Kitschfork

for Pride month we finally tackle a beloved (musically) unhinged artist for an unhinged time. continuing on in our 2003 Best New Music era, we talk about perennial Pitchfork critical darling and twitter album poll winner Xiu Xiu and their dark, quiet, and disturbing 2003 cult album "A Promise" - an album that feels just as relevant as ever. the band is still active today via primary member Jamie Stewart, and has had a vast amount of influence on the landscape via their one-of-a-kind hyper intense queer industrial/experimental/pop sound and Jamie's incredibly emotive vocals. their influence only seems to grow over the years, even in spite of their sometimes spotty and self-sabotaging output as is talked about. Liz also makes a sincere case for Xiu Xiu being as important as the Velvet Underground. Jamie Stewart interview mentioned in the episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qh0TBfokA-w

EMAIL us: kitschforkpodcast@gmail.com we continue on with our Best New Music circa 2003 era of Kitschfork by taking a visit back to the biggest apple of them all, Nu Yawk City baybee, in this special twofer episode. we first take a dip into 00's dancepunk revival with the ungoogleable !!!'s "Me and Giuliani Down By The Schoolyard" single (which curiously landed a 7.8 on Pitchfork but still made Best New Music), a thing we feel... sort of whatever about. and then we unearth a popular Brooklyn indie rock band's first notable release with TV On The Radio's "Young Liars" EP - both released on Touch & Go in 2003. we talk bygone trends of 00's music and its 70's/80's obsession, gentrification, Celebrity Deathmatch, Eric Adams's horrible mayorship, and... much more. this is the article about video game music interpolation in indie pop by Drew Mackie mentioned on the episode: https://www.thrillingtalesofoldvideogames.com/blog/star-maze-mario-land-2-owen-pallett

EMAIL us: kitschforkpodcast@gmail.com folks, it's time to get twee. for the first of our two twitter poll winners, we start season 2 of Kitschfork off with perennially beloved indie artist Sufjan Stevens and his 2003 breakout album "Michigan" which Pitchfork helped break with its brand new (circa 2003) "Best New Music" category. because of this, Liz talks about the history of Pitchfork's Best New Music and also the disputed history of this album's review. Max and Liz also have a very spirited disagreement about Sufjan. Much discussion about Sufjan's strengths (and failures) as an artist and this era's musical tropes in general ensues.

our sponsor: https://imitone.com/kitschfork/ EMAIL us: kitschforkpodcast@gmail.com before we officially begin Kitschfork Season Two (aka our Best New Music era) and return back to our rightful place in the 2000's, we still have another 90's album to get to. that's right! we have finally made good on our intentions to talk about the (at the time very young, now rapidly aging) indie rock stars Modest Mouse's seminal 1997 double-album The Lonesome Crowded West. this time we are joined by 90's culture aficionado Aaron Casias, co-host of the 90's movie podcast Hit Factory to help us interpret this album's place in the culture of the time. we talk about why this album is so critically beloved, and such a perfect road trip album. we talk about the untimely passing of Jeremiah Green at the beginning of this year, which tragically ended their reunion tour playing this album. we talk the now 10 year old official Pitchfork documentary from 2013 about the making of this album. we talk about the music scene of the Pacific Northwest for what feels like the billionth time. we talk about the mallfucking of America. and we take 2 hours and 40 minutes to do it. so please enjoy. and thank you for your patience. expect more updates coming next podcast, which should be out in a couple of weeks (i promise!) Pitchfork Lonesome Crowded West Documentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G33AcZzZ0pM Aaron (Hit Factory)'s twitter: https://twitter.com/HitFactoryPod Hit Factory's Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/hitfactorypod

our sponsor: https://imitone.com/kitschfork/ EMAIL us: kitschforkpodcast@gmail.com today we delay the inevitable Modest Mouse coverage to go back again to the 90's to talk about an unkillable musical behemoth - Pearl Jam, and their (probably) weirdest album - 1996's No Code. we also go into the background of Pearl Jam as both the most popular band in the world for a time, and also as the whipping boys of indie rock forum hipsters everywhere in the 00's. we reflect on the Nirvana vs. Pearl Jam conflict and the dangers of cred. and we talk about an initially divisive album The Quietus described as "Grunge's 'Kid A' moment" (a huge stretch), that is now generally recognized as one of their best.

