Kirk McElhearn
Co-Host of The Next Track
Kirk McElhearn is a freelance journalist. He writes on his website Kirkville, and is Senior Contributor to Macworld, where he is The iTunes Guy. He is also a regular contributor to TidBITS, as well as several other web sites and magazines. He is co-host of The Committed podcast. Kirk has written more than twenty books, including Take Control of iTunes. On Twitter, he's @mcelhearn, and he has a Facebook page.
Kirk McElhearn has hosted 319 Episodes.
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Episode #143 - Too Old to Rock 'n Roll
April 5th, 2019 | 29 mins 48 secs
Lots of big rock stars are getting old. How much longer will these musicians be able to perform and tour?
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Episode #142 - Why Wi-Fi Is Important for Your Home Media Use
March 29th, 2019 | 26 mins 37 secs
Most people depend on wi-fi to get data from one device to another in their home. This is the case for music and video, and having good wi-fi ensures that you can enjoy your home media without any glitches.
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Episode #141 - Algorithms
March 22nd, 2019 | 29 mins 54 secs
Continuing our reunion tour, we welcome back our friend Andy Doe to talk about algorithms; how they work, and how they affect music listening.
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Episode #140 - The Reunion Tour
March 15th, 2019 | 32 mins 15 secs
The band is back together, and we explain our new approach to the podcast. We then discuss how music may change as more people use voice assistants to request what they want to hear. And, of course, we present our own next tracks.
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Episode #139 - In Which We Bid Farewell
January 14th, 2019 | 4 mins 2 secs
It's been a long, strange trip, and it's time to get truckin' on.
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Episode #138 - A Look Back at Music We Discovered Last Year
January 4th, 2019 | 29 mins 4 secs
Music discovery has changed a lot, and as the new year rolls in, it's time to look back at 2018 and the music that we have discovered.
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Episode #137 - How Do You Create a "Music Social Network?"
December 28th, 2018 | 32 mins 22 secs
Apple has killed off its second attempt at a "music social network," Connect, which was part of Apple Music. We ponder what it would take to create a useful music social network.
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Episode #136 - Breaking Up with iTunes?
December 21st, 2018 | 27 mins 38 secs
We look at some possible future scenarios about iTunes, in part because a recent change that Apple has made.
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Episode #135 - Christmas Gift Guide
December 14th, 2018 | 31 mins 33 secs
Doug and Kirk make a list, and check it twice, presenting some ideas for music-related Christmas gifts.
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Episode #134 - Downsizing Your Audio System
December 7th, 2018 | 37 mins 21 secs
Chris Connaker, of the Computer Audiophile website, joins us to discuss downsizing audio systems. You really can get good sound with a minimal setup these days, and Chris explains how.
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Episode #133 - Desert Island Discs, Part 2
November 30th, 2018 | 30 mins 17 secs
Doug and Kirk have made lists of their ten desert island discs, and, in part one of a two-part series, we hear Doug's picks.
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Episode #132 - Is the Album Dead?
November 23rd, 2018 | 39 mins 9 secs
A recent article in Rolling Stone says that the album is dying. Andy Doe says that "every word in that article is shite."
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Episode #131 - Jeff Slate on Bob Dylan's Blood on the Tracks
November 16th, 2018 | 36 mins 58 secs
Musician and journalist Jeff Slate wrote the liner notes for the latest Bob Dylan Bootleg Series release, More Blood, More Tracks, covering the Blood on the Tracks sessions.
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Episode #130 - Desert Island Discs, Part 1
November 9th, 2018 | 26 mins
Doug and Kirk have made lists of their ten desert island discs, and, in part one of a two-part series, we hear Kirk's picks.
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Episode #129 - Discovering Classical Music with Timothy Judd
November 2nd, 2018 | 33 mins 49 secs
Classical music is vast. How can listeners new to the genre find what they want to listen to, and learn to appreciate the many styles of music it contains. We talk with Timothy Judd who helps listeners do this through his blog.
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Episode #128 - How Streaming Changes Music
October 26th, 2018 | 32 mins 50 secs
Streaming music has changed the economics of the music industry, but it has also affected the way songs are made. We discuss some of these changes and how music is adapting to the new ecosystem.