This week's episode begins with Ian telling Steven about his recent experience seeing The Cure in concert. Turns out they are playing a lot of new songs live, and they sound a lot like Disintegration. Steven reveals that Jason Isbell said something similar about his experience seeing The Cure in New Orleans (5:06).Next, they address the most hyped release in the indie world of late, The Sex EP by NYC throwback dance-punk act The Dare (15:39). A lot of people are talking about this four-song release, and a lot of that talk is negative. But for Steven, what's interesting is that a collection of dumb tunes about sex and drugs is being treated as a novelty, when "dumb songs about sex and drugs" sum up a lot of popular music from the past 50 years, from rock to rap to country to basically every other genre. Is there a reaction brewing to the Trump/Covid era of music?From there, Steven and Ian have a wider conversation about indie sleaze and whether it's a real phenomenon or a trumped-up fantasy by shadowy "Brooklyn-based trend forecasters" (32:29). Speaking of fantasies, the guys also addressed reunion rumors surrounding two very different bands: Oasis and Modern Baseball (44:55).In Recommendation Corner (50:42), Ian talks about two electronic acts, Blawan and Overmono, while Steven brings up the catchy French indie pop En Attendant Ana.New episodes of Indiecast drop every Friday. Listen to Episode 140 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 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.

If there is one thing that we love here at Indiecast, it is festival posters with absolutely chaotic energy. So Steven and Ian were psyched this week to see the lineup for Riot Fest in Chicago, which is topped by big-time bands like Foo Fighters, Death Cab For Cutie and Queens Of The Stone Age. But the real action takes place further down the list — where else can you see Ani DiFranco, Mr. Bungle and Insane Clown Posse in the same place? Also, apparently Corey Feldman is also appearing at this festival? Simply incredible. (:27)From there, Steven asks Ian about the state of music in 2023. Specifically, is this a weak year for consensus album of the year candidates? Caroline Polachek and Boygenius are early contenders, and there are artists on the horizon (PJ Harvey, Rihanna, Jenny Lewis) who might contend. But this year feels like we might be at the end of something. What is it, though? (11:08)After that, there's a discussion about the legacy of The Cure, who are back on the road this month (24:15). (Steven also wrote about them this week.) Why is this band so central to the history of modern indie and alternative rock? What is their best work, and where should a newbie get started?In Recommendation Corner (1:00:07), Ian talks up the British post-punk band Mandy, Indiana, while Steven stumps for two other British acts, the soft-rock singer-songwriter Westerman and the art-rock combo Bar Italia.New episodes of Indiecast drop every Friday. Listen to Episode 139 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 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.

In Indiecast's latest episode, Steven declares that Ian is a surgeon, Dr. Han. (Is this meme old yet? Will anyone know what we're talking about next week?) Actually, their first order of business is talking about In Times New Roman, the just-announced new album by Queens Of The Stone Age due June 16, their first in six years (6:16). They try to sort out their current feelings about this band, and the murky personal life of Josh Homme. (They also struggle, of course, to correctly pronounce "Homme.")Next they talk about the end of two institutions that they sort of thought ended in the aughts, but actually shut down this week: The pop-punk band Sum 41, and the legacy media outlet MTV News. Ian actually goes to bat for Sum 41 by giving them a "yay," while Steven is an indifferent "nay"(12:09). But MTV News was a formative outlet for both '90s kids, especially the gravitas-rich lead anchor Kurt Loder (22:11).From there they piggyback on Steven's recent column about the 10th anniversary of Daft Punk's Random Access Memories and talk about whether the album is a classic, overrated or both. (Steven and Ian both landed on "both") (30:18). What's not overrated is American Football buying the American Football house, which is another thing that happened this week, though the story made Ian sad about that a beloved combination A&W/Long John Silver's that is gone from his college town (46:35).In Recommendation Corner (54:10), Ian hypes the hyperpop/pop-punk hybrid Hot Mulligan, while Steven talks up a reissue from the Cleveland guitarist/composer Mark McGuire.New episodes of Indiecast drop every Friday. Listen to Episode 138 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 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.

Every week, Steven and Ian make it their business to talk about the latest news in indie rock. This week, however, they don't do that. Instead, they made the least indie-rock episode of Indiecast ever.The most indie topic on the docket is the rumored relationship between Taylor Swift and The 1975's Matty Healy (17:12). Is this (alleged) relationship too annoying even for them? And what does it mean for two superstars to "date" anyway? Does exchanging texts constitute a romantic hookup? Are they going to get frozen yogurt together on the fly?From there they move on to the Ed Sheeran copyright lawsuit concerning the supposed similarity of his 2014 hit "Thinking Out Loud" and Marvin Gaye's 1973 classic "Let's Get It On." (22:34) (This was recorded before the verdict came down in Ed's favor.) If you have heard the songs you have can probably tell that they sort of sound alike. But does that constitute a rip-off? Can you really copyright a vibe? Doesn't all new music in some way riff on the old?Finally, they get to the most important topic: Aerosmith, yay or nay? They ponder the legacy of this gross, ridiculous, and occasionally great (for four years in in the 1970s) group as they announce their reunion tour (34:31).In Recommendation Corner (54:40), Ian talks about the singer-songwriter Greg Mendez while Steven pays tribute to the late Gordon Lightfoot, who died this week at age 84.New episodes of Indiecast drop every Friday. Listen to Episode 137 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 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, Indiecast is talking about wily veterans. And that includes Aaron Rodgers, who is the topic of the emergency Sportscast segment at the top of the episode (1:30). Steven has some heavy feelings to work out about his quarterback for the past 15 years, and all Ian can do in response is trash the 2005 film Hustle & Flow. (It makes sense when you hear the episode.)With that out of the way, the guys get into the business of Indiecast by talking about First Two Pages Of Frankenstein, the new album by The National (14:14). Ian admits that he's lost interest in the band after loving them in the aughts, and this record hasn't really changed his mind. Steven meanwhile is still a believer, and thinks this album improves on the previous National record, I Am Easy To Find, though it's not a complete comeback.Next the guys turn to One Wayne G, the new 199-song data dump by Mac DeMarco (28:39). Did they listen to all eight hours? Not yet! Will they ever? Who knows? Steven and Ian try to figure out where Mac is at in his career. Is he quiet quitting a la Frank Ocean?Finally, they talk about Atum, the new rock opera by Smashing Pumpkins that is so sprawling it is not yet fully released (38:15). Steven and Ian contemplate the story of Shiny, the hero at the center of the album, and whether his tale is a metaphor for cancel culture. More importantly, why does this album sound so bad? Can they reconnect Billy Corgan with Flood?In Recommendation Corner (53:14), Ian talks up the DJ Avalon Emerson, while Steven stumps for the Nashville garage band Country Westerns.New episodes of Indiecast drop every Friday. Listen to Episode 136 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 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.