Ongoing History of New Music

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 t...

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: ⁠⁠@BlanchardHouseSt...

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...

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. Lea...

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 physi...

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 agai...

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 o...

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. <...

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 a...

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 act...

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 pet...

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...

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 m...

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 brothe...

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 t...