Rivers Cuomo and Weezer - Alt-Rock's Nerd Heroes Part 1

Rivers Cuomo and Weezer - Alt-Rock's Nerd Heroes Part 1

Author: Curiouscast December 4, 2024 Duration: 31:56
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

For over two decades, the Ongoing History of New Music has served as an essential audio documentary series, digging deep into the stories that shaped alternative rock, hip hop, and everything in between. Hosted by the legendary music historian Alan Cross, this podcast functions as a curated archive of musical culture, moving far beyond simple artist profiles. Each episode is a thematic exploration, connecting sonic dots across decades to reveal the hidden contexts, forgotten pioneers, and cultural shifts that define what we listen to. You’ll hear about the scenes that birthed genres, the technologies that changed production, and the personalities whose influence ripples through today’s charts. It’s less a linear history lesson and more an ongoing conversation about why music matters, delivered with Cross’s authoritative yet accessible narrative style. Tune in and discover the rich, often surprising backstories behind the songs and artists you thought you knew, gaining insights you’re unlikely to find anywhere else. This is Canadian broadcasting at its most inquisitive and enduring, making the Ongoing History of New Music a foundational listen for anyone curious about the forces that continually reinvent our sonic landscape.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Ongoing History of New Music
Podcast Episodes
Mighty Managers of Rock [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 39:04
If you’re a musical artist and you start to do well, the point will come when you need a manager. The manager is the person who looks after all the business stuff so the musician can get on with the business of making mu…
Stupid History: The Music Version 1 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 35:52
For some people, history is dry and boring…it’s all dates and wars and dusty facts about things that don’t have anything to do with life today…and yes, that can be true…but history also helps us understand why things are…
Survey Says: Useful and Odd Music Surveys and Polls [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 34:02
By the time this episode is over, you will learn things about your fellow music fans (and music in general) that you can use to astound your friends…and when they say “go on, that’s not true,” you can simply point them t…
Oasis at War Part 2 - Revisited [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 22:36
After years and years or rumour and speculation, we now have an Oasis reunion. The brother Gallagher have agreed to reunite…and possibly burry the hatchet. This for a series of shows next summer in the UK, Ireland, Canad…
The Last Moments of - Part 3 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 35:51
We don’t like to think about our favourite musicians as being mortal…because let’s face it, we believe that they do extraordinary things and make us feel in ways we otherwise wouldn’t. Rock stars are special, superhuman,…
Oasis at War Part 1 - Revisited [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 21:34
After years and years or rumour and speculation, we now have an Oasis reunion. The brother Gallagher have agreed to reunite…and possibly burry the hatchet. This for a series of shows next summer in the UK, Ireland and be…
Connections 3 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 41:35
It may not seem like it, but everything in this universe is connected in all kinds of unseen ways. Humans have always known that chaos is a capricious and fickle thing, something that can show up when you least expect it…
Lostwave [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 38:22
Tell me if this sounds familiar…you’re sitting around with a bunch of friends talking about music when someone says “what’s that song with the thing at the beginning and the boom-boom sound effects?....it’s got that guit…
Twee Pop: A History [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 26:48
There’s a scene in the 2000 movie “High Fidelity” that introduced a lot of people to the name Belle and Sebastian. Rob, the owner of a record store, and his employee, Dick, are enjoying a new arrival. Then Barry, another…
A History of Moshing [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 29:03
I do not dance…I’m too awkward and too self-aware of my awkwardness…I know we’re all supposed to dance like no one is looking, but when it comes to me, people will look, point, and judge… My wife realizes this…since we w…