Tag / Barenaked Ladies

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iTunes Top 200 Artists: #70-80

Music.  It is a powerful thing that brings people together, creates memories, and evokes emotions.  It is the universal language that speaks to the soul.  It forms the soundtrack of our lives.

It has now been five years since we last counted down the Top 200 artists in my iTunes library, featuring the songs I have listened to the most since 2007.  It is time to do so again, seeing which performers still resonate and if any newer ones have joined the fray.  So, without further ado, here are my most listened to artists, based on number of plays as of January 1, 2026.

We continue today with our next batch of ten artists, covering three acts I’ve seen perform live.

#80: The Beastie Boys
iTunes stats: 140 plays
Previous ranking: #76

The hip-hop pioneers, who disbanded in 2012 after Adam Yauch died of cancer, picked up 25 new listens in the last five years, leading to a four-spot drop in the rankings.

#79: Bush
iTunes stats: 141 plays
Previous ranking: #79

The winners of the American Music Award for Favorite Alternative Group in 1998, who I saw in concert back in 1996, picked up 32 additional listens while dropping staying even on the list.

#78: Britney Spears
iTunes stats: 143 plays
Previous ranking: #79

The troubled pop princess and one-time Grammy Award winner (surprised you there, didn’t I) sees a 31% increase in plays over the past five years, going up one spot.

#77: Fiona Apple
iTunes stats: 147 plays
Previous ranking: #77

The Manhattan-born singer/songwriter, who I’ve seen in concert twice, picked up 33 new listens, raising her total 29%.

#76: Black Eyed Peas
Continue reading →

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iTunes Top 200: #19 – 27

Music.  It is a powerful thing that brings people together, creates memories, and evokes emotions.  It is the universal language that speaks to the soul.  It forms the soundtrack of our lives.

It has now been five years since we last counted down the Top 200 songs in my iTunes library, featuring he songs I have listened to the most since 2007.  It is time to do so again, seeing which older songs still resonate and if any newer ones have joined the fray.  So, without further ado, here are my most listened to songs, based on number of plays as of January 1, 2025.

With the top of the charts in sight, we continue this week with songs ranking from 27th place with 56 plays up to those with 65 plays apiece, good enough for 19th place since my stats began in late 2007.

#27: Veruca Salt – Seether
iTunes stats: 56 plays, most recently on 2/5/2024
Previous ranking: #29

The group’s debut single was ranked as the 10th greatest grunge song of all time by Paste magazine in 2014.

#27: Garbage – Bad Boyfriend
iTunes stats: 56 plays, most recently on 10/26/2022
Previous ranking: #23

This lead track from the band’s fourth album features Dave Grohl, of Foo Fighters and Nirvana fame, on drums.

#27: Foo Fighters – Monkey Wrench
iTunes stats: 56 plays, most recently on 10/28/2024
Previous ranking: #36

The first single from the band’s second album, chronicling the disintegration of singer/song writer Dave Grohl’s four-year marriage to Jennifer Youngblood.

#27: Barenaked Ladies – If I Had $1,000,000
iTunes stats: 56 plays, most recently on 2/5/2023
Previous ranking: #23

This live version of the song was recorded at Chicago’s own Metro theatre.

#26: The Cast of Buffy the Vampire Slayer – The Mustard
iTunes stats: 57 plays, most recently on 2/5/2023
Previous ranking: #22

A short interlude from the musical episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer about the joys of dry cleaning.

Continue reading →

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Fifty Years Of Music – 1998

Fifty years ago, I made my first appeared on the Earth.  In celebration, we are going to take a look at the year-end Billboard Hot 100 singles chart for each year of my life and see what songs resonated with me at the time and if they continue to do so to this day.

We continue our look back at the music of my lifetime with 1998, the year I turned 24.  The chart formula for the Hot 100 changed again in December, allowing songs to chart based on airplay alone if there was no commercial single released.  Thanks to my newly acquired hour plus commute, you’d think I’d have picked up more of the music of the day, but the numbers keep going down.  A mere 21 songs remain familiar to me today, with just twelve of them appearing in my collection in one way or another.

#87: Jewel – You Were Meant for Me
iTunes stats: 37 plays

Jewel hits the year-end chart for the second straight year thanks to a total of 65 weeks in the Hot 100.

