Tag / High School

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Yet Another Mix Tape Monday – Volume 11

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.

Side B

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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 9

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.

Once upon a time, people had to leave their homes to get music.  One of the stores you could go to get the latest music was Musicland, a mostly mall-based company that thrived in the 80s and early 90s.  One of the free-standing outposts of Musicland was located in West Lafayette, a mere stone’s throw away from the Purdue campus.

I found myself in that particular Musicland on the night of April 19, 1993.  Aerosmith’s eleventh studio album, Get A Grip, was going on sale the next day and they were going to start selling copies at midnight.  I remember things being kind of loose, with a lot of people browsing, but I managed to grab my copy and then head home for the night.  Did I listen to the album that night?  No, I don’t think so.  Did I need to go out in the middle of the night to buy a CD?  No.  But hey, it was better than sitting in my dorm room all night.

That was kind of the last hurrah for that Musicland location.  Within the year, it would be converted into a bar called Kazoo’s.

Volume 9 places us squarely in the early months of 1993, overlapping with the second semester of my freshman year of college.  The hip hop and pop are rounded out with some alternative and what passes for hair metal in the post-grunge era.

Side A

Dan Baird – I Love You Period
iTunes stats: 20 plays, most recently on 3/12/2022

Despite never having heard this song, which peaked at #26 on the Billboard charts, on the radio in the state of Illinois, I’ve somehow managed to add six new listens over the past four years.

Ugly Kid Joe – Cats In The Cradle
iTunes stats: 16 plays, most recently on 11/30/2022

The cover of the Harry Chapin hit, which gave the band their highest charting hit of their career, picked up a mere six new plays since 2018.

Arrested Development – Mr. Wendal
iTunes stats: 24 plays, most recently on 3/3/2021

The story of a wise homeless man, which hit #6 on the Billboard charts, managed to pick up five plays over the past four years.

Naughty By Nature – Hip Hop Hooray
iTunes stats: 30 plays, most recently on 9/27/2022

Seven new plays over these past four years for the 45th biggest hit of 1993.

Positive K – I Got A Man
iTunes stats: 20 plays, most recently on 12/10/2021

The rappers only top 40 hit, peaking at #14, garnered a slight six play increase in the last four years.

R.E.M.def l – Man On The Moon
iTunes stats: 13 plays, most recently on 2/27/2022

The tribute to comedian Andy Kaufman, which peaked at #2 on the Alternative Songs chart, picked up a mere four new listens over the past four years.

Aerosmith – Livin’ On The Edge
iTunes stats: 19 plays, most recently on 8/4/2022

Spending nine weeks atop the Album Rock Tracks chart, the first single from the band’s eleventh studio album more than doubled its previous play total over the past four years.

Side B

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Yet Another Mix Tape Monday – Volume 7

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 the day, the acquisition of music was a much more tactile experience than it is today.  Going out to a store, physically touching the racks of CDs or cassettes while looking for the right one… it could create a memory just as vivid as those tied to the music itself.

I remember clear as day, just over thirty years later, going to the record store after my last final of first semester and coming out of JL Records with both Guns N’ Roses’ Use Your Illusion I and AC/DC’s Live.  Something to celebrate the end of that first go-around in school before heading home for winter break.  I remember going to Orland Square Mall and coming home with Toad The Wet Sprocket’s Fear and TLC’s Ooooooohhh… On the TLC Tip.  I remember picking up a used copy of Tesla’s Five Man Acoustical Jam at Discount Den and then trading it for LL Cool J’s Mama Said Knock You Out at the record store in Purdue West whose name is escaping me at the moment.

Compare that to today.  Do I have any particular memory of downloading, say, Taylor Swift’s 1984 on MP3?  Or buying Strange Little Birds by Garbage off of Amazon?  Of course not.  It’s even worse for streaming.  So, while music is more available and ubiquitous than it ever has been before, we do lose a little something in the trade.

