Keeping up to date with the news cycles is exhausting. So much comes at us from so many different directions that it’s impossible to know if we’re in the middle of something important or not. Everything seems urgent, threatening, and life-changing…there’s precious little time for careful consideration, study, and analysis.
Keeping up with technology and its effect on society is another big challenge. One moment everyone seems caught up with a particular gadget or app—but a month or even a week later, that’s old news and everyone has moved on.
Remember how the world was supposed to end when the planet’s computers melted down over the Y2K bug? Wasn’t the world supposed to end with the end of the Mayan calendar in 2012? Weren’t we supposed to have run out of oil by now?
When you mix technology with the news cycle, our ever-shortening attention spans, how the world is interconnected 24/7, and how we’re able to individualize everything that we take in, it’s easy to lose track of what the hell is happening. One of my favourite doomsday predictions had to do with the Large Hadron Collider along the French-Swiss border. Before it was switched on, people were saying that scientists risked creating an artificial black hole that would suck everyone into oblivion.
And don’t get me started on conspiracy theories. Chemtrails. Flat earthers. Those who believe 9/11 was an inside job. The U.S. government using a facility in Alaska to control the world’s weather.
This is why it’s important every once in a while, we stop and take stock of things. Big picture stuff matters. Long-term consequences matter. The knock-on effects of something that was once considered inconsequential and unnoticed matter.
It’s difficult enough to remember what exactly happened. It’s even more difficult to determine what really mattered over the long term. Even so, what were merely transient distractions may have turned out to be groundbreaking in the long run. Was that thing a fad or was it predictive of something bigger in the future?
And then there’s music. So much has changed in a very short period. And now that we’re a quarter of the way through the 21st century, enough time has passed so that we can look back with some clarity.
Welcome to a special Ongoing History of New Music series. These are the 100 most important moments in rock in the 21st century—so far—part one.
Songs heard on this show:
- The Police, Driven to Tears
- Maneskin, I Wanna Be Your Slave
- Linkin Park, In the End
- U2, Vertigo (Live at the Sphere)
- Kate Bush, Running Up That Hill (Live)
- Blink-182, Bored to Death
- Silverchair, Tomorrow
- Gorillaz, Feel Good Inc.
- Pearl Jam, Animal (Live)
- Arctic Monkeys, I Bet You Look Good on the Dance Floor (Demo)
Eric Wilhite provides this 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.
- 102.1 The Edge/Toronto – Sunday night at 7pm
- Q107/Toronto – Sunday night at 9pm
- Live 88-5/Ottawa – Saturdays at 9am and Sundays at 6pm.
- 107.5 Dave-FM/Kitchener – Sunday nights at 11pm
- FM96/London – Sunday nights at 8pm
- Power 97/Winnipeg – Sunday nights at 10am and 10pm
- 107-3 The Edge/Calgary – Sundays at 10am and 10pm
- Sonic 102.9/Edmonton – Sunday at 8am and 8pm
- The Zone/Victoria – Sunday at 8am and 9pm
- The Fox/Vancouver – Sundays at 10anm and 10pm
- Surge 105/Halifax – Sunday at 7pm
- WAPS/WKTL The Summit/Arkon, Canton, Cleveland, Youngstown – Mon-Fri at 9pm
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.
© 2025 Corus Radio, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
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