Ongoing History of New Music

This is my annual data dump featuring music information you didn’t know you needed…over the last 12 months, I’ve collected this material on scraps of paper, post-it notes, on my iPhone’s “notes” app, and in various files on my computer…and these are the best 60 mind-blowing facts about music I can offer for 2025.  This is the 11th year that I’ve been doing this…maybe there’s a book in here somewhere…i don’t know…maybe…one day… Whatever…a lot of random information is about to come your way…do your best to ingest what you can…ready?....let’s go. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this third and final chapter of our look at Why Bowie Still Matters, we explore the last two decades of his life and the innovations that cemented his legacy. From pioneering digital music distribution and launching BowieNet, to creating “Bowie Bonds”...something that changed the music business...Bowie was always ahead of the curve. We revisit his late-career albums, his secret comeback with "The Next Day", and the farewell gift of "Blackstar". Plus, the stories behind his art, his influence on countless genres, and why his impact continues to grow even ten years after his passing. Bowie didn’t just make music...he reshaped culture...and this is Why Bowie Still Matters. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

David Bowie wasn’t just a rock star...he was a cultural architect who reinvented music, fashion, and identity. In part 2 of "Why Bowie Still Matters", we explore Bowie’s groundbreaking mid-70s to early-80s era: from the cocaine-fueled chaos of Station to Station and the birth of the Thin White Duke, his "Berlin Trilogy" with Brian Eno that shaped post-punk and electronic music. And we’ll explore how albums like Low, Heroes, and Lodger influenced everyone from Joy Division to Duran Duran, Depeche Mode, Radiohead and others. Meanwhile, Bowie’s constant creativity sparked movements like New Wave and the New Romantics. And then we reach Bowie’s bold reinvention...again... in the 90s with Tin Machine and Trent Reznor. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s been nearly a decade since David Bowie left us, and the world hasn’t really been the same since. In the first of a three part series, we explore why Bowie’s influence goes far beyond music...shaping fashion, art, technology, and even social movements. From his early days writing songs he would really rather forger about...to the birth of Ziggy Stardust...his role in shaping glam rock, gender expression, and even the evolution of punk. Bowie changed everything. David Bowie redefined what it meant to be a rock star...and this is why his legacy matters. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If there’s an official mission statement for the kind of music we all love, it’s “sex, drugs, and rock’n’roll” …these are the three main food groups in this world… All three of these things affect the same portions of the brain:  the amygdala, the nucleus accumbens, and the cerebellum…. All of them are involved in the secretion and regulation of dopamine, the “feel-good” hormone…  Dopamine is a very addictive hormone…whenever our brains squirt it out, the body goes “this is good!  I want more!” …it happens when we hear a great song….it happens with certain drugs and alcohol, which is the basis of addiction…and it happens with an orgasm… Once you’re inside this bubble, you may find things rather permissive…as long as you’re producing, people will look the other way…there’s no one to tell you “no”…and it doesn’t take long for some people to get lost in this world, coming to believe that normal rules of polite society don’t apply….you’re special, meaning that you can do anything… That’s when your judgement starts to become suspect…and that’s when things start to get strange…how strange?...well… Welcome to a show all about rock’n’roll and weird tales of sex. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices