Indiecast - Mailbag Time! Yay Or Nay Ty Segall, Feist's "Female Seal" Vocal Style + Is 2024's Q1 Historically Great?

Episode Date: March 1, 2024

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 about the Kings Of Leon album that was announced last week. They also promise to spend next week talking about the big Fantasy Draft albums that are out today from Mannequin Pussy, Faye Webster, and Yard Act (10:46). Speaking of the fantasy draft, Vijay Iyer finally showed up on Metacritic and he has a fantastic score. But Ian insists he doesn't regret pivoting off of him.From there Steven and Ian dip into the mailbag to answer inquiries from our listeners (19:26). Some important topics are discussed. Is Q1 of the 2024 music release schedule historically great? Did Feist invent the "female seal" vocal style (28:40:)? Which modern albums would have ended up in thrift store bins (37:18), Fairweather Johnson-style? And Ty Segall, yay or nay (48:25)?New episodes of Indiecast drop every Friday. Listen to Episode 178 here and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. You can submit questions for Steve and Ian at [e-mail], 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.

Indycast is presented by Uprox's Indy Mix tape. Hello everyone and welcome to Indycast. On the show, we talk about the biggest indie news of the week, review albums, and we hash out trends. In this episode, we respond to emails from you, the Indycast listener. My name is Stephen Hayden, and I'm joined by my friend and co-host. He wants to know, can we please have fun? Ian Cohen, Ian, how are you?

Kings of Leon are on the precipice of maybe the biggest nay-to-ye-pivot in Indy cast history. I mean, if they either have like low-key, an incredible sense of humor or absolutely none at all, there's nothing in between. But I would, I think Nickelback wish they could choose that one. Like, because they've been going for that. Like, there's such a lane for, like, for lack of a better term, shitty rock bands who kind of pivot to acting as if they were been in on the joke the whole time. And if Nickelback did that, you know, it would be a great cover plus also it would be how you remind me callback. I'm really excited to see where Kings of Leon are going with this. Yeah, so I'm sure you're all aware already that Kings of Leon announced an album last week

called Can We Please Have Fun? And the reason why we're talking about it now, because this is old news by the time this episode posts is that this is a banked episode. We're recording this a week ahead of time. In the world of us recording this episode, this Kings of Leon News is brand new. For you, the listener, you probably already forgot about this. This album, I'm sure, has been memory-hold, even before it's been released.

But I had to bring it up. Kings of Leon, announcing a new album, can we please have fun? just an amazing album title. You should Google the album, if you haven't already, and see the cover. Amazing. The cover's amazing. Four unsmiling Kings of Leon members on the cover.

There's like a blue frame on it. Just amazing. It looks like a blog rock band name and a blog rock album cover. Yeah, it's amazing. I actually, I legitimately like the cover. I legitimately like the name. I have to say too, I've been listening to late Otts, Kings of Leon on the sly, like a lot lately. Especially their fourth record only by the night, their sellout record.

I've been big on that record. The first song on that record is called Closer. Are you familiar with this album at all? I think I reviewed it. there's a good chance I think I reviewed one or two Kings of Leon albums and I love how you describe one of them

as like a sellout album as if they were like a paragon of indie virtue early on Yeah I know what you mean I know but like I think in for those who like Kings of Leon and I'm gonna call myself a fan I'm a legit fan of this band

I think they're ridiculous and I do think that they're very dumb but I love that they're dumb like you said shitty I wouldn't call call them shitty. I would call them dumb. Yes, they're definitely dumb. They're, they're very dumb rock band, but I love dumb rock bands, and we don't have like a dumb, popular rock band right now. That's like

Kings of Leon. So when I need that it scratched, those records are still there for me. If you're Kings of Leon fan, I think there is this mark of demarcation between the first three records and then the post three records. And I think for a lot of people who are, you know, in the Kings of Leon community, they look at only by the night as being the sellout record. It's the record with You Somebody, which is like this big power ballad type song,

which I think was nominated for Record of the Year. It probably was. Grammy. It almost certainly was. You know, like, that's the song that, like, put them in, like, the American Idol conversation. Like, people on that show would sing,

use somebody. And, of course, it also has sex on fire. Which is a Grammy-winning song. They won three. Grammys. That's an amazing dumb rock song. Sex on Fire. I'm sorry.

If you want to posture like you're too good for Sex on Fire, I just can't relate to you because it's like the dumbest U2 song combined like with the dumbest stroke song to make this Voltron of rock dumbness that is just spectacular. but the first song on Only By the Night I have to talk about this. I've listened to this song probably every day for the last month. It's called Closer, and it's an amazing song.

This is a song that if it had come out two years earlier, Michael Mann would have put it in Miami Vice. Like Colin Farrell, like driving a boat at night, and then that song coming on, I just imagine it in my mind, and it's like the most amazing. cinematic porn I can think of, just awesomeness. So anyway, this new Kings of Leon album, it's either well-timed or poorly timed,

because I'm probably going to end up writing about it and being way too complimentary for it. The pump has been primed for me to do some big-time Kings of Leon revisionism. So I'm just warning people had a time about that. I am extremely excited for this because, yeah, I, I, I, I kind of do want to like them. And you say, like, there's no trashy rock bands. I mean, there's monoskin, but there's a difference between being Italian and being from Tennessee, you know? Well, and the thing with Kings of Leon, I do think that they have legitimately great songs.

I do think that, like, aha, shake, heartbreak. That's their second record. I think if you are like me and you like chunky, chugally rock, there's a lot of gold there. It's just that, like, you know, they're total hymboes. Yes. You know, like, I mean, the documentary about them, Tali Kani Sky, that came out in 2011, amazing doc. Might have to talk about that on this, on the show when that album comes out.

