Ongoing History Of New Music

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…i find this aspect of history fascinating. There’s the butterfly effect, the concept that a butterfly flapping its wings in China will set off a complex domino effect in the atmosphere that somehow results in a low-pressure wave blasting from Africa across the Atlantic causing a hurricane in the Caribbean. That doesn’t really happen…it was a metaphor created by a meteorologist and mathematician named Edward Norton Lorenz in 1963 when he discovered that a miniscule change in atmospheric conditions ---he ascribed a value as tiny as 0.000127—could make an enormous difference down the road …this shows why it’s so hard to forecast the weather…a little difference can add complexity and instability to a system. Remember that “treehouse of horror” episode from “The Simpsons” where homer accidentally

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 guitar—or maybe it it’s not… you know the one!”…and then the friend gets frustrated when he gets a bunch of blank stares. If you’ve ever worked in a record store, you know the stare because you’ve done it with the customer who wants you to identify the artist, song, and album from her little acapella performance…and then she gets mad when you come up blank. Same thing happens with me and with all people who work in radio….a couple of times a week, I’ll get an email like this: “i’m hoping you can help me find a song”…uh-oh…“I think it’s from the 80s but maybe not…there are some beats on a bassline with a melody that goes “oooooooeeeooo” or something…the video has a bunch of dancers in it…do you the song?”…uh, no…i don’t. Some attach audio files of them plunking out notes on an instrument—and there

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 employee played by Jack Black, bursts through the door. This goes on for a while before Rob has enough and rips the cassette out of the machine. I have a couple of issues with that scene…first, I have a hard time believing that an obnoxious snobby indie record store clerk would love “Walking on Sunshine” by Katrina and the Waves that much…way too commercial, way too overplayed. Second, there is nothing wrong with Belle and Sebastian—although I will admit they’re not for everyone. They are part of a genre called “Twee Pop”…you may never have heard the term before, but its influence is everywhere these days…and it has a long history when it comes to alt-rock and indie rock…it’s certainly something we should take a look at…so let’s do that, shall we? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megap

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 were married decades okay, she’s had to be content with the fact that she got that dance at the wedding and that’s pretty much it…and that’s because she’s not into dancing, either… I can feel the judgment stop it… This doesn’t mean that music doesn’t move me…I’ve got that involuntary need to move when the music is great…and I don’t mean tapping a toe or nodding my head, although that’s where it starts… Put it this way: I’ve done my time in the pit…I’ve been elbowed, kneed, kicked, head-butted, burn with cigarettes and joints, and doused with water (at least I hope it was water)…no problem because that’s all part of the pit experience…the only thing I haven’t done is stage dove or crowd-surfed…I’m not sure why… But here’s a question: why is there a pit in the first place?...who came up with this

I’ve always been something of a nut when it comes to the space program…but even though I’ve read all the books, seen all the documentaries, and watched all the movies, I was still surprised to learn something new with the movie “Hidden Figures”… This was a 2016 film based on a book of the same name…it told the true story about black female mathematicians who worked at nasa during the hottest period of the space race… They were “computers” in the original sense of the word: people who computer things complex things like flight trajectories, re-entry methods, and landing coordinates…they were even assigned to check and correct the calculations spit out by NASA’s big ibm mainframes…their work was essential to the American space effort… But this being the 60s, these women were segregated away from the other scientists, meaning that their work was largely forgotten until the movie and book came out… This got me thinking…are there any forgotten figures in music?...I’m talking about women who did awesome and importa

Here’s one of the most misunderstood and misused words in the English language: “psychedelic” … The word first came into use in 1956 when a psychiatrist named Humphrey Osmond was studying a new class of pharmaceuticals that had potential when it came to treating certain mental disorders… A chemical known as lysergic acid diethylamide—LSD, for short—had been extracted by a Swiss scientist named Albert Hoffman from a fungus called “ergot”…from 1943 on, medical professionals tried to figure out what it could be used for…it was even marketed commercially for a while under the brand name “delysid”… Then the CIA got involved, thinking that LSD could be used for things like interrogation, chemical warfare and mind control…but that’s a whole other story... Because the chemical resulted in people entering an altered state of perception, some started using it recreationally… artists discovered its properties and started taking acid trip, looking for inspiration and new creative roads… Then other psychedelics went mains

