats.)
Director Alex Russell previously said of working with Kenny, “We always wanted to work together on something like this, and it was so perfectly timed. He was so ready to score a movie. […] Kenny can just create any song in any genre at any time, so it was laughably shorthand when I was like, ‘Can you make a few songs for Archie?’ And two days later, the songs that were in the movie were done and I didn’t really have to explain anything. I was like, you know what kind of music he makes.”
As for the film, the synopsis reads, “A retail employee infiltrates the inner circle of an artist on the verge of stardom. As he gets closer to the budding music star, access and proximity become a matter of life and death.” The movie stars Théodore Pellerin and Archie Madekwe and also features Havana Rose Liu, Sunny Suljic, Zack Fox, Daniel Zolghadri, and Olawale Onayemi.
Listen to “Love And Obsession” above. Below, find the Lurker (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) cover art and tracklist.
Kenny Beats’ Lurker (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) Album Cover Artwork
Uncle L is also one of this year’s nominees; his The FORCE single “Murdergram Deux” with Eminem is nominated for a Best Hip-Hop award, which is a great example of being an ally and giving back on Eminem’s part (do today’s MTV viewers even know who LL COOL J is?). The two hip-hop elders are competing with a field that also includes Doechii (who should win), Drake, GloRilla, Kendrick Lamar, and Travis Scott, with Em also being nominated as a soloist for “Somebody Save Me” featuring Jelly Roll.
This year’s nominees for the big award, Video Of The Year, include Ariana Grande’s “Brighter Days Ahead,” Billie Eilish’s “Birds of a Feather,” Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us,” Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars’s “Die With a Smile,” Rosé & Bruno Mars’s “Apt.,” Sabrina Carpenter’s “Manchild,” and The Weeknd & Playboi Carti’s “Timeless.”
The show itself will air on Sunday, September 7 at 8 PM ET on CBS, MTV, and Paramount Plus. Fan voting is open through September 5 at 6 PM ET at vote.mtv.com.
Genre-spanning experimenter Ashnikko thrilled with her 2023 debut album Weedkiller, and now she’s charging back with more: Today (August 14), Ashnikko announced Smoochies, a new album.
She also just unveiled the punchy electro-pop single “Trinkets.” Ashnikko says of the song, “My little princess boys love being trinkets, hanging off my bag, looking up at me with smiles on their faces, swinging as I walk.” She also says of the album:
“Smoochies feels like Demidevil‘s older sister. It’s sexy, playful, and feminine, while toeing the line of grotesque and absurd. I feel like purse sediment so much of the time — like a mess of crumbs and gum in receipts and lipgloss that I’ve forgotten about — so the album feels like that too. This is the first where I’ve written very autobiographically, but at the core of it all is personal autonomy and joyful whimsy.”
Watch the “Trinkets” video above. Below, find the Smoochies’ cover art and tracklist, aslong with Ashnikko’s upcoming tour dates.
02/11/2026 — Glasgow, UK @ O2 Academy
02/14/2026 — Manchester, UK @ Manchester Academy
02/17/2026 — Dublin, UK @ 3Olympia
02/20/2026 — London, UK @ O2 Academy Brixton
Smoochies is out 10/17 via Warner Records. Find more information here.
In a few months, Netflix will be graced by Train Dreams, a new film adaptation of Denis Johnson’s award-winning 2011 novella. It stars Joel Edgerton, Felicity Jones, Clifton Collins Jr., Kerry Condon, and William H. Macy, and the musical side of things is similarly stacked. The National’sBryce Dessner composed the score, and he teamed up with Nick Cave (not Nic Cage) for the movie’s title track, which plays over the end credits.
The song will be featured on the movie’s soundtrack, which is set for a digital release on November 7 and a vinyl release on November 14. The movie itself is set to hit select theaters on November 7 before making its Netflix debut on November 21.
In a statement, director Clint Bentley spoke at length about Cave’s song, starting:
“When we started thinking about making a song for the film, Nick felt like the perfect artist to do it. It turns out that Train Dreams is one of his all-time favorite books, but he initially feared there wouldn’t be time to do something because he was getting ready to go on tour. Then he watched the film and was inspired to write something and the whole thing came together really quickly.
I knew he would craft something beautiful and resonant, but the film has such a delicate tone at the end, one that was really hard to get right, and I didn’t want a song that would push the audience in another direction emotionally. But Nick and I were very much on the same page from the outset. He read some early lyrics to me that he was working on and I was just really a bit overwhelmed with the whole situation — I’ve been a fan of his for such a long time and there I was, not only having a really lovely conversation with him about life and art, but he was also reading lyrics to me that he was writing for a film I made. It was a really special moment.
He’s a very rare artist and one I admire immensely. There’s no one thing that defines a Nick Cave song — sonically, lyrically, or otherwise — he’s got songs about everything, all the varieties of our experience here. There’s a deep poeticism alongside rock and roll. And that just felt like the perfect fit for a film like this that’s telling the story of this person who lived a beautiful resonant life, even if it did include heartache and pain.”
