Tag / Elvis

by admin

Historical iTunes Top 10 Albums

itunes_imageI recently came across an iTunes Music Library XML file from an old computer that covered some time frame between 2003 and 2007.  I thought it would be interesting to take a look at the 785 songs I had listened to in that timeframe and, eventually, incorporate some of those numbers into my current library.

Today, we will look at the top 10 albums, in terms of total listens, from this iTunes library.  My initial observations are, again, that these totals are completely out of whack.  When I last looked at the album totals for my current library, Bon Jovi’s greatest hits collection came in at #60, with only 6 more plays than they have here, where they are by far the leaders.  So, without further ado:

#1: Bon Jovi – Cross Road
iTunes stats: 48 plays
An abnormally large total for the first greatest hits package from the boys from New Jersey

#2: The Cast of Buffy The Vampire Slayer – Once More, With Feeling
iTunes stats: 39 plays
The soundtrack album to the musical episode of Buffy The Vampire Slayer, which took home the top spot last year in my current library, has a strong showing here.

#3: The Cast of Sesame Street – Sesame Street Platinum: All-Time Favorites
iTunes stats: 35 plays
The best tunes from Sesame Street got a lot of plays back when Angelina and Danny were younger, enough to take the third slot here.

#4: Bon Jovi – VH1 Storytellers
iTunes stats: 25 plays
A bootleg album of the band’s performance on the afore-mentioned VH1 Storytellers.

#5: Various Artists – Buffy The Vampire Slayer: The Album
iTunes stats: 18 plays
The soundtrack album to Buffy The Vampire Slayer proper makes the top 5 after finishing tied for 34th in my current library.

#6: Avril Lavigne – Avril Live: Try To Shut Me Up
iTunes stats: 15 plays
Live versions of Avril’s hits, including a cover of Green Day’s Basket Case, place her in the top 10.

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by admin

Historical iTunes Top 16 Artists

itunes_imageI recently came across an iTunes Music Library XML file from an old computer that covered some time frame between 2003 and 2007.  I thought it would be interesting to take a look at the 785 songs I had listened to in that timeframe and, eventually, incorporate some of those numbers into my current library.

Today, we will look at the top 16 artists, in terms of total listens, from this iTunes library.  My initial observations are that these totals are completely out of whack.  When I last looked at the artist totals for my current library, Bon Jovi came in at #21, with only 10 more plays than they have here, where they are the leaders.

 

Artist Play Count
Bon Jovi 103
Garbage 60
Liz Phair 39
The Cast Of Buffy The Vampire Slayer 39
Avril Lavigne 31
No Doubt 21
AC/DC 18
Elvis Presley 17
Foo Fighters 15
Aerosmith 13
Def Leppard 11
Pearl Jam 11
Alanis Morissette 11
Tee Vee Toons 10
Gin Blossoms 10
Christophe Beck 10
by admin

Vacation Recap: Tupelo

When we left off last time, our group of intrepid travelers had arrived in Tupelo, Mississippi on a Sunday night after having spent the day in Memphis taking in the Elvis sights, including Graceland and Sun Studios.

birthplace

Monday morning started with a trip to Tupelo Hardware Store, a present day Ace Hardware where a 11 year old Elvis, in 1946, purchased his first guitar.  From there, we headed to the 2 room house where Elvis was born and lived until his family moved to Memphis in search of a better life in 1948.  Also on the site are the Assembly of God church, where the Presley’s worshipped while living in Tupelo.

supermanstatueAfter leaving Mississippi, we headed north towards home, but decided to make a detour towards Metropolis, IL, which has made itself the symbolic home of Superman and, at least according to the travel guide, home to the world’s largest Dippin’ Dots store.  Sadly, the Dippin’ Dots store had closed and was replaced by a gift shop filled with DC merchandise and a cooler in the corner that did supply said Dippin’ Dots.  In the center of town is a giant Superman statue and a museum, which we decided against going through.

