Ongoing History of New Music

John Frusciante might just be rock’s ultimate survivor. So let's trace the wild, unpredictable journey of the Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist, from teenage guitar prodigy to the creative force behind Blood Sugar Sex Magik, through addiction, isolation, and a near-fatal collapse that almost ended everything. Along the way, we explore his rise with the Chili Peppers, his troubled relationship with fame, his dramatic exit from the band at the height of their success, and the dark years that followed. But this is also a story of recovery, redemption, and one of the most remarkable comebacks in modern rock. It's Part One of the long, strange trip of John Frusciante, and trust us, the story is only getting started. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What happens when music meets neuroscience? This time, we take a fascinating trip inside the human brain to explore why music can make us dance, cry, smile, remember, and even get chills. From dopamine rushes and musical memory to live concert highs and the science behind your favourite songs, we uncover some of the weirdest and most amazing connections between music, the brain, and the body. And, you'll learn why certain songs hit so hard, why we can't resist a good groove, and what researchers are still discovering about the soundtrack of our lives. It's science, music, and plenty of mind-blowing facts all rolled into one episode Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Pop-punk is one of those musical contradictions that somehow makes perfect sense. Punk was supposed to be loud, fast, and rebellious. Pop was all about hooks and mass appeal. But somewhere along the way, the two got together and created one of the biggest movements in alternative rock. In part two, we pick up the story in the early 1990s as grunge begins to fade and bands like Green Day, The Offspring, Rancid, and Bad Religion help bring punk into the mainstream. From the explosion of Dookie and Smash to the rise of the Warped Tour and the global success of Blink-182, we'll look at how pop-punk went from underground clubs to selling millions of records around the world.  We'll also explore the backlash from punk purists, the genre's evolution through the 2000s, and why pop-punk continues to find new generations of fans decades later. Whether you grew up on Green Day and Sum 41 or you're just discovering the genre, this is the story of how punk and pop became one of rock's most unlikely partnerships.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Punk rock comes in a lot of different flavours, but few have had the impact of pop-punk. In Part One of this series, we dig into how a genre that was supposed to be the enemy of pop music ended up borrowing some of its best ideas. From the Ramones and Buzzcocks to Bad Religion, Descendents, Hüsker Dü, and Social Distortion, we'll follow the bands that started mixing punk's speed, attitude, and DIY spirit with melody, hooks, and songs you couldn't get out of your head. We'll also look at the underground scene that helped shape the sound and set the stage for bands like Green Day, Blink-182, and The Offspring to take over the world. It's the story of how punk and pop learned to get along... and changed alternative rock forever.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When someone dies, our first reaction is disbelief...we’re stunned...that’s immediately followed by a need to know what happened...how?...where?...it’s only natural...we need information to help us process the news and the emotion that comes with it... The next stage is might be “could anything have been done to prevent this?”... “Could someone have helped or intervened?”...In some cases, perhaps...in the case of health issues, maybe not... And finally, there’s this:... “could what happened to that person happen to me?”...again, totally normal. When it comes to the death of a famous musician, there’s an additional aspect to processing the news...chances are we never knew this person as, you know, a person...our only relationship with them has been as a fan...so why does their death affect us? Here’s a possible answer...although we never knew them, it was through their music that we learned more about ourselves...and in a way, when they die, a little of us dies, too. This might only cause us to go deeper into what happened...we just need to know, to make sense if it, and to put everything to rest the best we can...yes, some people get very nosey and gossipy and intrusive, but there’s always a way to handle what’s known through the public record: family statements, doctors’ accounts, police reports, coroners’ testimony, toxicology examinations, and autopsy results. And we often can’t look away because we just need to know...this is “the last moments of, part 2” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ever wonder what really happened in the final hours of some of music's biggest stars? This time, I want to retrace the final hours and days of some of rock's most legendary figures. From heartbreaking health battles to shocking accidents and devastating personal struggles, these are the stories behind the headlines as we piece together the events that led to their final moments and explore the questions, mysteries, and tragedies that still surround them today.  Some stories offer answers. Others leave us with even more questions.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In part two of our series, we continue to figure out why buying concert tickets has become one of the most frustrating consumer experiences…and why it’s always been that way. From the evolution of ticketing from physical box offices and early computer systems to the rise of Ticketmaster, we want to understand how service fees, scalping, exclusive venue contracts, and industry power struggles shaped the modern ticket market. Through artists like Pearl Jam and the Grateful Dead, we find out how economics, technology, and demand transformed concerts into a high‑stakes business, setting the stage for today’s world of instant sellouts and dynamic pricing. All in the hopes of you getting that concert ticket that you've been waiting for, in the virtual line-up. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Buying a concert ticket should be simple and easy...but has it ever been? In this two-part series, we're going to try to unpack the surprisingly long, messy, and often corrupt evolution of ticketing, from ancient Greek theatres to the rise of computerized systems in the late 20th century. We'll dig into how tickets evolved from physical tokens and box-office lineups to early computer-driven services like Ticketron, Select-A-Seat, BASS, and the early days of Ticketmaster. We've seen persistent problems that never seem to go away: scalping, service charges, bribery, counterfeit tickets, unequal access, and frustrated fans. From the very first rock concert disaster in 1952 to the technological growing pains of the 1970s and ’80s, there were never any “good old days” when it came to buying tickets. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Movie soundtracks once shaped the direction of popular music...and nowhere was that more true than in alternative rock. This week, we go back into the Ongoing History vault to trace the evolution of movie soundtracks from their early, days to their cultural impact in the ’80s and ’90s. These are albums that helped define, amplify, and sometimes completely redirect alternative music. From the electronic shock of A Clockwork Orange to the cult chaos of The Rocky Horror Picture Show...from the John Hughes films that introduced a generation to British alt‑rock, to era‑defining releases like Singles, Judgement Night, The Crow, and Trainspotting...this is an exploration of how film and music collided at exactly the right moments. Soundtracks may not dominate the charts the way they once did, but their influence is everywhere. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There was a time when Canadians didn’t believe in Canadian music...unless someone else told us it was good first. To celebrate Canada Day, we're exploring how that mindset changed, and how Canada went from cultural insecurity to producing one of the most influential rock movements of the 1990s. From early radio bias and the “Guess Who?” prank, to CanCon rules, FACTOR funding, the rise of FM radio, and the national impact of MuchMusic, this is the long story of how a domestic music industry was built...piece by piece. We trace the conditions that led to the CanRock explosion of the ’90s, spotlighting key artists and moments along the way: Rush, Martha and the Muffins, Blue Rodeo, The Tragically Hip, Sloan, Our Lady Peace, I Mother Earth, and many more. We also dig into the demographics, economics, and cultural shifts that turned Canadian bands into hometown heroes...and international stars. It took decades, smart policy, and a generation ready to embrace its own voice...but the payoff was enormous. This is the story of how Canadian rock found its confidence…and changed everything. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rock music is supposed to belong to the young...but history tells us a different story. This time, we look at artists who refused to quit, even as the years passed and the industry insisted their time was over. From Deborah Harry breaking through with Blondie in her 30s, to James Murphy reinventing himself with LCD Soundsystem at 35, to Leonard Cohen becoming a global icon in his 50s, these are the musicians who proved that success doesn’t always come on schedule. They've had to deal with ageism baked into the music business, the realities of grinding it out for decades, and the moments when persistence, timing, and reinvention finally collide. It’s a reminder that while breaking through gets harder with age, it’s never impossible...and sometimes, the best work comes later. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What happens when a band loses its lead singer? Usually, it’s the end...but not always. In this episode, we explore 18 bands that survived... and sometimes thrived... after changing singers. From Stone Temple Pilots and Sublime to Alice in Chains, Faith No More, and New Order. Losing your singer doesn’t have to mean the end… but surviving it is one of the hardest things a band can do. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Distortion was once considered a mistake...now it’s a defining force in modern music. This episode explores how broken gear, happy accidents, and fearless artists turned fuzz, feedback, and overdrive into powerful creative tools, shaping everything from early rock to experimental soundscapes. This time, we dive into feedback, overdriven amps, drop-D tuning, and distortion beyond the guitar, touching on organs, synthesizers, experimental music, shoegaze, noise, and drone. From the elegance of controlled sustain to the chaos of Metal Machine Music, this is the story of how musicians learned to embrace imperfection and changed music forever. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, we dive into the Golden Age of Synthesizers, the period from the mid‑’70s to the mid‑’80s when synths became smaller, cheaper, and powerful enough to transform popular music forever. From early experimental machines that filled entire rooms, to the groundbreaking work of innovators like Bob Moog and Don Buchla, we trace how synthesizers moved from academic curiosity to pop‑culture force. Along the way, we hear key moments from artists who helped define the era: Wendy Carlos, Hot Butter, Kraftwerk, Depeche Mode, MGMT, and more. We explore how techno‑pop emerged alongside punk’s DIY spirit. Our guides through this electronic frontier are Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys of Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD), who were right at the center of the movement. They share insights into the gear, the sounds, and the creative mindset that shaped a generation of music, and still echoes through today’s electronic and alternative scenes. From Autobahn to Electricity, from Mellotrons to MIDI, this is the story of how machines rewired music, and how the studio itself became an instrument. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

One of the many great things about music is that we can enjoy it anywhere…I’m talking about the recorded kind…everyone has a smartphone, and every smartphone has the capability of playing music, whether you’re listening to tracks stored in its memory or streaming something from a service like Spotify or apple music…as long as your device has juice, you can enjoy listening to music anywhere you are… Take this program, for example…in its radio show form, it’s being heard in homes, cars, offices, and workplaces either over the air or through a stream…if you’re listening to the podcast, you might have downloaded it to a phone, a tablet or a laptop which you can fire up anywhere at your convenience… But imagine for moment that you couldn’t take your music with you…if you wanted to listen to your favourite songs, you had to be present in a specific place and you couldn’t move from it…and that usually meant music inside the home—or perhaps someplace with something like a jukebox… This might sound absolutely awful to you…I mean, we’re so used to conjuring up music whenever we want and wherever we are…we take it with us everywhere…it’s hard to imagine life without that ability… That’s the way it was for most of human history, though…for centuries and centuries, the only way to make music portable was to bring a musical instrument with you and play it yourself… The idea of making recorded music portable—at least in a way that is convenient, cheap, and reliable—is more recent than you might think…and it went through way more incarnations than you may realize… What do you say we take a look at the history of portable music?... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Since the dawn of time, humanity has been at war.  Conflict in one form or another has been part of our existence since we first walked the earth.   In this first episode of a four-part series, join military historian David Borys as we travel back in time to Iran, where we chart how a modern monarchy, which was armed, wealthy, and globally backed, lost control. On our journey, we'll be helped by historian Roham Alvandi from the London School of Economics and Political Science. While conflict and armed rebellion have evolved to look very differently over the centuries, if you want to understand the world today, you need to go back because history doesn't just repeat itself; it echoes.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