our sponsor: https://imitone.com/kitschfork/ EMAIL us: kitschforkpodcast@gmail.com WE'RE BACK FROM THE DEAD! today on our 14th episode (originally recorded in late November last year), we talk about experimental/industrial hip-hop pioneers from New Jersey, Dälek (aka Will Brooks & company) and their seminal 2002 album "From Filthy Tongue of Gods and Griots" we talk about how much Dälek's cross-genre inspirations (while still maintaining a traditional hip-hop essence) and high-minded experimentation set the stage for a lot of experimental hip-hop that came later in the 2010's. also how they still haven't gotten their due! spoilers: this album is great, and you probably haven't heard of it before. which you can rectify here: https://dalek.bandcamp.com/album/from-filthy-tongue-of-gods-and-griots

our sponsor: https://imitone.com/kitschfork/ EMAIL us: kitschforkpodcast@gmail.com today during this very autumnal season we look at a very autumnal 2002 album from DIY bedroom pop progenitor/(former) Olympia Washington K Records twee-adjacent indie songwriter/musical cousin and collaborator of Phil Elvrum's: Mirah's (aka Mirah Yom Tov Zeitlyn) "Advisory Committee" we talk K Records and the 90's Olympia music scene, about Mirah's background as a DIY artist, and her being one of the few visible and celebrated queer artists in the indie space at a time when there wasn't a lot. and of course... we talk about the music. which we both find to be generally likeable and fun, with occasional moments of brilliance. we also get into Liz's brief twitter feud with a few Pitchfork writers that happened a century ago and the increasingly dire situation for touring musicians.

our sponsor: https://imitone.com/kitschfork/ EMAIL us: kitschforkpodcast@gmail.com various forces of humanity and nature conspired against you hearing this episode, but we have prevailed. we welcome James Webster, member of the cult vaporwave/electronic music group Death's Dynamic Shroud, to talk about an album that influenced him greatly, as well as a famous Pitchfork 10.0... 2002's "Source Tags & Codes" by Austin art rock band ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead. has this album had the lasting cultural impact of other famously acclaimed Pitchfork albums? maybe not. is the band made up of cringey fantasy dorks who didn't really fit the rock zeitgeist at the time? definitely yes. but also - who cares? in 2022, this album is still great. follow James on twitter here: https://mobile.twitter.com/HCMJmagic listen to Darklife here: https://deathsdynamicshroud.bandcamp.com/album/darklife-2

our sponsor: https://imitone.com/kitschfork/ EMAIL us: kitschforkpodcast@gmail.com (most of the episodes of) Max's old podcast Desert Island Discourse: https://archive.org/details/podcast_desert-island-discourse_1204078946?tab=collection today we begin by looking at a band that truly embodies 2000's indie rock in all its tropes (for better or worse): Spoon, and their breakout album - 2001's "Girls Can Tell". we examine why and how Spoon reformed itself from a Pixies-inspired 90's bar band floundering on a major label into being the archetypal mid-60's mod-inspired too cool for school hipster band that personified its big indie label, Merge Records, and the indie kitsch of the era. also we go into why neither of us feel particularly strongly about (or have much to say about) Spoon. after that, we have another discussion about various news in the music world (at least at the time this episode was recorded...lol). from our thoughts about the current 'indie sleaze' revival which may or may not actually exist, to early 2000's nostalgia tours and why so much 'indie' music of the era sort of feels like the sound of gentrification, to people giving up on music in their 30's, to the Arcade Fire/Win Butler allegations... and more

our sponsor: https://imitone.com/kitschfork/ EMAIL us: kitschforkpodcast@gmail.com for our very special 10th episode, we're taking a visit to the utopian musical island of a very special artist. yes that's right: it's the one, the only, everyone's favorite Icelandic pop goddess Björk. the duo congratulate themselves on their excellent timing on this episode right before a podcast series/new album is on the way from Björk herself. Liz also reflects on her very fraught relationship with the work of Björk as a former Björk stan, and there's commiseration on her (terrible) MoMA exhibition in 2015. and somewhere in there, music gets talked about. one of a kind, heart demolishing music.

we try our best as non-experts tip-toeing into the realm of hip-hop and the very artistically fruitful period of the early 00's indie hip-hop by looking at a highly acclaimed (at the time), but also semi-forgotten indie hip-hop album Blazing Arrow by former Bay Area hip-hop duo Blackalicious. RIP Gift of Gab.

