The Next Track

We mark the end of The Next Track’s first year with a review of our most interesting episodes. Just a quick note: we’ve posted a brief survey about The Next Track, and we would love it if you could take the two minutes to answer a dozen questions about the podcast, how you listen, what you like, and feel free to suggest any topics you’d like us to cover. Show notes: Episode #1 – Songs to Albums to Songs Episode #2 – To Stream or to Own Music? Episode #3 – Everything You’ve Ever Wanted to Know about Audio File Formats Episode #9 – Will Hermes on Discovering New Music Episode #15 – What is Mastering and Remastering? Episode #18 – New Yorker Music Critic Alex Ross Discusses Listening to Classical Music Episode #20 – You Think You Know about the Blues? Eliah Wald on the History of the Blues Episode #23 – David Browne on the History of the Grateful Dead Episode #24 – Composer Timo Andres on Contemporary Classical Music, Episode #25 – Composer Timo Andres on Contemporary Classical Music, Part 2 Episode #27 – Composing Music for Stage and Screen, with Paul Englishby Episode #28 – Music and Mystery: Author Peter Robinson on Music in His Novels Episode #35 – Musician and Developer Peter Chilvers on Brian Eno’s Album and App Reflection Episode #40 – The Revenge of Analog, with David Sax Episode #46 – Percussionist Colin Currie on Performing and Recording Steve Reich’s Drumming Episode #48 – Musician Dave Harrington of DARKSIDE and the Dave Harrington Group on Music Between Genres Episode #10 – Setting Up a Home Media Server Episode #16 – Managing and Storing Digital Media Files Episode #29 – Tagging Audio Files Episode #39 – Storing Media on a Network-Attached Storage Device Episode #47 – 10 Ways to Connect Your Computer to Your Stereo Episode #50 – Streaming Music in Your Home Episode #32 – Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about DACs (Digital-Analog Converters) Episode #38 – New in Audio at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) Episode #43 – Streaming Music 2.0 Episode #11 – Audio Myths & Superstitions Episode #26 – Andy Doe Answers Your Questions about Audio Equipment and Technology Episode #21 – Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about Subwoofers Episode #45 – Ask Andy, Hi-Fi Equipment and Speaker Placement Episode #51 – Ask Andy: Is Vinyl Better than CD? Episode #12 – iTunes & AppleScript Episode #49 – Common Misconceptions about iTunes If you like the show, please subscribe in iTunes or your favorite podcast app, and please rate the podcast.

We welcome Andy Doe to discuss the pros and cons of vinyl versus CD. Just a quick note: we’ve posted a brief survey about The Next Track, and we would love it if you could take the two minutes to answer a dozen questions about the podcast, how you listen, what you like, and feel free to suggest any topics you’d like us to cover. This week’s guest: Andy Doe Proper Discord Show notes: Do Vinyl Records Sound Better than CDs? (Spoiler: Nope) ♫ Episode #15 – What is Mastering and Remastering? Neil Young Criticizes the Vinyl Resurgence: and He’s Right Grateful Dead: Anthem to Beauty Bob Dylan: Triplicate Beethoven: Symphony No. 7, Carlos Kleiber The Tape Project Orchestrating Impartiality: The Impact of “Blind” Auditions on Female Musicians Not mentioned in the show, but Andy wanted us to add this: Video explaining how digital sampling works Our next tracks: Kirk: Chicago Transit Authority: Chicago Transit Authority Doug: The Kinks: Muswell Hillbillies If you like the show, please subscribe in iTunes or your favorite podcast app, and please rate the podcast.

Developer Paul Kafasis joins us to discuss in-house streaming: AirPlay, Bluetooth, and Google Cast. This week’s guest: Paul Kafasis of Rogue Amoeba Software Show notes: Episode #43 – Streaming Music 2.0 Episode #47 – 10 Ways to Connect Your Computer to Your Stereo Kirk’s Yamaha R-N301 Rogue Amoeba’s AirFoil Google Chromecast Our next tracks: Kirk: Moody Blues: Days of Future Passed Doug: David Lindley: El Rayo-X If you like the show, please subscribe in iTunes or your favorite podcast app, and please rate the podcast.Special Guest: Paul Kafasis.