It is like the unintentional spinal tap of Otts era rock. It's amazing. It's sort of like the meeting people is easy. Like, that's what I think they were trying, they were like unintentionally trying to make. Way better, though, than that. movie. Radiohead, much better band, but I would rather watch a documentary about Kings of Leon

because they're just more entertaining. They're more buffoonish. You know, they're writing like segways backstage. You know, you got Caleb Falawill, you know, drinking wine and talking about God and oh my God, it's amazing.

It's like it's like rattling hum if you two were from the South and way way dumber. Like if they had like a lobotomy before Rattle and Hum that you would get the Kings of Leon documentary. So again, like, look, this is a banked episode. This is old news.

No one's talking about Kings of Leon, but I had to, this is not going to be the last we talked about Kings of Leon. There's going to be some major Kings of Leon discourse on this show. I should say, too, that the reason why we're banking this episode is that I had to take off the last week of February because I'm going into the studio. to record the audiobook version of my upcoming book. There was nothing you could do. Bruce Springsteen, Born in the USA and the End of the Heartland,

which is available for pre-order, by the way, including the audiobook or the physical book or the e-book. That book comes up May 28th in time for the 40th anniversary of born in the USA. So yeah, so I'm going to go into the studio with John Landau, Bob Clear Mountain. He's going to be mixing it. It's going to be a great album, I think. We'll see.

I'll be wrapping up the album. by the time this podcast posts. So I've never recorded an audiobook before. I don't know how it's going to go. I don't know if my voice is going to be shot if I'm going to, you know, because I'm going to be in the studio for like hours, like six hours a day. The book is about, I think, they guessed it's going to be about eight and a half hours long. So this is like, what is this?

This is like a 10 LP album, really. Eight hours long. Like, take that Billy Corrigan. This is my debut. album too. Yeah. I'm excited to see if there's like someone constantly bringing you like honey tea or whatever, if we get outtakes or Brian, if you have a chance, you could like plug in that Simpsons clip or Krusty goes in to record the voice of the talking doll with Lisa there. I would really appreciate that. Or don't. I don't know if any of our, I think we got enough Simpsons cast people who would get that

joke. All right, you point X-ters. Let's get this right. One, hey, hey, kids, I'm talking Krusty. Two, hey, here comes slide show Mel. Again, here comes side show Mel. Side show Mel. Three. But everything, bada boom, I'm done. Learn from a professional kid. Well, you know, I'm sometimes tired after doing an indie cast, and that's only like, you know, an hour.

So, you know, laying down tracks for several hours a day. I don't know. I don't know. I'm a little concerned about my voice. I'm sure I'll rise to the occasion. But, yeah, you know, look, you got to do it for the people. I've never recorded an audiobook of one of my books before. I've had people ask like, hey, I would buy the audiobook if you were reading it

because I don't actually read your writing. I only know you from the podcast. I like to hear your voice. I don't like to read your words, but I do like you saying your words. So for those people, and that's the people listening to the show, please buy the audiobook. I'm taking off a week of work for you people. And the way media is now, you don't know.

I mean, who knows if I'll even have a job. when I get back. I mean, media's going to hell right now. But we're going to stay. I'm joking. I think we're okay. Kings of Leon cast is the thing that's going to stand tall as the rest of the media empire crumbles. That's true. You know, the media hasn't been very kind to Kings of Leon and the media has been in decline. So is that a coincidence? I don't know. You decide out there. We should do a quick fantasy draft check in here. March 1st. is actually a huge day for me in the draft because I've got mannequin pussy and Faye Webster

both coming out. So obviously we're not talking about that in today's episode because this is a banked episode. We'll get to that next week. You have Yard Act also dropping. Yeah, they're seriously kidding according to pitchfork.com. Seriously kidding. Well, then we know we're on to something good. That's at least an 8.0 probably from them. B.J. Iyer. This has become the most compelling narrative of the quarter one draft because, okay, you drafted V.J. Iyer, a jazz artist, and I was very impressed. I expressed my admiration for that pick. I was like, that's the best pick. I think you're going to take it home. And then the album comes out, and it gets good reviews, but it's not on Metacritic. And we waited, I think, three weeks for it to show up on Metacritic. And finally you're like, I'm going to pick something. else. You picked what, like, Jill? Jalen, yeah. Jalen, yeah. Kind of a footwork, like a highbrow footwork artist who's been very critically acclaimed

in the past and is working with that. Right. It's a good call, you know? It's a good pick, but then, I don't know if it was this week. B.J. Iyer shows up on Metacritic and currently has an 87. A great Metacritic score, but B.J. Iyer's off your team now. So Jay Lynn now If Jay Lynn doesn't pull an 87

At least You're going to be leaving Points on the table How are you feeling right now Are you Do you feel like well Look I had to pick somebody else I didn't know what was going to happen

Or do you feel some regret About 86ing VJ Iyer And you know Just not being patient enough For it to show up on Medicare Yeah 86ing the 87 Yeah I said it was like a Fran Vasquez situation A few weeks ago

now it's more like a John Elway sort of thing where, you know, he gets picked. I think it was by the Colton. And they refused the play until like the Broncos picked them. So look, I'm pretty confident. Like my team's doing pretty well right now. I have full confidence that Jalen's going to put up some numbers, maybe even higher ones. I don't know. But maybe I just kind of wish I had kept it.

So we have like a, you know, more quick resolution on which one of us is winning. Um, have you heard the art act album, by the way? I dabbled in it. Yeah. And it is, it's like, uh, sort of like a rock revival act from the mida. It's like kind of like a France Ferdinand vibe, right? Yeah, there's kind of some art brute to it. I'm like, ooh, this is going to annoy some people.

