Tag / Corona Virus

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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 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 14

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 in February, Soundgarden was announced as a 2023 nominee for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  If they were to make it, they would be the fifth band featured on this cassette to receive the honor.  Aerosmith was elected in 2001, followed by Tthe Pretenders in 2005, Green Day in 2015, and Pearl Jam in 2017.

What does that mean?  Well, nothing, really, aside from some level of durability and commercial success.  I can’t think of anything less rock and roll than the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and trying to rank something as subjective as music.  In fact, I purposely avoided the museum during my trip to Cleveland back in 2019.  But, it seems to mean something to the artists themselves, so I guess, for today at least, we will celebrate the honor.

Volume 14 takes us into the early summer of 1994, following the end of my sophomore year of college.  The song selection continues to be  mostly alternative, with a little G-funk added for flavor.

Side A

Stone Temple Pilots – Big Empty
iTunes stats: 22 plays, most recently on 7/7/2022

This entry from The Crow soundtrack picked up an additional five listens over the past four years.

Aerosmith – Crazy
iTunes stats: 26 plays, most recently on 10/16/2020

Only a three-play increase for the final installment of the Alicia Silverstone video trilogy, now with extra Liv Tyler.

Soundgarden – Black Hole Sun
iTunes stats: 17 plays, most recently on 10/1/2021

Winner of the Best Hard Rock Performance Grammy and nominated for Best Rock Song, the band’s biggest commercial hit picked up just four plays over the past four years.

Green Day – Longview
iTunes stats: 22 plays, most recently on 10/10/2022

The “debut” that pushed Green Day into the mainstream, hitting #1 on the Alternative Songs chart, added eight new listens over these last four years.

Hole – Miss World
iTunes stats: 28 plays, most recently on 3/12/2022

Hitting #13 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart, the introduction of Courtney Love to a mainstream audience picked up six additional listens over the past four years.

Pearl Jam – Dissident
iTunes stats: 21 plays, most recently on 11/12/2019

Last heard prior to the pandemic, the song, which peaked at #3 on the Album Rock Tracks chart, saw just four listens over the previous four years.

Sarah McLachlan – Possession
iTunes stats: 14 plays, most recently on 6/7/2022

Inspired by letters written to McLachlan by two deranged fans, the 27th biggest hit of 1994 on the Alternative songs chart doubled its play total over the past four years.

Side B

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2023 Predictions

After three straight seasons of strange occurrences, the 2023 baseball season looks to kick off tomorrow without any COVID or lockout effects in sight.  For the thirteenth consecutive year, I’ve looked into the crystal ball to make my picks for the upcoming season.

American League

East: Yankees

Central: Guardians

West: Astros

Wild Cards: Blue Jays, Mariners, White Sox

AL Champion: Yankees

Cy Young: Alek Manoah

MVP: Julio Rodriguez

National League

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Yet Another Mix Tape Monday – Volume 10

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.

It was one of, if not the most ubiquitous song of the summer of 1993.  You heard it blaring out of car windows.  Stacey King and Scott Williams chanted the chorus during the Bulls’ championship rally in Grant Park.  It reached #1 on the Billboard Hot R&B chart and #2 on the Billboard Hot 100.  Whoomp! (There It Is) by Tag Team was everywhere.

While Tag Team never had another hit, this one has been a consistent money maker for the group over the past thirty years.  It has appeared in movies such as Elf, Addams Family Values, and D2: The Mighty Ducks.  It has been a constant at sporting events.  To this day, it plays at Wrigley Field when a Cub hits a home run.  Not that it needed it, but the song got a resurgence in December of 2020 when the members of Tag Team appeared in a Geico add spoofing their song, changing the lyrics to be about ice cream.

I’ve heard the song live twice.  In 2015, Tag Team showed up to 90s Night at the United Center and performed the song at halftime.  They made a similar performance in 2021 before a White Sox game at Guaranteed Rate Field, where they played not just the original, but also the ice cream themed spoof.  Thirty years in, the song shows no signs of slowing down.

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
iTunes stats: 14 plays, most recently on 11/23/2022

Hitting #3 on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock Tracks chart despite the band’s refusal to release it as an official single, the song was only listened to three times in the past four years.

Def Leppard – Two Steps Behind
iTunes stats: 21 plays, most recently on 7/8/2021

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

UB40 – Can’t Help Falling In Love
iTunes stats: 27 plays, most recently on 7/30/2022

After going unheard for three years, the track, featured on the Sliver soundtrack, picked up 19 plays since 2015.

Aerosmith – Cryin’
iTunes stats: 21 plays, most recently on 11/1/2022

The first installment of Alicia Silverstone’s video trilogy, which finished as the 60th biggest single of 1993, picked up five new plays over the past four years.

TLC – Get It Up
iTunes stats: 8 plays, most recently on 6/16/2021

This cover of a hit by The Time created for the Poetic Justice soundtrack doubled its listens over the past four years.

4 Non Blondes – What’s Up?
iTunes stats: 27 plays, most recently on 6/1/2022

The 50th biggest single of 1993 picked up eight listens for the ubiquitous debut from 4 Non Blondes.

whoompTag Team – Whoomp! (There It Is)
iTunes stats: 62 plays, most recently on 12/8/2022

The unofficial theme to the Bulls third straight NBA championship in 1993, Tag Team, who showed up for 90s night at the UC for a game I attended in February of 2015, added 19 new listens over the past four years, thanks to its use by the Cubs when someone hits a home run.

Side B

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Yet Another Mix Tape Monday – Volume 6

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 6 takes us through the end of high school, through the summer, and into the beginning of my freshman year of college.  That summer, my sister and I made our first trip to Texas to visit our dad.  He had moved at least two years before and I guess thought it would be a good idea to see us.  Since I was trying to get ready to leave for college, I only stayed for one week while my sister stayed for two.  I don’t remember much about my time there.  We went to the old book depository where Lee Harvey Oswald shot JFK.  We walked to a comic book store, where I found that some states charge sales tax on back issue purchases.  Aside from that, the trip holds no particular memory.

In the years since, visits have become fewer and farther between.  I last went to Texas in 2005.  His last trip to Illinois for a visit was 2006 and, if you include funerals, he hasn’t been here since 2010.  The last time I saw him was 2018, after he had moved to Arizona and he came to see me while I was in town for spring training.

Sadly, this is not the original version of volume 6, which was lost after being borrowed by my sister for a party.

Side A

Genesis – I Can’t Dance
iTunes stats: 15 plays, most recently on 12/7/2021

The second single from the 14th studio album from Genesis, which received a 1993 Grammy nomination for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group, notched a mere two in the past four years.

Ugly Kid Joe – Everything About You
iTunes stats: 24 plays, most recently on 9/25/2019

Hitting #9 on the Billboard charts, the first hit for the California-based band was last heard before months before the pandemic even started, adding just two spins.

Joe Public – Live and Learn
iTunes stats: 17 plays, most recently on 2/8/2022

Ranked 16th on complex.com’s list of the best new jack swing songs of all time, the tune managed to add five new plays since our last check.

Boyz II Men – Please Don’t Go
iTunes stats: 11 plays, most recently on 7/22/2019

Just three additional plays for the final single from Cooleyhighharmony, which failed to crack the top 40 and hasn’t been heard since nearly eight months prior to COVID lockdowns started.

Def Leppard – Make Love Like A Man
iTunes stats: 15 plays, most recently on 2/27/2022

The second single from Adrenalize, and the first video with new guitarist Vivian Campbell, added four plays over the past four years.

Guns N’ Roses – Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door
iTunes stats: 18 plays, most recently on 3/15/2022

The Bob Dylan cover has picked up eleven new listens since 2015.

Red Hot Chilli Peppers – Under The Bridge
iTunes stats: 20 plays, most recently on 7/22/2022

The first appearance of “alternative” music on these collections, which became the 8th biggest single of 1992, nearly doubled its play total with nine new plays.

Side B

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Book 3 (of 52) – The Paris Apartment

The Paris Apartment – Lucy Foley

When Jess arrives at her brother’s apartment in Paris to find him missing, she starts looking for him, contacting the people in his building and in his life hoping to track him down.  When she digs deeper, she finds that nothing, and no one, is what it seems in the apartment complex.  Can she find out what happened to her brother before the same happens to her?

The Paris Apartment, the latest offering from Lucy Foley, was written during the COVID pandemic and shutdown.  Some of that claustrophobia seeps into the book, as you can feel the walls closing in on Jess, especially as she learns more about the residents of the building.  Of the three novels of hers that I’ve read, this was probably my least favorite, but it was still a good enough time.

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2022: The Year In Travel

After two years of limited travel due to COVID, things opened up once again in 2022 and I actually found myself on an airplane or two throughout the year.  I thought it would be nice to look back at the trips I took this year.  Things started in late January, when I went to Hawaii for two weeks.  Things were still pretty locked down on the islands at the time, so I didn’t do a lot of activities, but a week relaxation at the beach and the pool followed by a second week of working remotely followed by afternoons at the beach did the body (and the mind) good.

The next trip came at the end of May, as the family headed to Boston for Angelina’s graduation.  The boys and I arrived late Friday night, where we basically went straight from the airport to the hotel to sleep.  On Saturday, we did some sight-seeing.  Sunday was graduation, followed by a celebratory dinner.  We all headed home on Monday, save Angelina.

At the end of July, I headed out to Denver for a quick trip to add a new stadium to my collection.  I arrived on Tuesday and high-tailed it out to Coors Field for that evening’s game, which the White Sox won against the hometown Rockies.  The follow-up the next afternoon was not as pleasant, after which I headed back to the airport for the flight home.

August brought a road trip to Indianapolis, to see Danny perform with the Troopers drum corps at the DCI World Championships at Lucas Oil Stadium.  What was supposed to be a two-night stay turned into three, when the Troopers unexpectedly made it to the finals. Continue reading →

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Travelling The 50 States – Michigan

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 26th state to be added to the Union: Michigan

State: Michigan
Joined the Union: 1837
Visits: 5

Despite its proximity, The Mitten has been an infrequent place for me to visit.  Nearly all of my visits can be attributed to one of two things: baseball and ice skating.  The one outlier came during the COVID lockdown, when travel options were limited.

My first trip to Michigan came in 1999 in an effort to see a game during the final season of Tiger Stadium.  Along with my mom and my sister, we took the quick flight and then took a bus into Windsor for a pre-game meal, the first time any of us had left the country.  After some slight difficulties getting back across the border, we headed to the game, where rookie Kip Wells made his major league debut for the White Sox and picked up the victory against the Tigers.  We flew back home the following day.

Nearly a decade later, I returned to Detroit in 2010 for a Labor Day weekend clash between the White Sox and the Tigers.  This time, I booked a hotel in Windsor, so I drove from Chicago to Canada, checking in to the hotel before catching a bus back across the border and to Comerica Park.  The next afternoon, I drove back and took in the afternoon tilt before driving home with two Tiger victories under my belt.

Six years later, the synchronized skating championships were held in Kalamazoo.  The family travelled north to see Angelina and her team compete.

In 2019, the family traveled to Ann Arbor, where BU was competing in a synchronized skating competition.

My most recent visit to Michigan came over Labor Day week in 2020.  With everything locked down thanks to the corona virus, I was looking for a chance to get away and found a nice Airbnb in Holland close to Lake Michigan.  Other than a couple of trips to the lakes (both Macatawa and Michigan) and a day spent in Saugatuck, I didn’t see much of the sites, as the rona was still very much a concern.

Will I return?  I imagine so.  Neither of the boys have been to Comerica yet, so a future visit is not out of the question.