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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.

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  • 20 episodes
  • Avg 29 min
  • English

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Episodes 20

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  • June 17 · 27 min

    The Next Track, Episode #336: 50 Years of Punk

    The 50th anniversary of the famous Sex Pistols concert at the Lesser Free Trade Hall in Manchester has just passed. We discuss punk rock, how it started, and what it has become.

  • May 20 · 27 min

    The Next Track, Episode #334: Rolling Stones

    The Rolling Stones have a new album out; it sounds a lot like other Rolling Stones albums. We discuss how one of our favorite bands just keeps doing the same thing, over and over. (Apologies for the quality of Doug's audio.)

  • May 6 · 29 min

    Episode #333: What Happens When Things Get Old?

    When things get old, will they still work? If hardware devices depend on software or firmware, will you still be able to use them? Those receivers and active speakers that require software to run; will they work in twenty years?

  • April 22 · 26 min

    Episode #332: Old is New Again

    Nostalgia? Avoiding the algorithm? Some people want to go back to the way things used to be and listen to music on iPods.

  • April 8 · 29 min

    Episode #331: Apple's 50th Anniversary

    It was Apple's 50th anniversary on April 1. Since both Doug's and Kirk's careers have depended on Apple, and we discussed Apple hardware and software on this podcast, we have a two-guys-in-a-pub discussion about our history with Apple products. "Instead of having a company that wanted to change the world, we now have a company that wants to charge the world."

  • March 25 · 30 min

    Episode #330: Paul on the Run

    We watched the new documentary, Paul McCartney, Man on the Run, about his post-Beatles experiment with Wings. We have thoughts.

  • March 11 · 32 min

    Episode #329: 1979

    In another look at a specific year in music, we find that 1979 not only had some great and influential music, but was also the year of two technical innovations that would change music forever.

  • February 25 · 30 min

    Episode #328: Influential Albums

    We discuss some rock albums that were influential: their music, the way they presented songs, the way they were produced, or they effect they had on culture.

  • February 11 · 30 min

    Episode #327: Greatest Hits

    The Greatest Hits album has been a staple of the music industry since 1958. Some of the best-selling albums of all time are Greatest Hits albums. But what is the future of the Greatest Hits album in this era of streaming?

  • January 28 · 27 min

    Episode #326: The Grateful Dead Episode

    In spite of the fact that Kirk has been a Deadhead for decades, we have never done an episode about the Grateful Dead. With the passing of Bob Weir recently, we decided to talk a bit about the Dead, its history, and its future.

  • January 14 · 30 min

    Episode #325: Anthemic Rock Songs

    We look at a specific type of rock song that could be called "anthemic." This type of song generally has a number of movements, a slow introduction, is longer than average, and ends in a crescendo.

  • Dec 31, 2025 · 31 min

    Episode #324: Listening to Albums on a Mac

    The album isn't dead. Doug has been discovering new ways to listen to albums in Apple's Music app. We also chat a bit about the good old days, when you could tweak macOS. Remember ResEdit?

  • Dec 3, 2025 · 31 min

    Episode #322: Our Non-Gift Guide

    Lots of people have gift guides this time of year, but we decided to talk about how we don't really need anything at this time of year and have nothing to recommend to others.

  • Nov 19, 2025 · 27 min

    Episode #321: Writing About Music

    Kirk recently read Cameron Crowe's memoir The Uncool, about his experience writing about music, notably for Rolling Stone. Doug and Kirk reflect on rock music journalism.

  • Nov 5, 2025 · 30 min

    Episode #320: In Focus

    Kirk was invited by Amazon to be part of a focus group for a forthcoming film on Amazon Prime. He talks about the experience, and he and Doug discuss the key economic difference between music streaming and video streaming.

  • Oct 22, 2025 · 27 min

    Episode #319: Electric Nebraska

    Bruce Springsteen has released a four-disc set around his 1982 acoustic album Nebraska, including electric versions of many of the songs.

  • Oct 8, 2025 · 28 min

    Episode #318: Biopics

    Why are there so many biopics about musicians lately? Follow the money...

Showing 1–20 of 20 episodes