Um, yeah, that's, that's not as, like, that would have been critical catnip 20 years ago. Now I feel like people, that's, that art bruteness is going to be held against it. Yeah, we'll see. I'm pretty confident it'll put up like a low 80, but, you know, I didn't really listen to them that much prior to picking it, and now it's like,

I'm like really walking out on the edge here because, like, there's a good chance that's going to annoy the living shit out of some people, which maybe means I'll like it. I don't know. To go back to the BJ Eyre thing, you know, again, I think that was a great pick. And I think in the future,

that's going to be something that has to be taken to account. If you take the jazz record and it doesn't show up on Metacritic right away, do you risk not getting those points and just holding on, you know, kind of thinking, okay, maybe it's not going to show up the week of release, but maybe it'll be like a month later and I'll end up with an 87. Or do you, you know, eject the jazz album and take something else? I mean, Jay Lynn's probably going to do mid-80s. I think it's a lot to ask of any draft pick to do an 87 plus.

87 is a fantastic score. You know, 90s, obviously, if you get into that Olivia Rodriguez-Radrigo 1989 redo range in the 90s, you're a Hall of Famer. But like 87 is a very strong score. So I don't know. But I can't fault you for getting rid of VJI. because it was like three weeks, but it is amazing these fantasy drafts, how things just change so quickly,

how it went from not being on the board to being one of the highest on the board. That's why you play the games, folks. You don't know how this is going to turn out. It's amazing. Yeah, I think next time, like when we do this next, we have, like, we shouldn't be allowed to trade or, like, give up there.

I think it just kind of raises the difficulty. level. That's what's good about it, though. This is bringing drama, and it brings more strategy to it. I love it. Kings of Leon cast and fantasy cast. That is what is going to carry us

through these tumultuous times. Maybe we should have a side bet on what the Metacritic score of the Kings of Leon album will be because I actually think it'll do pretty well. The British press loves Kings of Leon. Still? I bet they would

I bet like New Musical Express will call this their best album since Because the Times I could totally say that I love that because the Times That's what we're identifying Is their Octong Baby Or automatic for the people

It's like That is a great record though And again I should say because of the times Not because the Times I think again In the Kings of Leon community that is considered their best.

Either that or aha shake heartbreak. So the Kings of Leon community, I'm signaling to them that I know who they are when I shout out because of the times, not because the times. The of, I guess, is that...

I mean, I don't really even know what that title means, really, because of the times. Yeah, the times. The times. Sort of like because of the internet, you know? All right. Is it because of the New York Times?

Like, you know, like, did the New York Times do a profile of Kings of Leon that put them on the map? And they're like, this is why we have a third record because of the Times. God. Or these are the times that we, like the George W. Bush years, they produced us as a band, like the circumstances of our era, made this record what it is. I don't know. We got to have, we got to have the Follow Well brothers. on the pod.

They can explain this out. They seem like fun guys. I actually hope that I saw they like started their band in 1999. I would love for them to have some sort of like My Chemical Romance style origin story where they say like 9-11 convinced them to like make a band. Well there is a big origin story with them. Yeah. How they were like raised in the church and, you know,

they didn't have any access to rock and roll at growing up. And then they just magically became a rock band. I mean, there's like some, you know, there's like some urban legends about them being basically like a boy band that was constructed and that they didn't know how to play their instruments when they first got together and then they were they were coached to become a band because they were just so handsome they look they look good in mustaches and blue jeans so let's make them a band i mean i love that's another thing i love about kings of leon is that they're a product of an era when someone thought let's make a

a gazillion dollars by manufacturing a band like Kings of Leon. Like that's the last time in history anyone would think, oh, a band like Kings of Leon is going to make me rich. We're not going to leave that Black Oak, Arkansas money on the table in the year 2003. Wow. Black Oak, yeah.

We can talk about Kings of Leon for fucking hours. This is our next audio book. Just me and you rapping about Kings of Leon. It's like, I got a get rich quick scheme. We'll find four handsome guys guys from the South, put them in bell bottoms, and have them grow up their hair,

and we'll just watch the money roll in. Yeah, that was the thought in, like, 2003. That seemed like a plausible plan. It worked. It worked. It worked. Last time in history, where that would actually happen. Let's get to our mailbag.

We have a ton of emails in the mailbag. I put out a call for some mail last week. Our listeners came through with some really good questions here. We have five emails here to go through. We'll see if we get to all of them. I mean, we just talked about Kings of Leon for a really long time. And I could easily be redirected to Kings of Leon talk. I'm in that kind of mood that anything could spark me on a Kings of Leon tangent.

But let's get to our mailbag here. Do you want to read our first email? Yeah, this comes to us from Mike B from Wickoff, New Jersey. Ooh, Wic off. Yeah, but getting you in the information. prepared for the Bruce, you know, we're going to represent all facets of New Jersey. So, I bet the towns around Wickoff have a lot of fun with that name. Maybe it's pronounced Whiteoff. I don't know.

It could be Weikov. I just feel like there's some potential town foolery to be had with that name. Anyway. Yeah, it's in Bergen County. Yeah, I said to look it up because I wonder if it's like our last week's letter from like the nice part of Connecticut, whether this is like the nice part of New Jersey. There are many nice parts. Anyway, Steve and Ian, big friend of the podcast here. Nothing is better than your weekly guidance as I preach to the gospel of patio rock, hash out trends with my friends, or ponder what song I will rediscover after years of memory-holing.

This guy speaks to the lingo. Love it, love it. While this is my first mailback submission, it comes at a time when I am dire need of perspective. Is it just mere as 2024 Q1, a usual dead zone for most pop culture, let alone in music, is just absolutely on fire, like Kings of Leon said about sex. Am I wrong that January to March feels like a time when unwanted leftovers of the previous year

just sort of sulk out see daylight before disappearing again until someone picks one or two albums at the end of the year to remember fondly. Am I wrong that this year has almost been a summertime level of banger after banger

blessing us each week? The vaccines Bill Ryder Jones' this guy reads enemy. Glass Beach, Sprint Slater Kinney, The Smile, Ducks Limited, Maddie Diaz, San Furman, Memory Town, Frico, Omni.

