The Jokermen embrace the "Do It Again" ethos of the holidays with two late-era Christmas records: Brian Wilson's warm-hearted What I Really Want For Christmas, and Mike Love's aesthetically abrasive Reason For The Season. Plus: a Root Beer Report unlike any other.

Ian catches up with Daniel Rossen of Grizzly Bear about their just-concluded 2025 tour, revisiting Yellow House, Veckatimest, and Shields, returning to the past with no sense of pressure, community vs. quality of life, solo artists vs. rock bands, the lasting reputation of Grizzly Bear, the GOAT Michael McDonald, and much more.

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Ian speaks with author W. David Marx about cultural atrophy, poptimism, Taylor Swift, Charli XCX, Geese, the "Mike Love Century," The Beatles, the importance of serious criticism, Kanye, Kim, Paris Hilton, new musical genres (or lack thereof), fashion and food scenes vs. music and arts scenes, and Marx's superb new book, Blank Space: A Cultural History of the Twenty First Century.

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"BLANK SPACE" AVAILABLE NOW

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The Jokermen consider Carnie and Wendy Wilson's output from the 1990s: the self-titled Wilson Phillips debut, Shadows & Light, and their pseudo-collaboration with Brian, The Wilsons.

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The Jokermen discuss the laziest effort yet from the Beach Boys.

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The Jokermen celebrate Van Dyke Parks and Brian Wilson's collaborative release Orange Crate Art, as well as the California myth, the reclamation of the SMiLE project, the complicated relationship between art and commerce, and the medium of orange crate art itself.

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Ian raps with Julian Ehrlich and Max Kakacek of Whitney about living together as bandmates and working together as roommates, recording and producing themselves, dual breakups, The Band, "Acadian Driftwood," favorite Bob records, the Chicago scene, the depressing state of the Bears and the Bulls, basketball fandom in indie rock, "marinating" before tour, the ubiquity of pedal steel, and their lovely new record Small Talk.

"SMALL TALK" OUT NOW

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