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 #263: More Thoughts on Dolby Atmos

    August 30th, 2023  |  29 mins 54 secs

    It's been a while since we've talked about Dolby Atmos, so we decided to discuss how much it has changed the way we (well, Kirk) listen to music. (Doug doesn't have an Atmos setup yet.)

  • Episode #262: Personal Music Players

    August 16th, 2023  |  27 mins 36 secs

    Doug bought a Sony Walkman (not one that plays cassettes), and we discuss personal music players, as well as boom boxes, which were collective listening devices.

  • Episode #261: Three Chords and the Truth

    August 2nd, 2023  |  28 mins 11 secs

    Classic rock is back. Its influence is extending, in part because of its presence in movies and TV shows. It is the lingua franca of popular music.

  • Episode #260: Live Albums Redux

    July 19th, 2023  |  25 mins 36 secs

    Live albums are very different from studio albums, but also sound very different than what we hear when we attend concerts. We talk about how live albums work, what sort of artist makes live albums, and whether anyone would want to hear a Taylor Swift live album.

  • Episode #259: Music Festivals

    July 5th, 2023  |  31 mins 23 secs

    It's summer, and there are music festivals. We discuss the Glastonbury Festival, attending live concerts, and more.

  • Episode #258: Opera

    June 21st, 2023  |  30 mins 6 secs

    Doug and Kirk don't know a lot about opera, but they discuss it anyway.

  • Episode #257: The Smart Home and Music Listening

    June 7th, 2023  |  28 mins 40 secs

    We discuss home automation and using music listening music devices around the home.

  • Episode #256: You'll Never Have to Watch the Woodstock Movie Again

    May 24th, 2023  |  24 mins 50 secs

    Doug watched the Woodstock movie. He'll never have to watch it again.

  • Episode #255: Timo Andres on Classical Music that Doesn't Sound Like Classical Music

    May 10th, 2023  |  1 hr 11 mins

    Composer pianist Timo Andres joins us to discuss the Apple Music Classical app and Kirk's article about classical music that doesn't sound like classical music.

  • Episode #254: Remastering, Re-Recording, and Standards

    April 26th, 2023  |  28 mins 24 secs

    We discuss whether remastering albums is worthwhile, why some artists re-record their albums, and how there seem to be no more standards.

  • Episode #253: Apple Music Classical

    April 12th, 2023  |  33 mins 33 secs

    Apple has released its Apple Music Classical app for iPhone, and it's pretty good. Not perfect, but it's a big step forward. We discuss this new app and how it can be improved.

  • Episode #252: Imprinting and Dilution

    March 29th, 2023  |  27 mins 10 secs

    Creative content we discover at certain times of our lives imprints on our brains, and we forever compare other music, movies, and books to those we discovered at the right time.

  • Episode #251: 19th Century Technology

    March 15th, 2023  |  29 mins 34 secs

    Doug moved, and we discuss 19th century technology and wires.

  • Episode #250: Triangles of Sadness

    March 1st, 2023  |  30 mins 17 secs

    On speaker placement and triangles.

  • Episode #249: Immersive Audio and the New HomePod, with Chris Connaker

    February 15th, 2023  |  28 mins 41 secs

    Chris Connaker from Audiophile Style joins us again to discuss some of his recent discoveries in immersive audio, and we talk about how the new HomePod sounds; better than expected.

  • Episode #248: The New HomePod

    February 1st, 2023  |  29 mins 22 secs

    Apple has released a new HomePod, two years after discontinuing the original model. But is it the HomePod we want, or the HomePod we need? We discuss how it works with home automation. Also, Audio Hijack has just been updated. It's an essential app for recording audio on Macs.