Category / Music

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2023: The Year In Live Performances

2023 was a slow year for live performances.  I only managed to get to one concert and one exhibition, both since the start of November.

On April 10, 1994, while watching 120 Minutes in my dorm room late on a Sunday night, I saw the video for Liz Phair’s Never Said, the lead single from her debut album, for the first time.  Nearly 30 years later, she came to the Chicago Theatre for the 30th anniversary of the release of Exile in Guyville.

This was my third time seeing Phair perform live, and the first in nearly twenty years.  She’s become a more confident performer, finally getting over the stage fright that plagued her early career.  She performed every song from the album, many I haven’t heard in years, if not decades.  Overall, a good experience.  Here’s hoping to more live music in 2024.

In the waning days of 2023, the family headed into the city to the Exhibition Hub Art Center for Disney 100: The Exhibition.  To celebrate the 100th anniversary of what would become the Walt Disney Company, the company has opened its archives, showcasing more than 250 artifacts and works of art, costumes and props, and incredible memorabilia.  Unfortunately, Michael was unable to join us, but the rest of us took a trip through Disney’s past, including more recent additions like the Star Wars and Marvel universes.

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A Year Of Activities

For the first time in my 49 years, I managed to attend a ticketed event in every month of 2023. Let’s take a look back and see what I had going on this year.
The first quarter of the year is typically the quietest for me.  This year started strong, with a trip to Florida for the Citrus Bowl on January 2nd.  College basketball ruled the day in February, with my first trip to Bloomington, Indiana coming that first weekend.  The Big Ten Tournament rolled into the United Center in March, making me three for three to start out the year.

The second quarter brings the start of baseball season, which easily knocked out the next three months.  I added 19 games over these three months, which included the Orioles against the White Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field in April, the Mets battling the Cubs at Wrigley Field in May, and my first-ever visit to T-Mobile Park in June to see the White Sox play the Mariners. Continue reading →

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All That Glitters Is Gold

Steve Harwell, the former lead singer for Smash Mouth, died Monday at the age of 56 due to chronic liver failure, just one day after entering hospice.  Harwell retired from the band in 2021 after cardiomyopathy and Wernicke encephalopathy led to him being intoxicated and threatening audience members during a performance at a beer and wine festival.  His drinking was known to be out of control following the death of his six-month old son in 2001 due to acute lymphocytic leukemia.

I saw Harwell, and Smash Mouth, perform in May of 2008 when they performed at the opening-night party for the JavaOne Conference.  I don’t recall much of their set, other than a multi-song set of Van Halen covers in the middle of their performance.

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Yet Another Mix Tape Monday Roundup

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 3 years.

Last week, we finished up the last of the 20 volumes.  The 287 songs from 144 different bands or performers have been played an average of more than 22 times each, according to my iTunes stats, up from just under sixteen times four years ago. The lack of a commute over most of these four years has certainly made an impact, as the gains are considerably lower than they’ve been in the past.  Let’s take one final look back at the bands and songs that made up my youth.

Most Played Song

62 – Boyz II Men – It’s So Hard To Say Goodbye
62 – Tag Team – Whoomp! (There It Is)
54 – Snoop Dogg – What’s My Name?
51 – Veruca Salt – Seether
47 – Snoop Dogg – Gin And Juice
47 – Bell Biv Devoe – Poison

Least Played Song

7 – Bon Jovi – 99 In The Shade
8 – TLC – Get It Up
9 – Silk – Freak Me
9 – Shanice – Saving Forever For You
10 – Saigon Kick – Love Is On The Way
10 – Madonna – Vogue
10 – Def Leppard – Miss You In A Heartbeat
10 – Bon Jovi – Lay Your Hands On Me
10 – Edwyn Collins – A Girl Like You
10 – Warren G – Do You See

Most Played Song – Largest Total Increase

19 – Tag Team – Whoomp! (There It Is)
15 – Snoop Dogg – What’s My Name?
15 – Stone Temple Pilots – Creep
14 – Cranberries – Zombie
14 – Boyz II Men – It’s So Hard To Say Goodbye