Even last dinner, party delivered after the hype. Not to mention solid new singles from Dead, Waxahatchee, Adrian Lanker, MGM, MGMT, Lemmintwigs Lasavi Fave, The Decemberists. I can't remember having this many album or songs say is this early in a year. Am I on to something? Or

am I just in a good mood this winter for some reason? Is there any other Q1 you guys can think of that compares? Please advise, ride the vibe. Mike V. Look, you were kind of putting some stink on some of those bad names that you didn't think were worthy. Like, you're kind of like taking some shots.

at Decemberus there. What was the other one? You kind of like, we're a little skeptical about the vaccines. The vaccines, yeah. I didn't know they had a new single out. Thank you for writing in.

You know, it's interesting. I actually feel like it's not uncommon for an album or two or even three to come out in Q1 that ends up sort of setting the tone for album of the year conversations. Like, I actually,

I mean, I think January, there's not a ton of things that come out. I mean, the example I always think of is Mary Weather Post Pavilion coming out right the beginning of the year. But I do think that March, usually there's, like by then, you're getting like some big ticket records. So I don't know if this quarter is unique. What is interesting to me, like, the thing I would say is that it's been big for news. Like, there's been a lot of announcements lately.

But those albums aren't coming out until the second quarter. It's interesting, too, that there's been so many artists that have come back after not putting out a record for five or six years. Like, we talked about MGMT last week. There's a new Vampire Weekend album coming out. Amen Dunes, which we haven't talked about them, but they announced a new album. That's their first sense, Freedom in 2018. Freedom, one of my favorite indie records of the last 10, 15 years. the Manicin Pussy record that is out today

Jessica Pratt We talked about that Her first record in five years is coming out in May So there's been a lot of album announcements In recent weeks But again, that's looking ahead to the second quarter So I don't know if like this... Don't forget about dive.

Oh Jesus, yeah, dive, of course That's their first record in five years So Yeah, so it's There's like a lot to look forward to in the first quarter. But yeah, I don't know if this quarter, I don't think, it's unusually stacked to me.

I was thinking back to 2022. There was a lot of records coming out right at the beginning of the year, you know, starting like with the Big Thief record. I remember that was really early and that kind of set the tone. I think that came out in March of that year. I'm just looking it up quick. No, it came out in February of that year. So yeah, I don't know.

I'm with you, though. I think there's like a lot of things to look forward to, Yeah, I don't think it's like unprecedented how stacked it is. Yeah, especially as like at this very moment where we're living like 10 year anniversary pieces for like home like no place is there and like Benji and we're going to get lost in the dream in a few weeks. Yeah, that's true. Yeah, 2014. Yeah, talk about that. Yeah, that was just on fucking fire.

And, you know, I put a little stink on some of the names because I think there's been like some good stuff coming out. And for me, it's like glass beach and everyone else. you know, some of these albums that you mentioned, like Friko, I like that album. Ducks Limited, that's a good album. And I'm thinking, though, that it's hard to tell, like, which of these will go the distance, but we also have to acknowledge the fact that most publications are fighting for survival right now. So it's hard to tell, like, if we're going to get any year-end list. But I think it's interesting.

We will. We're going to have year-end list. Come on. But I think it was interesting that Mike said, like, we're getting summertime level banger after banger. And look, as people who have been doing this podcast for four years, we know damn well that July is like a dead zone. Like nothing happens in July. So I think it's the early part of the year, particularly February, March less so because that used to be like south by southwest and like people would just kind of take off. But yeah, the summer's a real dead zone.

But Q1 tends to be cool because this is like when I'm like have renewed excitement to check out new music after kind of, you know, finishing out the year and like not having much to think about in November and December. Like I usually get like renewed enthusiasm, especially when there are bands who are releasing new records that haven't been around for like five. Like I listen to the real estate album, the Future Islands album. You know, albums aren't like I'm not stoked. about but it's like fuck it i i got time so you know i just love mike b's enthusiasm we need more of that yeah i mean i would say february to may and then the fall you know maybe september to like the beginning of november like because once you get past the first week of november so i think things really slow down in terms of releases but uh yeah like february to may and

like maybe like September or to the very early part of November. Like those are like, I think, the hot times to put out a record. I was just thinking about like what albums have stood out for me so far. Because a lot of the albums I love, again, I have them now, but they're not out until the second quarter. So thinking about records that have actually come out already, I kind of want to say like, if we haven't talked about this band on the show, Liquid Mike?

I'm shocked that we had. I didn't touch it in recommendation corner because I was absolutely certain that you were going to. Well, okay, so I have a column on this band that might be up today. If it's not up today, it'll be up on Monday. Liquid Mike, this is a band from the UP, Upper Peninsula of Michigan. And they're just such a great band. They basically combine all the things I love. Midwesternness.

There's some guided by voices in there. There's a little bit of like small town, debauchery, hold steady type narratives. They're just like a power pop band with great lyrics in every song's like two minutes long. And, yeah, their album's called Paul Bunyan Slingshot. That's probably my favorite album of Q1. But, yeah, Q2. is really strong. I think there's a lot of really good records that are about to come out. That'll be fun to talk about when that comes around. Let's get to our second letter.

This one I will read. This is from Victoria. I'm sorry. It's from Josh. It's from Josh who lives in Victoria, British Columbia. Another Canadian. The Canadians love our show, and we love Canada. So thank you for writing in. Hi, Stephen Ian. First off, I say how much I appreciate the pod. You know, we're leaving all the compliments in our emails this week because, you know, we need some self-esteem here. I've been a listener since your episode on Halcyon Digest, and this is one of only two pods that I never miss. I wonder what the other one is.