Volume 7, containing songs from those long-remembered CDs, covers the fall of 1992 and the end of the first semester of my freshman year of college.  We are treated to the last gasps of hair metal and pop, with a little dance, alternative and hip-hop thrown in for good measure.

Side A

Guns N’ Roses – November Rain
iTunes stats: 18 plays, most recently on 11/11/2021

The longest song ever to crack the top 10 on the Billboard charts, peaking at #3, the opus, which checks in at 3 seconds shy of 9 minutes, picked up just six new plays in the last four years.

Def Leppard – Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad
iTunes stats: 16 plays, most recently on 11/10/2022

The 86th biggest hit of 1992 managed to double its plays since 2019.

Toad The Wet Sprocket – All I Want
iTunes stats: 25 plays, most recently on 11/20/2021

Topping out at #15 on the Billboard charts, the first hit from Toad the Wet Sprocket only picked up four new listens over the past four years.

Tesla – Signs
iTunes stats: 13 plays, most recently on 9/27/2021

Reaching #8 on the Billboard Hot 100, the live track, recorded in 1990, has gained a mere nine listens since 2012.

Soup Dragons – Divine Thing
iTunes stats: 22 plays, most recently on 6/14/2021

The alternative dance single that became a moderate alternative hit in the US gained just two additional listens, with the latest coming over two and a half years ago.

Ugly Kid Joe – Neighbor
iTunes stats: 15 plays, most recently on 12/8/2022

The lead single from Ugly Kid Joe’s major label debut, this track added five plays since 2019.

The Heights – How Do You Talk To An Angel
iTunes stats: 20 plays, most recently on 11/29/2021

The theme song from the short-lived FOX show The Heights, nominated for the 1993 Outstanding Individual Achievement in Music and Lyrics Emmy, picked up six new plays.

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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Yet Another Mix Tape Monday – Volume 5

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 got my first CD player, and my first CD, for Christmas in 1991.  My sister and I were going to Florida to celebrate Christmas with the grandparents, so we celebrated at home early.  In order to enjoy my new gift while I was gone, I added two songs from that CD, Poison’s Swallow This Live, to this collection.

My CD collection grew slowly, being a poor high school student.  When I left for college that next August, I had added five CDs to the collection: Def Leppard’s Adrenalize, the so-called Black Album from Metallica, Use Your Illusion II by Guns N’ Roses, Boyz II Men’s Motownphilly, and C.M.B. from Color Me Badd.  In college, things started to grow more quickly and, once I got out of college and had some real disposable income, things went a little crazy.  I have CDs where not only is there not a song on there that I like, but there isn’t even a song that I know.

That slowed down a bit as technology advanced, replacing physical media with digital downloads and, eventually, streaming.  I can count on one hand the number of CDs I’ve bought in the last eight years.  The question now is what do I do with 30+ years’ worth of CDs that are never used?  Everything is ripped to my computer and the only CD player I have now is that computer.  Plus, I could use the space that a cabinet full of untouched CDs is taking up in the office.  Something to consider as I remake my workspace now that I am a full-time remote worker.

Volume 5 takes us from the end of my junior year of high school, through the summer, and all the way to spring of my senior year, from mid 1991 through early 1992, and once again features a healthy dose of hair metal and pop.

Side A

Firehouse – Don’t Treat Me Bad
iTunes stats: 21 plays, most recently on 11/12/2021

Peaking at #19 on the Billboard charts, the first hit from Firehouse picked up nine new listens over the past four years.

Color Me Badd – I Wanna Sex You Up
iTunes stats: 19 plays, most recently on 12/12/2021

Featured on the soundtrack for New Jack City, the first single from the R&B boy band, which I had on cassingle, added five new spins since 2019.

Boyz II Men – Motownphilly
iTunes stats: 26 plays, most recently on 8/20/2021

The debut release from the Philadelphia crooners, which hit #3 on the Billboard charts, had a healthy seven play increase since last we checked.