Least Played Song – Smallest Total Increase

0 – Offspring – What Happened To You?
1 – Nelson – Love And Affection
1 – Bon Jovi – 99 In The Shade
2 – Ugly Kid Joe – Everything About You
2 – Soup Dragons – Divine Thing
2 – Weezer – Say It Ain’t So
2 – Bon Jovi – You Give Love A Bad Name
2 – Ugly Kid Joe – Busy Bee
2 – Genesis – I Can’t Dance
2 – Poison – Every Rose Has It’s Thorn
2 – Silk – Freak Me

Most Played Song – Largest Percentage Increase

175% – Liz Phair – Whip-Smart
166.67% – 4 Non Blondes – Spaceman
150% – Warren G – Do You See
137.5% – Aerosmith – Living On The Edge
133.33% – Radiohead – Stop Whispering

Least Played Song – Smallest Percentage Increase

0% – Offspring – What Happened To You?
9.09% – Nelson – Love And Affection
9.09% – Ugly Kid Joe – Everything About You
9.67% – Warrant – Cherry Pie
10% – Soup Dragons – Divine Thing

Most Represented Band

11 – Poison
10 – Aerosmith
10 – Pearl Jam
7 – Def Leppard
7 – Guns N’ Roses

Most Played Tape

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Yet Another Mix Tape Monday – Volume 20

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.

At some point during the 1995-1996 school year, I noticed a slowdown in the tape players on my boombox.  It bothered me enough that I brought it in for repair multiple times, getting new heads installed, but nothing seemed to work.  Or, at least nothing made me feel like they worked and I, at least, still heard a lag.  On the plus side, I did manage to come home with a Blizzard of Oz cassette, which one of the techs must have used for testing it and left in the compartment when it was returned to me.  But, my frustration with the ongoing effort led to end for this series of tapes, with the last volume just barely stretching on to Side B.

We wrap up our look back with Volume 20, which stretches over late 1995 and the fall semester of the first of my two senior years of college, while I was living in Hilltop Apartments.

Side A

Smashing Pumpkins – Bullet With Butterfly Wings
iTunes stats: 22 plays, most recently on 7/13/2022

Winner of the 1997 Grammy award for Best Hard Rock Performance, the first single from the Pumpkins double album opus picked up only five new listens over the past four years.

Melissa Etheridge – Your Little Secret

The first single from Melissa Etheridge’s under-performing follow-up to her smash hit album continues to be missing from my collection.

Lisa Loeb – Do You Sleep
iTunes stats: 23 plays, most recently on 2/11/2020

The third single from Lisa Loeb’s major label debut, which peaked at #18 on the Billboard charts, was last heard prior to the global shutdown in March of 2020.

Goo Goo Dolls – Name
iTunes stats: 13 plays, most recently on 8/24/2022

A mere eleven play increase over the past decade for this breakthrough hit, which reached #5 on the Billboard charts.

Collective Soul – The World I Know
iTunes stats: 14 plays, most recently on 9/12/2022

The band’s highest charting single in Canada, it has picked up only five listens since mid-2018.

Edwyn Collins – A Girl Like You
iTunes stats: 10 plays, most recently on 7/8/2021

Featured on the Empire Records soundtrack, the song went years without being heard, but managed to pick up an additional five plays in the last four years.

Garbage – Queer
iTunes stats: 28 plays, most recently on 5/14/2021

Originally recorded off of Q101, the breakthrough hit, which led to nine concerts over the past 20 years added just five listens since 2019.

Side B

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Yet Another Mix Tape Monday – Volume 19

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.

I’ve done some crazy things over the years in an attempt to impress a girl that I liked.  One of the earliest was to buy tickets for a concert I really had no interest in attending just because my crush at the time liked the band’s one hit.  I had a couple things working against me: 1) she already had a boyfriend and 2) they were going to an earlier show on the tour and thus she saw the band the week before.  This is the story of I how I ended up at the Metro on the day after my 21st birthday watching Tripping Daisy with a couple hundred of my closest friends.