After that, it was time to head home.  After a few stops for dinner and gas, we arrived home around 10 PM.  Overall, we visited 5 states, 3 of which were new for Michael.  Now I’m looking forward to my next trip, which, sadly, hasn’t been planned yet.

by admin

Vacation Recap: Memphis

This past January, as my mom’s birthday was rolling around, I thought about taking her to Graceland so she could see the former home of her favorite performer, Elvis Presley.  I ended up going in a different direction (literally), but my sister came up with the same idea for Mother’s Day.  So, as May was drawing to a close, (nearly) the whole family loaded into the minivan and headed down to Tennessee and Mississippi to see the Elvis-related sights.

panda

Things got off to an early start on Saturday morning as we left around 5 AM and headed south.  After a brief stop in Missouri for lunch at Lambert’s Cafe, where they throw dinner rolls at you, and so Michael could cross another state off his list, we rolled into Memphis around 2:00.  Our first stop was the Memphis Zoo, where we ran into some pandas and other animals.  After the zoo, we headed to our hotel for some relaxing in the pool, followed by dinner at a charming BBQ joint known as Corky’s, winners of multiple best BBQ awards.  After a long day, it was time to call it a night.
graceland

Sunday morning got off to an early, if wet, start at Graceland, home, and eternal resting place, of Elvis Presley.  Aside from the mansion, which is strangely small for what would be considered a mansion, there were a few other attractions to see, including a car museum and his 2 planes.

After lunch at Graceland (a fried peanut butter/banana sandwich, natch), it was time to visit Sun Studios, where Elvis made his first recordings.  While waiting for our tour, we made a quick trip over to the Peabody Hotel, where they have trained ducks hanging out in the lobby, which is supposedly a thing.  Back to Sun for the tour, which included the actual recording studio space, which is still in use at night.

Following the tour, we headed across the border to Arkansas for dinner, and another chance for Michael to add a state to his tally.  After dinner, it was on to Tupelo, Mississippi, where we would spend the night before finishing off the Elvis tour on Monday.  But more about that next time.

by admin

Fitbit Week 18

Week18_FBAnother good week, my fourth straight over 50,000 steps and with at least one 10,000 step day.  Things got off to a good start in Memphis on Sunday, where I spent the day visiting Elvis related sights, including Graceland and Sun Studios.  Monday continued the Elvis extravaganza, exploring his birthplace in Tupelo, Mississippi, before spending the majority of the day driving home, with a small detour to stop and see Superman in Metropolis, Illinois.  Tuesday and Wednesday was back to the normal work grind, with the afternoon coffee run playing into the day’s total.

Thursday and Friday benefited from my leaving work on time and getting home at a reasonable hour, thus being able to explore the neighborhood, with Thursday just falling short of 10,000 steps and Friday surpassing it.  Saturday looked to be a bust early, but the evening’s trip to US Cellular Field, and a walk down the ramps thanks to a closed Fundamentals area, helped pull up the day’s total.

Total steps: 53,227

Daily average: 7603.9

by admin

Top 200 Albums – #21 – 28

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 round out the 20s with the 8 albums ranked 27th through 21st and have between 88 and 98 listens.

#21: Garbage – Beautiful Garbage
iTunes stats: 98 plays
The third studio album from the group uses 13 tracks to make up this total.

#22: Various Artists – Living In The 90’s
iTunes stats: 97 plays
A whopping 22 songs, from bands like The Proclaimers, EMF, and Roxette, make up the total for this compilation of early 90s hits.

#23: David Cross – Bigger and Blackerer
iTunes stats: 94 plays
The entirety of the latest comedy album from David Cross makes up this total.

#24: Garbage – Bleed Like Me
iTunes stats: 93 plays
The fourth studio album from the group uses 11 tracks to make up this total.

#24: Mexican Cheerleader – Mexican Cheerleader
iTunes stats: 93 plays
The debut album from the local punk band uses 10 songs to make up its total.

#26: Foo Fighters – Skin And Bones
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by admin

Top 200 Albums – #120 – 130

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 continue climbing up the list and look at the 6 albums tied for 120th with 34 listens and the 5 albums tied for 127th with 33 listens.

#120: Arrested Development – 3 Years, 5 Months And 2 Days In The Life Of …
iTunes stats: 34 plays
The debut album from the Atlanta-based alternative hip-hop group has a nearly even split amongst its 3 hit singles to make up this total.

#120: Various Artists – Clueless
iTunes stats: 34 plays
The hit movie soundtrack makes the list thanks to songs from Smoking Popes, Jill Sobule, and The Muffs.

#120: Sam Kinison – Have You Seen Me Lately
iTunes stats: 34 plays
The seminal comedy album from Sam Kinison uses his standup routine and a twisted remake of Wild Thing to chart this high.

#120: Hole – Celebrity Skin
iTunes stats: 34 plays
The second Hole album, alledgedly written by Billy Corgan, Courtney Love’s boyfriend at the time, has 2 tracks make up this total.

#120: George Carlin – You Are All Diseased
iTunes stats: 34 plays
Another standup routine from George Carlin puts him on the list again.

#120: Stone Temple Pilots – Purple
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by jim

iTunes Top 100 Artists: #21-30

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 look at the the the next batch, numbers 21-30, which includes a nice mix of musical genres and comedy.

#21: Bon Jovi

iTunes stats: 113 plays

25 tunes make up the total for the boys from New Jersey who I’ve seen in concert twice.

#22: Queen

iTunes stats: 112 plays

O,nly 3 songs from Queen make up the list, with the majority coming from the one celebrating the 2005 World Series Championship.

#23: Dr. Dre

iTunes stats: 111 plays

The father of west coast rap used 9 tunes to place this high on the list.

#24: Steam

iTunes stats: 110 plays

Only 1 song made up the entire total for Steam, thanks to its inclusion on my White Sox playlist.

#25: Alanis Morissette

iTunes stats: 109 plays

The Canadian songstress, who I saw in 1996 at the New World Music Theater, sets a new high with 33 songs making up her total.

#26: George Carlin

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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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by admin

iTunes Top 100: #96 – 118

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, it is now time to look at digital music with the Top 100 songs that I’ve listened to as of 6/2/2013, according to iTunes.  Today we look at the 23 songs tied for #96 with 15 overall plays.

#96: Aerosmith – Dude (Looks Like A Lady)

This 1987 hit from Aerosmith also appeared on Volume 2 of my mix tapes, and has been listened to twice since then.

iTunes stats: 15 plays, most recently on 7/25/2012

#96: The Beatles – Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da

Recorded for the White Album in 1968, the song didn’t chart in the US until 1976.

iTunes stats: 15 plays, most recently on 4/27/2013

#96: The Beatles – A Hard Day’s Night

From 1964, the song is the title track to both the album and the movie.

iTunes stats: 15 plays, most recently on 4/27/2013

#96: Bloodhound Gang – Bad Touch

Ranked at No. 49 on the list of the 100 Worst Songs Ever released in 2010 by AOL Radio.

iTunes stats: 15 plays, most recently on 3/19/2013

#96: The Cast Of Buffy The Vampire Slayer – The Parking Ticket

Writer and producer Marti Noxon protests a parking ticket through song from the musical episode of Buffy The Vampire Slayer.

iTunes stats: 15 plays, most recently on 11/1/2012

#96: Coolio featuring LV – Gangsta’s Paradise

This 1995 hit from Coolio also appeared on Volume 19 of my mix tapes, and has been listened to four times since then.

iTunes stats: 15 plays, most recently on 5/31/2013

#96: Digital Underground – The Humpty Dance

This 1990 smash climbed all the way to #11 on the pop charts, #7 on the R&B charts, and #1 on the Billboard Rap Singles chart.

iTunes stats: 15 plays, most recently on 4/27/2013

#96: Dr. Dre – Keep Their Heads Ringin’

This 1995 hit from the Friday soundtrack also appeared on Volume 17 of my mix tapes, and has been listened to three times since then.

iTunes stats: 15 plays, most recently on 3/13/2013

#96: Dr. Dre – Forgot About Dre

Winner of the Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group at the 2001 Grammy Awards.

iTunes stats: 15 plays, most recently on 10/8/2012

#96: Elvis Presley – An American Trilogy

A medley of three 19th century songs: Dixie, a blackface minstrel song that became the unofficial anthem of the Confederacy since the Civil War; All My Trials, originally a Bahamian lullaby, but closely related to African American spirituals; and The Battle Hymn of the Republic, the marching song of the Union Army during the Civil War.

iTunes stats: 15 plays, most recently on 5/8/2013

#96: Foo Fighters – Best Of You

This live version was recorded over the course of three shows in late August, 2006 at the Pantages Theater in Los Angeles.

iTunes stats: 15 plays, most recently on 6/11/2012

#96: Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons – Big Girls Don’t Cry

Spent 5 weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100 in late 1962.

iTunes stats: 15 plays, most recently on 3/25/2012

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