#81: Spice Girls – Spice Up Your Life
iTunes stats: 9 plays

The lead single from the group’s sophomore album, it peaked at #18 on the Hot 100 in just its fourth week on the chart.

#79: The Verve – Bittersweet Symphony
iTunes stats: N/A

Considered one of the defining songs of the Britpop era, it reached #12.

#74: Edwin McCain – I’ll Be
iTunes stats: 16 plays

McCain’s second charting single, it went to #5, becoming his first and only top ten hit.

#58: Lisa Loeb – I Do
iTunes stats: 16 plays

Peaking at #17, it became Loeb’s second-highest charting single, following her debut single.

#57: Third Eye Blind – Semi-Charmed Life
iTunes stats: 18 plays

The highest charting single about a crystal meth addiction, it reached #4 and spent a total of 43 weeks on the chart.

#51: Barenaked Ladies – One Week
iTunes stats: 17 plays

True to its name, it spent a single week atop the Hot 100 in October.

Continue reading →

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Travelling The 50 States – Nevada

Over my 48 years, I’ve done my fair share of travelling across these United States.  I thought it would be an interesting experiment go look back at those trips to each of the 31 states I have visited (62% isn’t bad, is it?) and see if, and when, I may be returning.  Working in alphabetical order, we continue today with the 36th state to be added to the Union: Nevada

State: Nevada
Joined the Union: 1864
Visits: 2

Nevada has been a mecca for adult entertainment since the 1931, when Nevada legalized casino gambling.  Those casinos in Las Vegas were responsible for both of my trips to the Silver State.

My first trip to Nevada came in 2007, when I spent most of a week in Las Vegas.  Staying at the Luxor, I did some light gambling, took in some shows, saw the funeral procession of Robert Goulet as it went down the Strip, and saw a stand-up performance by Howie Mandel.  To save money, I checked out of my hotel on Friday despite heading home first thing Saturday morning.  I do not recommend this.

My next, and most recent, visit came in 2018 for the IBM Think conference.  I arrived in town on a Sunday, where I headed to Caesar’s Palace to see a little show called Absinthe.  The conference began the next day, with sessions at both the MGM Grand and Mandalay Bay.  Tuesday night’s entertainment was a Barenaked Ladies concert, while Wednesday featured a post-conference concert by The Chainsmokers.  The conference wrapped up on Thursday.

Will I return?  While I have no plans, I’m sure I’ll get there again someday.

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iTunes Top 200 Artists: #71-79

It’s been 4 years since we last counted down the Top 200 artists in my iTunes library.  Since my iTunes stats are still intact, across multiple PCs, iPods, iPads, and iPhones, I figured it was time to take another look at the artists that have entertained me the most based on number of plays from late 2007 through January 1, 2021.

We continue today with the next batch of 10 artists, with the 2 tied for 79th place followed by the single artists at 78th through 71st.

#79: Britney Spears
iTunes stats: 109 plays
Previous ranking: #71

The Grammy Award winner (surprised you there, didn’t I) sees a 79% increase in plays over the past 4 years while dropping 8 spots.

#79: Bush
iTunes stats: 109 plays
Previous ranking: #69

The winners of the American Music Award for Favorite Alternative Group in 1998, who I saw in concert back in 1996, picked up 46 additional listens while dropping 10 slots on the list.

#78: P.O.D.
iTunes stats: 112 plays
Previous ranking: #48

A big 30 spot drop for the band responsible for the entrance music for former White Sox closer Bobby Jenks.

#77: Fiona Apple
iTunes stats: 114 plays
Previous ranking: #81

Doubling her previous total enables the singer I’ve seen in concert twice to move up 4 spots on the chart.

#76: The Beastie Boys
iTunes stats: 115 plays
Previous ranking: #84

59 new listens in the last 4 years bumps the Beastie Boys up 8 spots in the rankings.

#75: U2
Continue reading →

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iTunes Top 200: #21 – 29

itunes_image4 years ago, we last counted down the Top 200 songs in my iTunes library. Since my iTunes stats are still intact, across multiple PCs, iPods, iPads, and iPhones, I figured it was time to take another look at my most listened to songs, based on number of plays as of January 1, 2020.

Today, we breach the 50 listens plateau, according to my iTunes stats dating back to late 2007.

#29: The Lonely Island – Lazy Sunday (ft. Chris Parnell)
iTunes stats: 47 plays, most recently on 10/16/2019
Previous ranking: #20

A bit of a drop down the charts for the original SNL digital short that put the Lonely Island on the pop culture map and defined the phrase “viral video”.

