The Next Track

In the latest episode of The Next Track, Doug Adams and Kirk McElhearn analyze the rumor that Apple is planning to remove the headphone jack from the iPhone, and then discuss how people organize music by genre. “No matter where we steer this thing, we always end up driving down inelegant boulevard.” Show notes: The headphone jack rumor: An iPhone without a headphone jack? No way! On the Recurring Rumor that Apple Is Getting Rid of the iPhone Headphone Jack What’s the Logic Behind Apple’s New Headphone Jack? Apple USB-C Digital AV Multiport Adapter Headphones with lightning connectors: Philips Fidelo M2/27 Audeze EL-8 Titanium Organizing music by genre: ID3 version 1 genre list Gracenote’s genre list How the Over-Genrification of Music Is Bad for Listeners and Musicians Here’s How Messed Up Apple Music Metadata Is (List of iTunes Store genres in a comment to this article) YouTube Users Are Reinventing The Way We Classify Music – vocativ Our next tracks: Doug: Where There’s A Will There’s A Way: The ABC-Dunhill Recordings By Bobby Whitlock Kirk: Bach, Goldberg Variations (1981), on Glenn Gould: The Complete Columbia Album Collection box set If you like the show, please subscribe in iTunes or your favorite podcast app, and please rate the podcast.

In the latest episode of The Next Track, Doug Adams and Kirk McElhearn welcome special guest Chris Connaker who runs the Computer Audiophile website to discuss high-resolution audio. What are the pros? The cons? Is high-res for you? “Is high-resolution worth it? There really is no definitive answer to that…” Show notes: The Computer Audiophile website High-resolution audio: Episode #3 – Everything You’ve Ever Wanted to Know about Audio File Formats Gimell Records, John Taverner – Missa Corona spinea Why do CDs use a sampling rate of 44.1 kHz? Hdtracks JRiver Media Center Fiio X7 portable audio player roon The Dark Art of Mastering Music – Pitchfork Our next tracks: Kirk: Roadies Doug: 2, Mudcrutch If you like the show, please subscribe in iTunes or your favorite podcast app, and please rate the podcast.Special Guest: Chris Connaker.

In the latest episode of The Next Track, Doug Adams and Kirk McElhearn take a quick look at the new features coming to Apple Music, and then discuss how we listen to music with headphones and speakers. What’s the best kind of headphones? When should you use speakers? Why not use both (not at the same time, of course)? Show notes: News: A Brief Overview of New Features Coming to Apple Music Headphones and speakers: Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro Studio Headphones Sennheiser HD 280 Pro Headphones AKG K 240 Semi-Open Studio Headphones Sony MDRV6 headphones Sony STR-DH100 receiver Jabra Revo Bluetooth headphones Bose 201 speakers Denon PMA 720AE amplifier Focal Chorus 705v speakers Cambridge Audio DacMagic 100 IsoAcoustics ISO-L8R155 speaker stands Mackie MR mk3 studio monitors Sonos PLAY:5 Yamaha R-N301 network stereo receiver Our next tracks: Kirk: The Drop, Brian Eno Doug: The Ventures, The Ventures A Go-Go If you like the show, please subscribe in iTunes or your favorite podcast app, and please rate the podcast.

In episode #4 of The Next Track, Doug Adams and Kirk McElhearn welcome special guest Andy Doe, digital music consultant and classical record label head, to discuss some streaming music shenanigans, and audio file metadata, the information that tells you who a track is by, its name, its album, and more. “This is the kind of mass-production of music that Henry Ford would have appreciated.” Andy Doe. Show notes: Andy Doe Proper Discord Streaming music shenanigans: Albums are getting unbearably long and sh*tty streaming rules are to blame Metadata: Metametadata: almost everything you read about classical metadata is wrong Dart Music Our next tracks: Doug: Brazil Classics 1: Beleza Tropical Kirk: The Complete In a Silent Way Sessions, Miles Davis If you like the show, please subscribe in iTunes or your favorite podcast app, and please rate the podcast.Special Guest: Andy Doe.

In episode #3 of The Next Track, Doug Adams and Kirk McElhearn examine the various audio file formats that you may encounter when you listen to music. You’re familiar with MP3, AAC, and, perhaps, Apple Lossless, but do you know your FLAC from your AIFF, or your WAV from your Ogg Vorbis? Show notes: Audio file formats: Here’s a selection of links about audio file formats, working with lossless audio, etc. An Overview of Audio File Formats Supported By iTunes Everything you need to know about digital audio files The ABCs of Lossless Music Files Wikipedia article about lossless compression The complete guide to using iTunes with lossless audio Why You Shouldn’t Use WAV Files with iTunes How to Play FLAC or Other Lossless Audio Files in iTunes, with links to free apps for Mac and Windows to convert audio files to different formats Rip To Lossless – and Never Rip Again Our next tracks: Doug: Tomita, Greatest Hits Kirk: Schubert: Die Schone Mullerin, Winterreise & Schwanengesang, by Ian Bostridge If you like the show, please subscribe in iTunes or your favorite podcast app, and please rate the podcast.

In episode #2 of The Next Track, Doug Adams and Kirk McElhearn take a brief look at the iTunes 12.4 update, and then discuss streaming music versus owning it. Do you want to have access to most of the recorded music available or do you want to own your music, listen to it when you want, even if labels or artists decide they don’t want to play with streaming services? Show notes: News and Updates: Kirk’s review of iTunes 12.4 on Macworld Some Minor Changes in iTunes – Kirkville Main topic, streaming versus owning music: A New Survey of British Consumers Suggests That People Older Than 35 May Be Being “Left Out in the Cold” by Music-Streaming Services Music Taste Matures by Age 35 (And It’s Different for Parents) ECM Records ECM Selected Recordings IX-XX, ECM’s only album available to stream on Apple Music Hyperion Records Other People Records Pandora Music Our next tracks: Doug: I Still Do, Eric Clapton Kirk: Fallen Angels, Bob Dylan If you like the show, please subscribe in iTunes or your favorite podcast app, and please rate the podcast.

In episode #1 of The Next Track, Doug Adams and Kirk McElhearn introduce the podcast, and explain the topics they plan to cover. They discuss streaming music and downloads, and spend some time looking at the history of music listening, from songs to albums to songs, with some tapes along the way. Then they discuss their next tracks, the music they’re planning to listen to next. Show notes: Introduction to The Next Track, and what the podcast is going to cover. Doug Adams’ website, Doug’s AppleScripts for iTunes. Kirk McElhearn’s website, Kirkville. Songs to albums to songs. How people listened to music over the years. First songs, then albums, and back to songs again with streaming. All or Nothing at All, documentary about Frank Sinatra. Available on HBO in the US, and on Netflix in some other countries. Leonard Bernstein Edition (Sony), Leonard Bernstein Collection (DG). The Who, Live at Leeds, Deluxe Edition. Grateful Dead, Dave’s Picks Vol. 18, Orpheum Theatre, San Francisco, CA 7/17/76 Woodstock: 40 Years On. Even better, the Woodstock movie, director’s cut, on Blu-Ray with lots of footage that wasn’t in the original film. Janis: Little Girl Blue Festival Express Our next tracks: Doug: Live at Winterland ’68, Janis Joplin and Big Brother & the Holding Company Kirk: Surprise, Paul Simon If you like the show, please subscribe in iTunes or your favorite podcast app, and please rate the podcast.