One of the many great things about music is that we can enjoy it anywhere…I’m talking about the recorded kind…everyone has a smartphone, and every smartphone has the capability of playing music, whether you’re listening to tracks stored in its memory or streaming something from a service like Spotify or apple music…as long as your device has juice, you can enjoy listening to music anywhere you are… Take this program, for example…in its radio show form, it’s being heard in homes, cars, offices, and workplaces either over the air or through a stream…if you’re listening to the podcast, you might have downloaded it to a phone, a tablet or a laptop which you can fire up anywhere at your convenience… But imagine for moment that you couldn’t take your music with you…if you wanted to listen to your favourite songs, you had to be present in a specific place and you couldn’t move from it…and that usually meant music inside the home—or perhaps someplace with something like a jukebox… This might sound absolutely awful to you…I mean, we’re so used to conjuring up music whenever we want and wherever we are…we take it with us everywhere…it’s hard to imagine life without that ability… That’s the way it was for most of human history, though…for centuries and centuries, the only way to make music portable was to bring a musical instrument with you and play it yourself… The idea of making recorded music portable—at least in a way that is convenient, cheap, and reliable—is more recent than you might think…and it went through way more incarnations than you may realize… What do you say we take a look at the history of portable music?... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2026 is an important year in Ramones history… The 25th anniversary of Joey’s death, the first member of the band to leave us. The 30th anniversary of the last Ramones show. The 50th anniversary of their debut album's release. Let’s cover all of that with this triple tribute to one of the greatest and most important bands in the history of rock. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is chapter six of a five-part series on the greatest alt-rock one-hit wonders of the last 50 years…yes, chapter six of five…after going through a ton of data—radio charts, Spotify plays, and YouTube views, mostly—I thought I’d compiled a really solid list…and it was—except for a few things that need some attention: the errata… This means songs that should have been on the original top 50 list but were for whatever reason left out…those omissions need to be addressed—and we will…I’ve identified five such songs, so if you’ve been following along and were wondering why a certain favourite one-hit wonder was left out, maybe you’ll find some satisfaction… We’ll get to those later…first, though, I want to talk about some songs that did not fit the criteria of making international radio charts and fell under the minimum threshold of Spotify plays and YouTube views…at the same time, though, it feels like the stories of these songs should be told…you know what I mean?...they are great but not the biggest… This is a bonus episode on the 50 biggest all-time alt-rock one-hit wonders Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Through the first four episodes of this Top 50 Biggest Alt-Rock One-Hit Wonders of All Time series, we’ve gone through songs 50 to 11, so that means we are ready for the top 10 songs. If you’ve been following along, there may have been a few surprises along the way…and you may have been trying to guess what songs will finish in the upper regions of this list…now we’re going to find out. These are the final 10 songs in our countdown. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How does an artist become famous forever with just one song and never come close again? We continue the countdown of the "50 Biggest Alt‑Rock One‑Hit Wonders of All Time", using five decades of radio charts, Spotify streams, YouTube views, and a specially designed one‑hit‑wonder power ranking. In part 4, we come across... A one‑hit wonder that’s also a cover of another one‑hit wonder Gregorian chants that unexpectedly dominated global charts A "Major Tom" sequel A song built on a 1932 trumpet sample and an Atari computer An anarchist collective that somehow conquered the world Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is Part 3 of the 50 Biggest Alt‑Rock One‑Hit Wonders of all time...numbers 30 to 21 featuring Dishwalla, EMF, Spacehog, Harvey Danger, and more. And of course, the stories behind these one-hit wonders. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our countdown of the biggest alt‑rock one‑hit wonders of all time continues as we break down numbers 40 to 31. From K’s Choice and Liam Lynch to Animotion, Fun Lovin’ Criminals, The Vapours, and more, these are the songs that ruled alternative radio, slipped into pop culture, and forever defined the artists behind them. Using chart history, streaming numbers, and a custom One‑Hit Wonder Power Ranking from our friend Walter the mathematician, we investigate how these songs became massive...and why one moment was all they needed. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Something occurred to me the other day: did the person who came up with the term “one-hit wonder” ever come up with anything else that good? I looked it up… the Oxford English Dictionary traces its origin to about 1914, when baseball was starting to become America’s pastime… it was given to pitchers who held the opposing team to just one hit. We do know that when Ramon Monzant was pitching for the San Francisco Giants in 1956, he was given that nickname…to be called a “one-hit wonder” was very high praise. But around the same time, “one-hit wonder” migrated over to the music world and acquired a pejorative ring…in musical terms, a one-hit wonder was an artist who could manage one and only one big song…everything else they might have done was a flop, a stiff, a failure, and was ignored. Billboard magazine began to incorporate the phenomenon of the one-hit wonder when it came to its charts…their definition was an artist who released just one song to reach the top 40, the realm of “hits” on the singles charts. But that’s pretty narrow and really only considers songs and artists for that one chart…what about all the other non-top 40 artists who achieved fame for one and just one song? The more I went down this rabbit hole, the more intrigued I became…was there a way to look at the history of alternative music to determine the biggest one-hit wonders of all time? There just might be…and after going through a lot of numbers and statistics, I may have cracked it…But I’m going to let you be the judge…This is part one of the 50 biggest all-time alt-rock one-hit wonders of the last 50 years. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There’s just something fun about learning to play one of your favourite songs for yourself…you know, learning the lyrics, figuring out the chords and the rhythm and deconstructing all the constituent parts… Then you get deeper…you begin to appreciate how everything fits together, the artistic decisions made by songwriter made, what kind of musical skill is required, the sort of production that was employed all that…and by the time you’ve learned the song, you’ve learned a whole lot of other things, too…and you’re probably a better musician as a result…this is why learning to play other people’s music is so important… Now let’s look at it from the other side…if a song can be interpreted multiple times by many different people and it still sounds good, then that is a great song… The best compositions not only sound great when played by a full band, but also sound great when performed by one person around a campfire… And finally, there’s the fan aspect of all this…people love to hear songs done in different ways by different artists…sometimes the cover is even better than the original—or, at the very least, is revealed to be something more in the hands of someone else… With all this in mind, I’ve assembled a list of cover songs…and we’re going to go through with them to determine what makes them (and the original) great… Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, we're going deep into the Ongoing History of New Music vault to talk about "Definitions". Often in the music world, we hear terms discussed...but where did they come from, and what do they mean? What do "New Rock" and "Alternative" mean? What's a "Major Label" or "Indie"? "Boutique" and "Vanity"? Got that covered too. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Blink‑182’s story has always been chaotic, inspirational, and a little unbelievable...and the last decade has been no exception. We thought this would be a good time to revisit the band’s evolving saga since our original 2017 trilogy on their rise, fall, and rise again. A lot has happened: lineup changes, personal crises, UFO hunting, bestselling side projects, a Grammy nomination, a global pandemic, and even a life‑threatening illness that ultimately brought them back together. We pick up the trail with the Matt Skiba era and the unexpected resurgence brought on by the "California" album. From there, we follow the band through creative experiments, personal struggles...including Mark Hoppus’s battle with stage‑4 lymphoma...and the emotional reunion that brought Tom DeLonge back into the fold. The result? A renewed Blink‑182, a triumphant Coachella comeback, and their 2023 album "One More Time". It’s a story of fractures, forgiveness, survival, and one of the most resilient bands in modern punk history. Blink‑182 is well into their fourth decade...so how much longer can they run? If history is any clue, never count them out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The music video didn’t just shape pop culture…it defined it.  From the glam‑soaked excess of the ’80s and ’90s to the gritty authenticity of the alt‑rock era, and finally to the algorithm‑driven, globally connected internet age, the music video has lived many lives. In part two of this deep dive, we trace the rise, collapse, and surprising rebirth of the music video that once ruled MTV and MuchMusic. We look at the groundbreaking work of directors like Spike Jonze, the multimillion‑dollar spectacles of superstars like Madonna and Michael Jackson, and the moment YouTube and smartphones permanently rewired how we watch, and make, music videos. From Pearl Jam’s refusal to play the game, to viral sensations like OK Go, to the billion‑view world of K‑pop and global micro‑scenes, we discover that the music video isn’t dead. It escaped television. And it’s thriving. This is Part 2 of the Rise and Fall and Future of the Music Video. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For decades, music videos weren’t just promotional add‑ons…they were the beating heart of global pop culture.  The music video affected the art of movie-making...it affected the way we look at tv, not to mention fashion, language, politics, gender fluidity, LGBTQ issues, and so much more…videos may have altered our attention spans–which kind of concerns me because this program is an hour long and I need you to hang in there with me... Music videos exported soft power from the West, especially the United States, to the rest of the world. At one point, MTV was one of the most influential creators and disseminators of culture….and by “culture” I mean America. That was then…music videos are still an art form and still necessary (well, mostly necessary) for promoting music…but things just aren’t what they used to be… How did we get to this point?...this is the rise and fall and future of the music video…part 1 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Music is not only a powerful motivating tool, but it’s also a way to get a message out to a vast number of people…and when things hit the fan, music can be used to let the powers-that-be know that we see what you’re doing, and we are not happy about it…We wish to protest. Protest songs help coalesce thoughts and feelings about things like social, political, and labour injustice…they help rally people to a cause and sometimes inspire action against oppressors or those who seek to abrogate rights, keep people down, and try to gain power by spreading lies and propaganda.  Sometimes they call out specific people, organizations, and issues…in other cases, they’re couched in metaphors and stories…but make no mistake: this music is “us” and “them” and the “them” needs to be addressed.  This kind of music has never gone away and is still very much with us…despite that, a lot of people ask, “Whatever happened to protest songs?” Nothing…they’re right here…and they’ve always been right in front of us…let me explain…this is a brief history of protest music, part 2. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This can be a weird, difficult world, filled with injustice, inequality, and bad people doing bad things…we’re always up against things like racism, women’s rights, labour rights, the plights of marginalized people, class struggle, the disenfranchised, various social movements—the list of righteous causes and grievances is pretty much endless. And sometimes, you just gotta fight back…but how?... Not all occasions called for armed insurrections and assassinations. One way is through music…come up with something topical and specific, put it all to music, and you have a chance of getting your message to a lot of people…and because it’s music, you might be able to reach those who might not otherwise be aware of the problem or understand what the problem is. This music isn’t confined to a specific people or group or genre or era…you can be loud and angry and filled with the greatest moral virtues screamed at the top of your lungs. But you don’t have to be in-your-face about it…your messaging can be subtle while still maintaining all the necessary effectiveness, rage and authenticity. Such songs have a long and fascinating history that goes back way further than you might realize…and these songs are everywhere today, although you may not realize it. This is a brief history of protest music, part 1 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Students of classical music know that Johann Sebastian Bach was one of the most important and influential composers of all time…his use of instruments, four-part harmonies, and use of innovative structures in his material were all brilliant… When he was alive, he commanded plenty of respect…but after he died in March 1685, he was almost forgotten…the only reason we talk about him today is that there was a Bach revival in the 19th century…he became a retro hero in the world of classical music… No one knew anything about Robert Johnson when he was alive other than some myths and legends among hardcore fans of Delta Blues…but when his records were reissued in 1961, 23 years after he died, did his reputation explode… Charles Mingus was revered by fellow jazz artists…it was only after he passed away in 1979 that his influence on jazz was celebrated… We can also talk about posthumous praise for Nick Drake, Jeff Buckley, and Elliott Smith…and although Tupac and Biggie were big stars when they were shot, they became even bigger stars in death… I’m going to add another name to this list: Ian Curtis and Joy Division…when Ian took his own life in May 1980, he and the band were so skint that he had to give his dog away because he and his wife couldn’t afford to feed him… Today, though, Ian and Joy Division are acknowledged as one of the most important and most influential post-punk bands ever…why?...what was the big deal about Joy Division? And why do they continue to be a big deal?...let’s examine this. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In Part 2 of our deep dive into Post Rock, we explore the bands and ideas that have shaped this experimental and atmospheric approach to music. From Slint and Mogwai to Sigur Rós and Explosions in the Sky, we look at how these bands create something cinematic...emotional...and entirely unexpected. We also look at how post‑rock influences artists like Radiohead and Broken Social Scene, and why this musical philosophy continues to spread all across the globe. Prepare to discover new bands, new sounds, and a new way of thinking about what rock can be. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What exactly is "Post‑Rock"? In this first installment of a two‑part deep dive, we unpack one of the most misunderstood labels in modern music. From its origins in the 1960s to its evolving relationship with rock, ambient, jazz, and experimental traditions...Post-Rock has come to mean different things to different listeners. In part 1, we focus on where the term came from and what it was originally trying to describe. We explore ideas like: The cultural and musical context that gave rise to post‑rock Why the genre resists simple definitions Early artists and scenes that shaped its sound and philosophy How “using rock instruments for non‑rock purposes” became both a manifesto and a limitation Rather than treating post‑rock as a fixed style, we look at it as an idea...one that reflects broader shifts in how music moved away from verse‑chorus structures and toward texture, atmosphere, and long‑form composition. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I'll be honest and say that this is not a happy show…in fact, it’s probably the saddest episode of the year…then again, it’s an opportunity to pay tribute to the musicians we lost in 2025. They’re gone, but that’s the thing about being a musician…the songs they left behind will remain with us for many, many years.  I’m going to go through a list of deaths…this list isn’t comprehensive because we just don’t have the time to cover all the “RIP's” that happened...and because there are so many, I’ll probably miss a few, and for that, I apologize in advance. This is 2025 in memoriam, a tribute to rock stars who passed. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On October 12, 1978, punk’s most infamous couple...Sid Vicious of the Sex Pistols and Nancy Spungen...hit rock bottom at New York’s Chelsea Hotel. Nancy was found dead from a single stab wound in Room 100. Sid was charged with murder, but was he really the killer? Or was it someone else in their chaotic circle? This is “Uncharted: Crime and Mayhem in the Music Industry”…and this time, it’s the wild story of the death of Nancy Spungen and the questions that still remain decades later…Was it a drug-fueled accident, a robbery gone wrong, or something darker? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We are going to talk about drummers on this show…i just want you to know right from the start just in case you wanna roll your eyes and go “really? Do we have to?”   Yes, we have to…there have been countless stories told about great guitarists and singers and keyboardists…drummers?... Not so much, unless your name is Dave Grohl. And we will get to him.   So this was going to a profile of my favourite drummers in alt-rock…but then I got to thinking: how much do we know what about drummers play?... How many histories of the electric guitar have been written?... Monographs, coffee table books, books on collectible guitars…   Now think about the books written about keyboards…there’s about three linear feet of bookshelf in my office taken up just by books on the history of synthesizers…   But what about the drums today’s drummers play?...    No, I think it’s time that we not only talked about drummers but also drums…think about it: how did the modern drumkit come into being?...there’s a pretty standard sort of set-up…how did that come about?...why do we play drums the way we do?... And who should we thank for making drums into what they are today?...cymbals and foot pedals and snare…where did all that come from?...   See?...you’re curious now, aren’t you?...well, stand by…the history of the modern drumkit is coming up…this is stuff even most drummers don’t know… Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I once had a conversation with someone about the craziest tours in the history of music…the usual names came up.   The who trashing hotel rooms…led zeppelin’s tours with their private jet, groupies, and tons of drugs…that time in Atlanta when Ozzy drank himself into oblivion, passed out in the wrong hotel room for 24 hours, and missed a show as a result.   In 1976, ZZ Top tried to take the entire Texas experience on the road, which involved transporting real live animals to every gig…a buffalo escaped and managed to wreck nine rented limos that were parked at the gig.   Around the same time, there was the disastrous Sex Pistols tour of America…there were also stories about The Rolling Stones, Metallica, Van Halen, and all the usual suspects. But the conversation turned to the subject of the most depraved and dangerous tour of all time…who was responsible for that?... Motley Crue?...Marilyn Manson?...Oasis?   The debate when on for some time—until someone mentioned a road trip in 1993 that nearly killed every member of the group.   We’re not talking about any sort of violence…it was a tour featuring so much alcohol, so many drugs, and so much stupid behaviour that members suffered heart attacks, seizures, serious mental illness, and overdoses so serious that one member was clinically dead for two minutes.  That was a summary of something called “The Devotional Tour”…at the centre of it was Depeche Mode…it has gone down in rock history as “the most debauched rock tour ever”.   This is episode 37 of “Uncharted: Crime and Mayhem in the Music Industry,” an inside look at the tour that nearly took down Depeche Mode forever…and it was all their fault. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is my annual data dump featuring music information you didn’t know you needed…over the last 12 months, I’ve collected this material on scraps of paper, post-it notes, on my iPhone’s “notes” app, and in various files on my computer…and these are the best 60 mind-blowing facts about music I can offer for 2025.  This is the 11th year that I’ve been doing this…maybe there’s a book in here somewhere…i don’t know…maybe…one day… Whatever…a lot of random information is about to come your way…do your best to ingest what you can…ready?....let’s go. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this third and final chapter of our look at Why Bowie Still Matters, we explore the last two decades of his life and the innovations that cemented his legacy. From pioneering digital music distribution and launching BowieNet, to creating “Bowie Bonds”...something that changed the music business...Bowie was always ahead of the curve. We revisit his late-career albums, his secret comeback with "The Next Day", and the farewell gift of "Blackstar". Plus, the stories behind his art, his influence on countless genres, and why his impact continues to grow even ten years after his passing. Bowie didn’t just make music...he reshaped culture...and this is Why Bowie Still Matters. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

David Bowie wasn’t just a rock star...he was a cultural architect who reinvented music, fashion, and identity. In part 2 of "Why Bowie Still Matters", we explore Bowie’s groundbreaking mid-70s to early-80s era: from the cocaine-fueled chaos of Station to Station and the birth of the Thin White Duke, his "Berlin Trilogy" with Brian Eno that shaped post-punk and electronic music. And we’ll explore how albums like Low, Heroes, and Lodger influenced everyone from Joy Division to Duran Duran, Depeche Mode, Radiohead and others. Meanwhile, Bowie’s constant creativity sparked movements like New Wave and the New Romantics. And then we reach Bowie’s bold reinvention...again... in the 90s with Tin Machine and Trent Reznor. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s been nearly a decade since David Bowie left us, and the world hasn’t really been the same since. In the first of a three part series, we explore why Bowie’s influence goes far beyond music...shaping fashion, art, technology, and even social movements. From his early days writing songs he would really rather forger about...to the birth of Ziggy Stardust...his role in shaping glam rock, gender expression, and even the evolution of punk. Bowie changed everything. David Bowie redefined what it meant to be a rock star...and this is why his legacy matters. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If there’s an official mission statement for the kind of music we all love, it’s “sex, drugs, and rock’n’roll” …these are the three main food groups in this world… All three of these things affect the same portions of the brain:  the amygdala, the nucleus accumbens, and the cerebellum…. All of them are involved in the secretion and regulation of dopamine, the “feel-good” hormone…  Dopamine is a very addictive hormone…whenever our brains squirt it out, the body goes “this is good!  I want more!” …it happens when we hear a great song….it happens with certain drugs and alcohol, which is the basis of addiction…and it happens with an orgasm… Once you’re inside this bubble, you may find things rather permissive…as long as you’re producing, people will look the other way…there’s no one to tell you “no”…and it doesn’t take long for some people to get lost in this world, coming to believe that normal rules of polite society don’t apply….you’re special, meaning that you can do anything… That’s when your judgement starts to become suspect…and that’s when things start to get strange…how strange?...well… Welcome to a show all about rock’n’roll and weird tales of sex. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Going on tour is hard…you’re away from home for months at a time…there’s little sleep, bad food, too many drugs, a surfeit of alcohol, late nights, temptations into bad behavior, crazy people, and that bass player who refuses to wash his feet, probably because he’s on his phone moaning to his girlfriend about how miserable he is…   All that occupies about 22 hours of the day…the best times come when you’re at the venue…there’s the excitement of the lead-up, the after-show satisfaction, and in between, the gig itself…   But every show is different…a different city…a different place to sleep…vans, buses, and, if you’re lucky, airplanes…for that time on the road, your sanctuary becomes the dressing room, the one place over which you have some measure of control—if you know what you’re doing…   This brings me to the concert rider, the part of the contract with the promoter that specifies what an act has to be provided with before, during, and after a show…   Once the band arrives, the road manager is the point-person…he or she has to make sure the promoter adheres to the terms of the rider…   Most of the details are pretty mundane because they’re basically logistical…the times of the load-in and load-out…electrical requirements and the number of local electricians required to make them happen…how many forklifts and drivers are needed to move gear around…catering for the crew…parking for the tour buses…how merch sales are going to work…that kind of thing…   Where things get interesting are the artist’s requirements, the things they need backstage to ensure they’re in a good headspace to play a great show…mess up the rider and the promoter runs the risk of having a pouty, petulant, and otherwise pissed off performance…   And i get it…if you’re an artist and you don’t get what you need before a gig, then you’re going to feel disrespected…   Coming up with a list of requests that can be enforced night after night, venue after venue, city after city, and country after country is a delicate and essential thing…and let’s just say that some bands are better than others at this sort of thing…   Welcome to the wild work of the backstage rider… Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Why does music move us so deeply...even when we don’t hear it? From brain scans lighting up with musical memories to how songs can fight loneliness, boost productivity, and even repel mosquitoes, this episode dives into the strange science behind sound with another exploration into the medical mysteries of music. 🧠 Discover: Why music survives memory loss in Alzheimer’s How your taste in music shifts with the time of day What your favourite song might say about your personality The truth behind earworms (and how to get rid of them) How music affects taste, mood, and even hearing loss 📲 Listen now wherever you get your podcasts🔗 ajournalofmusicalthings.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There are plenty of unexplained things in the world of music…these are things that we often don’t even question…why do we do these things?...what is this called that?...who came up with that idea? Let’s deal with some of that. This is another episode of something I call “The Rock Explainer”. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Taj Khyber Rowland knows he’s not who people think he is but he can’t quite remember how his life went so off course. He decides to spool backwards, to his younger self. A daredevil seven year old Chellamuthu, living happily, but in abject poverty, with his large family in rural India. But when Chellamuthu disobeys his mother and goes to play at the bus station, he’s persuaded to board a bus with some bigger boys. He’s kidnapped. And there’s no going back. Contact: Facebook: ⁠⁠@BlanchardHouseStories⁠⁠ Instagram: ⁠⁠@BlanchardHouseStories⁠⁠ X (formerly Twitter): ⁠⁠@BlanchardTweets⁠⁠ Blanchard House website: ⁠⁠blanchard-house.com⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode is about giving credit where credit is due. Specifically to musicians who were so far ahead of their time that the public and the industry just didn’t get it, and as a result, they were ignored, shunned, unrewarded, or otherwise omitted from music history. Most of these names might be new to you, but that’s not your fault…the music world just dropped the ball on these people… but that’s just wrong…they just happened to offer something when we weren’t quite ready for it…in other words, they peaked too soon…let me show you what I mean.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is the second half at a look at the stories behind some of the most iconic album covers of all time…on part one, we looked at the Ramones, the Sex Pistols, Depeche Mode, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, the Beastie Boys, Alice In Chains, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and Smashing Pumpkins, all in chronological order, ending in 1993.  Now we’re going to pick things up in 1994. This is part two of a show that looks at some of the most iconic-looking albums in history, along with some secret stories they contain. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is going to be a very visual program, which may be a bit of a challenge because you’re either listening to this as a radio show or podcast…so i need to work with me on this…  Vinyl is back in a way that no one could have ever predicted…in countries like Canada, the US, the UK, Australia, and beyond, vinyl is once again outselling CDs…and a surprising number of people are buying vinyl even if they don’t have a turntable…  What’s the point of that? ...simple…vinyl is a tangible and physical manifestation and representation of the music…it is something you own, something that resides with you, and no matter what happens, it is yours…  Many fans stream the music while holding the vinyl in their hands…that’s the best of both worlds…the vinyl never gets damaged, but you get to hear the music just the same… And the attraction is the same as it ever was…liner notes, lyric sheets—and the artwork… For a while, we were in real danger of seeing the glories of album artwork disappear…first, it was shrunk down to cd-sized…then with sometime like iTunes, you got a little postage-same image…and with streaming, you get almost nothing when it comes to something that visually embodies all the blood, sweat, tears, talent, and inspiration that went into making that album…  So here on the radio (or the podcast), I’m going to ask you to conjure up images of these album covers in your mind…then you can go back to your vinyl library and take a look… We’re revisiting album artwork on this episode of “The Ongoing History of New Music” with a look at the stories behind some iconic covers…and after this, you may not look at some of your albums the same way again… Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I’ve always been fascinated with recording studios…the atmosphere, the equipment, the musical gear, the slight scent of ozone from all the electricity running through the circuits.  Yeah, you can make very good records at home, but there’s something special about recording a song or making an album in a professional recording studio… This time, I’ve compiled a list of some of the best-known Oasis songs, and we’re about to go deep into how they were created. When we’re done, you won’t listen to any of them the same way again. This is "In the Studio with Oasis" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This program begins with an advisory…no, no—not that kind…there’s nothing dirty or obscene or controversially political coming up…it’s just that, well—what you’re about to hear is different…very different…and I mean really different. There are thousands of music genres out there…but on this program, we’re going to look at something special…it’s a genre known as “outsider music” You know the kid at school who seemed to live a little beyond the status quo?... He or she wasn’t quite normal…and i do not mean that in any judgmental or pejorative way…they just marched to their own beat…whatever was going on inside their head may have been a little hard to grasp. Some of these people may have felt a need to express themselves artistically…and the art that came out didn’t exactly fit anywhere…if it was music, it wasn’t the sort of music other people were making. Outsider musicians are often self-taught…they’re perhaps a little naïve when it comes to the conventions of music and how it is performed…traditions, music theory, and experience mean nothing to them…they don’t care what other people think because they believe in themselves so much…for them, it’s all about the sheer joy of music. No two outsider musicians sound alike…some have intellectual disabilities or suffer from some kind of mental illness (like schizophrenia, for example), while others are just a little left-of-centre when it comes to their outlook on reality, something that comes through in their music. But all outsider musicians have something in common…there’s often a child-like quality to what they create…and they are motivated by the sheer joy of making music—and damn what other people may think. If we look at them through that lens, their spirit is to be admired—even if the music is a little, uh, challenging. Now that you’ve been warned and I’ve explained myself, let’s dive deeper into the fascinating world of outsider music…prepare yourself. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode is directed at people who need to understand how their favourite bands got their names. I will present you 60 band names over the course of this program…the first 20 will be a study of current popular groups…then we’ll move to some retro names, followed by some random labels.  And we’ll conclude with groups filed under “what were they thinking?,” “terrible original names,” “offensive names” (I’ll have to be careful about that)…and we’ll end with names that are just plain dumb—dumb on purpose, of course. Ready? Let us begin.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Every once in a while, something extraordinary happens in rock’n’roll…I hate the use of the cliché of “a perfect storm,” but that’s precisely what I’m talking about…a bunch of things involving culture, politics, demographics, economics and technology all collide and mix in just the right way for something totally new and unexpected to be created… Lemme give you some examples…Elvis came along in the 1950s just as millions of post-war kids—these new constructs that were now called “teenagers”—began gravitating to new radio stations that played music derived from a mix of the blues, country and R&B… This music greatly annoyed their parents, something that made it dangerous and forbidden… In 1964, the Beatles appeared on the Ed Sullivan show with a fresh, new sound that helped drag America out of the funk that followed the assassination of JFK…as far as rock is concerned, the 60s really began that February night in 1964… Let’s try something more current…you might remember the appearance of the music video in the early 80s transformed the industry…. or the time you heard “smells like teen spirit” for the first time and immediately you somehow knew that whatever came next in the 90s would be very, very different… And hip hop? don’t get me started…there are people—academics! —who will argue that the appearance of hip hop in popular culture was an even bigger deal that the Beatles… There’s one other event that we need to include on this list: the rise of punk rock in the mid-70s…as it was happening, it was no big deal…it was an aberration, a niche thing that indulged weirdos and misfits… “It’s just noise,” said the rock purists. “Ignore it and it’ll go away.” But it didn’t…in fact, we’re still talking about punk…and punk became more than just a form of music… it became a way of thinking and acting and creating and presenting…it’s music, film, visual art, literature, dance, politics… it altered much of western thought…the punk aesthetic—that “screw you, I’m gonna do it anyway” ethos—can be found virtually everywhere in society today… But what led to this? What were the factors that led to the rise of this music? And how did it appear worldwide at virtually the same time in an era long, long before the internet? Great questions…. let’s see if we can find the answer to the question: “Why did punk happen at all?” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

One of the things that makes rock great is the energy and the power that comes with the music..and depending where you go, that energy and power varies from place to place... If you’re looking to exorcise a little aggression and anger and frustration, you have several choices...there are various flavours of metal that can serve your purpose, ranging from the melodic (Metallica’s “Enter Sandman,” for example) along with Sabbath and Ozzy to the straight-from-hell insanity of black and death metal... Industrial music is another option...guitars, synthesizers, and driving beats from acts like Nine Inch Nails, Marilyn Manson, and Ministry... A third option is punk rock...it comes in many flavours, so there’s almost something for everyone... But if you really want pure adrenalin, something aggressive, something super-physical, something primal, and something that can be dangerous and violent, there’s one particular part of the punk world that you’ll find very attractive... It’s a space where things can’t be too hard, too fast, or too angry... And for many people, it’s become a lifestyle and even a lifesaver...it isn’t for everyone, but as we’ll see, its influence has extended far, far beyond just a bunch of guys yelling over loud guitars...misunderstood?...maybe...important?...definitely...this is the history of hardcore... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sometimes people get so pissed off or so inspired by something that they just have to sing about it…this is the protest song and it’s been with us for centuries… It’s music that encourages political and social change… and if done right—and if circumstances are correct—the song can mobilize people to take action, lift spirits and annoy (or even scare) authorities of the establishment… Protest music comes in all forms: classical, folk, reggae, pop, hip hop and, of course, rock…it can rail against war, demand social justice, call out politicians and petition for greater rights for women, minorities, labour and the marginalized… The singers and musicians behind this music may be regarded as thought leaders, social influencers and even prophets—and least for a time… What i’d like to go is go through the history of protest in song from the world of alt-rock, those times when a loud guitar becomes tool for making things better—for everyone… Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What do you for fun?...hobbies, pastimes—things that you do just for you, away from your job and all your other responsibilities?... I’ve got my dogs…my wife and I like to travel…and I’ve always had this thing about the JFK assassination…I’ve read all the books, seen all the documentaries…I’ve even been to Dallas and the grassy knoll, and the book depository…I can’t explain it, but I just find it interesting… Maybe you’re into sports…collecting hockey cards or wine or rare scotches…video games, Japanese anime, beanie babies, souvenir spoons…no need to justify anything…it’s just something you enjoy doing…it fulfills you somehow… Now consider this….when we think of our favourite musicians, we probably imagine them being immersed in music all the time…I mean, 24 hours a day, seven days a week…all they do is think about music and make music… But the truth is, you can’t do that…no one can…everyone needs a break from whatever it is they do…you gotta rest the brain, recharge, and go on a search for new inspiration…put down the instruments and see what else is out there…become a more rounded person…that’s one aspect… Another is, “look…you’ve had some success in your career…you’ve made some money…enjoy it…indulge in those things that you’ve always dreamed of…you can’t take it with you, so spend some of that cash”… All right, so like what?...I think you may be surprised…let’s take a look at the hobbies and non-musical passions of some very famous musicians… Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We're going back into the Ongoing History archives to bring you a show a lot of people have asked about. And with over 300 OGH podcasts, sometimes episodes get buried in the feed. This is the second part of our Oral History of Madchester as told by someone who was there to see it and make it happen. Gaz Whelan of the Happy Monday's! This really is something else... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We're going back into the Ongoing History archives to bring you a show a lot of people have asked about. And with over 300 OGH podcasts, sometimes episodes get buried in the feed. This is the first of a two part series on the Oral History of Madchester as told by someone who was there to see it and make it happen. Gaz Whelan of the Happy Monday's! This really is something else... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For this week’s podcast, we’re going to revisit the Ongoing History of New Music vault for the second part of a two-part series on censorship in music. Why are certain songs, bands, or styles of music censored? Who makes these decisions? Why? And what can musicians do about it? Although this episode is from the earlier part of the ongoing history library, it remains highly relevant. We thought you’d enjoy listening… this is Censorship and Music… Part 2. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For this week’s podcast, we’re going to revisit the Ongoing History of New Music vault for the first part of a two-part series on censorship in music. Why are certain songs, bands, or styles of music censored? Who makes these decisions? Why? And what can musicians do about it? Although this show is from the earlier part of the ongoing history library, it remains very relevant. We thought you’d enjoy listening… this is Censorship and Music… Part 1. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For this week’s episode, we’re going to go back into the ongoing history of new music vault and our “what’s the big deal” series.  This is where we try to figure out why we keep hearing and reading about these old names from the past. How are they connected to today's music? What did they do 20, 30 years ago and why should we care? And if they were so damn important, why didn't they ever sell a lot of records in the first place? Simple. We need to care because without these performers, today's new rock and alternative music wouldn't be possible.   And honestly, icons don't get much bigger than Iggy Pop, who is universally known as the godfather of punk. So, we thought you’d like to have a listen and find out “what’s the big deal about Iggy Pop” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Music is one of those things that can bring families together…and sometimes, that togetherness grows into a business… The BeeGees had the three Gibb brothers…baby brother Andy Gibb was also part of that universe for a while… Then there’s The Beach Boys…the original lineup included Brian, Dennis, and Carl Wilson and their cousin Mike Love…Murray Wilson—the father of Brian, Dennis, and Carl—was their manager…he was terrible at it (in fact, Murray was an all-around disaster for his sons), but at least they were all together…or something like that…three brothers, their father and a cousin… We have The Cowsills…this was a 60s pop group from Rhode island who had a series of hits…six siblings: Bob, Bill, Barry, John, Paul and Susan…they ranged from 8 to 18…and then there was mother Barbra…this arrangement was the inspiration for the TV show “the partridge family”…that’s seven people, which later became eight when Bob’s twin brother Richard joined up for a bit… And we have to talk about the Jackson 5: Michael, Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, and Marlon…when the group left Motown, Jermaine was replaced by Randy… So that’s six members of the Jackson 5… then we have Janet, LaToya and Rebbie…that’s nine, and everything was run by father Joe Jackson—another abusive disaster…so the count is up to 10… All this got me thinking: are there equivalents in the world of alt-rock?...What are the biggest family affairs the genre has ever seen?...Let’s take a look… Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Here’s a warning right from the outset: this is going to be a weird program…the performs and the music we’re going to talk about are famous because of their weird, shocking behaviour…they set out to get our attention—and they did… Some of us appreciated what they were doing…but the vast majority didn’t get them at all…they were branded as sick, deviant, sociopathic, psychopathic, and even criminal… Yet all found some measure of fame within certain corners of the rock universe…their antics may seem tame now, even quaint…but if we put these images and behaviors in the context of the times, it seemed like that antichrist’s musicians were on earth, ready to lead the young dancing and singing towards the apocalypse… So, if you’re listening to this program, please look around and asked yourself this question: “won’t someone please think about the children?”… This is a look at some of the weirdest and most shocking rockers of all time… Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is the second part of our examination of the legendary Alt-Rock scene known as "Goth", and this time we go from mid 80's... right up to today. Goth has always had a bad rap, so in our deep dive, we'll try to clear everything up..  This is "Good Goth-Part 2" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Goth has always had a bad rap and that's not fair to the music, the fans and the fashion so we're going to try to clear everything up with our deep dive. But don't worry...no one's going to get hurt. We are going to examine the Alt-Rock scene from the early 70's, and take it right up to today. This is "Good Goth...Part 1" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When you’re the lead singer in a band, you’re pretty much guaranteed to get all the attention…after all, you are the visual and audio focal point for pretty much everything… Yeah, there might be a hot guitarist or someone else flashy in the group, but for the 99% of the time, the spotlight is on you…which is fine if you’re the lead singer… But if you’re not?...what if you’re the schlep on bass or drums?...what if you’re the newest member of the band and you haven’t earned the right to claim any of the glare…maybe you have something to say…or maybe you have something to sing… Chances are you’ll get shouted down, ignored or buried…but not always…i’ve found some very, very good songs where the second voice in the band—or the third or the even the fourth has stepped-up big-time to grab centre stage, even for just one single song…and here’s the thing: you might not even know it… This is a look at some times when the lead singer took a step back and handed the mic to a second voice Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Friday, August 16, 1974, was a hot summer day in New York City…it was 31 degrees, but the humidity made it feel a lot hotter…and if you were down in the Bowery amidst all the concrete, it was hotter still...and it smelled. But what happened that night, when a bunch of punks took the stage at a scussy dive bar called "CBGB's", would change music forever. This is the story of the original Ramones. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Most of us probably go through a phase where we decide to make music for ourselves…maybe we’ll do it alone, or perhaps we want to be part of a band. The first thing you need to do is decide what instrument you will play…once you do that, you have to narrow things down to the exact make and model of that instrument. When you’re starting out, your dream instrument is probably out of reach financially, so you make do with whatever you can afford…but you never lose sight of one day owning an iconic rock’n’roll machine of some sort. It might be a guitar…and if it’s a guitar, you will inevitably have an opinion on amplifiers…perhaps you’re into keyboards…you might covet an expensive grand piano…or you have your eye on a particular line and model of electronic keyboard….the same applies to drums. So what are these iconic instruments? What instruments are famous and desired by musicians worldwide, regardless of their level of expertise ?...and what about these particular music-making things that make them so desirable? Let’s investigate…this is a look at the most iconic instruments—the goats of the tools of rock’n’roll. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After World War II, Germany was destroyed…the country was divided…the east was under the control of the USSR…the west was in democratic Europe…and then there was berlin, sitting in the east but cut into different zones dominated by the Russians, the Americans, the British, and the French.  Most history books look at the political and military side of things…what we don’t hear about nearly as much as how Germany society was rebuilt…imagine being a young person who is too young to have been in the military…what prospects did you have growing up in a divided country ruined by war.  This is where art comes in…art is always downstream from whatever is happening in society…and in the case of West Germany, many artists wanted things to be different.  Young German musicians had some very serious ideas of what needed to be done…many were into rock…but they were determined to create rock that was different from what was being made in the UK and America.  And they certainly didn’t want anything resembling traditional German music…it had been tainted by the nazi legacy…it was time for something new, different, and away from the status quo.  There were experiments in the 50s that were pretty radical and, frankly, all over the place…but the results of these experiments began to coalesce into something by the end of the 60s.  Within a few years, something distinctly German had emerged…it rocked (in its own way)…it had elements of psychedelic music…things could either be extremely structured or open to wild improvisation…it certainly wasn’t from any blues tradition or normal rock conventions upon which British or American rock was built.  The structures of some compositions weren’t exactly what you could call normal—at least not in the context of rock…and occasionally, things got political, but not necessarily in a protest sense.  By the middle 70s, we had a new distinctly German sound…the scene was very diverse in terms of sonics, but there was a Teutonic purpose underlying everything.  The Germans just called it “German rock”…the British, however, gave it another name…it was supposed to be a joke, but the name stuck…and looking back, this sound, approach, aesthetic, and name can be found throughout many different corners of the rock.  This is an explanation of thing that has become known as a “Krautrock”…and believe me, you’ve heard it more than you realize. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What do you remember from history class back in school?... Maybe a few dates and events…maybe the names some important people…and probably how dull a lot of history classes were.  I remember being inundated with a bunch of facts—which was fine (i guess), but it didn’t really make history come alive, you know? ...and it didn’t have to be this way.  History is more than this country going to war with that one, who married who to create what royal alliance, and which explorers went where to inflict harm on what indigenous people…there are many other branches of historical study. There’s social history, economic history, the history of science and technology, technology—and (my favourite) stupid history…these are stories of how civilization changed because of stupid people and stupid things…and if we were taught stupid history alongside all the record stuff, those classes would have been a whole lot more fun. For example, in 1545, winemakers in Saint-Julien, France, were in a panic because their vines were being eaten by weevils…these vineyard owners were so upset that they brought legal action against the bugs. This was all very formal…documents were drawn up and the weevils were appointed a defense lawyer by the court…there was a trial with a judge and when it was all over, the weevils were found guilty of, well, being weevils and eating grapevines. Almost a year later, the presiding judge issued a proclamation demanding that the weevils cease and desist with their ravaging of the vineyards…dumb, right?...but believe it or not, the weevils listened…the infestation stopped almost overnight. There was not any kind of weevil problem for 40 years…and when they showed up again in 1587, the vineyards again took the bugs to court… the result of that case is lost to time…i love it…that is wonderful stupid history. Music has its own stories like this…yes, there are things that require serious sober study…but then there’s also the stuff that makes you think “that really didn’t happen—did it?”