#29: Chance The Rapper – Step Up Part 1
iTunes stats: 47 plays, most recently on 1/24/2019
Previous ranking: Unranked

An auspicious debut for this portion of the hype video the rapper created for the White Sox used during the 2016 season.

#28: Foo Fighters – All My Life
iTunes stats: 49 plays, most recently on 9/25/2019
Previous ranking: #22

A slight decrease for the live version of the song from the Live in Hyde Park bootleg.

#27: Montell Jordan – This Is How We Do It
iTunes stats: 50 plays, most recently on 1/24/2019
Previous ranking: Unranked

A strong debut for the main walk up song for former White Sox outfielder Adam Eaton.

#23: Van Halen – Jump
iTunes stats: 52 plays, most recently on 8/11/2019
Previous ranking: #96

A tremendous jump (see what I did there?) for the song that, for years, was used as the Chicago Cubs took the field at their home games.

#23: Tag Team – Whoomp! There It Is
Continue reading →

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The Still Growing 10,000 Step Club

Last year, as I was finishing up my third year with the Fitbit, I took my last look at the top 25 step days I’ve had since I first started tracking my steps way back in July of 2011.  At the time, I had surpassed the 10,000 step plateau 165 times.  In the past year, I have managed to add an additional 52 occurrences, my best year to date, for a total of 218.  With my fourth year using the Fitbit coming to an end last week, I thought it would be appropriate to take a new look at my top 25 step days over the past 7 1/2 years, featuring 10 new entries.

1: 4/14/2018 – 27,470 steps

My best single day total is our first new entry, coming this past April during a trip to New York to see Angelina.  The day’s excursions included trips to the 9/11 Memorial & Museum, the Museum of the City of New York, Central Park, the Guggenheim museum, and the Empire State Building.

2: 7/21/2018 – 27,278 steps

Another new entry, from July’s trip to Virginia, fell just short of the top spot, thanks to a hike up Catawba Mountain to McAfee Knob with Jeff and Val.

3: 6/6/2013 – 24,988 steps

After 5 years as my single day best, 2013’s trip to Disney World falls down two spots.  The day’s excursion to both Epcot Center and the Magic Kingdom ended up with a total of approximately 12.5 miles.

4: 3/18/2018 – 23,780 steps

The third new entry comes from last spring’s trip to Las Vegas for the IBM Think conference.  The day’s totals include gallivanting around town, including a trip up to Caesar’s Palace from the MGM Grand to see Absinthe.

5: 10/24/2018 – 23,362 steps

We round out the top 5 with the fourth new entry, from last fall’s trip to Boston to see Angelina for our birthday.  While she was in class, I took tours of Fenway Park and Harvard, before meeting up with her for a late lunch and then heading to the airport for the trip home.

6: 3/22/2016 – 22,493 steps

My former second highest day took place during the ill-fated trip to Disney World in March of 2016.  The day’s excursion started at Hollywood Studios before heading over to Epcot Center with Jeff and Val.

7: 7/27/2013 – 20,592 steps

My now seventh highest total, and my highest at home in the state of Illinois, came thanks to the BTN 5K and a, for lack of a better word, misunderstanding about where I should be picked up after the race.

8: 12/29/2018 – 20,374 steps

The eighth highest entry, and fifth new entry, took place just over a month ago and the trip to Disneyland to see Danny perform with the Lincoln-Way Marching Band.

9: 8/5/2017 – 20,218 steps

The ninth highest entry came in August of 2017 on the first day of my trip to Boston with Danny and Michael.  After landing in town, we traipsed to the Science Museum, a breakfast joint, our hotel, and, finally, Fenway Park.

10: 7/14/2017 – 20,208 steps

We wrap up the top 10 with another trip to Disney World, this time a one day journey with Angelina to celebrate her high school graduation. Continue reading →

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2018: The Year In Travel

As I arrive home from California, I thought it would be nice to look back at the many trips I took last year.  Things got started in March, when I headed out to Las Vegas for the IBM Think conference.  Along the way, I took in a show, Absinthe, at Caesar’s Palace, a Barenaked Ladies concert at Mandalay Bay, and a show by The Chainsmokers at MGM Grand, where I was staying.

