Doug and Kirk welcome Sangwook “Sunny” Nam, two-time Grammy nominated mastering engineer. He explains what mastering and remastering are, and we learn a lot about the magic that mastering engineers perform. “All the processing I’m doing is done on the analog side.” Show notes : Jacob’s Well Mastering Sunny Nam’s recordings on Discogs Doug Sax The Doors on vinyl Sunny Nam’s mastering studio. Our next tracks : Kirk: Blind Gary Davis: Harlem Street Singer Doug: Frank Zappa & The Mothers: Roxy &...
Aug 26, 2016•36 min
Doug and Kirk take a look at recent news in the music and audio world. From audiophile utility poles to iTunes news, from record stores to car radios, this news and views episode keeps you up to date on what matters in music listening. And Kirk gives an update on his first Pearl Jam listening experience. “For $10,000 there better be a powerful placebo effect.” Show notes : News: Pearl Jam: Ten A Gift for Music Lovers Who Have It All: A Personal Utility Pole Records’ rebirth fueled by older music...
Aug 19, 2016•28 min
Doug and Kirk welcome back Chris Connaker to discuss music streaming services. Apple Music, Spotify, Tidal, or another; which is right for you? What are the pros and cons of the various streaming services? “I have never heard a song by Pearl Jam.” Show notes : News: Apple Is Finally Making iTunes Better for Classical Music Dislike is a New iTunes 12.5 Track Property Streaming music services: Pearl Jam Qobuz Apple Music Spotify Tidal Pandora Roon Pearl Jam: Ten Our next tracks : Kirk: Orchestral ...
Aug 12, 2016•33 min
Doug and Kirk discuss iTunes and AppleScript. This was bound to come sooner or later, since Doug is the AppleScript ninja. We look at what AppleScript does, and discuss more than a dozen of the most useful AppleScripts to use to manage your iTunes library. “AppleScript does not run on Windows, and Windows does not run in my house.” Show notes : News: New Pink Floyd box set covers the early years: 1965 – 1972 Pink Floyd copyright release: 1965: Their First Recordings Everything you need to know a...
Aug 05, 2016•28 min
Doug and Kirk welcome back Andy Doe, digital music consultant, to discuss myths and superstitions around audio: cables, breaking in hardware, digital audio, and more. But first we discuss classical music playlists on streaming services. “Hooray, good for you, you have magical bat ears.” Andy Doe. Show notes : Andy Doe Proper Discord Classical music playlists: Here’s What’s Wrong with Classical Music on Streaming Services (Part Whatever) Audio myths & superstitions: Articles on Kirk’s website...
Jul 29, 2016•32 min
Have you ever wanted to set up your own home media server? Doug and Kirk discuss the pros and cons of doing this, and explain how to set up a Mac mini as a media server. Show notes : Discovering new music: Apple’s Mac mini OS X Server I wish there was an iTunes Server WD My Passport 4 TB portable hard drive Carbon Copy Cloner Change Screen Resolution on Headless OS X Server Sonos Plex The Merchant of Venice, by the Royal Shakespeare Company Apple improves iCloud Music Library matching, ditches c...
Jul 22, 2016•27 min
In the latest episode of The Next Track, Doug Adams and Kirk McElhearn welcome NPR and Rolling Stone music critic Will Hermes. We take a brief stroll down memory lane, then discuss music discovery: how does a music critic, overwhelmed with choice, discover new music. “For me to just become a nostalgia merchant; as a writer, and as a music fan, not interested.” Show notes : Discovering new music: Will Hermes’ website ; his writing on Rolling Stone ; his reviews on WNYC ; All Things Considered Lov...
Jul 15, 2016•30 min
In the latest episode of The Next Track, Doug Adams and Kirk McElhearn discuss spoken word recordings. How to get them, how to manage them, and how to listen to them. And we discuss how the history of recording started with recordings of spoken word content. “Like a Victorian call center.” Show notes : Spoken word and audiobook recordings: Key dates in the history of audiobooks Walt Whitman reading four lines of America James Joyce reading from Ulysses and Finnegans Wake JRR Tolkien reads from T...
Jul 08, 2016•31 min
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 He...
Jul 01, 2016•29 min
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 s...
Jun 24, 2016•31 min
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 ...
Jun 17, 2016•29 min
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 lon...
Jun 10, 2016•33 min
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 dig...
Jun 03, 2016•29 min
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, strea...
May 27, 2016•31 min
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 AppleS...
May 21, 2016•28 min
