The Next Track

A podcast about how people listen to music today.

About the show

Doug Adams and Kirk McElhearn discuss music and musicians, and how we listen to music, whether it be analog or digital, downloaded or streamed, audio, or video.

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Episodes

  • Episode #216 - Blonde on Blonde

    August 18th, 2021  |  31 mins 33 secs

    In a delayed episode celebrating Bob Dylan's 80th birthday, we take a close look at his 1966 album Blonde on Blonde.

  • Episode #215 - People Aren't Listening to Much New Music

    August 4th, 2021  |  29 mins 54 secs

    More than two-thirds of music listened to in the US is old music. Music less than 18 months old accounts for only a third of listening, and this share is dropping. We discuss what this means for the future of the music industry.

  • Episode #214 - Chris Connaker on Music with Dolby Atmos and Spatial Audio

    July 21st, 2021  |  36 mins 49 secs

    With Apple offering some music with Dolby Atmos and/or Spatial Audio on Apple Music, we talk with Chris Connaker about whether this is a Good Thing for music.

  • Episode #213 - The Grateful Dead's 100 Essential Songs, with Bob Trudeau

    July 7th, 2021  |  33 mins 56 secs

    This week's guest, Bob Trudeau, has co-authored a book, with Barry Barnes, about the Grateful Dead's 100 Essential Songs. Even if you're not a fan of the Grateful Dead, this episode is an interesting discussion of a band's repertoire.

  • Episode #212 - Caoilfhionn Rose's Second Album, Truly

    June 23rd, 2021  |  33 mins 47 secs

    We're happy to welcome back Caoilfhionn Rose to discuss the recording and release of her second album Truly. Caoilfhionn is a young singer from Manchester, and continues the lineage of great music from that city.

  • Episode #211 - Changing Music Forever

    June 9th, 2021  |  37 mins 19 secs

    Apple has introduced lossless, high-resolution, and spatial audio on Apple Music, and claims that the latter will "change music forever." Will it?

  • Episode #210 - Emma Swift on Her Album of Dylan Covers Blonde on the Tracks

    May 26th, 2021  |  32 mins 36 secs

    Emma Swift has recorded a beautiful album of covers of Bob Dylan songs. We spoke with her about what Dylan's music, and what it takes to record an albums of his songs, and partly in lockdown.

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    Episode #209 - Sean Latham, Director of the Institute for Bob Dylan Studies, on Bob Dylan at 80

    May 12th, 2021  |  44 mins 28 secs

    Sean Latham, Director of the Institute for Bob Dylan Studies, talks about the Bob Dylan archive, the Bob Dylan Center, and about Bob Dylan at 80.

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    Episode #208 - Jeff Slate on Bob Dylan at 80

    April 28th, 2021  |  54 mins 30 secs

    Musician and journalist Jeff Slate has written about, and for, Bob Dylan, and has recently released an album with one disc of Dylan covers. We discuss Dylan at 80, and choose our top five Dylan albums.

  • Episode #207 - Yes. I mean, no, really, but Yes.

    April 14th, 2021  |  38 mins 49 secs

    Setting out to discuss the 1971 album by Yes, The Yes Album, Doug and Kirk end up discussing all of Yes's core output, released over a period of a few years, that the band - or what's left of it - still plays 50 years later. Sort of.

  • Episode #206 - Two Guys in a Pub Rambling about Audio Gear

    March 31st, 2021  |  31 mins 46 secs

    We offer a free-form episode, where we ramble about audio equipment, music, and more.

  • Episode #205 - Iconic Album Covers

    March 17th, 2021  |  32 mins 42 secs

    In our first multimedia podcast episode, we look at iconic album covers. Depending on your podcast player, you may be able to see the albums we discuss as the podcast progresses. If not, there's a link in the show notes to a page on Kirk's website with all the album covers.

  • Episode #204 - Oh, by the way, which one's pink?

    March 3rd, 2021  |  31 mins 32 secs

    In another album deep dive, we discuss Wish You Were Here, Kirk's favorite Pink Floyd album.

  • Episode #203 - Keith Miles on Bob Dylan in London

    February 17th, 2021  |  39 mins 50 secs

    Dylanologists Jackie Lees and Keith Miles have written a book about Bob Dylan in London, highlighting the importance of the city to Dylan's career and growth as an artist. Keith Miles joins us to discuss this book, and tell some tales of the troubadour in the city.

  • Episode #202 - Guitarist Gerard Cousins on His New Album of Music by Phillip Glass

    February 3rd, 2021  |  43 mins 57 secs

    There haven't been many transcriptions of Philip Glass's music for guitar, and Gerard Cousin's new album, Escape, shows just how ideal Glass's music is for this instrument. We talk with Gerard Cousins about the classical guitar, its repertoire, and the long process of transcription necessary to create this recording.

  • Episode #201 - Kurt Andersen on Why Music Hasn't Changed in Decades

    January 20th, 2021  |  37 mins 34 secs

    In his recent book Evil Geniuses, Kurt Andersen noted that people have dressed the same for decades, and that music has barely changed since the 1980s. We discuss this decades long stasis, and why it may have happened.