Mötley Crüe – Don’t Go Away Mad (Just Go Away)
iTunes stats: 43 plays, most recently on 9/27/2022

The fourth single off of Dr. Feelgood, originally recorded off 103.5 The Blaze, gets a nice thirteen listen increase thanks to its use at Guaranteed Rate Field after strikeouts from White Sox pitchers.

Slaughter – Fly To The Angels
iTunes stats: 19 plays, most recently on 11/4/2021

Six new plays for the second single from the band’s debut album, which peaked at #19 on the Billboard charts.

Boyz II Men – It’s So Hard To Say Goodbye
iTunes stats: 62 plays, most recently on 12/31/2021

Originally written for the 70s film Cooley High, the cover, originally recorded off the radio from Hot 94.7, saw a fourteen-spin increase over the past four years when you count both the radio and album versions.

Salt-N-Pepa – Let’s Talk About Sex
iTunes stats: 25 plays, most recently on 7/22/2022

The tune, nominated for the 1992 Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group Grammy, increased its play total by eight since 2019.

Side B

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Yet Another Mix Tape Monday – Volume 4

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 4 places us smack dab in the middle of my junior year of high school, from late 1990 and into 1991, and, quite possibly, the worst entry in this series.  There are 20 cassettes in this series, comprised of 287 songs.  Nearly 25% of them has been performed by a band I have seen in concert.  In fact, ever single entry contains at least one song by a band I have seen live.  Except this one.

Five of the songs here are older hits that weren’t current during my junior year.  Six of the songs come from just two bands: Poison and Roxette.  Judging solely from songs contained on this tape, you would have a hard time believing that Nirvana’s Nevermind would be released later that year and that the music industry would sound completely different a year later.

Side A

Damn Yankees – High Enough
iTunes stats: 15 plays, most recently on 7/28/2022

Peaking at #3 on the Billboard charts, the one big hit from the supergroup featuring right-wing douchenozzle Ted Nugent added only five new plays since 2017.

Sweet Sensation – If Wishes Came True
iTunes stats: 16 plays, most recently on 12/20/2021

The #25 hit of 1990 added three additional listens over the past four years.

Poison – Fallen Angel
iTunes stats: 28 plays, most recently on 11/10/2022

Poison’s hit from 1988, the only single from Open Up and Say… Ahh! not to crack the top 10, got six additional listens over the past four years.

Simpsons – Do The Bartman
iTunes stats: 15 plays, most recently on 3/23/2022

The first hit from the animated TV family, which went to #1 in five countries but wasn’t officially released as a single in the US, added seven new listens since 2019.

Roxette – The Look
iTunes stats: 20 plays, most recently on 12/22/2022

Ranked as the #17 single of 1989, the hit for the Swedish duo gained nine new spins over the past four years.

Poison – I Won’t Forget You
iTunes stats: 13 plays, most recently on 12/12/2021

The fourth single from Poison’s debut album, originally taped off a mixtape I “borrowed” from my friend Mike’s sister, managed just four additional plays since 2019.

Side B

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Yet Another Mix Tape Monday – Volume 3

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 3 years.

Poison was supposed to be my first concert.  Hold on, I know you’ve heard that before, but this story is completely different.  In July of 1990, Poison released their third studio album, Flesh & Blood.  A world tour followed soon, with a date in Chicago some time in 1991.  One afternoon, Hot 94.7, a local radio station, was giving away tickets to the tenth caller.  I called in and, after a “game” where I had to say hot over and over again, I won and the tickets would be on their way.  But, once again, fate interfered.

Poison’s bassist, Bobby Dall, broke his hand and the upcoming tour dates needed to be cancelled.  To be fair to the radio station, they tried to make up for it by sending me a cassette version of Firehouse’s self-titled debut album.  All these years later, I never did end up seeing Poison live.  Maybe someday.