One of the upsides of a global pandemic and my subsequent move to remote work is that I don’t come across people  and thus no longer have any crushes to try and impress.  Saves me both time and money.

Volume 19 stretches from late summer 1995 and into the fall semester of the first of my two senior years of college.  Again, it mostly features what was considered alternative music, with Coolio interjecting some street flavor for good measure.

Side A

Tripping Daisy – I Got A Girl
iTunes stats: 14 plays, most recently on 12/10/2021

The one hit for Tripping Daisy, who I saw in concert the day after my 21st birthday, managed to make its way into my rotation a mere three times over the last four years.

Foo Fighters – This Is A Call
iTunes stats: 37 plays, most recently on 6/4/2021

Written a few months after the death of Kurt Cobain, the debut for Dave Grohl’s new venture earned eleven additional plays over these past four years.

Pearl Jam – Whipping
iTunes stats: 14 plays, most recently on 11/10/2022

Six new listens for the final appearance of Pearl Jam on these collections, which received plenty of airplay on Q101 despite not being officially released as a single.

Hootie and the Blowfish – Only Wanna Be With You
iTunes stats: 15 plays, most recently on 3/23/2022

Hootie’s ode to, among other things, the Miami Dolphins added seven new listens in the past four years.

Elastica – Stutter
iTunes stats: 12 plays, most recently on 5/20/2022

Originally released in November 1993, it was re-released the following year, made its way to radio in 1995, and doubled its listens over the past four years.

Cranberries – Ridiculous Thoughts
iTunes stats: 13 plays, most recently on 11/19/2019

Four listens for the latest from the Cranberries, though none since the world stopped thanks to COVID.

Green Day – J.A.R.
iTunes stats: 17 plays, most recently on 7/9/2022

Green Day’s contribution to the Angus soundtrack picked up a mere four listens over the past four years.

Alanis Morissette – Hand In My Pocket
iTunes stats: 21 plays, most recently on 11/20/2021

Hitting #4 on the Billboard charts, the second release from the juggernaut that was Jagged Little Pill added seven listens in the past four years.

Side B

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Yet Another Mix Tape Monday – Volume 18

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 18 covers the summer of 1995, the first summer that I worked at First Suburban National Bank in Maywood.  I would end up spending three summers working there, the first two as a teller and the third attempting to create a database to track their safe deposit boxes.  I met a lot of interesting people from many different backgrounds, some of whom became friends for a time.

After I graduated and started working towards my career, my involvement at the bank started decreasing.  For a while, I kept my bank account there and would occasionally pop in to see how the old gang was doing, but eventually the on-site branch of a much-larger banking institution got my business.  By October of 2010, when the bank was closed by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, I no longer had any contact with anyone from the bank.

Side A

Stone Temple Pilots – Dancing Days
iTunes stats: 37 plays, most recently on 12/22/2022

A radio hit despite never being officially released as a single, the Led Zeppelin cover added ten new listens to its impressive total over the past four years.

PJ Harvey – Down By The Water
iTunes stats: 24 plays, most recently on 5/26/2021

Eight new plays for the surprise mainstream hit by the indie darling, which hit #2 on Billboard’s Modern Rock Tracks chart.

R.E.M. – Strange Currencies
iTunes stats: 12 plays, most recently on 9/9/2022

Nearly left off the Monster album due to its rhythmic similarities to Everybody Hurts, the song picked up five new plays over the past four years.

Live – All Over You
iTunes stats: 22 plays, most recently on 6/7/2022

Hitting #4 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart despite never being released as a single in the US, Live’s latest has more than doubled its plays in the last four years.

Soul Asylum – Misery
iTunes stats: 18 plays, most recently on 3/1/2022

Originally recorded off of Q101, the debut single from Soul Asylum’s follow-up to their breakthrough album added seven new listens over these past four years.

Collective Soul – December
iTunes stats: 18 plays, most recently on 5/13/2022

Peaking at #20 on the Billboard charts, the second single from the band’s second album more than doubled its output over the last four years.

