

The Next Track
Doug Adams and Kirk McElhearn
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.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Aug 18, 2017 • 32min
♫ Episode #66 – Minimalist Pianist R. Andrew Lee
Pianist R. Andrew Lee joins us to discuss the minimal, and often very long, works of music he performs and records.
(Sorry about the audio quality; there were some problems recording this episode.)
This week’s guest:
R. Andrew Lee
Show notes:
Irritable Hedgehog Records
Episode #18 – New Yorker Music Critic Alex Ross Discusses Listening to Classical Music
Tom Johnson: An Hour for Piano, performed by Frederic Rzewski
Dennis Johnson: November
The Four Pillars Appearing from The Equal D under Resonating Apparitions of The Eternal Process in The Midwinter Starfield 16 VIII 10 (Kansas City)
Our next tracks:
Kirk: The Complete Music of Carl Ruggles
Doug: David Bromberg: Reckless Abandon/Bandit in a Bathing Suit
If you like the show, please subscribe in iTunes or your favorite podcast app, and please rate the podcast.Special Guest: R. Andrew Lee.Support The Next Track

Aug 11, 2017 • 31min
♫ Episode #65 – Pass the Remote Control
Doug and Kirk express frustration about the number of complexity of remote controls they use.
Show notes:
All 165 Pink Floyd Songs Ranked, From Worst to Best – Bill Wyman
Episode #64 – Album Artwork in Digital Files
Logitech Harmony Ultimate Remote
Philips Hue lights
The Clash – Remote Control
Our next tracks:
Kirk: Theatre of Hate: The Live Albums
Doug: John Lee Hooker & Canned Heat: Hooker ‘n Heat
If you like the show, please subscribe in iTunes or your favorite podcast app, and please rate the podcast.Support The Next Track

Aug 4, 2017 • 31min
♫ Episode #64 – Album Artwork in Digital Files
Doug and Kirk tell you everything you ever wanted to know about album artwork in digital files.
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Show notes:
Doug’s AppleScripts for iTunes
Size of Artwork
Sort by Artwork Size
iTunes Artwork Finder
ImageOptim
Deleting the iTunes Album Artwork Cache Folder May Resolve Problems with Album Art Displaying
Is Artwork Embedded
Tracks Without Embedded Artwork to Playlist
Re-Embed Artwork
Coverscope
Re-Apply Downsized Artwork
Find Album Artwork with Google
Search CD Universe for Album
Search SlothRadio for Artwork
Search Amazon Book Covers
Save Album Art to Album Folder
Save Album Art as folder.jpg
Restore Artwork From Album Folder
Our next tracks:
Kirk: Morton Feldman: For Bunita Marcus, by Marc-André Hamelin
Doug: Dan Baird: SoLow
If you like the show, please subscribe in iTunes or your favorite podcast app, and please rate the podcast.Support The Next Track

Jul 28, 2017 • 35min
♫ Episode #63 – Will Romano on Yes’s Close to the Edge, the Seminal Prog Rock Album
Author Will Romano discusses his new book, Close to the Edge, How Yes’s Masterpiece Defined Prog Rock.
This week’s guest:
Will Romano
Show notes:
Close to the Edge
Close to the Edge: How Yes’s Masterpiece Defined Prog Rock
Mountains Come Out of the Sky: The Illustrated History of Prog Rock
Prog Rock FAQ: All That’s Left to Know About Rock’s Most Progressive Music
Episode #58 – David Weigel on the History of Progressive Rock
Our next tracks:
Kirk: Genesis: Foxtrot
Doug: Yes: Yessongs
If you like the show, please subscribe in iTunes or your favorite podcast app, and please rate the podcast.Special Guest: Will Romano.Support The Next Track

Jul 21, 2017 • 31min
♫ Episode #62 – Simple and Elaborate Audio Systems – How Many Devices Can You Have in Your Audio Chain?
Chris Connaker joins us to discuss simple and elaborate audio systems. How many devices can you have in your audio chain? Chris surprises us with some of his.
This week’s guest:
Chris Connaker, of the Computer Audiophile website
Show notes:
Audiophiles in Japan are installing their own electricity poles
dCS
Linear power supplies
Cable lifters?
Screw-in pointy things
IsoAcoustic speaker stands
Gear acquisition syndrome
A Beginners’ Guide To Acoustic Treatment
Feng shui
Our next tracks:
Kirk: Matthias Goerne: Schubert Lieder
Doug: Status Quo; The Last Night of the Electrics
If you like the show, please subscribe in iTunes or your favorite podcast app, and please rate the podcast.Special Guest: Chris Connaker.Support The Next Track

