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Curiouscast

Ongoing History of New Music looks at things from the alt-rock universe to hip hop, from artist profiles to various thematic explorations. It is Canada’s most well known music documentary hosted by the legendary Alan Cross. Whatever the episode, you’re definitely going to learn something that you might not find anywhere else. Trust us on this.

Ongoing History of New Music

Something occurred to me the other day: did the person who came up with the term “one-hit wonder” ever come up with anything else that good?

I looked it up… the Oxford English Dictionary traces its origin to about 1914, when baseball was starting to become America’s pastime… it was given to pitchers who held the opposing team to just one hit.

We do know that when Ramon Monzant was pitching for the San Francisco Giants in 1956, he was given that nickname…to be called a “one-hit wonder” was very high praise.

But around the same time, “one-hit wonder” migrated over to the music world and acquired a pejorative ring…in musical terms, a one-hit wonder was an artist who could manage one and only one big song…everything else they might have done was a flop, a stiff, a failure, and was ignored.

Billboard magazine began to incorporate the phenomenon of the one-hit wonder when it came to its charts…their definition was an artist who released just one song to reach the top 40, the realm of “hits” on the singles charts.

But that’s pretty narrow and really only considers songs and artists for that one chart…what about all the other non-top 40 artists who achieved fame for one and just one song?

The more I went down this rabbit hole, the more intrigued I became…was there a way to look at the history of alternative music to determine the biggest one-hit wonders of all time?

There just might be…and after going through a lot of numbers and statistics, I may have cracked it…But I’m going to let you be the judge…This is part one of the 50 biggest all-time alt-rock one-hit wonders of the last 50 years.
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The 50 Biggest All-Time Alt-Rock One-Hit Wonders: Part 1

There’s just something fun about learning to play one of your favourite songs for yourself…you know, learning the lyrics, figuring out the chords and the rhythm and deconstructing all the constituent parts…

Then you get deeper…you begin to appreciate how everything fits together, the artistic decisions made by songwriter made, what kind of musical skill is required, the sort of production that was employed all that…and by the time you’ve learned the song, you’ve learned a whole lot of other things, too…and you’re probably a better musician as a result…this is why learning to play other people’s music is so important…

Now let’s look at it from the other side…if a song can be interpreted multiple times by many different people and it still sounds good, then that is a great song…

The best compositions not only sound great when played by a full band, but also sound great when performed by one person around a campfire…

And finally, there’s the fan aspect of all this…people love to hear songs done in different ways by different artists…sometimes the cover is even better than the original—or, at the very least, is revealed to be something more in the hands of someone else…

With all this in mind, I’ve assembled a list of cover songs…and we’re going to go through with them to determine what makes them (and the original) great…
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9 Great Alt-Rock Cover Songs (From the Vault)

This week, we're going deep into the Ongoing History of New Music vault to talk about "Definitions". 

Often in the music world, we hear terms discussed...but where did they come from, and what do they mean?

What do "New Rock" and "Alternative" mean?

What's a "Major Label" or "Indie"?

"Boutique" and "Vanity"? Got that covered too.

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Definition (from the vault)

Blink‑182’s story has always been chaotic, inspirational, and a little unbelievable...and the last decade has been no exception. 

We thought this would be a good time to revisit the band’s evolving saga since our original 2017 trilogy on their rise, fall, and rise again. A lot has happened: lineup changes, personal crises, UFO hunting, bestselling side projects, a Grammy nomination, a global pandemic, and even a life‑threatening illness that ultimately brought them back together.

We pick up the trail with the Matt Skiba era and the unexpected resurgence brought on by the "California" album. From there, we follow the band through creative experiments, personal struggles...including Mark Hoppus’s battle with stage‑4 lymphoma...and the emotional reunion that brought Tom DeLonge back into the fold. 

The result? A renewed Blink‑182, a triumphant Coachella comeback, and their 2023 album "One More Time".

It’s a story of fractures, forgiveness, survival, and one of the most resilient bands in modern punk history. 

Blink‑182 is well into their fourth decade...so how much longer can they run? If history is any clue, never count them out.
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Catching Up with Blink 182

The music video didn’t just shape pop culture…it defined it. 

From the glam‑soaked excess of the ’80s and ’90s to the gritty authenticity of the alt‑rock era, and finally to the algorithm‑driven, globally connected internet age, the music video has lived many lives. In part two of this deep dive, we trace the rise, collapse, and surprising rebirth of the music video that once ruled MTV and MuchMusic.

We look at the groundbreaking work of directors like Spike Jonze, the multimillion‑dollar spectacles of superstars like Madonna and Michael Jackson, and the moment YouTube and smartphones permanently rewired how we watch, and make, music videos. From Pearl Jam’s refusal to play the game, to viral sensations like OK Go, to the billion‑view world of K‑pop and global micro‑scenes, we discover that the music video isn’t dead. It escaped television. And it’s thriving.