He also discussed hearing the song for the first time, saying, “I was blown away. It surpassed anything I felt like it might be. It took all the feelings that I was trying to communicate at the end of the movie and expanded them into another place. I was so struck by how the song builds to the end when other voices start to drift in, as if on the wind. His lyrics are so evocative and there’s a deep mystery to the song, especially when thinking about Grainier’s story. Every time I listen to it, I’m more moved by it.”
Of Dessner’s score, he added, “Bryce is such an open and generous artist. This is our second film together and with Train Dreams, there was a lot of back and forth throughout the edit as he sent over different ideas and threads he was working on based on the footage and the script. It really helped shape the rhythm and the feeling of the film and lifted it to a whole new place. His music is transcendent.”
“Train Dreams is the moving portrait of Robert Grainier (Edgerton), whose life unfolds during an era of unprecedented change in early 20th-century America. Orphaned at a young age, Robert grows into adulthood among the towering forests of the Pacific Northwest, where he helps expand the nation’s railroad empire alongside men as unforgettable as the landscapes they inhabit. After a tender courtship, he marries Gladys (Jones) and they build a home together, though his work often takes him far from her and their young daughter. When his life takes an unexpected turn, Robert finds beauty, brutality, and newfound meaning for the forests and trees he has felled.”
Praise be, my prayers have been answered. A few days ago, Cardi B announced the release date for her next Am I The Drama? single, “Imaginary Playerz,” and the ’90s hip-hop head within me was enthused. Today, Cardi posted a teaser clip of the single’s upcoming music video, and it looks like my inner throwback rap fan — and those of my generation — might just be more than satisfied on Friday.
Obviously, with a title like that, rap fans of a certain age were hoping Cardi’s latest would pay homage to the 1997 Jay-Z track, bringing the Bronx bomber back to her gritty New York roots. After all, Cardi sounds great on trap music like “Outside” and innovative odes to Latin culture such as “I Like It,” but for those of us who value bars over everything, it’s the one place we always wanted her to focus more of her efforts.
Well, the teaser clip suggests that at the very least, “Imaginary Players” does borrow the same sample from Jay’s original (René & Angela’s 1982 hit “Imaginary Playmates”), so that’s one wishlist item checked off. Here’s hoping for a display of the tongue twisting lyrical talents we’ve always known Cardi has to put one of the most tired complaints about her music to rest.
“Imaginary Playerz” is out at midnight. Am I The Drama? is out on 9/19 via Atlantic. You can find more info here.
Do you remember when Pharrell dropped a surprise album called Black Yacht Rock last year? You know how the cover read “VIRGINIA” in bold across the top, instead of “Pharrell” or “Pharrell Williams” or even “Skateboard P?”
Well, it turns out, that was not only intentional, but it was also a preview of the innovative producer’s newest initiative. VIRGINIA will be the name he releases future projects under (think Kevin Parker and Tame Impala, or Jack Antonoff and Bleachers, or MF DOOM and Viktor Vaughn), as well as the new for his new line of merch.
So, Black Yacht Rock is technically not a Pharrell album, but a VIRGINIA album. Got it? No? That’s okay, it’ll sink in.
In addition to the announcement, VIRGINIA has shared his (their?) first line of exclusive merch, which includes surfboards, swimwear, and other beach-inspired items — think beach balls, pails, foam footballs, beach umbrellas, coolers, kites, and even film cameras. All are emblazoned with the VIRGINIA logo.
But wait, there’s more! The VIRGINIA takeover even extends to Pharrell’s longstanding partnership with Adidas, including a colorful take on the Adistar Cushion, Adistar Jellyfish.
Pharrell’s explanation for all this, according to a press release, is: “Virginia is where I’m from, but it’s also who I am creatively. It’s my space to dream, and a way to connect with people who are dreaming too.” Look, if it means a Black Yacht Rock Vol. 2, I’m all for it. Also, drop them Jellyfishes with some blue on ’em, my man. You can have my money.
Blackyachtrock.com
You can find the merch, music, and an early plug for the Adistar Jellyfish at Blackyachtrock.com.
For the past few years, Inglewood rapper D Smoke has been one of the standard-bearers for indie drive and hustle in hip-hop. With his new radio freestyle on Justin Credible’s Power 106 show, he also proves himself to be one of the most efficient indie artists out, announcing a new album and tour, as well as a partnership with Snoop Dogg’s revived Death Row Records, all in the space of three minutes.
After rapping in both English and Spanish over UGK’s “Int’l Players Anthem (I Choose You)” beat, Smoke revealed the title of his upcoming third album, Wake Up Supa, and pulled out a Death Row chain from under his hoodie, revealing that it would be released under the auspices of the legendary Los Angeles-based label.
The announcement represents a full-circle moment for Supa Good Smoke, as Snoop Dogg has figured heavily into his story from its beginnings, via his role as a judge on Netflix’s Rhythm + Flow. Smoke used the winnings from the show’s first season to complete his Grammy-nominated debut album, Black Habits, and has maintained close connections with the West Coast rap godfather ever since.
Although his last album, War & Wonders, was released over three years ago, Smoke hasn’t strayed too far from the spotlight; he’s maintained a regular role on the Paramount Plus drama Mayor Of Kingstown since 2023.
You can watch D Smoke’s Power 106 freestyle above.
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IMAGINARY PLAYERZ song + video out at MIDNIGHT 
