Kitschfork

#22 - Under a Anvil Tree (Fog - Ether Teeth)

Max and Liz finally return for their first full episode recording in over a year. they catch up about Pitchfork layoffs, dead music websites of old, the sorry state of culture criticism in general... and the recent death of a very important musical figure.
they then turn to talk about one of 2000's indie's great "What If's", Minneapolis-based Andrew Broder aka Fog, a hip-hop DJ turned multi genre wonder ahead of his time who never really hit the zeitgeist but nonetheless did score a Pitchfork Best New Music with his melancholy 2003 experimental ambient folk album "Ether Teeth". Max and Liz speculate on why he never really seemed to hit as an artist, and why "Ether Teeth" holds up in unexpected and surprising ways.
 
Andrew Broder/Yoni Wolf podcast interview from 2013 mentioned in the episode: https://soundcloud.com/thewanderingwolf/episode-3-andrew-broder
Fog/Andrew Broder performance and interview clips from 2003: https://www.youtube.com/@work-kh2bo
 
Andrew Broder's solo bandcamp:
https://andrewbroder.bandcamp.com/
 
song list:
Cockeyed Cookie PusherPneumoniaCheck FraudA Word of Advice"Fuel" - IdahoPlumb DumbWhat a Day DaySee It? See It?The Girl from the Gum CommercialCheerUpCheerilyUnder a Anvil TreeNo Boys AllowedApologizing to MysteryI Call This Song Old Tyme DudesWall Paper Sink or SwimJust a Kid Growing Up

#21 - The Flan in the Face (Radiohead - Hail to the Thief)

in the second of two previously unreleased episodes recorded in mid-2023, Max and Liz finally talk about Radiohead via perhaps their hardest album to pin down, 2003's Hail to the Thief.
new kitschfork will be coming soon!
liz's bandcamp: https://ellaguro.bandcamp.com/ and soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/ella-guro

#20 - The Children Huddled And Devoured (Animal Collective - Spirit They've Gone, Spirit They've Vanished)

KITSCHFORK IS BACK!!! ...sort of?
in this previously un-posted episode from mid 2023, Liz and Max chatter about some Guided By Voices lore before getting into an incredibly crucial pillar of 2000's Pitchfork indie music: Animal Collective. and more specifically: their classic but still somewhat lesser-known 2000 debut (sort of - it was originally credited to Avey Tare and Panda Bear) album: Spirit They've Gone, Spirit They've Vanished thanks to its recent 2023 remaster. is this album possibly the group's real masterpiece? are Animal Collective THE artist of the 2000's? are the lyrics also surprisingly creepy? listen to find out!
thanks so much to Patrick aka Space Town for offering to edit this podcast episode!!
buy the remastered version of Spirit They've Gone on bandcamp: https://anmlcollectve.bandcamp.com/album/spirit-theyre-gone-spirit-theyve-vanished-remastered-2023
2005 Baltimore City Paper article about Animal Collective: https://web.archive.org/web/20130926083817/http://www2.citypaper.com/music/story.asp?id=11022
Liz's appearance on Patrick/Space Town's podcast "What Happened to Chiptune?": https://whathappenedtochiptune.org/episodes/liz-ryerson
Liz's 2023 twitter thread about Problem Attic: https://x.com/ellaguro/status/1663233716691378176
Collapse Out podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/collapse-out/

#19 - I WILL take it too far!! (Xiu Xiu - A Promise)

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

#18 - Us and Eric Adams Down By The Schoolyard (!!! - Me and Giuliani single & TV on the Radio - Young Liars EP)

EMAIL us: kitschforkpodcast@gmail.comwe 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

#17 - Cottagecore At The Kmart (Sufjan Stevens - Michigan)

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.

#16 - The Mallfucking Of America feat. Aaron Casias (Modest Mouse - The Lonesome Crowded West)

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

#15 - Better No Cred Than Dead (Pearl Jam - No Code)

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.