New Albums By Wilco And Animal Collective + The Resurgence of Mid-'80s Alt-Rock

Steven and Ian begin today's episode by reflecting on the news that John Darnielle and Lin-Manuel Miranda are apparently friends and consult each other on songwriting. They also tiptoe around their mixed feelings on both artists, while pointing out that they might be more alike than people want to admit. As if this wasn't enough to alienate part of the Indiecast audience, Steven and Ian also did a short Sportscast on the relationship between Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce (8:22).

After that, the guys get into a discussion about new albums by two big legacy acts, Wilco and Animal Collective. Their latest records, Cousin (for Wilco) and Isn't It Now? (Animal Collective), are worthy efforts. But is it possible for even great bands to wear out their audiences? How many new albums is "enough"? Steven and Ian get into a deep conversation about legacy bands and how we as listeners respond to them (18:39).

Then they segue into a discussion about two bands who are even older: The Replacements and Talking Heads (33:34). Both bands are having a moment right now due to seminal work from the mid-'80s being re-released, the remixed album Tim and the refurbished concert film Stop Making Sense. Steven wonders: Does Ian like or care about either band? How relevant are they as influences on contemporary music?

In Recommendation Corner (53:28), Ian talks up the Brooklyn emo band Good Looking Friends while Steven recommends the Chicago indie band Slow Pulp and the heartland rock singer-songwriter Jerry David DeCicca.

New episodes of Indiecast drop every Friday. Listen to Episode 157 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 Twitter for all the latest news. We also recently launched a visualizer for our favorite Indiecast moments. Check those out here.

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