Theories, Thoughts, and Half-Baked Ideas

Theories, Thoughts, and Half-Baked Ideas

Author: Curiouscast January 8, 2025 Duration: 34:40
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

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
The Queens of Quirk [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 26:08
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 a…
60 Mind-Blowing Facts About Music (2024 Edition) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 39:49
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 loo…
Rivers Cuomo and Weezer - Alt-Rock's Nerd Heroes Part 2 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 37:36
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.…
Rivers Cuomo and Weezer - Alt-Rock's Nerd Heroes Part 1 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

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…
Dreampop - A History [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 29:35
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…
The Most Explosive Band Bust-ups and Breakups [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 32:21
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 nothi…
Stories Behind Songs - 5 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 33:47
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 sound…
Murder Ballads (and Other Deadly Songs) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 28:52
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 turnin…
Introducing... Haunted Canada [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 23:29
When Nadine Bailey was 7 years old she woke up terrified of dark figures looming at the end of her bed and an eerie presence all around her. From then on every night was the same, she was visited by phantom-like shadows…
Celtic Rock - A History [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 25:02
Anyone with a passing knowledge of rock is aware of its origins back in the late 40s and early 50s when blues, rhythm and blues, western, country, folk, and hillbilly traditions began to mix and match, eventually coalesc…