You make my Friday mornings every week with the music convoes that I can't get in my daily life. Oh, thank you, Josh. That's really sweet. Okay, I'm going to see a Feist show tonight, and you will have to be. seen this show obviously by the time we talk about it. And I got thinking on a theory I wanted to run by you two. I think Weiss might quietly be the most influential female vocalist of her generation. I hear a version of her sort of oddball back-of-the-throat vowel phrasing in almost every female

songwriter of the last 20 years, from Lord to Olivia Rodriguez to every reel that pops up in my insta where a girl has a guitar. Even friggin' Aunt Oliver Anthony does it. Oliver Anthony, for those who don't remember, that's the Fudge Rounds guy. He just disappeared. He had that Fudge Rounds song. He's gone, unless he's like in the studio with Rick Rubin. Yeah, he's in the lab, you know, cooking.

He could be in the, could be writing Fudge Rounds part two. But I feel like Fice not really credited with the innovation. I heard the style called seal singing. Okay. Funny in parentheses. Or singing in cursive. Confusing? Yeah, that is.

a little bit. What are your thoughts on this? Is Feist the Eddie Better of the tens and 20s? And other artists you feel are way more influential on current music than anyone seems to acknowledge. Thanks for reading my letter. Keep doing what you're doing. And that's from Josh. Not Victoria. He lives in Victoria, British Columbia. So Josh, I think this is a good theory. He's saying that Feist is the one vocalist who invented this omnipresent style. I think we all know what he's talking about. You hear it like in movie trailers all the time, like when they do the like gothy cover of like a 90 song

and there's like a female vocalist singing and just having a meal with every syllable that she's singing, you know, just making a meal out of it. And very precious. I would say it's irritating. I find this style singing very annoying. I'm very excited for it to, come out of style, which I think it is.

I think we've reached mass seal singing or peak seal singing. But do you think it starts with Feist? Do you think Feist is the one who should be credited or blamed for this? I don't know. I mean, like, we're heading into like true detective cast territory because I don't know if I've mentioned this on previous podcast, but they do the spooky, scary cover thing with Eagle Eye Cherry Save Tonight. And also, dude, you got to hear this.

and also twist and shout. That's like a motif that runs out. Look, I know like we're going to run a foul because like any sort of critique of true detective is, you know, kind of seen as message board bro guys. But I can say objectively, they do a spooky, scary Billy Elish style cover of Eagle Eye Cherry Save Tonight to close out an episode where someone gets murdered. That's awful. Yeah. So I don't know if I don't know if that style of singing is in danger of going. anywhere. But, you know, it's an interesting theory. And one that I haven't thought about much.

You know, as far as, I mean, I, I, like, vice is someone I've, like, kind of absorbed through osmosis, like my dating life since 2007 has been an unbroken streak of women for whom, like, the reminder was massively important, which, you know, is kind of the converse of, you know, the women, like I talked to, he was like, yeah, I've dated nothing but national or Wilco guys. But, yeah, I'm, like, really, I, like, I need to explain. explore this more because I don't know if Feist is like the

patient zero of this I don't think Fice is as affected in her vocals as you know as as most of the stuff we hear nowadays I'm also if we're going to tie it back to Kings of Leon I'm thinking about my co-worker who listened to

nothing but the first two songs of because of the times and Fice the reminder on a loop every single day in 2007. But yeah, I think this is, more will be revealed. Also, I just thought of Anthony Oliver, like, or Oliver Anthony. What about Oliver Jimothy? What if those two guys collab?

I think, like, I want to manifest that. Anthony Oliver sounds like the British version of Oliver Anthony. Whatever the reactionary redneck guy from England, the equivalent of that would be. The Tory guy, yeah, or something like that. So I was thinking about this, and I'm going to make an analogy here that might be terrible, but it makes sense to me. You know, you could logically say that the Beatles have influenced every rock band ever, either directly or indirectly. But it doesn't necessarily mean that they are a literal influence on them. Like, for instance, the Beatles influenced Nirvana.

Kirk Cove, the Beatles. But a band that's influenced by Nirvana, you wouldn't necessarily say that they're also influenced by the Beatles. Like, they're influenced by Nirvana because they took elements of what the Beatles did and they totally transformed it and took it in a different direction. I'm going to say this in relation to Feist, where I think Josh makes a good point here, but I would say that Feist influenced Lord, and Lord is the one who's most responsible for this type of singing.

I just feel like it's so aping Lord more than Feist, even though I think Lord obviously heard Feist and probably took some of her affectations from her. I also think that Billy Eilish took the Lord thing and kind of turned it into like a whisper type singing. And I feel like that has in a way taken over the Lord voice. So like the whisper singing thing. And again, you could both, you could say Billy Eilish and Lord were influenced by Fice, but I just think that what those two did to distill the Feist vocal style,

they took that and they made it their own and then that is what people copied. So I would say, yes, you're right, but she's influential in the same way that the Beatles are influential. They influenced other influencers who I think have more influence. Does that make sense? It absolutely does. and I saw that True Detective got renewed for another season, so maybe they're going to do like the, you know, the spooky, scary, lordish, Billy Elish cover of You Somebody.

You know, I had people in my, I'm on a text chain with some friends, and all they did was complain about True Detective. I have so many True Detective gripes. Same. I watched like half the first episode, and I was like, I can't do this. I love Jody Foster. I was like, oh, Jody Foster's in this. I'm a fan of Jody Foster.

I like, I can't do this. And then just the stuff I heard, even from people who like the show, the way they described it, I'm like, nah, not doing it. TV is horrible right now. I'm going to renew this complaint. TV is so bad. It's so bad. Yeah, they're fucking up big time. I'm reading, I'm doing.

I'm doing the audiobook of the new Peter Biscan book, which is about the golden age of TV, basically, like the HBO and like the aughts era. And it's just talking about like Sopranos, the wire, Deadwoods six feet under. We just did a six feet under rewatch. Great show. There's like nothing on right now.

