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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This episode delves into the diverse world of musical covers, starting with Doug's pick, The Grateful Dead's expansive rendition of 'Turn On Your Love Light.' The hosts then uncover the surprising origin of the term 'cover' from the early sheet music industry, discussing how it evolved into record labels re-recording hits for different demographics. They explore numerous examples of covers that became more famous than their originals, the crucial role of music publishers in song dissemination, and how artists like The Clash transformed genres through their interpretations. The discussion concludes with insights into blues as interpretation and Kirk's pick of The Rolling Stones' cover-heavy album '12 X 5.'
We discuss AI music, and how most musicians don't make money. Then we have some thoughts about podcast listening. Help support The Next Track by making regular donations via Patreon . We're ad-free and self-sustaining so your support is what keeps us going. Thanks! Show notes An AI-generated band got 1m plays on Spotify. Now music insiders say listeners should be warned Who Is Watching All These Podcasts? The Next Track on YouTube Our next tracks : Franz Schubert: Complete Songs, Graham Johnson...
It was 50 years ago, and as years for popular music go, 1975 was a doozy. Help support The Next Track by making regular donations via Patreon . We're ad-free and self-sustaining so your support is what keeps us going. Thanks! Show notes Sight and Sound: 1975 1975 in music - Wikipedia Our next tracks : Al Pacino: Sonny Boy Dusty Rose Gang: A-One From Day One If you like the show, please subscribe in Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast app, and please rate the podcast. Support The Next Track...
After our previous episode discussing double albums, we wondered where to go next. We decided to turn the podcast up a notch, and discuss triple albums; much rarer than double albums, but many of them are landmarks in the history of rock music. Help support The Next Track by making regular donations via Patreon . We're ad-free and self-sustaining so your support is what keeps us going. Thanks! Show notes The Next Track: Episode #310: Double Albums List of triple albums - Wikipedia Our next trac...
We talk about double albums, which used to be a thing back in the LP day. They were special, because having an album with twice the music was (almost always) great. But they disappeared starting with the CD era and, now with digital, they don't exist any more. We talk about great double albums. Help support The Next Track by making regular donations via Patreon . We're ad-free and self-sustaining so your support is what keeps us going. Thanks! Show notes Rolling Stone Readers' Poll: The 10 Grea...
Doug and Kirk discuss some of the things they like and dislike about the current state of audio equipment and the music industry. Help support The Next Track by making regular donations via Patreon . We're ad-free and self-sustaining so your support is what keeps us going. Thanks! Show notes RIAA equalization - Wikipedia Cable sheathing Our next tracks : Traffic: The Low Spark Of High Heeled Boys Sonic Youth: Rather Ripped If you like the show, please subscribe in iTunes or your favorite podcas...
Video games are one of the most popular forms of entertainment. Doug has been a gamer for a long time, but Kirk only recently converted. We talk about how gaming is part of our leisure activity. Help support The Next Track by making regular donations via Patreon . We're ad-free and self-sustaining so your support is what keeps us going. Thanks! Show notes Batman: Arkham Asylum Assassin’s Creed Shadows Escape from Tarkov The Long Dark Stardew Valley Stray Our next tracks : Pink Floyd At Pompeii ...
AI is everywhere. It hasn't really affected music yet, or has it? Help support The Next Track by making regular donations via Patreon . We're ad-free and self-sustaining so your support is what keeps us going. Thanks! Show notes : Perplexity Microsoft made an ad with generative AI and nobody noticed How Daydreaming Can Enhance Creativity for Fiction Writers The Next Track: Episode #305: Timo Andres on Steve Reich's Collected Works Sonatas and Interludes - Wikipedia Our next tracks : John Cage, ...
Wired editor Chris Anderson came up with the idea of "the long tail" in 2004, suggesting that older books, music, and other creative works would continue to sell in small amounts, making enough money over time for these creators to survive. He was wrong. Very wrong. Help support The Next Track by making regular donations via Patreon . We're ad-free and self-sustaining so your support is what keeps us going. Thanks! Show notes : Chris Anderson, The Long Tail (Wired) Darkside at Coachella (unfort...
Composer and pianist Timo Andres wrote extensive listening notes for the new box set of Steve Reich's Collected Works. We talk with him about this composer whose work over the past five decades has been incredibly influential. "I went everyone to listen to music in a more abstract way." Help support The Next Track by making regular donations via Patreon . We're ad-free and self-sustaining so your support is what keeps us going. Thanks! Show notes : Timo Andres Timo Andres on The Next Track Stev...