Before we begin, I am very aware that there are people listening to this program who have never, ever set foot in a record store…they came of age musical after the Internet changed everything about how we hear about, acquire, and consume music… But remember this: for over a hundred years, the only way you could hear music on-demand was to own it…you had to purchase a piece of plastic for x dollars and for that price, you could listen to that music an infinite number of times for no additional charge… You made not just an emotional investment in that music, but a financial one as well…and dammit, you were going to make sure you listened to that piece of plastic until you wrung out a possible bit of enjoyment you could from it…otherwise, you’d have to come to terms with the fact that you wasted your money… There was another aspect to this emotional investment, too…in order to acquire this music, you had to leave your home, find your way to a record store, and search through all the shelves hoping to find someth

Hey, it's Alan Cross. For the next few weeks of the Podcast, we’re diving deep into the Ongoing History of New Music Archives with a series called “The Top 100 Moments in New Rock”. In this ten-part series, we’re going to look at the 100 most significant events in new rock history...some are obvious–you know, the big stuff that made the news...you can’t ignore those. But we’re also going to look at the small things that are at the root of some of the big things...it’s a fascinating way to look at history and society and art. This originally aired 20 years ago in the spring of 2004…and we thought it might be fun to hear where we’ve been, how things used to be, and how much everything has changed since.  This is Part 10, and the final episode in the series. We hope you enjoy this look back. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hey, it's Alan Cross. For the next few weeks of the Podcast, we’re diving deep into the Ongoing History of New Music Archives with a series called “The Top 100 Moments in New Rock”. In this ten-part series, we’re going to look at the 100 most significant events in new rock history...some are obvious–you know, the big stuff that made the news...you can’t ignore those. But we’re also going to look at the small things that are at the root of some of the big things...it’s a fascinating way to look at history and society and art. This originally aired 20 years ago in the spring of 2004…and we thought it might be fun to hear where we’ve been, how things used to be, and how much everything has changed since.  This is Part 9 in the series. We hope you enjoy this look back. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hey, it's Alan Cross. For the next few weeks of the Podcast, we’re diving deep into the Ongoing History of New Music Archives with a series called “The Top 100 Moments in New Rock”. In this ten-part series, we’re going to look at the 100 most significant events in new rock history...some are obvious–you know, the big stuff that made the news...you can’t ignore those. But we’re also going to look at the small things that are at the root of some of the big things...it’s a fascinating way to look at history and society and art. This originally aired 20 years ago in the spring of 2004…and we thought it might be fun to hear where we’ve been, how things used to be, and how much everything has changed since.  This is Part 8 in the series. We hope you enjoy this look back. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hey, it's Alan Cross. For the next few weeks of the Podcast, we’re diving deep into the Ongoing History of New Music Archives with a series called “The Top 100 Moments in New Rock”. In this ten-part series, we’re going to look at the 100 most significant events in new rock history...some are obvious–you know, the big stuff that made the news...you can’t ignore those. But we’re also going to look at the small things that are at the root of some of the big things...it’s a fascinating way to look at history and society and art. This originally aired 20 years ago in the spring of 2004…and we thought it might be fun to hear where we’ve been, how things used to be, and how much everything has changed since.  This is Part 7 in the series. We hope you enjoy this look back. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hey, it's Alan Cross. For the next few weeks of the Podcast, we’re diving deep into the Ongoing History of New Music Archives with a series called “The Top 100 Moments in New Rock”. In this ten-part series, we’re going to look at the 100 most significant events in new rock history...some are obvious–you know, the big stuff that made the news...you can’t ignore those. But we’re also going to look at the small things that are at the root of some of the big things...it’s a fascinating way to look at history and society and art. This originally aired 20 years ago in the spring of 2004…and we thought it might be fun to hear where we’ve been, how things used to be, and how much everything has changed since.  This is Part 6 in the series. We hope you enjoy this look back. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hey, it's Alan Cross. For the next few weeks of the Podcast, we’re diving deep into the Ongoing History of New Music Archives with a series called “The Top 100 Moments in New Rock”. In this ten-part series, we’re going to look at the 100 most significant events in new rock history...some are obvious–you know, the big stuff that made the news...you can’t ignore those. But we’re also going to look at the small things that are at the root of some of the big things...it’s a fascinating way to look at history and society and art. This originally aired 20 years ago in the spring of 2004…and we thought it might be fun to hear where we’ve been, how things used to be, and how much everything has changed since.  This is Part 5 in the series. We hope you enjoy this look back. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hey, it's Alan Cross. For the next few weeks of the Podcast, we’re diving deep into the Ongoing History of New Music Archives with a series called “The Top 100 Moments in New Rock”. In this ten-part series, we’re going to look at the 100 most significant events in new rock history...some are obvious–you know, the big stuff that made the news...you can’t ignore those. But we’re also going to look at the small things that are at the root of some of the big things...it’s a fascinating way to look at history and society and art. This originally aired 20 years ago in the spring of 2004…and we thought it might be fun to hear where we’ve been, how things used to be, and how much everything has changed since.  This is Part 4 in the series. We hope you enjoy this look back. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1931, a larger than life prospector, in search of Slumach’s legendary lost gold mine goes missing in the wilderness of British Columbia. In this episode, we retrace the epic search and rescue efforts that went into looking for the missing prospector as well potential clues left behind at his campsite, that point to an even bigger mystery of what happened to Volcanic Brown? Host:  Kru Williams Guest: Adam Palmer Facebook - @HISTORYCanada  Instagram - @deadmanscurse Instagram - @Historyca Instagram - @kru_williams Twitter - @HistoryTVCanada  Curiouscast website: https://curiouscast.ca/ Great Pacific Media Website: https://greatpacifictv.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hey, it's Alan Cross. For the next few weeks of the Podcast, we’re diving deep into the Ongoing History of New Music Archives with a series called “The Top 100 Moments in New Rock”. In this ten-part series, we’re going to look at the 100 most significant events in new rock history...some are obvious–you know, the big stuff that made the news...you can’t ignore those. But we’re also going to look at the small things that are at the root of some of the big things...it’s a fascinating way to look at history and society and art. This originally aired 20 years ago in the spring of 2004…and we thought it might be fun to hear where we’ve been, how things used to be, and how much everything has changed since.  This is Part 3 in the series. We hope you enjoy this look back. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hey, it's Alan Cross. For the next few weeks of the Podcast, we’re diving deep into the Ongoing History of New Music Archives with a series called “The Top 100 Moments in New Rock”. In this ten-part series, we’re going to look at the 100 most significant events in new rock history...some are obvious–you know, the big stuff that made the news...you can’t ignore those. But we’re also going to look at the small things that are at the root of some of the big things...it’s a fascinating way to look at history and society and art. This originally aired 20 years ago in the spring of 2004…and we thought it might be fun to hear where we’ve been, how things used to be, and how much everything has changed since.  This is Part 2 in the series. We hope you enjoy this look back. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hey, it's Alan Cross. For the next few weeks of the Podcast, we’re diving deep into the Ongoing History of New Music Archives with a series called “The Top 100 Moments in New Rock”. This originally aired 20 years ago in the spring of 2004…and we thought it might be fun to hear where we’ve been, how things used to be, and how much everything has changed since.  We hope you enjoy this look-back… When a lot of people look at history, they only look at the big stuff...you know, the wars, the plagues, the disasters–you know what I mean? All those things are important, but they don’t even begin to tell half the story. To understand history, any kind of history is to also look at the little moments You know what I’m talking about...tiny, boring events and decisions that seemed completely innocuous and unimportant–or even meaningless–when they happened, yet eventually the consequences proved to be unbelievably huge. That’s what this ten-part series will be like...we’re going to look at the 100 most significant event

