As we near the end of 2023, the time has come for Steven and Ian to revive their most sacred annual tradition: The Indiecasties! Like the Oscars, the Indiecasties goes long every year, so we actually are splitting it up into two episodes. (Part two drops next week.) Before that, however, the guys do a quick Sportscast about a wild week in Wisconsin-based athletics, including a Packers loss to Tommy DeVito and Giannis losing his cool against the Indiana Pacers over a lost game ball. Steven and Ian also address the viral TikTok video by Bethany Cosentino about her disappointment over the reception to her 2023 solo debut album, Natural Disaster, and the long tail of Peak Indie disappointment (6:10 ).

Then it's on to the Indiecasties (19:00 )! There are five categories in this episode: Most Valuable Annoying Music Story (21:45 ), The Album Cycle Of The Year (28:33 ), The Feel-Good Story Of The Year (35:15 ), The Most 2023 Album Of 2023 (40:47 ), and the Most Hyped Album That Turned Out To Be Actually Good (47:48 ). Who won? And who "won" (since winning some of these categories doesn't feel like a victory)? Listen and find out!

New episodes of Indiecast drop every Friday. Listen to Episode 168 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 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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