Like just look at dead. Like there's nothing as good as Deadwood. Nothing good as Sopranos. It's just ridiculous. Anyway, TV cast is over. All right, well, do you want to read our next email? Yeah, sure thing. All right, so, hey, Steve and Ian.

Or, hey, Ian and Steve. I want to just make sure it's as accurate as possible. To weigh in on the everlasting debate in the margins of these episodes, I would like to side with Stephen. All right, fuck this guy. Just kidding. And say that I am a big fan of physical media

and still collect CDs to this day. However, in the digital age, we are sadly missing one very important aspect of the compact disc era. The Thrift Store Bin. What albums from the past 10 or so years do you think would make it to the shelves and bins of bargain stores taking place right next to copies of Fairweather Johnson and this fire? We'd love to hear your thoughts on this. Brendan from Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.

Fuck yeah, man. Boat House, Finger Wings, and other things. That's where I grew up, baby. So is he just identifying the county because his town is so small that he doesn't think we'd recognize? recognize it. I wonder why he just went with the county. Me too. I mean, like, maybe he doesn't want, maybe he doesn't think I know how to say Kanshawkin or Wissahickin

or Lansdale. Like, no, man, you're, you are dealing with a born and bred Lafayette Hill guy, Studio 4, where Will Yip puts out all those great records. God, we're, we, we're, we're,

King of Prussia Mall, horseham, DeVry. Remembering some Pennsylvania town. Yeah, Bryn Mawr. Wow. I know Bryn Mare from Bruce Springsteen bootlegs. There's one, at least one that I love that was recorded in Bryn Mare.

I think that's the one from The Ghost of Tom Jodon tour, maybe. I'm trying to remember some Bruce Springsteen bootlegs here. Anyway, what's this fire, by the way? I don't know. I was hoping you would know it, this fire album. Because I know Fairweather Johnson, that's the second Hootie and the Blowfish album. It's a France-Burdinand song, but...

Oh, Paula Cole. Oh, okay, so that's the one with wherever all the Cowboys gone. Yes, and I don't want to wait. Okay. All right. That's a little bit of a deep cut, though, Brendan. You could have gone with Monster.

That's like the go-to, like, CD that would be used. This is a great question, by the way. Love the script. question. And look, there are still thrift store bins and UCD stores. I don't know if they don't have them in Pennsylvania anymore. There are fortunately a decent amount here still in the Twin Cities that I like to frequent. But it is true. I mean, it's not so much that there aren't thrift stores or UCD stores. It's that there aren't enough CDs sold for them to show up

in significant amounts in the way that we all remember. seeing certain albums in the bins. So when I think about this question, just thinking, okay, like, what if streaming didn't exist and we all still just bought CDs, like what CDs would show up? The first one I thought of, I was thinking, it had to be an Adele record. I feel like Adele, she's secretly, I think, the most popular singer around. You know, like, we kind of forget about Adele because she's not really in the media very much, but like every time she puts out a record, it sells like 10 million copies.

So I think 25, her album 25, which I think might not be on a streaming platform, or at least it wasn't when it came out, like people had to buy the CD. I think Adele 25, I also thought Reputation by Taylor Swift, you know, which is the prototypical album after the huge album that's less successful. So she puts out 1989, big hit, she puts out reputation, still sells millions of records. but not as big of a hit. So that would be like her Fairweather Johnson in a way. So those two come to mind. I was trying to think of like, what would be the monster equivalent?

Like the rock band that has a huge record deal and they put out a record that doesn't do as well as the previous record. And I'm saying this, by the way, I have to have this caveat. I love Monster. I've defended that record many times. I'm a big Monster fan, so I'm not knocking Monster,

but you can't deny that that out. isn't in every single UCD store ever made. And the fact that it's like a blaze orange cover just makes it stick out that much more. Like you can't miss it. I don't know. What am I missing? What would you have in your mythical UCD been from the last 10 years? Unfortunately, the place where I always bought UCDs in Montgomery County looks like it's now a nail salon.

So that's just kind of sign of the times. But yeah, this was tough because like a lot of the things that we associate with UCDs, or bands like REM or Hootie and the Blowfish, which were massive. And, you know, the only bands that, or the only artists that get to that level are like big pop stars. So when I thought like, Adele, when you said Adele and Taylor Swift, I'm like, you're probably right. Also, I feel like Adele, there was that time where there were, like, vinyl plants couldn't press indie records because they needed to press, like, Adele and Taylor Swift. And, like, you would just see, like, a shitload of Adele viny's being sold. at discount and like, you know, like Target or things like that.

But I tried to think of like what the, I try to think more along lines of like, what's the come on field of lemon heads or what's the file under easy listening? You know, the kind of indie coded bands that the one after the one. And so I thought, Chance the Rapper's Wife Guy album is a mortal walk. Like that is, that, the big day. I'm not going to front like I don't know the name of it. it. But, um,

what about Donnie Trumpet? Would that be in there somewhere? Maybe, but I, no, it's, I, Chance the rapper, you have to be big and,

like, it has to be the one after the one. So, there wasn't a previous Donnie trumpet. Yeah, but so many people bought that just because it was

Chance the rapper related. And I feel like, again, in the world where you have to buy a CD, I feel like there'd be so many people who bought Donnie trumpet. Yeah. I just love saying Donnie trumpet.

it. Because that's the name, right? They have to change the name because when Donald Trump got elected president, they're like, oh, fuck. That's a true story. But I'm thinking the car seat headrest album from 2020, making a door less open, maybe grinds misanthropocene. What about Lord Solar Power? Yes, that's a good one. Lord Solar Power for sure. LCD Sound System American Dream, because that album cover looks so much like some shit you would see in a UCD store circa 1997

and also I don't know anyone who really remembers it maybe the Casey Musgraves album 2021. Like there was like kind of a mini flop era from that time. The 2020 experience number two.

