33 years ago, during my sophomore year of high school, I put together the first of what would eventually 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.  Today, we revisit those mix tapes for the fourth time and see how, or if, the soundtrack of my youth still resonates in today’s digital world and how much has changed over the past four years.

Volume 15 takes us into through the summer of 1994 and into the fall and my junior year of college. The song selection is, again, mostly alternative with some west coast gangsta rap.

Side A

Frente! – Labour Of Love
iTunes stats: 24 plays, most recently on 1/31/2022

Originally recorded via Chicago’s new rock alternative, Q101, the hit from Marvin! The Album picked up seven additional listens.

Mazzy Star – Fade Into You
iTunes stats: 37 plays, most recently on 5/13/2022

Ranked at #19 by Pitchfork Media on their Top 200 Tracks of the 90s, the mesmerizing tune from Hope Sandoval and company increased its play total by eight over the last four years.

Nirvana – Verse Chorus Verse
iTunes stats: 23 plays, most recently on 11/1/2019

Released as a hidden track on the AIDS-benefit compilation album No Alternative, the posthumous B-side from the trio from Seattle added five new listens despite going unheard since the COVID pandemic.

Warren G – This D.J.
iTunes stats: 14 plays, most recently on 10/29/2021

Peaking at #9 on the Billboard charts, the second single from the rapper’s debut album added four new listens over the last four years.

Cracker – Eurotrash Girl
iTunes stats: 24 plays, most recently on 9/2/2022

Six new listens for the hidden track, originally recorded off the radio via Q101.

Stone Temple Pilots – Interstate Love Song
iTunes stats: 33 plays, most recently on 10/26/2022

Named the 58th best hard rock song of all time by VH1, the latest hit from STP added eleven new listens over the past four years.

Gin Blossoms – Allison Road
iTunes stats: 22 plays, most recently on 7/6/2022

Peaking at #20 on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, the Gin Blossoms hit added just three new listens over these last four years.

Weezer – Undone (The Sweater Song)
iTunes stats: 33 plays, most recently on 11/11/2022

Nine new listens for the debut single from Weezer, which hit #6 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart.

Side B

Sheryl Crow – All I Wanna Do
iTunes stats: 21 plays, most recently on 6/24/2022

Winner of the Record of the Year and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance Grammys in 1995, the biggest US hit from Sheryl Crow earned just three plays over the past four years.

Snoop Dogg – Murder Was The Case
iTunes stats: 27 plays, most recently on 8/22/2021

A five listen increase for the tune which peaked at #67 on the Hot 100 Airplay chart, despite not being heard for more than a year.

Cranberries – Zombie
iTunes stats: 41 plays, most recently on 8/12/2022

Written about the IRA bombing in Warrington in 1993, the first single from the band’s sophomore effort picked up fourteen new listens over the last four years.

Veruca Salt – Seether
iTunes stats: 51 plays, most recently on 10/24/2022

The debut release from the local band, which hit #8 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart, picked up nine additional listens in the last four years.

Liz Phair – Supernova
iTunes stats: 21 plays, most recently on 1/24/2020

Nominated for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance at the 1995 Grammys, the debut single from Phair’s sophomore effort picked up four new listens despite not being heard since before the world shutdown.

R.E.M. – What’s The Frequency, Kenneth?
iTunes stats: 20 plays, most recently on 8/13/2022

Just four new plays in the last four years for the first song to debut at #1 on Billboard’s Modern Rock Tracks chart.

The Offspring – Self Esteem
iTunes stats: 28 plays, most recently on 9/25/2022

A worldwide hit, reaching #1 in Lithuania, Latvia, Norway, and Sweden, the second single from the Offspring picked up nine new plays.

Toad The Wet Sprocket – Something’s Always Wrong
iTunes stats: 29 plays, most recently on 7/28/2022

Peaking one spot shy of the top 40, the Toad hit picked up another five plays over the past four years.