The Second Voice

The Second Voice

Author: Curiouscast June 12, 2025 Duration: 22:09
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

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
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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…
The History of Concert Sound [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 31:38
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Duration: 26:45
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 abs…
The 100 Greatest Rock Moments of the Millennium So Far - Part 10: (10-1) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 48:49
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…tha…
The 100 Greatest Rock Moments of the Millennium So Far - Part 7: (40-31) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 34:22
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 partic…