.  Oh, yes it did…this is another round of stupid history, the music version. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There are plenty of thankless jobs out there…think about the people who have to work outside in all kinds of weather…line workers for power companies…garbage collectors… construction workers. Same goes for prison officers, nurses, teachers, and first responders of all types…i could go on, but you get the idea…so much needs to go on behind the scenes for us to be able to live our lives.  There are dirty jobs but someone’s gotta do it…for the most part, they do their jobs so well that we don’t even think about them…but if not for these people, society wouldn’t function.  Now let’s look at the music industry…the performers get all the glory, but we’d know nothing of them if it wasn’t for the massive support they get from people in the background.  That includes support staff at record labels and management companies,  publicists, assistants, and thousands of other positions that helps make the music happen.  One of the most important positions is paradoxically both visible and invisible…if they do their jobs well, they’re ghosts…but if they don’t, things don’t go so well…in fact, they may not go as well.  I’m talking about roadies, members of the road crew, the people who enlist in the army that’s necessary to put an act on tour…without their expertise, long hours, and willingness make sure everything always goes smooth, there would be no live experience.  They say that if there ain’t no audience, there ain’t no show…but if there ain’t no road crew, then their ain’t nothing at all. This is a history of the men and women who make live shows happen…it’s the story of roadies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

At its best, rock is a transcendent experience, something that takes us somewhere away from the ordinary, the normal, and the safe…there’s a huge fantasy element to it…done right, rock removes us from this universe and transports us someplace completely different where anything could happen—at least for a little while. Sometimes the music alone is enough to take us there…but there’s so much more that can be done to enhance the experience. Costuming, for one…make-up and wild hair make a nice addition…how about going hard on the visuals and theatrics?...sure!...why not?...can’t hurt…how about dropping in some sci-fi…good…what about sex and horror and shock and the occult and then really, really exaggerate everything?... Bring it on.  And you know what else might be fun?...a big dollop of sexual ambiguity…that’ll freak people out. What I’ve just described is a lot of today’s music…the rock era has been around long enough and has gone through so many bouts of extremism that it seems like there’s we can’t be shocked by anything a rock star does anymore. But there was a time in the very late 60s and early 70s when a specific group of artists were very shocking…they did and said things that were so outrageous and wild that they kinda knocked the planet around on its axis a little bit. They also set in motion some knock-on effects that changed everything about rock…and then they became extinct…but the influence and fallout from that four or five-year period is still being seen and felt today…you just have to know where to look. This is the surprising history of glam rock…it still lives and it can still make things very interesting. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is the fifth edition of an occasional series called “The Rock Explainer.” The idea is to explore the strange, unexplained, and traditional aspects of rock culture that don’t get enough attention and analysis… In many cases, we just accept these things and don’t question them as much as we should…but if we stop for just a second and cock a quizzical eyebrow and actually ask the question, then it’s possible to review new things about music that you might never have imagined… Where do accents go when people sing?...why do artists sing the melody lines when they perform live?... How come we hear lyrics wrong?...let’s answer those questions and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The mp3 had a spectacular rise…the tech was everywhere…it brought music and the industry into the digital era. But like almost everything in this universe, it has a finite lifespan…it’s still with us and in many ways is still ubiquitous in some circles, but things have changed. And yes, it did kill the music industry—at least the old one that insisted on selling fans their music on pieces of plastic I’m going to try to tell the story of how mp3 technology came into our lives—and how it is slowly leaving it. It’s a story with all kinds of twists and turns…there are heroes and villains…there are casualties and survivors…and one thing is for sure: music has been forever changed in a billion different ways. This is the rise and fall of the mp3. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ever been to a concert and wondered "How do they make all of this work?". "How have I not gone deaf?" or "Why does the dude on stage wearing what looks like a pair of ear-buds?" Well we're here to answer those questions and more as we delve deep into the history of concert sound... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Maybe it was the first time you saw your favourite musical. Maybe they played a set list that you thought was perfection. Maybe you were front and centre and the singer crowd surfed right over your head! So sure...an absolutely legendary gig! But what about those gigs that redefined alt-rock? Those concerts or shows that stand out as legendary for what came after them? The bands they inspired or the lasting legacy of that show on the audience? Well we're going take a look at 8 of them and try to explain why they are so legendary in the history of alt-rock Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

People who study such things say that the human brain—this folded lump of mostly fat—has a pretty good hard drive…the average adult brain has a capacity of about 2.5 petabytes…put another way, that’s 2.5 million gigs…that’s a lot. We’re talking personal memories, facts, academic education, learned behaviors, and muscle memory…there are also special places where things like musical memories and lyrics are stored. Some memories remain rock solid, barring some kind of injury or illness…but because we’re always experiencing new things, we forget other stuff as new experiences crowd out the old stuff. As a result, things fade…significant details about something can start to fade away within days—even hours or minutes, depending on circumstances surrounding that memory…some will become corrupted—which is why eyewitness accounts are often considered unreliable in court…and it’s not like we can download a backup of our memories—at least not yet. This is why it’s a good idea to a little maintenance on the hard drives in our head…and that can be as simple as doing a refresh…how?...but stopping for a little history…a quick study on where we’ve been, what we’ve done, and what’s happened to us…think of it as pressing “F4” on a keyboard a bunch of times. John Lennon said “life is what happens when you’re making other plans” …and the more time goes by, the more plans we might have made…inevitably, we forget some of life. And that’s why if we want to know why things are the way they are—and where things may go in the future—we have to hit “F4” every once in a while. This is such a program…it’s part ten of the 100 greatest rock moments of the millennium so far…how many of these things do you remember?...and have you even thought of them in this way?...let’s find out with moments 10 through number 1. Songs in this episode: The Strokes - Someday Linkin Park - One Step Closer Metallica - St. Anger U2 - Vertigo BoyWithYuke - Toxic The Tragically Hip - Ahead By A Century (live) Sum 41 - Over My Head (live) Pocket Gods - Who Do I Have To Sleep With To Get On This Spotify Playlist? U2 - Where The Streets Have No Name Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’ve been talking about life beyond earth for decades…and one of the best places to look (for starters) are the moons of Jupiter and Saturn…wouldn’t it be cool if we could land a probe on one of them to have a little look around? ...but that won’t happen for decades, right? Wrong…it already happened…in 2005, the Huygens probe descended to the surface of Titan, the largest moon of Saturn…it was a monumental achievement in space exploration. Oh…forgot that that one, huh? ...okay, let’s try another. Anyone remember when an entire country went bankrupt? ...you would if you were from Iceland…in 2008, the entire Icelandic banking system collapsed forcing the nation to declare bankruptcy…but Iceland recovered by actually holding bankers accountable and initiating a series of financial reforms that are worth studying by other countries. Don’t remember, huh?... One more. What about the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill of 2010…it was the largest marine oil spill in history and cause an incredible amount of environmental and economic damage…they even made a movie about it along with a bunch of documentaries. My point is that news and world events come at us so fast and from so many angles, they occupy all our attention for a hot minute…but then we either become overwhelmed, bored, or distracted by something else…we move on and forget—or bury the information deep. I sometimes think we’re approaching the human limit of being able to process all the information that comes at us every second…and if we can’t do that, we can’t learn any lessons from the past, we can’t understand why we are where we are now, and we can’t even predict where we might go in the future. That’s why it’s important for us to stop, look back and to see what happened…this is chapter 9 of “the 100 greatest rock moments of the 21st century—so far” . Songs in this episode: Moby - Porcelain Chris Cornell - Nothing Compares To You Linkin Park - In The End The White Stripes - Blue Orchid Thea Gilmore - Mainstream U2 - Until The End Of The World (live) Jack White - Lazaretto Eagles of Death Metal - I Love You All The Time Man With No Name - Teleport Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How many times have you been told to “live in the moment?”…it usually comes with statements like “the past can’t be changed, the future is unknown, so all you can do is experience the present to the fullest extent of your being”. In other words, be more like a dog…i’m always watching my bull terriers go about their day…they don’t worry about the past and have little concept of the future…it’s all about eating, sleeping, doing their business outside, playing, and demanding affection…and when they engage in any of those things, they are all-in. A lovely idea, but humans don’t work that way…heaven forbid that we get lost in our thoughts—or worse, get bored—standing in line at the checkout…let’s avoid those awkward moments with ourselves and not have to be in that moment. But maybe whipping out the phone at every available second is a defense mechanism…we live in a world with so much change that we need constant distraction from how quickly things are moving… doom-scrolling isn’t healthy, but it is a way to say “stop the world, i want to get off” for a few minutes. But reality is that time is a linear thing that goes only in one direction…and if you don’t live in the moment at least sometimes, you’ll miss everything that’s happening, that has happened, and that will happen. That’s the purpose behind this ten-part series…it’s a recap of the 100 most important things that have happened in rock this millennium so far…we’re up to chapter eight…how many of these items have you missed or forgotten about because you haven’t been living the moment? Songs in this episode: Oasis - Aquiesce Tim Hawkins - YouTube Sparks - iPhone Red Hot Chilli Peppers - Californication (live) Radiohead - Bodysnatchers The Ramones - Blitzkreig Bop The Clash - London Calling The Beatles - Tomorrow Never Knows U2 - I Will Follow (live) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s wild how so much in this universe is connected in ways we don’t understand…there’s something in quantum physics that Einstein called “spooky interaction at a distance”. Quantum theory says that you can have a particle-like, er, this one here—which is connected to another identical particle billions and billions of light-years away. And if I give this one a flick—boop!