Elastica – Connection
iTunes stats: 21 plays, most recently on 5/9/2022

The first US hit from Elastica, peaking at #53 on the Billboard charts, added just four listens in the last four years.

Juliana Hatfield – Universal Heart-Beat
iTunes stats: 21 plays, most recently on 12/22/2022

Hitting #5 on the Modern Rock Tracks charts, the solo release from Juliana Hatfield garnered eight additional listens in the last four years.

Side B

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Yet Another Mix Tape Monday – Volume 17

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.

Courtney Love is certainly one of the more interesting characters to come out of the 90s.  She moved to LA in the 80s, hoping for an acting career, but managed just a few bit parts before forming Hole with guitarist Eric Erlandson in 1989.  Following the release of their first album, Pretty on the Inside, in 1991, Love briefly dated Billy Corgan and Kurt Cobain.  By late 1991, Love and Cobain had re-united and, in February of 1992, the pair were married.

In October of 1993, Hole recorded their second album, Live Through This, which, according to rumors, was heavily ghost-written by Cobain.  The album was released on April 12, 1994, just one week following Cobain’s suicide.  The album was both a critical, and commercial, success, opening more doors for Love.  When not touring, she returned back to Hollywood, getting small roles in Basquiat and Feeling Minnesota before scoring a starring role in The People vs. Larry Flynt.

1998 saw the release of Celebrity Skin, the band’s last album before disbanding in 2002.  Love’s former boyfriend Billy Corgan, by now a huge star in his own right, officially has co-writer credit on five of the album’s twelve tracks, including the first two singles.  Rumors, again, say he had a much larger part in defining the sound of the album.

Thirty years later, YouTube videos have started calling into question Love’s musical talents.  Isolated tracks of her voice and guitar playing during live performances show a dramatic difference from the album versions.  How much of Hole’s success was due to Love and how much was due to her romantic relationships?  We probably will never know.

What we do know is the Hole appears twice on Volume 17, which picks up in early 1995 and the second semester of my junior year and takes us into early summer.  At this point, it is nearly all alternative, with just one hip-hop breakthrough.

Side A

Hole – Asking For It
iTunes stats: 21 plays, most recently on 4/22/2021

One of three Hole songs to officially feature a contribution from Kurt Cobain, the latest from Courtney Love and company increased its play total by four after and hasn’t been heard in well over a year.

Cranberries – Twenty One
iTunes stats: 13 plays, most recently on 6/6/2021

The minor hit from the band’s second album more than doubled its number of plays in the last four years.

Veruca Salt – Number One Blind
iTunes stats: 25 plays, most recently on 11/11/2021

The follow up single to Seether added eight new listens, despite not being heard in over a year.

Stone Temple Pilots – Unglued
iTunes stats: 33 plays, most recently on 10/21/2022

Peaking at #16 on Billboard’s Modern Rock Tracks chart, the track added ten new plays in the last four years.

Pearl Jam – Better Man
iTunes stats: 14 plays, most recently on 11/9/2019

Last heard prior to the global shutdown thanks to the corona virus, the biggest hit from the grunge superstars’ third album, which spent eight weeks at the top of Mainstream Rock chart, added a paltry three listens.

Nirvana – Where Did You Sleep Last Night
iTunes stats: 12 plays, most recently on 6/8/2022

The traditional American folk song, recorded for MTV Unplugged and released following the death of lead singer Kurt Cobain, picked up a mere five new listens.

Weezer – No One Else
iTunes stats: 23 plays, most recently on 3/19/2021

Never released as a single but with plenty of radio airplay, Weezer’s latest picked up six new listens over the past four years.

Offspring – What Happened To You?
iTunes stats: 20 plays, most recently on 10/14/2018

Not a single listen for the final offering from Offspring’s debut album, which was never officially released as a single.

Side B

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Yet Another Mix Tape Monday – Volume 16

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

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Yet Another Mix Tape Monday – Volume 15

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

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