You would think that being a musician would be a very safe existence…I mean, your job is to write and perform music…yeah, you might get into the odd altercation and fight, but it’s not like you’re going to war, right?...yet every once in a while, we hear about a musician being murdered… The earliest example I can find is Alessandro Stradella, an Italian composer of classical music…back in his day—which was the mid-1600s—he was quite the star and was very influential with his six operas, 170 cantatas, and a long list of instrumental compositions… But then on February 25, 1682, he was found stabbed to death in a public square in Genoa…no one was ever convicted although the story is that he was murdered by one of three brothers who accused Stradella of seducing their sister… The first musician I know of who got shot was Pinetop Smith, a boogie-woogie piano player from Chicago…in 1929, just as he was about to go into a recording session, he was shot during a fight at a dance hall…he might not have been the intend

Next to music and my dogs, my biggest obsession is cars…I’ve always been a car nut…i’m one of those people with a list of cars I’ll buy when I win the lottery… I’ll start with production sports cars…a Porsche 911 Turbo 4 will be my daily driver, although there will be a Lamborghini Uris SUV for those times I need to haul people and stuff…for those summer days, I think a McLaren 750s Spider would be cool… I’ll need a car for track days, of course…no one else in the neighbourhood would have a Koenigsegg…I’d probably order the Jekso Absolute…1600 horsepower sounds about right… And just to show everyone that I’m not out to completely destroy the planet, there will be at least one EV…right now, that would be a Rimac Nevera… That’s what? Four million dollars worth of vehicles?...not including insurance and maintenance, of course…I’m never going to win that kind of lottery, but it’s nice to dream… For other people, though, this is the kind of machinery sitting in their air-conditioned, highly secure underground gara