—I just booped its twin on the other side of the universe at the same time…change it here, and it changes there instantaneously…yeah, I know, it’s freaky…but that’s how quantum physics works. History can be like that, too…you poke at this one person, this one thing, this one event, and it has an effect on another person, thing or event way over there. It doesn’t happen instantly because our existence is in the universe ruled by classical physics where such things can’t happen…but in retrospect, you see how one little thing in the timeline can unleash a series of cascading events and unintended consequences. This is why I believe every once in a while, I believe it’s important to stop to look at how we got to where we are today…reviewing and studying the past is a way to understand the present…and if we’re careful, we might be able to use this information to predict at least some of the future. This is episode seven of a ten-part series that’s looking back on what happened in rock through the first 25 years of the 21st century…let’s see if we can’t put a few more pieces together. Songs in this episode: Stone Temple Pilots - Interstate Love Song (Live acoustic at 228 Yonge Street) The Breeders - Cannonball Twenty-One Pilots - Stressed Out Kraftwerk - Robots Led Zeppelin - Rock'N'Roll (Live at the O2) St. Vincent - Los Ageless Joy Division - Love Will Tear Us Apart The White Stripes - Icky Thump Sam Roberts - Don't Walk Away Eileen (Live at SARS-Stock) Metallica - I Disappear (Napster demo version) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you’re a Boomer, a Gen Xer or an early millennial, this is going to hurt. If someone says “25 years ago,” now, they mean something that happened in the 1900s, not in the 21st century. Despite how it might feel, the 90s weren’t just 20 years ago…neither were the 80s…if you’re a certain age, you know exactly what I’m talking about. This hurts, too…at some point, you’re going to hear a kid talk about a song that came out “in the late 1900s”…ouch. We’re already a quarter of the way through the 21st century. I still find that hard to process. On the other hand, younger Millennials, Gen Zed kids, and Gen Alpha, first 25 years of the 2000s is recent history…if that’s you, you’re still getting caught up…and if you’re in those special years when you develop your musical awareness, you’re probably a sponge for information…what did I miss?...and how did we get to where we are now? Whatever your perspective, this series of “ongoing history” episodes aims to help…this is part 6 of our look back at the 100 greatest moments in rock for the millennium—so far. Songs in this episode: The Killers - Mr. Brightside (Original Demo) Radiohead - Karma Police U2 - Vertigo Alice In Chains - We Die Young Veruca Salt - Laughing In The Sugar Bowl Limewire - Knot Tool - Fear Inoculum Royal Blood - Figure it Out Foo Fighters - Times Like These (Live London) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

People love lists…magazines, broadcasters, and websites are always publishing them…the ones that seem to get the most attention are those that rank a specific thing from worst to best. And let’s be honest: most of these lists are designed to court controversy, to create arguments, and to get people talking about how things got ordered and why or why not someone or something should be at number one…i get it. But not all lists are created equal…some are just supposed to keep track of something…what to buy at the grocery store…errands that need to be done…things you need to pack for a trip. Then there’s middle ground…lists that keep track of something while attempting to slot them in some order of importance, influence, or impact. Such lists will still result in arguments and debate over how things were ranked—which is fine—but the primary purpose of such a list is an attempt to remember what happened. We’re already 25% the way through the 21st century…and with the pace of life, it’s harder and harder to keep up with what happened this week let alone over the last quarter-century. That’s why everything once in a while it’s important to stop, take a breath, look around, and try to remember what happened…and once we account for that, we can get a better idea of why we’ve ended up where we are: the advances we’ve seen, the mistakes we’ve made, and the happy (and unhappy accidents) that have occurred—and maybe, just maybe, figure out where we’re going. This is chapter five of the 100 greatest rock moments of the millennium—so far. Songs in this episode: Cruisebox - On A Podcast The White Stripes - Seven Nation Army Patti Smith - Elegie Black Keys - Lonely Boy Metallica - Seek And Destroy (live) Green Day - American Idiot Rage Against The Machine - Killing In The Name Of Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti - Round and Round Foo Fighters - Learning to Fly (live) Nirvana - Polly Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s a summer night in 1998. Vienna, Austria. And petty thief Daniel Blanchard is about to carry out the heist of a lifetime. Stealing a crown jewel. The last remaining diamond Sisi Star. His plan? A daring night-time parachute jump. Daniel is no ordinary thief. His heists are ingenious, meticulously planned; his escapes from the law defy belief. And Daniel knows that if he can get his hands on the star, it will launch him into the criminal big-leagues. Daniel’s exploits unleash a relentless game of cat-and-mouse, as police track him across continents yet vanishes from their grasp.  What he doesn’t know is that the Sisi Star has a history. A dark history. Its original owner, the legendary Empress Elisabeth of Austria, used it to carve her own legacy of absolute beauty and power. That pursuit drove her to her very limits.  And now Daniel’s fate is fixed to that same star. But how long can Sisi’s star stay lucky for Daniel?  This is A Most Audacious Heist – it’s the story of a master thief, an intercontinental manhunt, and the jewel that changes everything. Contact: Facebook: @BlanchardHouseStories Instagram: @BlanchardHouseStories X (formerly Twitter): @BlanchardTweets Blanchard House website: blanchard-house.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Time has a way of getting away from us, especially at the speed at which news cycles travel…with a firehose of information coming at us from traditional media, online sources, social media, and just life in general, it’s really easy to forget where we’ve been and what we’ve done. The speed of 21st century life has either created our ultra-short attention spans or exacerbated what was already there. Me?... Sometimes it feels like I have the memory of a goldfish…somebody will mention something that happened and I’ll go, “oh, yeah…that happened a couple of years ago”…and then they’ll say, “no, that was 21 years ago”. It’s been so long since the 90s that the music of that era is number one for nostalgia, eclipsing the public’s fascination with the 80s, the 70s, and the 60s…people who weren’t alive in the 90s have latched on to that music in a very fierce way. Maybe that’s why to older folk the rock from that time still seems fresh and top-of-mind—because to a substantial number of young music fans, it’s fresh and top-of-mind for them…I find it fascinating when a young generation embraces music from an older generation as their own. But time is an arrow that points only one way…we don’t know where we’re going, but we do know where we’ve been…and that’s where history comes in…remembering and analyzing the past helps understand where we are today and where we might possibly end up tomorrow. That’s the point of this series of “ongoing history” programs…what has happened with music in the last 25 years?... And can we use any of this history to predict the future? This is chapter four of “the 100 greatest moments in rock of the millennium—so far”. Songs in this episode: Final Fantasy - He Poos Clouds Twenty One Pilots - Stressed Out Rage Against The Machine - Renegades of Funk Walk Off The Earth - Somebody I Used To Know Metallica - St. Anger Frank Turner - Girl From The Record Shop Nickelback - Rockstar Coldplay - Talk Muse - Uprising Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The great 20th century philosopher Ferris Bueller once said “life moves pretty fast…if you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it”. I think of this wisdom a lot, especially when someone starts talking about, say, the music of the 1990s…my instinctive reaction is always the same… “yeah…the 90s…that was ten years ago, right?”. Obviously not…Nirvana’s “Nevermind” still lives and that record is over 30 years old…all the legendary grunge artists are in their 50s and 60s if not dead…but so much of the music of the era is always in the air so it’s not like it ever had a chance to be forgotten. I was in an airport recently—a big public space serving people of all ages and all backgrounds from around the world—and “Man in a Box” from Alice in Chains was playing on the p.a. And then there are all those moments in the grocery store when I hear music playing and think to myself “when did supermarket music get so cool?”. The truth is that this music is a lot older than my brain wants to believe…even though it still sounds fresh, so much has happened since those records came out. Life does move pretty fast…and it seems that it’s moving faster with each passing day…and yeah, we do need to stop and looking around once in while because, let’s face it, we’re missing a lot of stuff. Now that we’re 25 years deep into the 21st century, I feel the need to look around a lot more, if for no other reason, to remember and keep track of everything that we’ve seen in music…what have we missed?...what have we forgotten?...and if we’re not acquainted with how we got here, how can we possibly be ready for what might be coming next. This is episode 3 of a series I call “the 100 greatest rock moments of the millennium so far”…let’s see how many of these things you remember. Songs in this episode: Radiohead - Creep Tool - Tempest Imagine Dragons - Radioactive The Killers - Mr. Brightside Pantera - Walk Foo Fighters - Something From Nothing Nine Inch Nails - 34 Ghosts IV Sinead O'Connor - The Last Day of Our Acquaintance U2 - Even Better Than The Real Thing (live) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

So much can happen in 25 years…let’s go back to how the 20th century began…in just a quarter century, we got radio, airplanes, the Great War, the Russian revolution, the Soviet Union, and the rise of Communism. The Titanic sank…women were empowered to vote…Einstein came up with the theory of relativity…Henry Ford changed manufacturing forever with the use of the assembly line, not to mention the introduction of cars. We also go stainless steel, the first x-ray machine, the zipper, neon lighting, and instant coffee…and that’s just for starters. Now let’s look at the first 25 years of the 21st century… 9/11 and the wars that followed…the rise of China as global power…the Arab Spring…an awareness of climate change…LGBT rights and social movements…covid…trump…the incorporation of the internet into everything. Now that the century is a quarter done, it’s also a good time to look back on what happened in music…the short answer is “a lot”…but because change happened so consistently and was adopted by so many people, it’s easy to lose perspective of how much things have changed since the clocks ticked over to January 1, 2000. Let’s take stock of things…this is part two of the greatest rock moments of the millennium—so far. Songs in this episode: The Thermals - Here's Your Future Amy Winehouse - Rehab REM - Mine Smell Like Honey Joy Division - Transmission Women - Eyesore The Hives - Tick Tick Boom Presidents of the USA - Video Killed The Radio Star Twenty One Pilots - Heathens Our Lady Peace - Will The Future Blame Us U2 - The Miracle (Of Joey Ramone) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Keeping up to date with the news cycles is exhausting…so much comes at us from so many different directions that it’s impossible to know if we’re in the middle of something important or not…everything seems urgent, threatening, and life-changing…there’s precious little time for careful consideration, study, and analysis. Keeping up with technology and its effect on society is another big challenge…one moment everyone seems caught up with a particular gadget or app—but a month or even a week later, that’s old news and everyone has moved on. Remember how the world was supposed to end when the planet’s computers melted down over the Y2K bug?...wasn’t the world supposed to end with the end of the Mayan calendar in 2012?...weren’t we supposed to have run out of oil by now? When you mix technology with the news cycle, our ever-shortening attention spans,  how the world is interconnected 24/7, and how we’re able to individualize everything that we take in, it’s easy to lose track of what the hell is happening…one of my favourite doomsday predictions had to do with the large hadron collider along the French-Swiss border…before it was switched on, people were saying that scientists risked creating an artificial black hole that would suck everyone into oblivion. And don’t get me started on conspiracy theories…chemtrails…flat earthers…9/11 was an inside job…the U.S. government using a facility in Alaska to control the world’s weather. This is why it’s important every once in a while, we stop and take stock of things…big picture stuff matters…long-term consequences matter…the knock-on effects of something that was once considered inconsequential and unnoticed matter. It’s difficult enough to remember what exactly happened...it’s even more difficult to determine what really mattered over the long term...even so, what were merely transient distractions may have turned out to be groundbreaking in the long run…was that thing a fad or was it predictive of something bigger in the future? And then there’s music…so much has changed in a very short period of time…and now that we’re a quarter of the way through the 21st century, enough time has passed so that we can look back with some clarity. Welcome to a special “ongoing history of new music” series…these are the 100 most important moments in rock in the 21st century—so far—part one. Songs in this episode: The Police - Driven to Tears Manskin - I Wanna Be Your Slave Linkin Park - In The End U2 - Vertigo (live at The Sphere) Kate Bush - Running Up That Hill (live at Apollo Hammersmith 2014) Blink 182 - Bored to Death Silverchair - Tomorrow Gorillaz - Feel Good Inc. Pearl Jam - Animal (live in Montreal circa 2000) Arctic Monkeys - I Bet You Look Good on the Dance Floor (Demo from MySpace) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A couple of years ago, it became obvious that we were entering an era where music fans were increasingly going to be sad…that’s because our musical heroes are shuffling off this mortal coil. It really hit hard in 2016—that was a bad year with the deaths of David Bowie and Prince—that really brought home the unfortunate reality that we will continue to lose people who have been making music for us for years, maybe decades. We didn’t necessarily know any of these people personally…but it was through their music that learned something about ourselves…so when they die, a little bit of us might go with them. I think it’s important that we remember those musicians who have passed on…that’s why we have this annual look at who died…we need to honour the work of these musicians and music people…and with so many of them going, we at the very least need to remember that they did indeed pass away. This is the 2024 “In Memoriam” show…grab yourself a box of tissues. Songs in this episode: Kate Bush - Running Up That Hill The MC5 - Kick Out The Jams Mojo Nixon and Skid Roper - Elvis is Everywhere World Party - Ship of Fools The Raspberries - Go All The Way Nirvana - Heart-Shaped Box The Selector - On My Radio Crazy Town - Butterfly Greg Kihn Band - The Break-Up Song My Chemical Romance - Welcome to the Black Parade Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

