Tag / Aerosmith

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Mix Tape Monday Revisited– Volume 10

Between 1989, my sophomore year of high school, and 1995, my fourth year of college, I put together 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.  Three years ago, we looked back at all 20 volumes and which of my “favorite” songs I still listened to.  Today, we revisit those mix tapes and see how things have changed in the last 3 years.

Volume 10 covers the spring and summer of 1993, following my freshman year of college, and features the top rap and alternative hits of the summer, along with some pop and the last remnants of hair metal.

Side A

Pearl Jam – Black

The first song from Pear Jam’s post-video phase, falling victim to my Pearl Jam burnout, was only listened to once in the past 3 years.

2012 iTunes stats: 5 plays

2015 iTunes stats: 6 plays, most recently on 8/3/2014

Def Leppard – Two Steps Behind

The big hit from Arnold Schwarzenegger’s bomb Last Action Hero, originally recorded from The Blaze during a nightly song battle, garnered only 2 additional listens over the last 3 years.

2012 iTunes stats: 5 plays

2015 iTunes stats: 7 plays, most recently on 1/10/2015

UB40 – Can’t Help Falling In Love

Somehow, the big hit from the Sliver soundtrack completely escaped my notice over the past 3 years.

2012 iTunes stats: 8 plays

2015 iTunes stats: 8 plays, most recently on 5/1/2012

Aerosmith – Cryin’

Only 2 additional listens for the first installment of Alicia Silverstone’s video trilogy.

2012 iTunes stats: 4 plays

2015 iTunes stats: 6 plays, most recently on 4/24/2014

TLC – Get It Up

I did acquire the “hit” from the Poetic Justice soundtrack at some point over the past 3 years, but still have not listened to it.

2015 iTunes stats: Never played

4 Non Blondes – What’s Up?

A large increase of 7 listens for the ubiquitous debut from 4 Non Blondes.

2012 iTunes stats: 9 plays

2015 iTunes stats: 16 plays, most recently on 5/1/2015

whoompTag Team – Whoomp! (There It Is)

The unofficial theme to the Bulls third straight NBA championship, who showed up for 90s night at the game I attended in February, added 5 new listens over the past 3 years.

2012 iTunes stats: 8 plays

2015 iTunes stats: 13 plays, most recently on 2/27/2015

Side B

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by admin

Mix Tape Monday Revisited – Volume 9

Between 1989, my sophomore year of high school, and 1995, my fourth year of college, I put together 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.  Three years ago, we looked back at all 20 volumes and which of my “favorite” songs I still listened to.  Today, we revisit those mix tapes and see how things have changed in the last 3 years.

Volume 9 places us squarely in the early months of 1993, overlapping with the second semester of my freshman year of college.  The hip hop and pop are rounded out with some alternative and what passes for hair metal in the post-grunge era.

Side A

Dan Baird – I Love You Period

Despite not knowing if this song ever got radio play in the state of Illinois, I’ve somehow more than quadrupled its listens over the past 3 years..

2012 iTunes stats: 2 plays

2015 iTunes stats: 9 plays, most recently on 3/9/2015

Ugly Kid Joe – Cats In The Cradle

Only 2 additional listens for this cover of the Harry Chapin hit.

2012 iTunes stats: 4 plays

2015 iTunes stats: 6 plays, most recently on 5/21/2013

Arrested Development – Mr. Wendal

The story of a wise homeless man managed to more than double its number of plays over the past 3 years.

2012 iTunes stats: 5 plays

2015 iTunes stats: 12 plays, most recently on 10/14/2014

Naughty By Nature – Hip Hop Hooray

A slight increase for the hip hop anthem.

2012 iTunes stats: 8 plays

2015 iTunes stats: 12 plays, most recently on 4/15/2015

Positive K – I Got A Man

The one hit for Positive K garnered a slight increase in the last 3 years.