Volume 3 picks up in mid-summer 1990 and takes us through late 1990 and into my junior year of high school.  Featuring another steady stream of hair metal, with small selections of pop, rap, R&B, and dance thrown in for good measure, volume 3 also overlaps with the start of my relationship with my first “real” girlfriend.

Side A

2 Live Crew – Banned In The USA
iTunes stats: 23 plays, most recently on 11/12/2019

The first song (as I recall) recorded off of B96, this protest anthem from 2 Live Crew, recorded after their previous album was declared obscene by a federal judge, somehow increased its play total by eight despite not being heard since 2019.

Poison – Unskinny Bop
iTunes stats: 19 plays, most recently on 11/10/2022

The first single from Flesh & Blood , which peaked at #3 on the Billboard charts, managed to earn eight additional plays since last time we did this check.

Poison – Nothin’ But A Good Time
iTunes stats: 27 plays, most recently on 7/28/2022

Most likely originally recorded from The Blaze, the debut single from Poison’s previous album and arguably their second biggest hit, picked up an impressive ten new listens over the past four years.

MC Hammer – Have You Seen Her
iTunes stats: 17 plays, most recently on 11/10/2022

This unlikely cover of the 1971 hit by The Chi-Lites more than doubled up its number of plays over the since my 43rd birthday.

Cheap Trick – Can’t Stop Fallin’ Into Love
iTunes stats: 26 plays, most recently on 8/24/2022

Cheap Trick’s last single to hit the Top 40, the first release from their 11th studio album, which became “our song” between my first girlfriend and me, had a healthy increase of six listens over the last few years.

Nelson – (Can’t Live Without Your) Love and Affection
iTunes stats: 12 plays, most recently on 8/23/2019

Matthew and Gunnar’s big hit, which topped the Billboard charts, added a single new play and has not been heard since well before the start of the pandemic.

Warrant – Cherry Pie
iTunes stats: 34 plays, most recently on 11/1/2022

A mere three new plays for the lead single from the band’s sophomore album, which was allegedly written in fifteen minutes on the inside of a pizza box that is currently on display at the Hard Rock Cafe in Destin, Florida.

Johnny Gill – Rub You The Right Way
iTunes stats: 19 plays, most recently on 12/8/2022

The solo debut from the New Edition alumnus, ranked as the 23rd biggest hit of 1990, picked up three additional plats in the last four years.

Side B

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Yet Another Mix Tape Monday – Volume 2

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.

Once again, some older songs are mixed in with the hits of the day: Rag Doll and Dude (Looks Like A Lady) from Aerosmith’s 1987 album Permanent Vacation.  I had managed to borrow the cassette from my friend Scott and for some reason felt the need to add those two tracks, but only those two tracks, to my Favorites collection at the same time that more current hits from the band’s latest album, Pump, were on the charts. While I’m sure I returned the cassette to Scott at some point, I do currently have possession of it, sitting in a box in my closet alongside all of my other cassettes, including this homemade collection.

Volume 2 picks up in early 1990 and takes us through early summer, book-ended by Roxette hits and featuring another steady stream of hair metal and pop, with a little rap and R&B thrown in for flavor.

Side A

Roxette – Dangerous
iTunes stats: 23 plays, most recently on 5/14/2021

Originally recorded from American Top 40, the fifth and final single from Roxette’s second album added six listens to its play total over these past four years.

Skid Row – Youth Gone Wild
iTunes stats: 25 plays, most recently on 12/6/2022

The first release from Skid Row, which peaked at #99 on the Billboard charts, nearly doubled its numbers of plays over the past four years.

Biz Markie – Just A Friend
iTunes stats: 37 plays, most recently on 10/28/2022

Ranked #81 on VH1s list of Greatest One Hit Wonders, Biz Markie’s smash added a dozen more listens over the past four years, partially in tribute following his 2021 death,

Mötley Crüe – Without You
iTunes stats: 24 plays, most recently on 6/16/2021

Peaking at #8 on the Billboard charts, the ballad, said to be about drummer Tommy Lee’s relationship with Heather Locklear, picked up seven additional spins since 2019.