Doug and Kirk take a look at common misconceptions people have about iTunes. iTunes is just a database. Show notes: Doug’s AppleScripts for iTunes Kirkville Missing Tracks and Stray Files How to Set Up iTunes as a Minimalist Music Player Our next tracks: Kirk: Vinyl . Album . Cover . Art – The Complete Hipgnosis Catalogue (Not released in the US until May 16.) Doug: The Baja Marimba Band: Those Were The Days If you like the show, please subscribe in iTunes or your favorite podcast app, and please rate the podcast.

Dave Harrington of DARKSIDE and the Dave Harrington Group talks about music between genres. … finding the space between genres… This week’s guest: Dave Harrington Show notes: DARKSIDE DARKSIDE: Psychic DARKSIDE: Pyschic Live (DVD) Other People DARKSIDE Live Archive The Next Track, Episode #7: Music and Genre Dave Harrington on Soundcloud (live recordings and more) Nicolas Jaar Guitar Power ep. 2 Bill Frisell: East-West Daniel Lanois: Acadie Dave Harrington: Become Alive Jambands.com: Dave Harrington from Darkside to Dark Star Miles Davis: Bitches Brew Dirty Harry soundtrack Dave Harrington Group: The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari Bill Nelson: Das Kabinett (The Cabinet Of Dr. Caligari) Dave Harrington: Burn Your Money Our next tracks: Kirk: Dawn of Midi: Dysnomia Doug: J. Geils Band: Live Full House If you like the show, please subscribe in iTunes or your favorite podcast app, and please rate the podcast.Special Guest: Dave Harrington.

We discuss the ten ways you can connect your computer to an amplifier or receiver. Show notes: 10 Ways to Connect Your Computer to a Stereo 1/8″ headphone jack to dual RCA cable Mini Toslink to Toslink optical audio cable Digital coaxial audio/video cable USB-A to USB-B connector Behringer U-Control UCA202 Episode #32 – Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about DACs Wharfedale Diamond A1 and A2 active speakers Netgear Orbi mesh wi-fi router Yamaha R-N301 TP-Link powerline adapter Rogue Amoeba: Airfoil One correction: the Apple TV 3 has a Toslink connector, but not a headphone jack. It has a square Toslink jack, that you can connect to another device with a standard Toslink to Toslink cable. Our next tracks: Kirk: Bob Dylan: Triplicate Doug: Kevin Ayers: Whatevershebringswesing If you like the show, please subscribe in iTunes or your favorite podcast app, and please rate the podcast.