2012 iTunes stats: 6 plays

2015 iTunes stats: 10 plays, most recently on 8/14/2014

REM – Man On The Moon

A slight increase for this tribute to Andy Kaufman.

2012iTunes stats: 2 plays

2015 iTunes stats: 5 plays, most recently on 4/1/2015

Aerosmith – Livin’ On The Edge

The first hit from the first CD I bought at a midnight release, at the Musicland that would eventually become Kazoo’s, managed a slight increase over the past 3 years.

2012 iTunes stats: 2 plays

2015 iTunes stats: 5 plays, most recently on 8/4/2014

Side B

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by admin

Mix Tape Monday – Volume 2 Revisited

Between 1989, my sophomore year of high school, and 1995, my fourth year of college, I put together 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.  Three years ago, we looked  back at all 20 volumes and which of my “favorite” songs I still listen to today.  Today, we revisit those mix tapes and see how things have changed in the last 3 years.

Volume 2 picks up in early 1990 and takes us through early summer, book-ended by Roxette hits and featuring another steady stream of hair metal and pop, with a little rap and R&B thrown in for flavor.

Side A

Roxette – Dangerous

This big hit from Roxette nearly doubled its play total over the past 3 years.

2012 iTunes stats: 7 plays

2015 iTunes stats: 12 plays, most recently on 10/28/2013

Skid Row – Youth Gone Wild

The first release from Skid Row did manage to double its play total, despite my not having listened to it in over a year.

2012 iTunes stats: 4 plays

2015 iTunes stats: 8 plays, most recently on 11/4/2013

Biz Markie – Just A Friend

Another doubling, this time for the one hit wonder.

2012 iTunes stats: 6 plays

2015 iTunes stats: 12 plays, most recently on 12/4/2014

Motley Crue – Without You

One of the songs I had listened to the most back in 2012 only got one additional spin since then.

2012 iTunes stats: 10 plays

2015 iTunes stats: 11 plays, most recently on 4/27/2013

Aerosmith – What It Takes

Aerosmtih returns to my charts with this smash hit, which I haven’t heard as much of over the last 3 years.

2012 iTunes stats: 8 plays

2015 iTunes stats: 12 plays, most recently on 3/24/2015

MC Hammer – U Can’t Touch This

The song that put MC Hammer on the map doubled its play total over the past 3 years..

2012 iTunes stats: 3 plays

2015 iTunes stats: 6 plays, most recently on 8/15/2014

Aerosmith – Rag Doll

Aerosmith, which makes another appearance on this tape thanks to my absconding my friend Scott’s cassette of their previous album, also doubled its play total.

2012 iTunes stats: 3 plays

2015 iTunes stats: 6 plays, most recently on 3/7/2015

Side B

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by admin

Mix Tape Monday – Volume 1 Revisited

Between 1989, my sophomore year of high school, and 1995, my fourth year of college, I put together 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.  Three years ago, we looked back at all 20 volumes and which of my “favorite” songs I still listened to.  Today, we revisit those mix tapes and see how things have changed in the last 3 years.

Volume 1, again, was started in 1989 when I was a sophomore and stretches to early 1990.  It features a steady stream of hair metal, with a smattering of pop, rap and dance thrown in for good measure.

Side A

Warrant – Heaven

The massive hit that put Warrant on the map doubled the number of times I listened to it in the last 3 years.

2012 iTunes stats: 3 plays

2015 iTunes stats: 6 plays, most recently on 7/1/2014

Young MC – Bust A Move

One of the first tunes I bought on cassingle, this one hit wonder had an impressive increase, despite not having been heard in nearly a year and a half.

2012 iTunes stats: 13 plays

2015 iTunes stats: 20 plays, most recently on 11/23/2013

New Kids Got Run Over By A Reindeer

I doubt I will ever track down this parody song from the Welch & Woody morning show on Z95.

Bon Jovi – You Give Love A Bad Name

The old hit from Bon Jovi has only gotten 1 play in the last 3 years, and that was nearly 2 years ago.