Jul 14, 2017 • 37min
♫ Episode #61 – Traditions and Etiquette in Classical Concerts – Applause, Encores, Curtain Calls, and the Bravo Guy
We ask Andy Doe why classical concerts have such rigid traditions and etiquette regarding audience reactions. And we discuss the Bravo Guy, present at concert halls around the world.
Note: We apologize that this episode runs a bit longer than usual, but it was too interesting and too much fun to cut.
This week’s guest:
Andy Doe
Proper Discord
Show notes:
Murray Perahia and the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, April 5, 2017
András Schiff – Beethoven, the 32 Sonatas
András Schiff – Encores After Beethoven
In 27 Pieces: The Hilary Hahn Encores
The rules for Hilary Hahn’s encore contest
Alex Ross: Hold Your Applause: Inventing and Reinventing the Classical Concert (PDF)
Our next tracks:
Kirk: DeJohnette Grenadier Medeski Scofield: Hudson
Doug: The Suburbs: Hey Muse!
If you like the show, please subscribe in iTunes or your favorite podcast app, and please rate the podcast.Special Guest: Andy Doe.Support The Next Track

Jul 7, 2017 • 32min
♫ Episode #60 – Geoff Edgers on the Slow Death of the Electric Guitar
Journalist Geoff Edgers joins us to discuss his Washington Post article about the slow death of the electric guitar.
Sponsor: Rogue Ameoba’s Audio Hijack. If you can hear it on your Mac, you can record it with Audio Hijack. Download the free trial from Rogue Amoeba, then save 20% with coupon code NEXTTRACK.
Check out Audio Hijack now.
This week’s guest:
Geoff Edgers on the Washington Post
Show notes:
Why my guitar gently weeps – The slow, secret death of the six-string electric. And why you should care.
How Much Did This Guitar Story Cost Me? $2,376.99 – The story behind my story on the death of the electric guitar
Behind the scenes of ‘The slow death of the electric guitar’ – a.k.a. how we got paid to set a guitar on fire
Fender Play
Tom Feldmann
Toby Walker
School of Rock
♫ Episode #48 – Musician Dave Harrington of DARKSIDE and the Dave Harrington Group on Music Between Genres
Our next tracks:
Kirk: Santana – Soul Sacrifice (Live at Woodstock 1969)
Doug: Adrian Belew – Desire of the Rhino King
If you like the show, please subscribe in iTunes or your favorite podcast app, and please rate the podcast.Special Guest: Geoff Edgers.Support The Next Track

Jun 30, 2017 • 29min
♫ Episode #59 – 1967 and the Summer of Love
We take a look back at the 50th anniversary of the Summer of Love, in 1967.
One correction. I said that Bob Dylan didn’t release any albums in 1967. That’s false; John Wesley Harding was released on December 27 of that year.
Summer of Love
The Monterey Pop Festival
The Acid Tests
Fantasy Fair and Magic Mountain Music Festival
Newport Jazz Festival
Newport Folk Festival
The Complete Monterey Pop Festival (film)
Long Strange Trip
Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band – Super Deluxe Ed
Events of 1967
Our World
Magical Mystery Tour
1967 in Film
1967 in Music
Our next tracks:
Kirk: Jefferson Airplane: Surrealistic Pillow
Doug: Traffic: Mr. Fantasy
If you like the show, please subscribe in iTunes or your favorite podcast app, and please rate the podcast.Support The Next Track

Jun 23, 2017 • 35min
♫ Episode #58 – David Weigel on the History of Progressive Rock
Author David Weigel joins us to discuss his book The Show That Never Ends: The Rise and Fall of Prog Rock.
This week’s guest:
Dave Weigel’s website
David Weigel’s writing on the Washington Post
Show notes:
The Show that Never Ends: The Rise and Fall of Prog Rock
Dave Weigel’s Prog Spring series on Slate
Mark Prindle’s record reviews
King Crimson: In the Court of the Crimson King
Wollman Skating Rink New York Concert Setlists
Tangerine Dream: Encore: Live
Our next tracks:
Kirk: Yes: Close to the Edge
Doug: Family: Bandstand
If you like the show, please subscribe in iTunes or your favorite podcast app, and please rate the podcast.Special Guest: David Weigel.Support The Next Track

Jun 16, 2017 • 34min
♫ Episode #57 – Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about Optical Discs
Andy Doe joins us to take a close look at optical discs: CDs, DVDs, Blu-Rays, but also HDCDs, DVD-As, and more. I bet you didn’t know how many kinds of optical disc there are…
“It is the betamax of audio formats…”
Show notes:
Optical disc – Wikipedia
Compact disc – Wikipedia
Compact Disc Digital Audio – Wikipedia
Close to the Edge
Nyquist frequency – Wikipedia
44,100 Hz – Wikipedia
Error detection and correction
Pulse-code modulation
Super Audio CD
Hybrid disc
DVD-Audio
Mode Records DVD-A releases
High Fidelity Pure Audio (Blu-Ray Audio)
HDCD
Grateful Dead
Cambridge Audio 651BD
Compressed audio optical disc (MP3 CD)
Our next tracks:
Kirk: Miles Davis: Chronicle: The Complete Prestige Recordings, 1951-1956
Doug: Slim Gaillard: Slim Gaillard Rides Again
If you like the show, please subscribe in iTunes or your favorite podcast app, and please rate the podcast.Special Guest: Andy Doe.Support The Next Track