Oh yes, 2020 experience for sure. The second one specifically. Or like Man of the Woods. Yes. Man of the Woods would be a big one. I think. Yeah.

Maybe like the new Travis Scott album. I'm sure there'd be a bunch of Drake in there as well. What about the slow rush? Was that album like popular? I don't know. You know,

the pandemic is like a wild part here because I feel like that really derailed a lot of records. The slow rush, I think, came out in February of 2020. That was like right before the pandemic. So you would think, I mean,

I think, that record, it's generally viewed as less than currents. It's kind of like Currants Part 2 in a lot of ways, but not as catchy. But if you had been able to tour that record right away, and if it had like a more normal album cycle, who knows? But yeah, I could see the slow rush being in there for sure. Because like you see the out, like they're not bad. It's just like the ones that weren't as popular as the one before.

Yeah, you're getting like a lot of casual fans buying the album. album because they liked the previous one and they're just dumping it because yeah they just like that one record or that one song like you know last splash that was all over the place or like bellies star or the flaming lips album if she don't use jelly like we haven't really even consider the one hit wonder types that's true yeah like a band that just had like one huge song and again in this world you can't stream it you got to buy the 16th dollar CD. So maybe like the

1975, like the, they love love it if we made it. And they're like, oh wait, there's like 15 other songs on here. I don't know if I can hang with this record.

So they could have been in the conversation. But no, I really like solar power. I think that's a strong, that has strong thrift store bin energy. And I think Timberlake, Man of the Woods,

I think both 2020 experience albums, not just the second one. I think both of them would be, People love suit and tie. The big one on two was Take Back The Night. Well, they love mirrors.

That's the song I always hear. People, you know, 2020 experience is bad, but it has mirrors. So, I don't know. That's another guy we're going to end up talking about on the show. The whole heel turn for Justin Timberlake. What a shitty album

fucking cycle that's being for, like, that is like everything now type just blowing it left and right? Well, it is, but like, he was set up to fail. I'm not defending Timberlake. He could have done everything great. People, they're just waiting to hate that guy. So I just think it's fascinating the arc of Justin Timberlake, how he was kind of, I mean,

he was like among the first pop stars that like indie music press people. loved. And I'm trying not to use the word optimism here, but I mean, he was, that was like, you know, like, Prime me a River. No, even before then, Cry me a River.

That's true. Yeah, that was, Crimey River, that was like the D-Day invasion of, of, optimism, you know, like, secured the beachhead with that song. And then, ironically, that becomes also the seeds of his destruction

because Britney Spears writes her inner memoir, but like, what a jerk Justin Chamberlake is, and now he looks like a jerk for writing that song. Just fascinating, fascinating tapestry there with Justin Timberlake. Justin Timberlake and Kings of Leon, that's the only two people we'll be talking about here on Indycast. Okay, so let's go to our next email, and it looks like we only have time for four. So we're going to cut the fifth one.

We won't even say who wrote it. We don't want to hurt their feelings. We'll probably do it next week, because it's a good question. We only have time for four, and we're going to do this one. This one is from Zach in Alameda, California. Alameda, that's Elliot Smith song. Yes, it is. But I don't think he's talking about the one in California.

No, it's talking about a street, right? Yeah, probably. Is that on either or or on XO? It's on either or. Yeah, that's my favorite. What's your favorite? Exo. X-O

I'm an either-or guy but I like either or of them eh okay anyway Ty Siegel yay or nay I don't believe

I've heard you guys talk about him and I'm a big fan having cut his teeth in the San Francisco garage psych-rock scene of the mid-2000s along with artists like the OCs

I think he's ultimately transcended the limitations of that genre as a songwriter and has consistently released great albums in the last 10 years that incorporate all styles of good old-fashioned guitar rock music,

ranging from folkier songs to heavy metal. He's also a great live act, having just seen him last night on his current tour. Bonus, yeah or nay question, if you have time. Another SF indie institution, Deerhoof. So we have a yay or nay on Ty Siegel and then a little bonus one on Deerhoof. Where do you stand on Ty Siegel? or Thai Segal Yeah

Is it Thai Segal or Ty Segal? I really don't I actually don't know Okay Yeah Let's call them Thai We'll call them Thai

Which is interesting Because like I do have quite a few people In real life With whom I talk to about music That are super into You know Thai and OCs

And like this whole scene And Look I think this is sort of like A pavement thing Where like Publicly I'm like Nay even though I kind of like I kind of like them.

You know, I feel like I should be nay on general principle because, you know, Syke and Garage Rock isn't really my thing. You know, there's, I find that there's something like kind of depressingly regressive about it. Not the music itself, but the way it's discussed by people I've talked to about it in real life. I mean, most of the people I know who, you know, kind of fuck with this whole scene will just often say like, I don't, you know, there's not, music hasn't been good for 20 years or something like that. And, you know, I know I shouldn't let, you know, the fans affect how I feel about the music. Because if that was the case, like, I probably wouldn't listen to Modern Emo either.

But, yeah, I think that ultimately the very predictable cancellation of Burger Records and, you know, Ty Siegel kind of drifting from one of the few rock guys that indie publications were talking about to more of a journeyman status. It's kind of softened my view on him. I like Goodbye Bread. I think that's a good song. I tried with Slaughterhouse a million times. I didn't like, that's just not my style. But, you know, when I catch a song of his on a weekly Brooklyn vegan mix or whatever,

and there's almost always a new Ty Siegel song on there, I'm like, oh, I enjoy this. This is good. He's clearly got some, he's clearly like a good songwriter, but never to the point where I'm like, maybe I need to do a deep dive into Thai Siegel because I do, I think a lot of it is not musical tourism, but like you said, it's like he's going to make like a kind of stoner rock album or a folkie album. And, you know, there's nothing really about it that like emotionally connects with me. So like I appreciate the fact that he exists. I'm not against Ty Siegel, especially now that it's not like 2012 or 2014 where, you know, he would like, no, we don't listen to your music. We listen to