2012 iTunes stats: 5 plays

2015 iTunes stats: 6 plays, most recently on 7/10/2013

B-52s –  Love Shack

I’m still waiting to pick up the full version of the song on MP3, which may explain why I’ve only listened to it once in the last three years.

2012 iTunes stats: 2 plays

2015 iTunes stats: 3 plays, most recently on 7/2/2014

Paula Abdul – The Way That You Love Me

Paula Abdul got her first listen earlier this month.

2012 iTunes stats: 0 plays

2015 iTunes stats: 1 play, most recently on 3/12/2015

Richard Marx – Right Here Waiting

The smash ballad that gave Marx his third straight #1 increased its play total by 2.

2012 iTunes stats: 1 play

2015 iTunes stats: 3 plays, most recently on 9/26/2014

Side B

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by admin

Top 200 Albums – #1 – 10

itunes_imageMy latest desktop computer arrived in late 2007, at which point I transitioned all of my music off of my laptop. 2 iPods, 3 iPhones, and an iPad later, that computer is still my main repository of music, with iTunes updating its stats every time I listen to something.

Having already gone through cassette tapes and CDs, and digital music, it’s time to roll everything up with the Top 200 albums whose songs I’ve listened to as of September 2014, according to iTunes. Today we finish up the list and look at the top 10 albums that I have listened to the most.

#1: The Cast of Buffy The Vampire Slaying – Once More, With Feeling
iTunes stats: 326 plays
The soundtrack album to the musical episode of Buffy The Vampire Slayer takes the top spot thanks to 21 of the 23 tunes from the album.

#2: Various Artists – The Muppets
iTunes stats: 287 plays
The entire album contributed to this total for the soundtrack album from the big Muppets comeback movie in 2011.

#3: The Lonely Island – Incredibad
iTunes stats: 181 plays
7 tracks from the debut album, most of which originated as digital shorts on SNL.

#4: Foo Fighters – Live In Hyde Park 2006
iTunes stats: 180 plays
This bootleg makes the list thanks to 8 live versions of the band’s greatest hits.

#5: Various Artists – Billboard’s Top Rock ‘n’ Roll Hits: 1969
iTunes stats: 171 plays
8 of the 10 songs on this album contributed to this total, with the vast majority coming from Steam, thanks to its connection with the White Sox.

#6: Tegan and Sara – So Jealous
iTunes stats: 156 plays
The entire album, which I have also had loaded in my car’s CD player since 2005, makes up this total.

#7: Aerosmith – O, Yeah! Ultimate Aerosmith Hits
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by admin

Commuting Fun

A Tuesday night commute that took well over an hour and a half was spent, not with the iPhone on shuffle, but working my way through the Ws.

Weed Card Garfunkel and Oates All Over Your Face 9/16/2014 4:32 PM
Welcome Back (Kotter) John Sebastian The Best Of John Sebastian 9/16/2014 4:35 PM
Welcome To Paradise Green Day Dookie 9/16/2014 4:39 PM
Welcome To The Jungle Guns N’ Roses Appetite For Destruction 9/16/2014 4:44 PM
Were Not Gonna Take It Twisted Sister Stay Hungry 9/16/2014 4:49 PM
Werewolves Of London Warren Zevon Excitable Boy 9/16/2014 4:52 PM
What A Wonderful World Joey Ramone Music From Gilmore Girls 9/16/2014 4:55 PM
What A Wonderful World Louis Armstrong Louis Armstrong’s All-Time Greatest Hits 9/16/2014 4:57 PM
What About Your Friends TLC Ooooooohhh…On The TLC Tip 9/16/2014 5:02 PM
What Do I Have To Do? Stabbing Westward Wither Blister Burn & Peel 9/16/2014 5:05 PM
What Happened To You? The Offspring Smash 9/16/2014 5:08 PM
What I Am Continue reading →
by admin

Concert Flashback: Aerosmith

94aerosmithWith summer winding down and just a few weeks before it was time to head back down to college, Aerosmith and Jackyl rolled in to the World Music Theatre.  I don’t really remember who came along to this show, but my guess is that the usual band of suspects were there,  I’m going to be completely honest and say I don’t remember much of anything about this show at all.