We talk with percussionist Colin Currie, who discusses performing and recording Steve Reich’s seminal minimalist work Drumming. This week’s guest: Colin Currie Show notes: Steve Reich: Drumming (the original 1974 recording) Steve Reich’s Clapping Music app The score of Steve Reich’s Drumming Colin Currie Group Record Steve Reich’s Drumming Colin Currie Group at the Southbank Centre, London, May 5, 2017 Steve Reich: Tehillim & The Desert Music Steve Reich’s notes about Drumming: For one year, between the fall of 1970 and the fall of 1971, I worked on what turned out to be the longest piece I have ever composed. Drumming lasts from 55 to 75 minutes (depending on the number of repeats played) and is divided into four parts that are performed without pause. The first part is for four parts that are performed without pause. The first part is for four pairs of tuned bongo drums, stand-mounted and played with sticks; the second, for three marimbas played by nine players together with two women’s voices; the third, or three glockenspiels played by four players together with whistling and piccolo; and the fourth section is for all these instruments and voices combined. While first player the drums during the process of composition, I found myself sometimes singing with them, using my voice to imitate the sounds they made. I began to understand that this might also be possible with the marimbas and glockenspiels as well. Thus the basic assumption about the voices in Drumming was that they would not sing words, but would precisely imitate the sound of the instruments. The women’s voices sing patterns resulting from the combination of two or more marimbas playing the identical repeating pattern one of more quarter notes out of phase with each other. By exactly imitating the sound of the instruments, and by gradually fading the patterns in and out, the singers cause them to slowly rise to the surface of the music and then fade back into it, allowing the listener to hear these patterns, along with many others, actually sounding in the instruments. For the marimbas, the female voice was needed, using consonants like “b” and “d” with a more or less “u” (as in “you”) vowel sound. In the case of the glockenspiels, the extremely high range of the instrument precluded any use of the voice and necessitated whistling. Even this form of vocal production proved impossible when the instrument was played in its higher ranges, and this created the need for a more sophisticated form of whistle: the piccolo. In the last section of the piece these techniques are combined simultaneously with each imitating its particular instrument. The sections are joined together by the new instruments doubling the exact pattern of the instruments already playing. At the end of the drum section three drummers play the same pattern two quarter notes out of phase with each other. Three marimba players enter softly with the same pattern also played two quarter notes out of phase. The drummers gradually fade out so that the same rhythm and pitches are maintained with a gradual change of timbre. At the end of the marimba section, three marimbas played in their highest range are doubled by three glockenspiels in their lowest range so that the process of maintaining rhythm and pitch while gradually changing timbre is repeated. The sections are not set off from each other by changes in key, the traditional means of gaining extended length in Western music. Drumming shows that it is possible to keep going in the same key for quite a while if there are instead considerable rhythmic developments together with occasional, but complete, changes of timbre to supply variety. I am often asked what influence my visit of Africa in summer of 1970 had on Drumming. The answer is confirmation. It confirmed my intuition that acoustic instruments could be used to produce music that was genuinely richer in sound than that produced with electronic instruments, as well as confirming my natural inclination towards percussion (I became a drummer at the age of 14). The transition from glockenspiels to the last section of the piece, for all instruments and voices combined, is made by a new musical process I call build-up and reduction. Drumming begins with two drummers building up the basic rhythmic pattern of the entire piece from a single drum beat, played in a cycle of twelve beats with rests on all the other beats. Gradually additional drumbeats are substituted for the rests, one at a time, until the pattern is completed. The reduction process is simply the reverse where rests are gradually substituted for the beats, one at a time, until only a section leads to a build-up for the drums, marimbas, and glockenspiels simultaneously. There is, then, only one basic rhythmic pattern for all of Drumming. This pattern undergoes changes of phase position, pitch, and timbre, but all the performers play this pattern, or some part of it, throughout the entire piece. Our next tracks: Kirk: Terry Riley: In C Doug: Boston: Boston If you like the show, please subscribe in iTunes or your favorite podcast app, and please rate the podcast.Special Guest: Colin Currie.

We welcome Andy Doe for another Ask Andy episode, where we discuss hi-fi equipment and speaker placement. “If you have a valuable disc, always use a brand-new needle.” This week’s guest: Andy Doe Proper Discord Show notes: Episode #41 – Whatever Became of EQ? The Master Set speaker placement system (PDF file) Kirk’s Doctor Evil chair (and cat): Our next tracks: Kirk: Soundbreaking: Stories from the Cutting Edge of Recorded Music Doug: Rolling Stones: 12 x 5 If you like the show, please subscribe in iTunes or your favorite podcast app, and please rate the podcast.Special Guest: Andy Doe.

We discuss bootleg recordings, live recordings, and torrents. “Once we’re done with it, the audience can have it.” Jerry Garcia Show notes: Charles Dickens copyright International Copyright Act of 1891 Bob Dylan: Great White Wonder Bob Dylan: The Basement Tapes Complete: The Bootleg Series Vol. 11 Charlie Parker: Complete Dean Benedetti Recordings Flick Lives has an archive of Jean Shepherd recordings for download Bob Dylan: The Bootleg Series, Vol. 4: Bob Dylan Live, 1966: The “Royal Albert Hall Concert” Taping the Dead archive.org Wolfgang’s Vault Our next tracks: Kirk: Durutti Column: Domo Arigato Doug: Plastic Ono Band: Live Peace in Toronto 1969 If you like the show, please subscribe in iTunes or your favorite podcast app, and please rate the podcast.