The Grateful Dead released a big box set that Kirk will not buy, leading Doug and Kirk to discuss box sets of CDs. Help support The Next Track by making regular donations via Patreon . We're ad-free and self-sustaining so your support is what keeps us going. Thanks! Show notes : Enjoying The Ride, Grateful Dead Grateful Dead Complete Europe ’72 Box Set New Live Release from Yes: Progeny, Seven Concerts from 1972 Why Box Sets Are Stuck in the Past Vinyl and packaging manufacturer, Key Production...
We muse on our dream home audio setups, the enshittification of streaming TV, and Doug explains how he has music in his bathroom. Help support The Next Track by making regular donations via Patreon . We're ad-free and self-sustaining so your support is what keeps us going. Thanks! Show notes : Ruark 100 series Towards Zero Episode #48 – Musician Dave Harrington of DARKSIDE and the Dave Harrington Group on Music Between Genres Our next tracks : Darkside: Nothing David Johansen: David Johansen If...
We rant about compilations in Apple's music app, and some other annoyances. Help support The Next Track by making regular donations via Patreon . We're ad-free and self-sustaining so your support is what keeps us going. Thanks! Show notes : Doug's AppleScripts Take Control of Apple Media Apps Very Seldom Casual: UncertainFM Apple Music Classical (Mostly) Plays the Right Chords - TidBITS Our next tracks : Bears Sonic Journals: Jorma Kaukonen and Jack Casady, Before We Were Them Spirit: Clear If ...
The recent movie about Bob Dylan, A Complete Unknown, has led many people to "discover" Bob Dylan's music. Help support The Next Track by making regular donations via Patreon . We're ad-free and self-sustaining so your support is what keeps us going. Thanks! Show notes : Don’t look back: after decades of apathy, A Complete Unknown has turned me into a Dylan nut Elijah Wald: Dylan Goes Electric Episode #20 – You Think You Know about the Blues? Eliah Wald on the History of the Blues Our next trac...
We look at Spotify's Billions Club, and discuss how some people are trying to discover the must unplayed music. Help support The Next Track by making regular donations via Patreon . We're ad-free and self-sustaining so your support is what keeps us going. Thanks! Show notes : No Dylan but loads of Coldplay! What the songs with a billion streams on Spotify tell us about music taste today Vintage Obscura Lefsetz Letter: Apple Music’s Per Stream Payment Our next tracks : Morton Feldman: Two Pianos...
With the release of Kirk's new book, Take Control of Apple Media Apps, we discuss how Apple has normalized their media apps and, perhaps, finally made them easier to use. We also discus the use of songs in movies. Help support The Next Track by making regular donations via Patreon . We're ad-free and self-sustaining so your support is what keeps us going. Thanks! Show notes : Take Control of Apple Media Apps Obsidian Casino Megalopolis Oppenheimer Wonder Boys Our next tracks : Dance Craze Andy ...
Streaming services - mostly, but not only, Spotify - are filling their playlists with fake music. "If everyone is a content creator, who's left to be the audience?" Help support The Next Track by making regular donations via Patreon . We're ad-free and self-sustaining so your support is what keeps us going. Thanks! Show notes : Take Control of Apple Media Apps The Ghosts in the Machine , Liz Pelly Max Richter: Sleep Our next tracks : Jerry Garcia Acoustic Band: Almost Acoustic Pixies: The Night...
1984 wasn't like 1984. Help support The Next Track by making regular donations via Patreon . We're ad-free and self-sustaining so your support is what keeps us going. Thanks! Show notes : Episode #235 - 1973 Episode #79 – 1977 Episode #98 - 1981 1984: The Year Pop Stardom Got Supersized Synth Britannia Our next tracks : Philip Glass: Einstein on the Beach Guadalcanal Diary: Walking in the Shadow of the Big Man If you like the show, please subscribe in iTunes or your favorite podcast app, and pl...
Apparently "nostalgia concerts," where bands play full albums, have become common; not everyone likes this idea. Rolling Stone made a list of the "best" 74 albums of 1974. And we discuss movie soundtracks, with specific reference to Hans Zimmer's music for Interstellar. Help support The Next Track by making regular donations via Patreon . We're ad-free and self-sustaining so your support is what keeps us going. Thanks! Show notes : No More Nostalgia Concerts, Please The Cure: live stream of Son...
We talk about selling records with the unique Burning Shed, the British online record store that offers a curated selected of progressive rock, new wave, ambient, and electronic music. Help support The Next Track by making regular donations via Patreon . We're ad-free and self-sustaining so your support is what keeps us going. Thanks! Show notes : Burning Shed Our next tracks : The Durutti Column - A Life of Reilly, by James Nice Sponge: 1994 If you like the show, please subscribe in iTunes or ...