Jackyl opened up the show and, based on their setlist, it wouldn’t have been too exciting.  Of their 8 song set, I’ve only heard of 2 of the songs, and only really liked 1 of them.

Looking back at Aerosmith’s setlist from the night in question, I’m struck more by the songs they didn’t play than the ones they did.  They managed to get 8 songs from their latest album into the show, which meant there was no room for older favorites like What It Takes, Angel, and Back In The Saddle, to name a few.  Beyond those 8, it was a pretty good mix of songs from their initial 70s heyday and their post-Run DMC resurrection.

by jim

iTunes Top 100 Artists: #1-10

itunes_image

My latest desktop computer arrived in late 2007, at which point I transitioned all of my music off of my laptop. 2 iPods, 2 iPhones, and an iPad later, that computer is still my main repository of music, with iTunes updating its stats every time I listen to something.

Having already gone through cassette tapes and CDs, and digital music, it’s time to roll everything up with the Top 100 artists that I’ve listened to as of 8/21/2013, according to iTunes. Today we finally get to the top 10 and the end of this journey.

#1: The Beatles

iTunes stats: 665 plays

The boys from Liverpool used 95 different songs to make up this total.  The most impressive thing is that the total should be higher, as all of the counts got reset back to zero when the remastered albums came out in 2009 and I deleted all of the old versions and ripped the remastered versions.

#2: Garbage

iTunes stats: 614 plays

I have seen this band live 4 times over the past 11 years, and look forward to doing so again in the future.  There are 112 songs, many of which are live versions, that made up the total.

#3: Foo Fighters

iTunes stats: 425 plays

Only 39 songs put the Foo Fighters in third place with nobody on their tail.  I saw the Foo Fighters with Weezer back in 2005 and would love to do so again.

#4: The Cast Of Buffy The Vampire Slayer

iTunes stats: 307 plays

Back in 2001, during the sixth season of Buffy The Vampire Slayer, the show produced a musical episode as Buffy and the Scooby Gang battled the musical demon Sweet.  The following year, the soundtrack was released, and those 21 songs make up this total.  One of the standouts was Amber Benson, who autographed my copy of the CD at a Wizard World appearance back in 2004.

#5: Tegan and Sara

iTunes stats: 274 plays

An even 50 songs combined to make up this total for the Canadian sisters.  I saw them live back in 2005, less than a week after the Foo Fighters/Weezer show and the same day the White Sox won the ALDS against the Red Sox.  It was a busy week.

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by admin

Ballpark Tour: Comiskey Park

comiskeyout2

Stadium Name: Comiskey Park

Location: Chicago

Home Team: White Sox

Years in Service: 1910 – 1990

Visits: 12 (that I’m aware of)

Comiskey Park, the so-called Baseball Palace of the World, was the home of the White Sox from 1910 through the 1990 season.  Built on a former city dump at the corner of 35th Street and Shields Avenue, the stadium opened as White Sox Park on July 1, 1910, as the White Sox lost to the St. Louis Browns 2-0.  In 1913, owner Charles Comiskey renamed the stadium after himself, and Comiskey Park was born.  From 1962 until 1975, the White Sox Park name was officially re-establshed, as new ownership groups tried to separate themselves from the Comiskey name.  However, Bill Veeck, in his second tour of duty as owner of the White Sox, put the Comiskey Park name back on the stadium in 1976, where it remained until 1990.  The final game for the old ballyard occurred on September 30, 1990, a 2-1 victory over the Mariners.

