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.
Back before the days of internet shopping and streaming music, there were mail order music clubs. One of the biggest was Columbia House, founded in 1955 as the Columbia Record Club. By the early 90s, records and 8-tracks had given way to CDs and, at its peak, mail order music clubs were responsible for over 15% of annual CD sales.
The concept was pretty simple: get a handful of albums (six? eight?) for a penny while promising to purchase a set number of records at full retail price plus shipping down the line. Once you were enrolled, you would get a new album every month, which you could either purchase or send back. Once you met your obligation, you could leave the club.
Around the timeframe covered by this cassette, my sister and I decided to go in on a membership. I know two of the free albums I received were Achtung Baby by U2 and Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can’t We? by The Cranberries. I remember getting stuck with the self-titled release from Alice In Chains as part of the backside of the deal. If you played by the rules, it was a complicated way to get a few CDs at what turned out to be a slight discount. If you cheated the system, which many people did, you got the free ones and never paid up on the flip side. By the end of the decade, these clubs were on the decline, thanks to Amazon and Wal-Mart offering CDs at discounted prices.
Volume 11 takes us late into 1993 and my sophomore year of college. It features mostly alternative and hip-hop hits, with a little pop and Aerosmith on the side.
Side A
Shai – Baby I’m Yours
iTunes stats: 20 plays, most recently on 7/28/2022
The second, and final, top 10 hit for the R&B quartet picked up five more plays in the last four years.
Tears For Fears – Break It Down Again
iTunes stats: 22 plays, most recently on 6/16/2022
Topping the Modern Rock Tracks chart, the comeback hit for the 80s sensations added four plays since 2018, most recently on the night I saw them in concert.
Bell Biv Devoe – Something In Your Eyes
iTunes stats: 18 plays, most recently on 11/23/2022
The only single from the band’s sophomore effort to chart, peaking at #38, the tune managed to pick up six additional listens over the last four years.
4 Non Blondes – Spaceman
iTunes stats: 16 plays, most recently on 4/5/2022
Ten new listens for the band’s second single, which hit the Top 20 in Austria, Iceland, Italy and Switzerland.
Pearl Jam – Go
iTunes stats: 33 plays, most recently on 7/28/2022
Used as Paul Konerko’s walkup music during his final season with the White Sox, the first single from Pearl Jam’s sophomore effort picked up nine new listens in the past four years.
Nirvana – Heart-Shaped Box
iTunes stats: 28 plays, most recently on 11/26/2021
Nirvana’s first release from their final studio album, ranked as the 10th greatest rock track ever by Kerrang! magazine, added five additional plays since 2019.
Radiohead – Stop Whispering
iTunes stats: 14 plays, most recently on 11/10/2022
Peaking at #23 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart, the lesser known follow up to the smash Creep more than doubled its plays over the last four years.