Tag / High School

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Mix Tape Monday – Volume 6

Between 1989, my sophomore year of high school, and 1995, my fourth year of college, I put together 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. I thought it would be a fun exercise to look back at all 20 volumes and which of my “favorite” songs I still listen to today.

Volume 6 takes us through the end of high school, through the summer, and into the beginning of my freshman year of college.  Sadly, this is not the original version of volume 6, which was lost after being borrowed by my sister for a party.  The steady stream of hair metal and pop starts to become overtaken by alternative and hip-hop.

Side A

Genesis – I Can’t Dance

The last hit for Genesis was taped off of a radio station that is not distinguishable from the information at hand.

iTunes stats: 2 plays, most recently on 8/12/2011

Ugly Kid Joe – Everything About You

Coming at the end of hair metal’s dominance, Ugly Kid Joe’s big hit sounds like it came from a CD or cassette.

iTunes stats: 8 plays, most recently on 3/15/2012

Joe Public – Live and Learn

Joe Public’s only hit also sounds like it came from a CD or cassette.

iTunes stats: 4 plays, most recently on 12/17/2010

Boyz II Men – Please Don’t Go

The final release from Cooleyhighharmony was taped off of the CD.

iTunes stats: Never Played

Def Leppard – Make Love Like A Man

The second hit from Adrenalize was also taped off of the CD.

iTunes stats: 4 plays, most recently on 4/16/2010

Guns N’ Roses – Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door

The cover from Use Your Illusion II was also taped off of the CD.

iTunes stats: 7 plays, most recently on 3/31/2012

Red Hot Chilli Peppers – Under The Bridge

The breakthrough hit for the Chilli Peppers was taped off the radio, possibly the first appearance of Q101.

iTunes stats: 2 plays, most recently on 8/10/2011

Side B

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by jim

Mix Tape Monday – Volume 4

Between 1989, my sophomore year of high school, and 1995, my fourth year of college, I put together 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. I thought it would be a fun exercise to look back at all 20 volumes and which of my “favorite” songs I still listen to today.

 

Volume 4 places us smack dab in the middle of my junior year of high school, from late 1990 and into 1991, and once again features a healthy dose of hair metal and pop, with a little dance electronica thrown in for good measure.  Judging solely from this tape, you would have no idea that Nirvana’s Nevermind would be released later this year.

 

Side A

Damn Yankees – High Enough

The one big hit from the supergroup featuring Ted Nugent was taped off of the radio, most likely Z95.

iTunes stats: 3 plays, most recently on 3/15/2011

Sweet Sensation – If Wishes Came True

The pop hit was taped off the radio, courtesy of Shadoe Stevens and American Top 40.

iTunes stats: 2 plays, most recently on 6/21/2011

Poison – Fallen Angel

This out of sequence hit was taped off the cassette, but I’m not sure whose.

iTunes stats: 11 plays, most recently on 8/7/2011

Simpsons – Do The Bart Man

With the Simpsons being the hottest thing in pop culture, the first single from their album was taped off the radio from Z95.

iTunes stats: Never played

Roxette – The Look

The first hit from Roxette was taped off of the cassette.

iTunes stats: 1 play, on 10/3/2009

Poison – I Won’t Forget You

Taped off a mixtape I “borrowed” from my friend Mike’s sister.  I’m pretty sure I gave it back eventually.

iTunes stats: 1 play, on 3/19/2011

Side B

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Book 5 (of 52) – 11/22/63

Stephen King - 11/22/63

Imagine stumbling across a wormhole which allowed you to travel back in time, to September 1958.  Anything you did in the past affected the future, until you traveled back in time again and reset everything.  Could you invest the five years necessary to save President Kennedy from an assassin’s bullet?  Even if it meant giving up everything, and everyone, you’ve ever loved?  School teacher Jake Epping finds out in Stephen King’s gripping tale of time travel, patriotism, and the unintended effects of mucking with the past.

I first read King’s work during my freshman year of high school.  In fact, I remember reading Pet Sematary after finishing my Biology final, waiting for the class to be dismissed.  11/22/63 marks my 10th King work, but the first since 1993.  It is a great story about two men on a mission, one a man out of time, the other a man out of place.  Their lives will intersect on the fateful November morning, unless the past is able to defend itself against an interloper and the interloper doesn’t become too complacent in the new life he has made for himself in 1960s small-town Texas.  The only reason it took me so long to get through it is the 842 page count.  If this is indicative of King’s more recent output, then perhaps I won’t wait another 19 years before reading him again.

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Mix Tape Monday – Volume 3

Between 1989, my sophomore year of high school, and 1995, my fourth year of college, I put together 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. I thought it would be a fun exercise to look back at all 20 volumes and which of my “favorite” songs I still listen to today.