This is Part 2 of the Rise and Fall and Future of the Music Video.
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The Rise and Fall and Future of the Music Video - Part 2

For decades, music videos weren’t just promotional add‑ons…they were the beating heart of global pop culture. 

The music video affected the art of movie-making...it affected the way we look at tv, not to mention fashion, language, politics, gender fluidity, LGBTQ issues, and so much more…videos may have altered our attention spans–which kind of concerns me because this program is an hour long and I need you to hang in there with me...

Music videos exported soft power from the West, especially the United States, to the rest of the world. At one point, MTV was one of the most influential creators and disseminators of culture….and by “culture” I mean America.

That was then…music videos are still an art form and still necessary (well, mostly necessary) for promoting music…but things just aren’t what they used to be…

How did we get to this point?...this is the rise and fall and future of the music video…part 1
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The Rise and Fall and Future of the Music Video - Part 1

Music is not only a powerful motivating tool, but it’s also a way to get a message out to a vast number of people…and when things hit the fan, music can be used to let the powers-that-be know that we see what you’re doing, and we are not happy about it…We wish to protest.

Protest songs help coalesce thoughts and feelings about things like social, political, and labour injustice…they help rally people to a cause and sometimes inspire action against oppressors or those who seek to abrogate rights, keep people down, and try to gain power by spreading lies and propaganda. 

Sometimes they call out specific people, organizations, and issues…in other cases, they’re couched in metaphors and stories…but make no mistake: this music is “us” and “them” and the “them” needs to be addressed. 

This kind of music has never gone away and is still very much with us…despite that, a lot of people ask, “Whatever happened to protest songs?”

Nothing…they’re right here…and they’ve always been right in front of us…let me explain…this is a brief history of protest music, part 2.
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A Brief History of Protest Music: Part 2

This can be a weird, difficult world, filled with injustice, inequality, and bad people doing bad things…we’re always up against things like racism, women’s rights, labour rights, the plights of marginalized people, class struggle, the disenfranchised, various social movements—the list of righteous causes and grievances is pretty much endless.

And sometimes, you just gotta fight back…but how?... Not all occasions called for armed insurrections and assassinations.

One way is through music…come up with something topical and specific, put it all to music, and you have a chance of getting your message to a lot of people…and because it’s music, you might be able to reach those who might not otherwise be aware of the problem or understand what the problem is.

This music isn’t confined to a specific people or group or genre or era…you can be loud and angry and filled with the greatest moral virtues screamed at the top of your lungs.

But you don’t have to be in-your-face about it…your messaging can be subtle while still maintaining all the necessary effectiveness, rage and authenticity.

Such songs have a long and fascinating history that goes back way further than you might realize…and these songs are everywhere today, although you may not realize it.

This is a brief history of protest music, part 1
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A Brief History of Protest Music: Part 1

Students of classical music know that Johann Sebastian Bach was one of the most important and influential composers of all time…his use of instruments, four-part harmonies, and use of innovative structures in his material were all brilliant…

When he was alive, he commanded plenty of respect…but after he died in March 1685, he was almost forgotten…the only reason we talk about him today is that there was a Bach revival in the 19th century…he became a retro hero in the world of classical music…

No one knew anything about Robert Johnson when he was alive other than some myths and legends among hardcore fans of Delta Blues…but when his records were reissued in 1961, 23 years after he died, did his reputation explode…

Charles Mingus was revered by fellow jazz artists…it was only after he passed away in 1979 that his influence on jazz was celebrated…

We can also talk about posthumous praise for Nick Drake, Jeff Buckley, and Elliott Smith…and although Tupac and Biggie were big stars when they were shot, they became even bigger stars in death…

I’m going to add another name to this list: Ian Curtis and Joy Division…when Ian took his own life in May 1980, he and the band were so skint that he had to give his dog away because he and his wife couldn’t afford to feed him…

Today, though, Ian and Joy Division are acknowledged as one of the most important and most influential post-punk bands ever…why?...what was the big deal about Joy Division? And why do they continue to be a big deal?...let’s examine this.
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What's the Big Deal About Joy Division?

In Part 2 of our deep dive into Post Rock, we explore the bands and ideas that have shaped this experimental and atmospheric approach to music. 

From Slint and Mogwai to Sigur Rós and Explosions in the Sky, we look at how these bands create something cinematic...emotional...and entirely unexpected. 

We also look at how post‑rock influences artists like Radiohead and Broken Social Scene, and why this musical philosophy continues to spread all across the globe.

Prepare to discover new bands, new sounds, and a new way of thinking about what rock can be.
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Definition (from the vault)

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