Aerosmith – What It Takes
iTunes stats: 18 plays, most recently on 6/20/2019

The third single from Aerosmith’s Pump album, which peaked at #9 on the Billboard charts, picked up a mere three plays over the last four years and none since mid-2019.

MC Hammer – U Can’t Touch This
iTunes stats: 16 plays, most recently on 6/6/2021

The first rap song to be nominated for the Record of the Year Grammy, MC Hammer’s signature tune fizzled over the past four years with only three new listens.

Aerosmith – Rag Doll
iTunes stats: 17 plays, most recently on 4/20/2020

Released back in 1988, the final single from Aerosmith’s Permanent Vacation album, which peaked at #17 on the Billboard Hot 100, added has not been heard since the earliest days of the pandemic.

Side B

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Yet Another Mix Tape Monday – Volume 1

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 3 years.

Bon Jovi should have been my first concert.  Their fourth studio album, New Jersey, was released in September of 1988 with a supporting tour starting soon after.  My sister, a big Bon Jovi fan, had convinced my mom to get us tickets, either to the March 24, 1989, show at the Rosemont Horizon or later that summer, August 4, at Alpine Valley.  I remember watching my mom make the phone call to get to tickets and then… nothing.

No tickets ever came in the mail and the show went on without us.  Now, it is entirely possible that this was an early introduction of the ineptitude of Ticketmaster, but knowing what I know now, more likely it was a sham.  A fake phone call or a real phone call made but a credit card that had no chance of the transaction going through.  We were not in the position to just shrug if something we ordered and paid for just didn’t show up and, to my recollection, there was no fuss made about the missing tickets.

Four years later, Bon Jovi, who placed three tracks on this first volume of hits that I started in 1989 during my sophomore year of high school, became both my second and third concerts.  This turned into one of the more disjointed volumes in the collection, with the hits of the day combined with older tracks, a morning zoo radio bit, and an album track thrown in for good measure.

Side A

Warrant – Heaven
iTunes stats: 16 plays, most recently on 11/27/2021

The biggest hit from Warrant, which I most likely originally recorded from Z95, peaked at #2 on the Billboard charts.  It has added a mere three plays over the last three years, the most recent coming more than a year ago.

Young MC – Bust A Move
iTunes stats: 33 plays, most recently on 9/1/2022

One of the first tunes I bought on cassingle, this one hit wonder, which featured Flea on bass, won the Grammy for Best Rap Performance in 1990.  It had another impressive increase, gaining seven plays since 2019.

New Kids Got Run Over By A Reindeer

Thanks to YouTube, I am finally able to confirm that this parody song that I originally heard on the Welch & Woody morning show on Z95 actually existed.  I have yet to add it to my collection.

Bon Jovi – You Give Love A Bad Name
iTunes stats: 16 plays, most recently on 2/15/2022

Originally written by Desmond Child for Bonnie Tyler, the song was rewritten and became the first single from Bon Jovi’s third album in 1986.  After a big jump between 2015 and 2019, it has been heard only twice in the three years since.

B-52s – Love Shack
iTunes stats: 18 plays, most recently on 10/5/2022

I’m still hoping to acquire the album version of the song on MP3, which I had originally taped off the radio.   In spite of that, I’ve managed to add five listens over the last three years.

Paula Abdul – The Way That You Love Me
iTunes stats: 14 plays, most recently on 5/18/2021

After stalling out on the Billboard charts on its original release in 1988, the song, along with a video by future Academy Award nominee David Fincher, was re-released the following year, making it up to #3.  Despite having not heard the song for the past year and a half, it nearly doubled its plays in these past three years.

Richard Marx – Right Here Waiting
iTunes stats: 14 plays, most recently on 3/16/2022

The #1 hit, the third consecutive for Marx, was the second single from his second album.  After a big showing between 2015 and 2019, it has slowed down, with only four new plays in the three years since.

Side B

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