 

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

The protest anthem from 2 Live Crew was taped off of the radio, from, if I remember correctly, B96.

iTunes stats: 6 plays, most recently on 3/16/2012

Poison – Unskinny Bop

The first single from Flesh & Blood was taped off of the cassette.

iTunes stats: 4 plays, most recently on 8/1/2011

Poison – Nothin’ But A Good Time

The out of sequence hit from Look What The Cat Dragged In was taped off the radio, most likely the Blaze.

iTunes stats: 6 plays, most recently on 5/14/2011

MC Hammer – Have You Seen Her

The follow up to U Can’t Touch This was taped off the radio, from what I only assume was Z95.  In a funny twist, the next song on the radio, which is quickly cut off, was the aforementioned Unskinny Bop.

iTunes stats: 2 plays, most recently on 9/2/2011

Cheap Trick – Can’t Stop Fallin’ Into Love

Cheap Trick’s hit, which turned into “our song” with my first girlfriend, was also taped off of Z95.

iTunes stats: 10 plays, most recently on 3/25/2012

Nelson – Love and Affection

Nelson’s debut smash was, again, taped off Z95.

iTunes stats: 1 play, on 8/8/2008

Warrant – Cherry Pie

The strip club anthem was taped off the cassingle.

iTunes stats: 8 plays, most recently on 2/28/2012

Johnny Gill – Rub You The Right Way

The solo debut for the New Edition alumnus was also taped off Z95.

iTunes stats: 7 plays, most recently on 9/1/2011

Side B

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by jim

30 Day Picture Challenge Day 19 – A Picture And A Letter

This is more of a picture of a letter than a picture and a letter.  I received this letter a few weeks back informing me that the Christian Brothers, the folks who ran my high school, were filing for bankruptcy protection and if I was touched inappropriately during my high school years, my ability to receive compensation now had a time limit.  So, in the spirit of today’s challenge, I give you my response.

Dear Omni Management Group,

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30 Day Music Challenge Day 19 – A Song From Your Favorite Album

At one point, this was definately my favorite song from my favorite album.  Not sure if either holds true today, but I’ll give it the nod for longevity’s sake, at least.  I remember freshman year biology during the 88-89 school year, where we would debate whether Hysteria or Pyromania was the better Def Leppard album.  You can probably guess what side I supported.  7 of the albums 12 songs were released as singles, with another 2 getting at least some airplay locally on pop radio.  Of course, Pour Some Sugar On Me was the biggest of them all, spending 73 days as the number 1 requested song on Dial MTV before being retired.

by jim

Mix Tape Monday – Volume 1

Between 1989, my sophomore year of high school, and 1995, my fourth year of college, I put together 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. I thought it would be a fun exercise to look back at all 20 volumes and which of my “favorite” songs I still listen to today.

Volume 1 again, was started in 1989 when I was a sophomore and stretches to early 1990, and features a steady stream of hair metal, with a smattering of pop, rap and dance thrown in for good measure.

Side A

Warrant – Heaven

The massive hit that put Warrant on the map was taped off the radio, most likely from Z95.

iTunes stats: 3 plays, most recently on 9/17/2011

Young MC – Bust A Move

Young MC’s one hit was taped from the cassingle.

iTunes stats: 13 plays, most recently on 8/4/2011

New Kids Got Run Over By A Reindeer

Not a real song, but a bit from what I believe was the Welch & Woody morning show on Z95.

Bon Jovi – You Give Love A Bad Name

The first “out of sequence” song was taped from my sister’s cassette.

iTunes stats: 5 plays 5/11/2011

B-52s –  Love Shack

Surprisingly, despite coming from the radio, it is the full version of the song, not the radio edit, unlike the MP3 I have today.

iTunes stats: 2 plays, most recently on 6/29/2011

Paula Abdul – The Way That You Love Me

One of the lesser hits from Abdul’s debut was taped from my sister’s cassette.

iTunes stats: 0 plays

Richard Marx – Right Here Waiting

Marx’s smash hit is another Z95 radio entry.

iTunes stats: 1 play, on 8/31/2008

Side B

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Book 11 (of 52) – Airframe

Airframe – Michael Crichton

I read my first Michael Crichton novel, The Andromeda Strain, in 1989 as a high school assignment for freshman biology with Mr. Draski.  The last Crichton novel I read, The Lost World, was in 1997 during my last semester in college.  That makes Airframe my first exposure to his work as (truly) an adult, and while it didn’t have all of the thrills that I remember from my youth, it was an entertaining, and somewhat beliveable, tale of corporate politics and sensationalistic television”jornalism”.

The story follows the investigation an airplane manufacturer undertakes after one of their planes is involved in an incident.  While their VP for QA tries to get the bottom of things, others on the management team seem to have their own agendas and a video has gotten the attention of a tv news magazine show looking for quick story to fill a hole.  Crichton opens with the initial mystery, what caused the incident, and adds in the true to life intrigue of the corporate backstabbing that happens everyday, along with the dubious ethics of the producers who believe they can create the news to fit their agendas/timeslots.  A worthy effort that didn’t disappoint either the current version of me or the teenager who was a big Crichton fan back in the early to mid 90s.

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Book 1 (of 52) – The Hound of the Baskervilles

The Hound of the Baskervilles - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

The Hound of the Baskervilles - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

In honor of the new film, and with London fresh in my mind, I decided to pull this classic off the bookshelf.  I started it last year (technically I started it in 1988*), but we’ll still count it towards the 2010 total.

I found it interesting that, for a Sherlock Holmes novel, Dr. Watson was the main character and Holmes himself barely appears, save for brief appearances at the beginning and the end.  Seeing as how this is the only Sherlock Holmes tale I’ve read, however, this may not be an unusual thing.  I did enjoy the trip to 1800s London, and how some of the sights named in the book I had just visited.  Overall, a worthy starting place for this 52 book challenge and, probably, the most “scholarly” choice of the year.

*I was originally supposed to read this for Freshman English back in high school.  I remember renting the movie the night before the test, if not the movie itself.  About half way through the book, I found the small slip of paper I was using as a bookmark, so I guess I never did get through it back then.  Hopefully I passed the test.