Ongoing History of New Music

The Ongoing History of New Music, episode 1040: The Top 100 Moments in Rock in the 21st Century So Far (70-61)

Time has a way of getting away from us, especially at the speed at which news cycles travel… With a firehose of information coming at us from traditional media, online sources, social media, and just life in general, it’s really easy to forget where we’ve been and what we’ve done.

The speed of 21st-century life has either created our ultra-short attention spans or exacerbated what was already there.

Me? Sometimes it feels like I have the memory of a goldfish. Somebody will mention something that happened, and I’ll go, “Oh, yeah. That happened a couple of years ago.” And then they’ll say, “No, that was 21 years ago.”

It’s been so long since the ’90s that the music of that era is number one for nostalgia, eclipsing the public’s fascination with the ’80s, the ’70s, and the ’60s. People who weren’t alive in the ’90s have latched on to that music in a very fierce way.

Maybe that’s why to older folk, the rock from that time still seems fresh and top-of-mind—because to a substantial number of young music fans, it’s fresh and top-of-mind for them. I find it fascinating when a young generation embraces music from an older generation as their own.

But time is an arrow that points only one way. We don’t know where we’re going, but we do know where we’ve been. And that’s where history comes in. Remembering and analyzing the past helps understand where we are today and where we might possibly end up tomorrow.

That’s the point of this series of “Ongoing History” programs. What has happened with music in the last 25 years? And can we use any of this history to predict the future?

This is chapter four of “The 100 Greatest Moments in Rock of the Millennium—So Far.”

Songs heard on this show:

  • Final Fantasy, He Poos Clouds
  • Twenty One Pilots, Stressed Out
  • Rage Against the Machine, Renegades of Funk
  • Walk Off the Earth, Somebody I Used to Know
  • Metallica, St. Anger
  • Frank Shop, Girl from the Record Shop
  • Nickelback, Rockstar
  • Coldplay, Talk
  • Muse, Uprising

Eric Wilhite has pulled together a playlist.

The Ongoing History Music can be heard on these stations. Don’t forget that there’s a podcast version, too, in case you miss any episodes. Get them for free wherever you get your podcasts.

Don’t forget about my other podcast, Uncharted: Crime and Mayhem in the Music Industry. If you love true crime with your music, you’ll love this. Get Uncharted wherever you get your podcasts.

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 39779 posts and counting. See all posts by Alan Cross

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