20 years ago, during my sophomore year of high school, I put together the first of what would become a nearly 20 volume collection of mix tapes, containing my favorite songs that I had gathered either from the radio, a cassette tape, or (eventually) CD. We last looked back at all 20 volumes three years ago to see which of my “favorite” songs still resonated in today’s digital world. Today, we revisit those mix tapes and see how, or if, things have changed in the past 3 years.
Volume 18 covers the summer of 1995, my first working at the bank, and the lead up to the first of my two senior years of college.
Side A
Stone Temple Pilots – Dancing Days
A radio hit despite never being officially released as a single, the Led Zeppelin cover more than doubled its impressive total over the past 3 years.
| 2012 | 2015 | 2019 |
|---|---|---|
| 7 plays | 13 plays | 27 plays, most recently on 8/28/2018 |
PJ Harvey – Down By The Water
The surprise mainstream hit for the indie darling, which hit #2 on Billboard’s Modern Rock Tracks chart, added a mere 3 listens in the last 3 years.
| 2012 | 2015 | 2019 |
|---|---|---|
| 7 plays | 13 plays | 16 plays, most recently on 10/9/2018 |
REM – Strange Currencies
Nearly left off the Monster album due to its rhythmic similarities to Everybody Hurts, the song more than tripled its number of plays over the past 3 years.
| 2012 | 2015 | 2019 |
|---|---|---|
| 0 plays | 2 plays | 7 plays, most recently on 7/18/2018 |
Live – All Over You
Hitting #4 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart despite never being released as a single in the US, Live’s latest has doubled its plays in the last 3 years.
| 2012 | 2015 | 2019 |
|---|---|---|
| 5 plays | 5 plays | 10 plays, most recently on 6/24/2018 |
Soul Asylum – Misery
Originally recorded off of Q101, the debut single from Soul Asylum’s follow-up to their breakthrough album nearly tripled its listens over the past 3 years.
| 2012 | 2015 | 2019 |
|---|---|---|
| 3 plays | 4 plays | 11 plays, most recently on 12/15/2018 |
Collective Soul – December
Peaking at #20 on the Billboard charts, the second single from the band’s second album nearly tripled its output over the last 3 years.
| 2012 | 2015 | 2019 |
|---|---|---|
| 2 plays | 3 plays | 8 plays, most recently on 10/9/2018 |
Elastica – Connection
The first US hit from Elastica, peaking at #53 on the Billboard charts, added 6 listens in the last 3 years.
| 2012 | 2015 | 2019 |
|---|---|---|
| 7 plays | 11 plays | 17 plays, most recently on 12/17/2018 |
Juliana Hatfield – Universal Heart-Beat
Hitting #5 on the Modern Rock Tracks charts, the solo release from Juliana Hatfield garnered 5 additional listens in the last 3 years.
| 2012 | 2015 | 2019 |
|---|---|---|
| 3 plays | 8 plays | 13 plays, most recently on 1/2/2019 |
Side B
Jill Sobule – I Kissed A Girl
Jill Sobule’s tribute to lesbian self discovery, boosted by Katy Perry’s hit of the same name, added 9 new listens in the last 3 years.
| 2012 | 2015 | 2019 |
|---|---|---|
| 6 plays | 10 plays | 19 plays, most recently on 12/17/2018 |
Veruca Salt – All Hail Me
Never officially released as a single, the final hit from Veruca Salt’s debut album added a mere 4 listens in the past 3 years.
| 2012 | 2015 | 2019 |
|---|---|---|
| 13 plays | 18 plays | 22 plays, most recently on 8/12/2017 |
The Rembrandts – I’ll Be There For You
The Friends theme song added 12 new listens in the past 3 years, thanks in part to a few trips to WB studios in California, where the show was taped.
| 2012 | 2015 | 2019 |
|---|---|---|
| 4 plays | 9 plays | 21 plays, most recently on 12/31/2018 |
Green Day – She
The fifth and final hit from Green Day’s breakthrough release, the tune added 5 new plays in the last 3 years.
| 2012 | 2015 | 2019 |
|---|---|---|
| 4 plays | 8 plays | 13 plays, most recently on 9/6/2018 |
U2 – Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me
The band’s contribution to the Batman Forever soundtrack picked up 5 additional listens over the past 3 years.
| 2012 | 2015 | 2019 |
|---|---|---|
| 5 plays | 7 plays | 12 plays, most recently on 10/2/2018 |
Alanis Morissette – You Oughta Know
Winner of Best Rock Song and Best Female Rock Vocal Performance Grammys, the smash hit that introduced the former You Can’t Do That On Television star to American audiences more than tripled its number of plays over the past 3 years.
| 2012 | 2015 | 2019 |
|---|---|---|
| 6 plays | 7 plays | 23 plays, most recently on 12/1/2018 |
Veruca Salt – My Sharona
The B-side cover of The Knack classic picked up 5 new listens over the past 3 years.
| 2012 | 2015 | 2019 |
|---|---|---|
| 9 plays | 13 plays | 18 plays, most recently on 3/24/2018 |
Weezer – Say It Ain’t So
The third and final single from the band’s debut album and ranked as the 72nd greatest guitar song of all time by Rolling Stone, the tune picked up a mere 4 new listens.
| 2012 | 2015 | 2019 |
|---|---|---|
| 7 plays | 14 plays | 18 plays, most recently on 9/3/2018 |