Today's episode begins with an extended rant from Steven about a big pet peeve: The conflation of music taste with personal morality and/or ideology. This came up multiple times this week, first with Charli XCX's apparent endorsement of Kamala Harris and the deep investigation into JD Vance's Spotify playlists (2:17). After Steven's rant, Ian shares his review of EA Sports College Football 25 and how it might impact his music writing career (17:40).

The guys then talk about new albums from Jack White and Childish Gambino, and the diverging paths both artists are taking in 2024 (22:20). They also discuss two records that turned 10 this week, Joyce Manor's Never Hungover Again and Alvvays' Alvvays, and the value of song power over short-term cultural relevancy (35:45). In the mailbag, a listener asks Steven and Ian to recount their biggest musical disagreements (45:40).

In Recommendation Corner, Ian talks up the latest from Ben Seratan and Sinai Vessel while Steven stumps for Wand and American Aquarium (54:45).

New episodes of Indiecast drop every Friday. Listen to Episode 199 here and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. You can submit questions for Steve and Ian at indiecastmailbag@gmail.com, 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.

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