With the passing of Grateful Dead bassist Phil Lesh, we talk about the bass players we would take to a desert island. Help support The Next Track by making regular donations via Patreon . We're ad-free and self-sustaining so your support is what keeps us going. Thanks! Show notes : Phil Lesh obituary Our next tracks : Grateful Dead: Fallout from the Phil Zone Stanley Clarke: School Days If you like the show, please subscribe in iTunes or your favorite podcast app, and please rate the podcast. S...
We discuss desert island discs as a thought experiment, though we didn't agree on the ground rules. Help support The Next Track by making regular donations via Patreon . We're ad-free and self-sustaining so your support is what keeps us going. Thanks! Show notes : Episode #130 - Desert Island Discs, Part 1 Episode #133 - Desert Island Discs, Part 2 Schubert: Winterreise, Ian Bostridge & Thomas Adès Bach: Goldberg Variations, Glenn Gould 1981 Morton Feldman: Piano and String Quartet, Kronos ...
Music is a product. We discuss how music is sold and promoted. Help support The Next Track by making regular donations via Patreon . We're ad-free and self-sustaining so your support is what keeps us going. Thanks! Show notes : On the State of the (Book)World, with Lauren Groff and Neel Mukherjee MUBI BFI Player Nightsleeper - iPlayer Our next tracks : Philip Glass, String Quartet No. 1 - Tana Quartet Johnny Thunders & The Heartbreakers: L.A.M.F. (The Lost '77 Mixes) If you like the show, p...
Kirk attended a unique concert recently, and Doug and Kirk discuss how concerts could be more interesting. Help support The Next Track by making regular donations via Patreon . We're ad-free and self-sustaining so your support is what keeps us going. Thanks! Show notes : Episode #178 - Lieder and Opera Singer Ian Bostridge Winterreise review - agony and ecstasy as Bostridge and Drake bring Schubert’s song cycle to dramatic life Palladium Lone Star Cafe The Bottom Line Our next tracks : La Folia...
People are more likely to have good audio for their TV, to watch movies and films, than for music these days. Help support The Next Track by making regular donations via Patreon . We're ad-free and self-sustaining so your support is what keeps us going. Thanks! Show notes : Panasonic Streaming 4K Blu Ray Player DP-UB820-K Our next tracks : 2001: A Space Odyssey (4K Ultra HD) Kiss: Alive If you like the show, please subscribe in iTunes or your favorite podcast app, and please rate the podcast. S...
Don't buy hi-fi audio equipment that needs firmware updates. (This means you, Sonos.) Help support The Next Track by making regular donations via Patreon . We're ad-free and self-sustaining so your support is what keeps us going. Thanks! Show notes : Cambridge Audio EVO ONE Sonos, still trying to fix its broken app, lays off 100 employees Episode #168 - L'Affaire Sonos and Obsolescence in Audio Equipment KEF LSX II Episode #281: Kirk's New Audio Gear Our next tracks : Radio On Oasis - Definitel...
It's tough to make money in the music business. So artists sell merch. Help support The Next Track by making regular donations via Patreon . We're ad-free and self-sustaining so your support is what keeps us going. Thanks! Show notes : Shakedown Street (Grateful Dead parking lot market) Live Nation announces it will drop merch cuts and pay $1,500 stipend to all club acts Taylor Swift Sells a Rainbow of Vinyl Albums. Fans Keep Buying Them. Adele in Munich Robert Fripp: The Guitar Circle Robert F...
It's the summer of Apple beta software. We chat a bit about the Music app, new operating systems, and how Apple's AI could affect Apple Music. Help support The Next Track by making regular donations via Patreon . We're ad-free and self-sustaining so your support is what keeps us going. Thanks! Show notes : macOS Sequoia Preview Moom Soulver How to Install Apple Beta Software for macOS Sequoia, iOS 18, iPadOS 18, watchOS 11, and tvOS 11 Install macOS Sequoia Beta in a Virtual Machine on an M1, M...
"Don’t confuse consumption with reach." Help support The Next Track by making regular donations via Patreon . We're ad-free and self-sustaining so your support is what keeps us going. Thanks! Show notes : Reach, Bob Lefsetz Glastonbury on the BBC iPlayer Glastonbury 2024 line-up Our next tracks : Robert Fripp: Washington Square Church CD , download Rory Gallagher: Calling Card If you like the show, please subscribe in iTunes or your favorite podcast app, and please rate the podcast. Support The...
No one gets up in the morning and says, “I want to be in a classic rock band.” Help support The Next Track by making regular donations via Patreon . We're ad-free and self-sustaining so your support is what keeps us going. Thanks! Show notes : The most popular, obscure, Democratic, Republican and hated music in America Queen Catalog to Be Acquired by Sony Music for £1 Billion Music on The Sopranos Our next tracks : Daniel Barenboim: Complete Wagner Operas The Three O'Clock: Sixteen Tambourines ...
