Kitschfork

an anti-nostalgia podcast about the indie music of the 00’s, the influential music website Pitchfork Media, and growing up as a child of the internet. co-hosted by writer/musicians Max Cohen (@lastyears_model) and Liz Ryerson (@ellaguro)
an anti-nostalgia podcast about the indie music of the 00’s, the influential music website Pitchfork Media, and growing up as a child of the internet. co-hosted by writer/musicians Max Cohen (@lastyears_model) and Liz Ryerson (@ellaguro)
Episodes
Episodes



Nov 10, 2022
Nov 10, 2022
2hr 5 min
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.



Oct 17, 2022
Oct 17, 2022
2hr 24 min
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



Sep 21, 2022
Sep 21, 2022
2hr 6 min
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



Aug 30, 2022
#10 - Disney Horror (Björk - Vespertine)
Aug 30, 2022
Aug 30, 2022
2hr 24 min
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.



Aug 17, 2022
Aug 17, 2022
2hr 25 min
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.



Aug 2, 2022
Aug 2, 2022
2hr 45 sec
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)"



Jul 21, 2022
Jul 21, 2022
2hr 25 min
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!



Jul 5, 2022
Jul 5, 2022
2hr 59 sec
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
Our Rankings
Max:
1. Modest Mouse - The Lonesome Crowded West
2. Interpol - Turn on the Bright Lights
3. Animal Collective - Spirit They've Gone, Spirit They've Vanished
4. The Fiery Furnaces - Blueberry Boat
5. Tori Amos - Little Earthquakes
6. ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead - Source Tags & Codes
7. Björk - Vespertine
8. Fog - Ether Teeth
9. Xiu Xiu - A Promise
10. Radiohead - Hail To The Thief
11. Wilco - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
12. Dälek - From Filthy Tongue of Gods and Griots
13. Boards of Canada - Geogaddi
14. Pearl Jam - No Code
15. Blackalicious - Blazing Arrow
16. TV on the Radio - Young Liars EP
17. Liz Phair - s/t
18. Broken Social Scene - You Forgot It In People
19. Mirah - Advisory Committee
20. Spoon - Girls Can Tell
21. The Shins - Oh, Inverted World
22. 12 Rods - Gay?
23. !!! - Me and Guiliani (single)
24. Sufjan Stevens - Michigan
Liz:
1. Tori Amos - Little Earthquakes
2. Björk - Vespertine
3. Modest Mouse - The Lonesome Crowded West
4. Animal Collective - Spirit They've Gone, Spirit They've Vanished
5. Boards of Canada - Geogaddi
6. The Fiery Furnaces - Blueberry Boat
7. Xiu Xiu - A Promise
8. Fog - Ether Teeth
9. ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead - Source Tags & Codes
10. Dälek - From Filthy Tongue of Gods and Griots
11. Radiohead - Hail To The Thief
12. Broken Social Scene - You Forgot it in People
13. Pearl Jam - No Code
14. (tie) Wilco - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
14. (tie) The Shins - Oh, Inverted World
15. Sufjan Stevens - Michigan
16. Blackalicious - Blazing Arrow
17. TV on the Radio - Young Liars EP
18. Mirah - Advisory Committee
19. Interpol - Turn on the Bright Lights
20. !!! - Me and Guiliani (single)
21. Spoon - Girls Can Tell
22. Liz Phair - s/t
23. 12 Rods - Gay?




