All (especially all Old Guys) hail the return of Indiecast.
For this week’s Quick Take, we take a slight detour from a new record to a new/old podcast. But not just any podcast. Certainly for OG Brian and me, and many people in our demographic, I think it’s safe to say that no single podcast in the last few years has brought us more great music recommendations, more music-related laughs, more insightful discussion, or more remote references to late-2000s and early 2010s emo bands that we’ve never heard of (and liked way more than we expected) than Indiecast. The podcast’s 5+ year-run on Uproxx came to an end at the end of 2025, and honestly, it had not been the same for me since.
For those who don’t know the podcast, it features one of the best-known (and simply best overall) rock music writers, Steven Hyden, and Ian Cohen, the writer who has contributed more reviews than any other in the history of Pitchfork. They have billed this as the only podcast (or show, more generally) focused on indie rock, even if the definition of “indie rock” can be an elusive and flexible one. Hyden is from the Midwest (born in Wisconsin and now lives in Minneapolis, which comes up often) and known for a range of books about Springsteen, Pearl Jam, Radiohead, band rivalries, and even his contributions to the Yacht Rock dock-umentary. His taste runs more into Americana, alt-country, and just straightahead rock, with a deep knowledge of classic rock; he focuses a lot on “patio music,” which we have taken to here at 3A6OG. Ian grew up very close to where I did, in suburban Philadelphia, and even reflects on life in Jewish youth groups in the 90s, another subject I know a bit about. Ian now lives (and works as a registered dietitian) in San Diego and is known more for his deep love of emo (he’s working on a book about 1990s emo), hardcore, and hip-hop, and he boasts of listening to nothing made before the early 90s (as well as completely out of left field bands, like Wu Lyf, which OG Brian caught a glimpse of in the wild while in the UK this week). They do have plenty of overlap - both loved Geese in 2025, which of course I hate with unending passion, so this is definitely not about liking everything they do - but the dynamic, tension, and gaps between their tastes keeps the discussion from getting too monotonous.
The show is not fancy, not on video, has no guests, and features no song samples, not even for less than 10 seconds. It’s just discussion and occasional debate between two excellent music critics, thinkers, and most importantly, huge fans and also clearly good friends. Each episode follows a similar arc every week: Stephen introducing Ian in a slightly sarcastic way related to some headline from the week, followed by banter, their theme for the show, sometimes a letter or two from fans (I was absurdly thrilled when they read one of mine), the “yay or nay” of the week (see below), and then each provides a recommendation. Stephen always introduces Ian to start the show, and “Ian, why don’t you go first” is how every recommendation segment works. Like most Old Guys, they do well with repetition and familiarity.