Comiskey Park was the host for 4 World Series contests, including 3 in a row from 1917-1919.  The White Sox won the World Series in 1917 against the New York Giants.  The Cubs, looking for a larger seating capacity, moved their home games in the 1918 series against the Red Sox to Comiskey Park.  The 1919 World Series, of course, was the Black Sox scandal, where the White Sox threw the series against the Reds.  The White Sox returned to the World Series 40 years later in 1959, but fell to the Dodgers.  The final post-season games to be played in Comiskey Park were games 3 and 4 of the 1983 ALCS, which the White Sox lost to the Baltimore Orioles.

Comiskey Park was also the host to 3 All-Star games.  The first All-Star game ever, in 1933, was held in conjunction with Century of Progress Exposition being held on Chicago’s lakefront.  The event returned to Chicago’s south side in 1950.  The final All-Star game at Comiskey Park was in 1983, the 50th anniversary of the first game.  Comiskey Park was also the frequent home of the Negro League East-West All-Star Game from 1933 to 1960.

In addition to White Sox baseball, Comiskey Park was also the home to the Chicago American Giants of the Negro Leagues, the Chicago Cardinals of the NFL, and the Chicago Sting of the NASL.  Comiskey Park also hosted numerous boxing matches, including the 1937 heavyweight title match where Joe Louis defeated then champion James J. Braddock.  The Beatles played two concerts at Comiskey Park in August of 1965.  Other musical acts to perform there include Aerosmith, AC/DC, The Eagles, The Police, Simon & Garfunkel, and The Jacksons, who performed 3 shows during their Victory tour in October of 1984.

Looking back, I’ve been able to piece together evidence of 12 games that I attended at Comiskey Park.  I know there are more, but I have not been able to pinpoint exact games yet.  The most memorable game I can remember would be the final night game, on September 29, 1990, where, after the game, the lights were symbolically turned off for the final time.

by admin

Goodbye, iPhone 4S – Music Edition

A little more than a week ago, I upgraded my phone from the iPhone 4S to the newly released iPhone 5S.  The biggest difference, aside from a slightly bigger screen, is the jump from 3G (or 4G, if you believe AT&T’s hype) to LTE.  I had the 4S for a little under 2 years, and in that time, we traveled the world together (well, at least going back to the UK) and have listened to a lot of podcasts and music. Here is every song (all 2079 of them) I’ve listened to on the phone, with some (ok, very little) bonus commentary.  Godspeed.

 

Let’s Go-Go-Go White Sox Captain Stubby and the Buccaneers 33
He’s a Pirate Klaus Badelt Pirates of the Caribbean (Soundtrack from the Motion Picture) 32
Take Me Out To The Ballgame Harry Caray 31
Thunderstruck AC/DC The Razors Edge 31
Gordon Beckham Intro 29
Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye Steam Billboard’s Top Rock ‘n’ Roll Hits: 1969 29
Don’t Stop Believin’ Journey Journey’s Greatest Hits 27
sox05_montage 27
We Are The Champions Queen Queen: Greatest Hits I & II 27
Your Love The Outfield Play Deep 27
2008 White Sox Central Division Champs Montage Chris Tannehill WSCR 670 The Score 25
Take Me Out To The Ballgame Nancy Faust 25
Harvester Of Sorrow Metallica …And Justice For All 20

You would hope that these numbers would have been higher, but this past season’s miserable performance by the White Sox has put the songs on their playlist out of mind more often than not.

Cannonball The Breeders The First 1000 Years- Rock 19
Man Or Muppet Jason Segel The Muppets 15
It’s Time For Our Song Miss Piggy The Muppets 14
Get Out There And Help Those Guys Jason Segel The Muppets 13
Main Title LOST Soundtrack LOST Soundtrack 13
Are You A Man Or A Muppet? Amy Adams The Muppets 12
How Charming, A Finale Uncle Deadly The Muppets 12
I’m On A Boat (ft. T-Pain) The Lonely Island Incredibad 12
Down At The Ole Barbershop Kermit The Muppets 11
Me and Drugs David Cross Bigger and Blackerer 11
The Antichrist Howard Stern Private Parts: The Album 11
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