Episode Details

Author Cam Gordon spent seven years writing Track Changes, a book about how the internet rewired Canadian music between 1990 and 2010. But the real story isn't about the artists, it's about the people building websites, running blogs, and shaping how an entire country's relationship with music changed.

Cam explains why his own view on the era flipped completely while writing it, from Napster and the iPod to the ubiquity of Spotify today, and makes the case that scarcity used to make music feel more meaningful. The conversation lands on a simple test anyone can try right now, one that reveals just how much music has become background noise instead of something chosen on purpose.

There's a real argument here for bringing a little friction back into how culture gets consumed.

Topics: Canadian music internet history, Track Changes book, music streaming culture, iPod era, digital music nostalgia

GUEST: Cam Gordon | @‌trackchanges_ca

Originally aired on 2026-08-17