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.

On October 14, 1994, I hopped in the car with some friends, crossed the Wabash River into Lafayette, and pulled into the local movie theater.  I hadn’t heard of the movie before, but I was up for an entertaining time.  Over the next 154 minutes, a tour de force was unleashed upon the screen, thanks to John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Bruce Willis, Tim Roth, Ving Rhames, and Uma Thurman, among others.  That’s right, I had somehow managed to see Pulp Fiction on its opening night.

Over the coming weeks, it was everywhere: quotes flying around campus, songs from the soundtrack on the radio, and its stars all over late-night television.  The movie was inescapable.  Nearly 30 years later, it still is, in some ways.  I can’t tell you the last time I watched it, though I have a special edition DVD sitting on the shelf behind me.  But it has permeated pop-culture so thoroughly that it feels like I’ve just seen it all over again.

Volume 16 takes us from the early fall of 1994 towards the end of the year and the first semester of my junior year of college. The song selection is nearly completely alternative, with just one or two hip-hop and pop hits to go along with it.

Side A

Hole – Doll Parts
iTunes stats: 34 plays, most recently on 11/4/2021

The band’s first release after the death of bassist Kristen Pfaff in June 1994 picked up an additional six listens over the last four years.

Live – I Alone
iTunes stats: 21 plays, most recently on 11/23/2022

Ranked as the 62nd best song of the 90s by VH1, the band’s second single added five listens over the last four years.

Deadeye Dick – New Age Girl
iTunes stats: 16 plays, most recently on 12/31/2022

The one hit wonder, featured on the Dumb and Dumber soundtrack, doubled its listens.

Nirvana – About A Girl
iTunes stats: 31 plays, most recently on 10/10/2022

An additional eight listens for this performance from MTV Unplugged, which reached #1 on Billboard’s Modern Rock Tracks chart.

Aerosmith – Blind Man
iTunes stats: 17 plays, most recently on 8/21/2020

The extra B-side thrown onto Aerosmith’s then-current greatest hits package picked up five new listens, despite not being heard in over two years.

Real McCoy – Another Night
iTunes stats: 15 plays, most recently on 10/5/2019

Last heard a good four months before anyone had heard of the corona virus, the international dance hit, ranked as both the 63rd best single of 1994 and the sixth best of 1995, added five new plays to its total since last we checked.

Warren G – Do You See
iTunes stats: 10 plays, most recently on 10/4/2021

A 250% increase in plays for this Warren G release, which failed to make the Top 40 in the US and hasn’t been heard over a year.

Urge Overkill – Girl, You’ll Be A Woman Soon
iTunes stats: 30 plays, most recently on 11/5/2021

The Neil Diamond cover, featured on the Pulp Fiction soundtrack, added seven additional plays over these last four years.

Side B

R.E.M. – Bang and Blame
iTunes stats: 18 plays, most recently on 6/9/2021

The last R.E.M. song to breach the Top 20 on the Billboard charts, peaking at number 19, the tune from the boys from Athens, GA picked up a mere four new plays over the past four years.

The Murmurs – You Suck
iTunes stats: 16 plays, most recently on 7/16/2021

A much bigger hit in Norway than in the US, the one semi-hit for The Murmurs, featuring actress Leisha Hailey, added seven listens over these past four years.

Weezer – Buddy Holly
iTunes stats: 36 plays, most recently on 12/31/2022

Released on what would have been Buddy Holly’s 58th birthday, the big breakthrough hit for Weezer, which scored four MTV Video Music Awards in 1995, managed to add eight plays in the past four years.

The Flaming Lips – She Don’t Use Jelly
iTunes stats: 21 plays, most recently on 3/26/2022

A small three-listen increase for the only Flaming Lips song to chart on the Billboard Hot 100.

Green Day – When I Come Around
iTunes stats: 19 plays, most recently on 2/3/2020

Topping Billboard’s Alternative Songs chart for a then-record seven weeks, the third single from Green Day’s major label debut added seven new listens despite last being heard prior to the start of the pandemic.

Veruca Salt – Victrola
iTunes stats: 27 plays, most recently on 2/7/2020

Just five new plays for the third single from Veruca Salt’s debut album, which failed to chart in the US or UK and hasn’t been heard since the world shut down.

Liz Phair – Whip-Smart
iTunes stats: 11 plays, most recently on 6/22/2021

Peaking at #24 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart, the final single from Phair’s sophomore effort managed to nearly triple its output in the last four years.

Pearl Jam – Spin The Black Circle
iTunes stats: 24 plays, most recently on 5/15/2022

Garnering Pearl Jam their first, and, so far, only, Grammy, the tune picked up five new listens in the past four years.

The Offspring – Gotta Get Away
iTunes stats: 15 plays, most recently on 9/1/2022

Only four new listens for the third release from The Offspring, which reached #6 on Billboard’s Modern Rock charts.