Ty Siegel. Time heals all wounds. I'm like, I'm like, like knack on this guy. Yeah, I have mixed feelings about Ty Segal, Ty Siegel. I was a fan of his for a while, like in the early aughts, that period that you're talking

about, the album Goodbye Bread, I like quite a bit or I did at the time. There's also a collaborative album he did with White Fence called Hair that came out in 2012. I like that record. But my feelings on him essentially are

I disagree with the fact with the assertion made by Zach that he's put out great albums in the 10 years, last 10 years. I think he is the quintessential example of someone who's put out a lot of good albums but like no great albums. I think he's got a lot of B's and B minuses but no A's or A minuses.

and it's weird because I think a lot of people in this lane they kind of make the same record over and over again and you can't accuse Ty Siegel of that I mean he has gone into different genres he does have quite a bit of range but I just don't feel like he's the master of any of those like yeah he puts out a folk record but is it like a great folk record no it's like a good folk record he puts out like a heavier riffing

kind of metalish album is it a great metal album, not really, is it good, yeah. So it's like, it's hard for me to be nay on him because like you said, I think he's a talented guy. I've seen him live. I think he is a good live act. But I've never been like blown away by any of his albums. He's gotten into like very good status a couple of times with those albums that I mentioned. But I just don't think he's ever crushed it. And it's a weird situation like that. I, because there's other bands that are like that too, I think. And they are bands that tend to be very prolific.

And that's the thing with Ty Siegel is that he is putting out at least one album every year, if not multiple albums. And as a fan of guy that my voice is like, I would never tell an artist or suggest to an artist make fewer records. I think there are certain kinds of artists where that's their method. They make a lot of records. And they're just throwing a lot of stuff against the wall. And sometimes there's great stuff in there.

and sometimes it's just okay. And it makes their body of work maybe less consistent, but they wouldn't really be as effective if they were just putting out an album every two years. But, yeah, I guess I'm going to go with NAC here as well because I can't go nay for the reasons I just said,

but I just, I've never been totally on board. You know, I think in 2012, I was like, this guy's going to make a man. masterpiece at some point. And there were a few times where I maybe tried to talk myself into him writing a masterpiece. Like Slaughterhouse, you mentioned being a record like that. I think that's the one that's like 17 songs.

I can't remember. Slaughterhouse is the one where it's like the super heavy. Like I don't know if that's, I think there's the one that came out in 2014, like maybe self-titled that your thing. Like I remember Slaughterhouse being kind of short. Okay, that's not the one I'm thinking of. Uh, what, anyways, it was a manipulator.

That's it. That's it. That's the one. That's the one. I think I even like interviewed him at that time. But, uh, for that record. But yeah, I just feel like for the longest time,

he would put out a record and I would listen to it and I would enjoy it. And then I would immediately forget it. And then that just happened enough times where I just stopped being excited when he put out new records. So that's where I'm at. I'm glad I, because he clearly has an audience, I'm glad he's making records for those people, but I just, I lost interest. I couldn't, I couldn't stay on the, on the bandwagon with him. I looked him up on AllMusic Guide and from the time they start actually reviewing his records,

which I believe is in 2009, every single album is three and a half or four stars. That sounds about right to me. Yeah, you know, again, they're not bad, but they're not great. and he's consistent he's consistently good but I don't know if you I would almost rather have an artist who put out a great record and then a terrible record

than a lot of three and a half star albums you know because like if a great artist makes a bad record that to me is more interesting than a good artist making a good record you know I want to hear a great artist like not hit the mark because at least they're

probably trying something and it's going to be an interesting failure. And, like, I don't think Ty, Ty Segal would ever make, like, a bad record. But I don't think he's going to make a great record either. So, you know, it is what it is. Yeah, what about Deer Hoof? I'm going to, I'm going to say push on Deerhoof. I've never, I haven't listened to a ton of deer hoof in my life, to be honest. So I don't really feel qualified to have an opinion either way.

Yeah. They have a great drummer. I know that. I've seen enough and heard enough. to know that their drummer's fantastic. So I'll say yay into the drummer, and I'll push on the rest. Yeah, this is like, this is a band that used to be, like, the number five album each year. Like, when they were, they were always also very prolific in the, like, the 2000 to 2005 pitchfork era.

Like, they were the kind of band that when we made, that when you made the original, like, 2000 to 2005 halfway, best of list. Like they were all at the top and then by the end of the decade, they like weren't there at all. I think they're a band that just gets like rediscovered every 10 or so years. They put out a lot of music. And you know, you can root for them because, you know, they're very challenging. They're very, you know, they're very abrasive in their way. Like for me, I appreciate what they do. But like I can't get down with the book. Like the vocal, like I know that it's like it shouldn't be this cut and drive. It's like, you know. Yeah, the vocals, I find them tough to get past. But also, I think they opened for Wilco once. Yeah, that makes sense. So, yeah, they're the kind of band that, like, you know,

they're a kind of band that, like, a lot of bands, like, super respect, you know. I know that they are, like, across the board respected. And, you know, maybe there was, like, a chance back when I was, like, just following, like, pitchforks opinions in lockstep that I could have got into them. But I don't know, maybe that day will come. Yeah, you know, when I think of Deerhoof, I just picture the 52-year-old guy who hangs out at the indie rec store. Yes. Who has like the big, bushy beard, horn rim glasses.

And Deerhoff is like his favorite bag. Watch me sell five copies of Apple O. We are going to skip recommendation corner this week. So this is the end of the episode. Thank you all for listening to this episode of Indycast. We'll be back with more news, reviews, and hashing out trends next week. And if you're looking for more music recommendations, sign up for the Indie Mix tape newsletter.

You can go to uprocks.com backslash indie, and I recommend five albums per week, and we'll send it directly to your email box.