Chris Connaker joins us to discuss how music streaming service can make the next step. People just want to hear the song they want to hear. This week’s guest: Chris Connaker of the The Computer Audiophile website Show notes: This week’s guest: Tidal Deezer Elite Qobuz Spotify hits 50 million paid subscribers SiriusXM radio Pandora Our next tracks: Kirk: Leon Redbone: Long Way from Home Doug: Cactus: Cactus If you like the show, please subscribe in iTunes or your favorite podcast app, and please rate the podcast.Special Guest: Chris Connaker.

We take a close look at playlists. What they are, where they came from, and what you can do with them. Show notes: This week’s guest: High Fidelity, by Nick Hornby High Fidelity (movie) Elizabethtown Yamaha CD-C600BL 5-Disc CD Changer The True Story of Audion Search Results to Playlist script Join Together app Our next tracks: Kirk: The Clash: Super Black Market Clash Doug: Mogul Thrash: Mogul Thrash If you like the show, please subscribe in iTunes or your favorite podcast app, and please rate the podcast.

Andy Doe joins us to talk about EQ. What is it, how does it work, do you need it, and where did it go? This week’s guest: Andy Doe Proper Discord Show notes: This week’s guest: Equalization on Wikipedia The Mysterious Loudness Control: What Does It Do? How to tweak your sound in iTunes and on iOS devices The Next Track, Episode #21 – Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about Subwoofers Our next tracks: Kirk: Grateful Dead: Morning Dew, 5/8/77, Barton Hall, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY Doug: Pink Floyd: The Wall If you like the show, please subscribe in iTunes or your favorite podcast app, and please rate the podcast.Special Guest: Andy Doe.

Author David Sax talks about his book The Revenge of Analog: why people like vinyl, and why other analog technologies are popular today. This week’s guest: David Sax, The Revenge of Analog: http://www.hachettebookgroup.com/features/revengeofanalog/ Show notes: This week’s guest: My review of The Revenge of Analog The Paradox of Choice, Barry Schwartz Do Vinyl Records Sound Better than CDs? Discogs Our next tracks: Kirk: Harold Budd: Perhaps Doug: Kirsty MacColl: Tropical Brainstorm If you like the show, please subscribe in iTunes or your favorite podcast app, and please rate the podcast.Special Guest: David Sax.

Doug and Kirk discuss storing a media library on a network-attached storage device. We focus on using a NAS with iTunes, but there’s some useful information for those using a NAS with other media software. Show notes: WD MyCloud EX2 Plex Doug’s Launch at Login applet How to map a network drive on Windows Our next tracks: Kirk: John Cale: Fragments of a Rainy Season Doug: The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion: Jukebox Explosion If you like the show, please subscribe in iTunes or your favorite podcast app, and please rate the podcast.

Chris Connaker went to the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. He reports for us on new audio equipment and the MQA music format. This week’s guest: Chris Connaker of the The Computer Audiophile website Show notes: Chris Connaker’s Long Strange Trip Chris’s overview of his visit to the CES Pandora is available in the US, Australia, and New Zealand The Next Track, Episode #6: What Is High-Resolution Audio? Chris’s 2014 article High Resolution Audio Isn’t Coming Soon From Apple Mastered for iTunes (PDF) MQA website, Wikipedia Steve Jobs’ Thoughts on Music, from 2007 Klipsch, The Three The Revenge of Analog, by David Sax AudioQuest Dragonfly Red DAC Our next tracks: Kirk: Genesis – Seconds Out Doug: The Bomboras: It Came From Pier 13! If you like the show, please subscribe in iTunes or your favorite podcast app, and please rate the podcast.Special Guest: Chris Connaker.