One of the byproducts of doing a show like this for as long as I’ve been doing it is that it’s really hard to shut off your brain. I’m always thinking about topic ideas, ways to connect facts and trivia, reading a lot of books, talking to a lot of people, and otherwise trying to come up with a constant stream of topics we can discuss. The result of all this research and thinking and writing are some ideas and perspectives on music, music history, how music is made, how it’s consumed and distributed, and how seemingly small things have led to big changes…that’s one thing. Another is the opinions formed by observing the opinions of others…why do people like some things and hate others?... another is a list of ideas that aren’t quite fully formed…it seems like I’ve almost grasped a concept. Still, it doesn’t feel right yet—but I feel there’s a germ of truth somewhere. I’ve also learned that when you’re unsure about something, source the crowd…you might like the answers, but it’s better than living in your own head. So, let me bounce a few of these things off you, and you can tell me if I’m onto something, if I’m off base, or if I’ve completely lost the plot… I call this episode “theories, thoughts, and half-baked ideas”. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder—or in the case of music, the ear…what’s pleasant to one person is nothing but noise to someone else… This is where it’s good to have some patience…there are some forms of art whose beauty isn’t obvious at first…you need to stick with it…and after you’ve given it a chance and decided that it’s not for you, fine… But what about those times when something happens—suddenly or slowly and either on your own or with the prompting of someone else—and you realize that the weird music you’re listening to is actually pretty good?... This is the payoff…yeah, you really had to work for it—but it was worth it…with me so far?.. “Beauty” doesn’t mean “perfect”—at least in the technical sense…sometimes imperfection makes something more beautiful…or at least more interesting… This brings me to the topic of singing voices…this is a very subjective area…how many times have you said, “Listen to that guy!... I can’t stand his voice!...how did he ever get a record deal?... I mean, listen to him!” But then others hear the same thing and go, “wow…that’s really different…really expressive…it’s full of character and emotion…what a bold move giving this dude a chance to real millions of people… I love this guy!”… These are the kind of singers we’re about to review: guys with some of the most unusual voices in the history of alt-rock. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For a very long time—too long—women were locked in very defined roles when it came to rock’n’roll…girls were expected to look pretty and do little more than sing…okay, maybe shake a tambourine or something…but that was about it… And when it came to singing, “Just stick with conventional stuff, dear…don’t get any crazy ideas in your head…this is a woman’s role in rock, and you should stick to it…that’s a nice little lady”… But then along came punk rock in the 1970s…punk did many things for rock—including knocking down a lot of heretofore inviolable gender roles…the central tenet of punk was that anyone should have the right to say anything in any matter they want regardless of who they are…that included women and their right to self-expression… The result was fantastic. Freed from all the old expectations, women were free to reinvent themselves as musicians in a million different ways leading to a wonderful array of female performers… Some of my favourites are the ones who decided to spit in the face of virtually every rock’n’roll convention—women who (before punk came along and liberated everyone from the tyranny of “the way things ought to be”) developed styles that were different and unique and utterly unlike anything the world had ever heard before… Yes, some of them were an acquired taste and took a little getting used to…but once people figured out what they were trying to do and what they were all about, it was inevitable that they would become addicted, enchanted, and inspired…  We’re going to look at ten of these women…I call them “The Queens of Quirk” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

All right…I hope you’re ready because a lot of information—some of it important, some of it useless—is about to come your way in a rapid-fire way. Again, this is material collected over the last 12 months while I was looking for “ongoing history” ideas…some of this info doesn’t fit with the mandate of the program…some of it is orphaned from programs that never quite took shape…and some of these items were just too weird to gloss over, so I made a note…what you do with what you’re about to hear is up to you. Let us begin with 60 mind-blowing facts about music...the 2024 edition. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The way I see it, there are three types of bands that stretch across a spectrum…first, there’s the extreme sort, a group that will do almost anything to attract attention…you’re probably thinking of some names right now. Next to them are the traditional sort, and they comprise the vast majority of bands out there…these are groups that go out there, do their thing earnestly and honestly, and hope that this will be enough for music lovers…they occupy a huge part of this spectrum. And then we have the third type: the quirky, eccentric, and weird…these groups come in all sorts of flavours, from mildly bent to the gloriously stupid and the confoundingly weird…these bands go a long way into making music fun and unpredictable. Not all land with audiences—they’re too strange, not enough people get the joke, or maybe they’re just in the wrong place at the wrong time. But there can be a balance between being quirky and fun and having songs that have widespread appeal…they have just enough of the nerd factor to set themselves apart while not being so nerdy that they’ll turn too many people off. This is really hard to do…it takes songwriting skills, careful management of your image, and plenty of creativity and imagination, especially if you want to main things over more than just a couple of albums and touring cycles. Among the very, very, very best of this class of band is Weezer…they’ve perfected a formula that includes musical talent, wit, self-deprecation, left-of-centre thinking, a desire to have fun, a willingness to experiment, some clever marketing, and above all, to let their fans in on everything…it’s an approach that has worked very, very well for decades. This is part two of “Rivers Cuomo and Weezer: alt-rock’s nerd heroes”. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If Rivers Cuomo of Weezer were to walk past you on the street, you probably wouldn’t notice him…if you did, you might think that this stranger kinda looked like Louis Tully, the nebbish accountant played by Rick Moranis in a couple of “Ghostbusters” movie. Chances are he’d be wearing skinny jeans, a t-shirt, a hoody, maybe a baseball cap, indistinguishable from a hundred other short, slight, guys with glasses that you encountered that day…and that’s just the way he likes it. But Rivers Cuomo is an unlikely sort of rock star and is extremely committed to being a rock star—or at least doing the things that he hopes will keep him at that level. He’s highly educated, deeply introspective, very private, and always looking to learn something new, be studying the mysteries of writing the perfect song to computer programming to intense forms of meditation to careful study of the music industry… and one day, he wants to make a weezer movie—not a tour film, but some kind of actual movie. Weezer has been together for more than 30 years…there have been no break-ups and reunions…there haven’t even been any official hiatuses. But Rivers has also taken up pickleball with a vengeance…he’s a very good chess player, too…he’s fascinated with Japanese culture. What else?...PETA once voted him “the sexiest celebrity vegetarian,” although he confesses to hating carrots…he doesn’t have a middle name because his parents wanted him to choose one when he got old enough—but he never got around to it. Fox filmed a pilot for a tv show based on the years rivers went to harvard…and he once had a pet squirrel named “Mr. Peanutbutter. That’s just a start…think we can fill up an entire program with fascinating facts about Rivers Cuomo and Weezer …I bet we can. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’re about to get all dreamy and floaty and all blissed out by taking a look at another specific genre…a post-punk genre called “dream pop”…it’s a thing unto itself but it’s also related to other genres where atmosphere, sonic textures, and (in some cases) sheer volume reign supreme…and from its origins in the early 80s, dream pop has had a profound effect on music that is felt even today. It touches on and overlaps with other alt-rock subgenres including shoegaze and anything resembling modern psychedelic material…it has a volume continuum that ranges from barely-there softness to somewhere beyond a jet engine…but at the same time, it never loses touch with melody. So, complicated stuff—and i haven’t even mentioned vocal styles, guitar effects, production methods, and all the other goodness that goes into making something dreamy—or in extreme cases, nightmarish. Here…let me show you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is an episode all about bust-ups and break-ups, those times when tensions within a band get so high that things get weird and violent and—well, let’s just say “regrettable”. Some of these incidents resulted in nothing more than an airing of the grievances…steam was let off, people calmed down, and it was back to business as usual…other times, though, the damage of was irreparable and it marked the end of the group forever—or at least something close to it… You want stories?... You want drama?... You want weird…stand by…i got the stories ---and they are not pretty.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’ve all sat listening to music and though to ourselves “what does this song mean?...what’s the singer (or the band) trying to say?”. Sometimes it’s nothing…it’s just a bunch of words strung together in a way that sounds fun…other times, lyrics to a song may be just some kind of stream of consciousness thing that somehow made sense to the singer or the lyricist at the time…or maybe it didn’t…lots of songs are written in altered states. A song could be an oblique and opaque form of poetry that’s supposed to resolve itself in the brains of each individual listener…there have been many times when I’ve asked a singer “what does this song mean?”… and their answer is “well, what does it mean to you?...whatever you say is the right answer”. Okay, i get it…it’s art…art is supposed to be open to personal interpretation…when you hear something beautiful or provocative or inspiring, who cares what the initial intent was—if there even was one…all that matters is that the song somehow hits you on some kind of emotional level that’s difficult or impossible to quantify or describe. Then again, some songs have a very specific point…they tell a story…or they’re inspired by something that happened in real life and the composer is trying to capture what he or she felt and saw. And then there are the stories of the creation of the songs themselves…something happened for that song to be born…what was it?...and what were the circumstances, the serendipity, the accidents, the crazy coincidences that needed to manifest for a great song to come to life?. Let’s explore that…this is another episode of stories behind songs. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is an episode about murder…call this a crossover episode with my true crime podcast, “Uncharted: Crime and Mayhem in the Music Industry”. For as long as rock music has existed, people have been blaming it for turning impressionable people to the dark side, inspiring them (if not outright encouraging them) to do evil things. My opinion is that an unstable mentally ill person is liable to be triggered by anything…and yes, sometimes that trigger might be a song…there are, however, not that many documented cases of this happening. I call this episode “murder ballads (and other deadly songs)”…and what you’re about to hear is not pretty. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices