Tag / Friends

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iTunes Top 200 Artists: #161-170

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 the genres of pop and rock, with an actor and a stadium organist for good measure.  We have a single group making their debut on the list this week.

#170: The Rembrandts
iTunes stats: 67 plays
Previous ranking: #186

Formed in 1989, the band combines the totals from their first single, which hit the Billboard Hot 100 in 1990, with various forms of the Friends theme song to rise up the chart, increasing their plays by nearly 43% over these past five years.

#166: Blur
iTunes stats: 68 plays
Previous ranking: #161

The English foursome, formed in London in 1988 and a key contributor to the Britpop genre in the 1990s, added only fourteen new listens over the past five years.

#166: Republica
iTunes stats: 68 plays
Previous ranking: #164

The technopop punk rock band from the UK added fifteen new plays, an increase of over 28% over the past five years.

#166: Tag Team
iTunes stats: 68 plays
Previous ranking: #154

Thank to their inclusion on my Cubs victory playlist, the one hit wonders from Denver, Colorado, who I have seen perform at half time of a Bulls game and before a White Sox game, increased their listens by thirteen.

#166: Dean Martin
iTunes stats: 68 plays
Previous ranking: #176

The Rat Pack member, who passed away in 1995, picked up 18 new plays over the past five years.

#165: Belinda Carlisle
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Fifty Years Of Music – 1984

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.

Today, we enter my second decade on the planet and look back at the music of my lifetime with 1984.  I am starting to become more familiar with the songs of the day, either from that time period or from later exposure.  38 of the Hot 100 are familiar to me now, with fourteen of them appearing in my collection in one way or another.

#89: Billy Joel – The Longest Time
iTunes stats: N/A

Written and recorded as a tribute to the music the influenced Joel as a child, the track peaked at #14 on the Hot 100.

#87: Ratt – Round and Round
iTunes stats: 25 plays

Reaching #12, the song is the band’s biggest hit and was ranked as the 20th greatest heavy metal song of all time by Rolling Stone in 2023.

#86: John Cougar Mellencamp – Pink Houses
iTunes stats: N/A

Inspired by a trip Mellencamp took from the airport in Indianapolis to his home in the godforsaken town of Bloomington, the song cracked the top ten, reaching #8 in early 1984.

#79: Madonna – Holiday
iTunes stats: N/A

Entering the Hot 100 in October of 1983, Madonna’s first big hit rose to #16, spending a total of 21 weeks on the charts.

#78: Michael Jackson – Thriller
iTunes stats: N/A

Peaking at #4 in 1984, the track re-enters the charts regularly around Halloween, giving Jackson a top 20 hit in seven straight decades.

#76: The Pointer Sisters – I’m So Excited
iTunes stats: N/A

Originally stalling out at #30 in 1982, this re-mix re-released in 1984 cracked the top ten, reaching #9.

#74: Wang Chung – Dance Hall Days
iTunes stats: 21 plays

A #1 smash on the Dance Club Songs chart, it hit #16 on the Hot 100.

#73: Bananarama – Cruel Summer
iTunes stats: N/A

Featured in The Karate Kid, the second most popular song with this name peaked at #9 in 1984.

#68: Quiet Riot – Cum on Feel the Noize
iTunes stats: 15 plays

Helping to bring national attention to LA’s burgeoning metal scene, this cover of an old Slade tune became the band’s biggest hit, reaching #5.

#66: Madonna – Lucky Star
iTunes stats: N/A

Madonna’s first top five hit, it peaked at #4 in the fall of 1984.

#64: Huey Lewis and the News – If This Is It
iTunes stats: N/A

The group’s fifth top ten hit, this throwback to the doo-wop of the 50s hit #6.

#60: ZZ Top – Legs
iTunes stats: N/A

Cracking the top ten and reaching #8, it remains the band’s highest charting single.

#55: Huey Lewis and the News – I Want a New Drug
iTunes stats: N/A

Peaking at #6, the song earned Lewis a second payday when he sued Ray Parker Jr. for plagiarizing it for his theme to Ghostbusters.

#51: Billy Ocean – Caribbean Queen (No More Love on the Run)
iTunes stats: 13 plays

Ocean took home the 1985 Grammy award for Best Male R&B Vocal performance for this track, making him the first British artist to win in that category.

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You Ought To Be In (19) Pictures

Many years ago, using the weekly TV guide that came with the Sunday Chicago Tribune, I started keeping track of all of the movies I had seen over the course of my lifetime.  The guide would list the two main stars for each movie, and that is a tradition that I’ve carried on in my database ever since.  Given those guidelines, it is time once again to look at the now 107 actors that have starred in at least 10 films that I have seen, as of July 1.

We continue today with the six actors that have starred in exactly 19 movies that I have seen, even from 3 years ago.

Jennifer Aniston

The former Friends star first burst through onto my movie screen in 1997, with a double feature of She’s The One and Leprechaun.  In years since, she was a pretty steady contributor until 2014, with multiple films in 1997, 1998, 2006, 2009, 2010, and 2013, with a high-water mark in 1998, when I saw her in three starring roles.  Her most recent entry came in 2014, when I saw 2013’s We’re the Millers.

John Cusack

Local boy done good John Cusack entered my movie-watching consciousness in 1988 when he portrayed disgraced White Sox third baseman Buck Weaver in Eight Men Out.  After a nine-year dry spell, Cusack came back with a vengeance with three films in 1997 which started a run of eight films in four years.  Aside from 1997, he notched multiple films in 2000, 2004, and 2010.  His most recent film that I’ve seen remains 2012’s The Factory, which I watched in 2015.

Matt Damon

In 1994, Matt Damon made his first appearance on my personal movie screen with his role in 1992’s School Ties.  He disappeared for a while until reappearing in 1999 with three different films.  From that point on, he has been a pretty regular entrant in my watched films, including a four-year run from 2005-2008.  The last film of his I’ve seen was in 2019, when I saw 2017’s Downsizing.

Robert DeNiro

My first experience with Robert DeNiro was back in 1988, when I saw Angel Heart.  He then went quiet to me for eight years, coming back in 1996 with Sleepers.  2000 was my high-water mark with his work when I saw three of his films, while he showed up twice in 2004, 2011, and 2016.  My most recent experience with him was in 2020, when I saw 2008’s Righteous Kill.

Keanu Reeves

Keanu Reeves slinked on to my movie screens in 1988 in a small film called Permanent Record.  The following year, he became huge thanks to Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure.  2020 stands out as my best Reeves year, when I managed to see three of his films.  His most recent appearance came in 2022, when I watched the 2020 sequel Bill & Ted Face the Music.

Denzel Washington

Denzel Washington first appeared in my life in a starring role as Tom Hanks’ homophobic attorney in Philadelphia.  There have been four years, starting in 2000, where I have seen two of his films.  2002 started a five-year run where I saw secen of his films.  After a six-year absence, he returned to my screen in 2020 thanks to Ricochet, released in 1991.

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Yet Another Mix Tape Monday – Volume 18

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 18 covers the summer of 1995, the first summer that I worked at First Suburban National Bank in Maywood.  I would end up spending three summers working there, the first two as a teller and the third attempting to create a database to track their safe deposit boxes.  I met a lot of interesting people from many different backgrounds, some of whom became friends for a time.

After I graduated and started working towards my career, my involvement at the bank started decreasing.  For a while, I kept my bank account there and would occasionally pop in to see how the old gang was doing, but eventually the on-site branch of a much-larger banking institution got my business.  By October of 2010, when the bank was closed by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, I no longer had any contact with anyone from the bank.

Side A

Stone Temple Pilots – Dancing Days
iTunes stats: 37 plays, most recently on 12/22/2022

A radio hit despite never being officially released as a single, the Led Zeppelin cover added ten new listens to its impressive total over the past four years.

PJ Harvey – Down By The Water
iTunes stats: 24 plays, most recently on 5/26/2021

Eight new plays for the surprise mainstream hit by the indie darling, which hit #2 on Billboard’s Modern Rock Tracks chart.

R.E.M. – Strange Currencies
iTunes stats: 12 plays, most recently on 9/9/2022

Nearly left off the Monster album due to its rhythmic similarities to Everybody Hurts, the song picked up five new plays over the past four years.

Live – All Over You
iTunes stats: 22 plays, most recently on 6/7/2022

Hitting #4 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart despite never being released as a single in the US, Live’s latest has more than doubled its plays in the last four years.

Soul Asylum – Misery
iTunes stats: 18 plays, most recently on 3/1/2022

Originally recorded off of Q101, the debut single from Soul Asylum’s follow-up to their breakthrough album added seven new listens over these past four years.

Collective Soul – December
iTunes stats: 18 plays, most recently on 5/13/2022

Peaking at #20 on the Billboard charts, the second single from the band’s second album more than doubled its output over the last four years.

Elastica – Connection
iTunes stats: 21 plays, most recently on 5/9/2022

The first US hit from Elastica, peaking at #53 on the Billboard charts, added just four listens in the last four years.

Juliana Hatfield – Universal Heart-Beat
iTunes stats: 21 plays, most recently on 12/22/2022

Hitting #5 on the Modern Rock Tracks charts, the solo release from Juliana Hatfield garnered eight additional listens in the last four years.

Side B

Continue reading →

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Book 22 (of 52) – Friends, Lovers, And The Big Terrible Thing

Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing – Matthew Perry

Matthew Perry, one of the stars of TV’s Friends, checks in with this memoir to tell us of his addictions, trouble maintaining a relationship, and how the two tie together in being caused by what he was lacking in his childhood.  Finally clean and sober, for the moment, although due mostly in part to an exploded colon which left him in a coma for two weeks and with a colostomy bag for the better part of a year.  If he is unable to resurrect his career, at least he has all that Friends money to fall back on.

Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing is my first audiobook of 2023 and my latest attempt to enjoy a celebrity memoir and coming away at least somewhat disappointed.  Perry is a deeply flawed person and has gotten, and squandered, more chances than you or I might see.  But, because Chandler Bing was part of one of the biggest hits in television history, everyone, at least professionally, forgives if not forgets, until the show is over.  It’s tiring, to be honest.

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Travelling The 50 States – California

Over my 47 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 start today with the 31st state to be added to the Union: California.

State: California
Joined the Union: 1850
Visits: 11

With eleven visits between 1998 and 2019, the Golden State is the state I have visited the most, outside of those I have lived in and/or attended college.

My first visit was in 1998 to attend Comic Con International in San Diego.  I went early, spending the entire week and enjoying some pre-Con time checking out the sights, including the San Diego Zoo.

I returned the following year for Labor Day weekend, but this time up to the San Francisco Bay area, to visit my old friend Scott, who had moved out there after graduating to work at AMD.  What I remember from that trip is my first Giants/Phillies tilt at the former Candlestick Park, my first trip to the toilet that at the time was called Network Associates Coliseum, and a car trip over the Golden Gate Bridge.

I returned to San Diego for Comic Con in 2000 and 2003.  I don’t remember much of the 2000 trip, but the 2003 trip included my one visit to the former Jack Murphy Stadium to see the Padres face the Diamondbacks.  At the Con, I managed to see many of the stars (or, at least, bit players) from Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Smallville, and Tru Calling.

With the Cubs coming off their first division title since 1989 and a new stadium opening in San Diego, my friend Pete and I planned a trip for the Cubs mid-May road trip.  We attended all three games at PETCO Park, which the Cubs swept, while also taking in the local sights and the ambience of the Elephant and Castle bar in our hotel. Continue reading →

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Top 200 Albums: #119 – 129

We last counted down the Top 200 albums in my iTunes library four years ago. Since that time, the world has literally changed, and my commute has decreased from 1+ hours each way to 25 steps. So, despite the decrease in potential listening time, I figured it was time to take another look, based on number of plays from late 2007 through the morning of January 1, 2022.

We continue today with the next batch of ten albums that I have listened to the most over the last 15 years, breaking the triple digit total play plateau with three compilations, and music from the 60s, 80s, 90s, and beyond.

#129: Various Artists – Fonzie’s Make Out Music
iTunes stats: 97 plays
Previous Ranking: 143

Six classic tracks from the 1950s, from artists such as The Flamingos, The Platters, and Fats Domino, powered a nearly 80% increase in plays for this compilation.

#129: Green Day – American Idiot
iTunes stats: 97 plays
Previous Ranking: 120

The seventh studio album from the East Bay punk band added 36 new listens to four of the thirteen songs from the album.

#128: The Beatles – Let It Be… Naked
iTunes stats: 98 plays
Previous Ranking: 115

Released in 2003, this remastered and remixed version of the Beatles final album, minus Phil Spector’s patented “Wall of Sound”, adds 34 new listens to the five different tracks that make up its total.

#125: Bush – Sixteen Stone
iTunes stats: 100 plays
Previous Ranking: 108

Five out of the twelve tracks from the band’s 1994 debut album totaled only 34 additional plays over the past four years.

#125: Bon Jovi – VH1 Storytellers
iTunes stats: 100 plays
Previous Ranking: 151

Ripped from the DVD of the band’s September 2000 appearance on VH1 Storytellers, the boys from New Jersey nearly double their total from four years ago.

Continue reading →

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iTunes Top 200 Artists: #178-188

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 our next batch of 10 artists, the remaining 3 tied for 188th place, 2 tied for 186th, 4 tied for 182nd, and the first tied for 178th.  5 of these bands and/or performers are newcomers to this list.

#188: Scorpions
iTunes stats: 46 plays
Previous ranking: N/A

The German rockers added 25 new listens to their 3 songs in my collection to power their way on to the countdown.

#188: Sixpence None The Richer
iTunes stats: 46 plays
Previous ranking: N/A

Named after a passage from a CS Lewis book, the Christian alternative rock band makes their debut on the back of 40 songs, which picked up 23 new plays.

#188: Will Smith
iTunes stats: 46 plays
Previous ranking: N/A

Appearing much higher on the charts as part of a duo, the solo work of the rapper/actor makes its debut thanks to 24 additional listens over the past 4 years.

#186: The Rembrandts
iTunes stats: 47 plays
Previous ranking: N/A

Adding in an additional song to the collection has helped the performers of the theme song from Friends to debut on the countdown.

#186: Robin Sparkles
iTunes stats: 47 plays
Previous ranking: #152

A 34 spot drop for the alter ego of Cobie Smulders’ character from How I Met Your Mother, who combines only 17 new listens to her 2 Canadian pop hits.

#182: Cardigans
Continue reading →

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You Ought To Be In (19) Pictures

Movie_Reel_22

Many years ago, using the weekly TV guide that came with the Sunday Chicago Tribune, I started keeping track of all of the movies I had seen over the course of my lifetime.  The guide would list the two main stars for each movie, and that is a tradition that I’ve carried on in my database ever since.  So, given those guidelines, and thanks to a corona virus inspired uptick to my movie watching this year, it is time to look at the 100 actors that have starred in at least 10 films that I have seen, as of July 1.

Today, we continue with the 6 actors that has starred in 19 movies that I have seen, two additional from what was seen 3 years ago.

Jennifer Aniston

The former Friends star first burst through onto my movie screen in 1997, with a double feature of She’s The One and Leprechaun.  In years since, she has been a pretty steady contributor until 2014, with multiple films in 1997, 1998, 2006, 2009, 2010, and 2013, with a high water mark in 1998, when I saw her in 3 starring roles.  Her most recent entry came in 2014, when I saw 2013’s We’re The Millers.

John Cusack

Local boy done good John Cusack entered my movie-watching consciousness in 1988 when he portrayed disgraced White Sox third baseman Buck Weaver in Eight Men Out.  After a 9 year dry spell, Cusack came back with a vengeance with 3 films in 1997 which started a run of 8 films in 4 years.  After 97, he notched multiple films in 2000, 2004, and 2010.  His most recent film that I’ve seen was 2012’s The Factory, which I watched in 2015.

Matt Damon

In 1994, Matt Damon made his first appearance on my personal movie screen with his role in 1992’s School Ties.  He disappeared for a while until reappearing in 1999 with 3 different films.  From that point on, he has been a pretty regular entrant in my watched films, including a four year run from 2005-2008.  The last film of his I’ve seen was in 2019, when I saw 2017’s Downsizing.

Michael Keaton

Michael Keaton burst on to my movie going radar with 1983’s Mr. Mom.  He had 2 different years, 1995 and 2000, where I saw 3 of his films.  After a 9 year absence from my screen, he returned in 2015 to increase his total once again.  The last time I saw him in a starring role was last year in Spotlight, from 2015.

Sylvester Stallone

My first exposure to Sylvester Stallone was through the Rocky franchise, whose 8 films make up over 42% of this total.  Add in the Rambo franchise and that number jumps over 50%.  My biggest Stallone years were 1991 and 2007, when I took in a grand total of 2 films each.  I am on an active 3 year streak, with my most recent experience with his films coming earlier this year in 2019’s Rambo: Last Blood.

Denzel Washington

Denzel Washington first appeared in my life in a starring role as Tom Hanks’ homophobic attorney in Philadelphia.  There have been four years, starting in 2000, where I have seen 2 of his films.  2002 started a 5 year run where I saw 7 of his films.  After a 6 year absence, he returned to my screen earlier this year in Ricochet, released in 1991.