EMAIL US: kitschforkpodcast@gmail.com for our podcast about 2000's indie music kitsch that is inextricably tied to its time... we have an artist an album that feels as out of time, and untethered to a singular era as possible. we are, of course, talking about the beloved electronic music artist Boards of Canada, in all their uncanny nostalgia, and their dark masterpiece album Geogaddi from 2002. Liz is excited to finally cover some electronic music... so it's time to sit back and learn about where a bunch of samples came from website episode photo taken from: https://imgur.com/a/lKl0m outro song is "Midnight Star - The Midas Touch (Hell Interface remix)"

EMAIL US: kitschforkpodcast@gmail.com Audrey Whitesides (@audreyotherway) of the bands Mal Blum and Speedy Ortiz joins us in our discussion of Chicago indie music darling Liz Phair and her infamous Liz Phair Goes Mainstream Pop self-titled album from 2003 that netted much disgust from music critics and a 0.0 from our friends at Pitchfork. why did she get so much hate? why doesn't the album have the reputation anymore for being the Bad Album it had in its day? what can we learn from this? (probably nothing). find out here!

Liz surfs the currents of fucked-up audio (sorry) as we briefly knock off the obligatory first Pitchfork 10.0, the EP "Gay?" by the Minneapolis band 12 Rods. who were they? good question! then we spend the rest of the episode talking about David Cross, Kate Bush, Spotify, why something like 00's indie couldn't sustain itself today, if there is a chance for genuine real "protest" music in the wake of crumbling institutions, and other related things! end music is "Precious Park" from the game Armored Core: For Answer by Kota Hoshino

EMAIL US QUESTIONS: kitschforkpodcast@gmail.com we take a break from our usual fare of irony-tinged commentary about 2000's indie kitsch to dance in graveyards with vampires till dawn and talk about a real deal musical titan, Tori Amos. much fan fawning ensues, this time towards her classic debut solo album "Little Earthquakes" which had its 30th birthday earlier this year. why doesn't she still fully get her due? why do so many people still don't really get how important she is? we discuss.

EMAIL US: kitschforkpodcast@gmail.com we take a trip to our neighbors to the north to look at the Toronto experimental/indie rock musical collective that may or may not encompass the entire Canadian music industry, Broken Social Scene. will you learn more than you probably ever wanted to know about the Canadian music scene of the 90's? probably. are they the "indie rock white people Wu Tang clan" as described by many? yes. was Broken Social Scene a harbinger of many more big Canadian indie acts to come in the 00's? also yes. anyway, enjoy.

for the third episode we finally get to the NYC post-punk revival scene of the 00's, covered in the book Meet Me In The Bathroom, via its earliest critical success - Interpol's debut album "Turn On The Bright Lights" from 2002. we talk about the history of the band and then dive in - and have some disagreements! is the album still a classic, or was Pitchfork right to retroactively downgrade their initial high praise of the album 20 years later in their recent "rescored" article? are the lyrics as bad as everyone says? why does Liz hate 00's post-punk revival so much? you'll have to listen to find out.

for the second episode we look at the inaugural album from the band which became a staple of 2000's indie pop new sincerity, The Shins. we discuss the band's DIY beginnings, their surprising (depending on whom you ask) popularity, the intersection of The Shins with the cultural zeitgeist of the early 00's (esp via the feature in the movie Garden State), and whether any of it is paraseable at all in the current moment. and of, course, we talk about the pitchfork review.

on our inaugural episode of the Kitschfork podcast, we talk about the much mythologized staple of early 2000's music criticism, Wilco's "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot". in order to understand the album's very complicated backstory behind its conception and release, we also discuss the documentary "I Am Trying To Break Your Heart" which captures the band during this period.