Ongoing History of New Music

The Ongoing History of New Music, episode 1023: The Last Moments Of… Part 3

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, because they can do what we can’t and live a lifestyle that we can only dream about.

Yet they are just as human as you and I, fallible to temptations, in danger of accidents, and vulnerable to all the failings that may plague the body and brain.

When one of our favourites dies, it’s like a little bit of us goes with them. In most cases, we’ve never met these people. We might have never seen them in the flesh, but because what they do speaks to us in only the way music can, it hurts when they’re gone.

And in a weird way, it’s instructive to look at how they died. These deaths can be cautionary tales that we as fans can learn from—you know, “Hey, I’m not gonna let that happen to me!”

Their deaths may provide retroactive insight into the music they made—where in their hearts it came from—so we understand them better as both artists and humans, When they’re gone, we may appreciate their music even more. You don’t know what you’ve got til it’s gone, right?

This is another installment of “The Last moments Of”…

Songs heard on this show:

  • The Ramones, Blitzkrieg Bop
  • Red Hot Chili Peppers, Otherside
  • Temple of the Dog, Say Hello 2 Heaven
  • Sublime, What I Got
  • Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros, Police on My Back (Live)
  • Velvet Underground, Sunday Morning
  • The Prodigy, Firestarter
  • Depeche Mode, Personal Jesus
  • The Pogues, Fairytale of New York

Here’s the playlist from Eric Wilhite.

The Ongoing History of New Music can be heard on the following stations:

Alan Cross

is an internationally known broadcaster, interviewer, writer, consultant, blogger and speaker. In his 40+ years in the music business, Alan has interviewed the biggest names in rock, from David Bowie and U2 to Pearl Jam and the Foo Fighters. He’s also known as a musicologist and documentarian through programs like The Ongoing History of New Music.

Alan Cross has 39044 posts and counting. See all posts by Alan Cross

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