Following the conference, I took a detour to Phoenix for a long weekend, where I took in some Cactus League action at Camelback Ranch and Peoria Sports Complex, seeing the White Sox, Cubs, and Mariners (twice!).  I also enjoyed a trip to the slot canyons and Horseshoe Bend in Page, followed by a quick trip to the Grand Canyon.

About a month later, I took a short weekend trip to New York.  Danny, Michael, and I flew to New York on a Friday night, where we met up with Angelina and had dinner with the family she was nannying for.  Saturday was a glorious spring day, spent sight seeing at the 9/11 Memorial & Museum, the Museum of the City of New York, Central Park, the Guggenheim museum, and the Empire State Building.  Sunday was spent at the Lyric Theatre, watching both parts of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, before heading home early Monday morning.

My next trip came at the end of July, as Val and I headed down to Roanoke, Virginia, to celebrate Jeff’s 50th birthday.  After a day of “work”, the highlight of the trip was Saturday’s hike up Catawba Mountain to McAfee Knob.  Sunday was spent recovering, before heading home.

I spent most of September in Europe, starting with a week in Belfast, Northern Ireland.  Aside from work, there was a trip to Castle Ward in to look at Game of Thrones filming locations, a hockey game featuring the Belfast Giants, a trip to the Ulster American Folk Park and a nip across the border to the wonderful town of Muff in Ireland, and a Black Cab tour of locations in Belfast related to the Troubles. Continue reading →

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2018: The Year In Music

I managed to see 4 different concerts last year, across 3 states. This is the story of those shows.

The first show was in Las Vegas back in March.  In conjunction with the IBM Think conference, the Barenaked Ladies were performing on the beach at Mandalay Bay.  IBM had hooked one of my co-workers up with a cabana for the show, due to her being a legitimate superfan of the band, which the rest of us got to crash.  The group cycled through their hits, including the theme song to The Big Bang Theory, which was a nice surprise. I don’t think you could ask for much more out of a free show attached to a tech conference.

The next night, there were two shows going on.  We had our choice of Train or The Chainsmokers, and I went with option 2.  The show was at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, and it was not quite what I was expecting.  In my defense, I am an old and thus was not up to speed on the nature of the Chainsmokers, so I should have been more familiar with the type of music the band would be performing.  While the two guys I were with decided to bail after a half hour or so, I decided to stick it out and was genuinely entertained, if not in the manner I was expecting.  I can’t say it is something I would want to see again, but I’m glad I did so at least once.  And, hey, you can’t beat the price.

In August, Pearl Jam came to Wrigley Field for 2 shows and I attended the first one.  It’s been a long time since I considered myself a Pearl Jam fan, and the show, while entertaining, certainly dragged for long periods between songs that I knew.

Finally, in October, I traveled to Boston to, on top of Angelina related things, see Garbage at the House of Blues.  The 20 Years Paranoid tour, celebrating the 20th anniversary of the release of Version 2.0, had played in Chicago the week before, but I’ve already done that a time or 5.  With Game 1 of the World Series taking place across the street at Fenway Park, Garbage put on another fine show, ripping through the entirety of their second album, along with some covers and special treats.

And that does it.  Time will tell what 2019 has in store and I look forward to finding out.

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FB4: Week 8

A tremendous week, with my highest one week total falling just 2500 steps shy of the mythical 100,000 steps.  Things got off to a great start on Sunday, thanks to my trip to Las Vegas and gallivanting around town, including a trip up to Caesar’s Palace to see Absinthe.  The 23,780 total is currently good enough for my second highest daily total of all time.  Monday continued the good times, as I traipsed back and forth between the MGM Grand and Mandalay Bay for the IBM Think conference.  Tuesday finished with my second highest total of the week, and 16th of all time, thanks to more conference fun followed by a Barenaked Ladies concert.  Wednesday used a post-conference concert by The Chainsmokers to get its total, my 4th straight 10,000 step day.  Thursday was the last day of the conference, followed by a trip to Phoenix, which ended up with my 5th straight 10,000 step day, my longest streak in a year.  Friday was the low point of the week, with 8500 steps, thanks to a trip to Camelback Ranch to see the White Sox battle the Mariners in spring training action.  Saturday was back over 10,000 steps, thanks to a morning walk and an evening trip out to Peoria to see the Cubs battle the same Mariner squad.

Total steps: 97,417

Daily average: 13,916.7