Tag / Howard Stern

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30 For 30 – Take One Ultimate Road Trip

SheaBoardThe fine folks at away.com have come up with a list of 30 Things Every Traveler Must Do Before They’re 30.  Of those 30, I’ve managed to accomplish 12 of them, or roughly 40% of them, some of which was even before I turned 30.  Today we look at #12 on their list, take one Ultimate Road Trip.  In the year 2003, the Chicago Cubs were scheduled to open their season on Monday, March 31 in Queens against the New York Mets.  What better way to celebrate than with a road trip to New York to take in the festivities?

The trip sort of started out Friday afternoon with a quick jaunt out to the Budget rental facility near O’Hare airport.  They were the one rental agency that didn’t seem to mind that we were taking the car out of state.  It for real started the next morning at 2 AM as we headed out on I-80 heading east.  Very little of interest happened throughout Indiana and Ohio.  Eventually, we stopped for lunch at an Arbys in Pennsylvania.  This particular Arbys happened to have a breakfast buffet, which was weird.  The customers of this Arbys seemed to be more at home in the hills of Appalachia then in Pennsylvania.  One in particular was wearing overalls with no shirt underneath (at least that’s how I remember it) and was waiting patiently for a new batch of bacon to be brought out to the buffet.  Once it was, this hill person got up, emptied the whole tray onto his plate, and returned to his seat to chow down.

After finishing our processed meat sandwiches, we continued on to our final destination: a Howard Johnson hotel in Newark, New Jersey.  From my recollection, the whole trip lasted a little more than 12 hours.  After a brief nap and a few episodes of the Chappelle Show, our plans for the evening required a train ride to Manhattan, which should have been a piece of cake.  There was a train at the airport and an airport shuttle should have come to the hotel every 15-20 minutes.  After waiting for an hour, the shuttle finally showed up, taking us to the Newark airport where we were finally able to take the train into New York City!

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Mix Tape Monday – Live Tracks

After my tape deck crapped out in 1997, I was stuck listening to either the radio or full albums in whatever order the artist intended. That all changed in 2001, when the new-fangled MP3 technology got combined with my new CD burner.

In addition to the occasional series of CDs I had burned in order to keep abreast of new music, I had created a bunch of genre-specific mixes that could be used both in the car and at the gym. This week we will take a look at the first disc covering the world of live music.  One of the best things about the confluence of music and the internet in the early 21st century was the availability of bootleg live performances that, at one time, would have been available only to serious collectors or the lucky few to attend the concerts.  In fact, there was so much of it that this was the only collection to go beyond 2 discs.  So, without further ado,  I bring you Live Music, volume 1.

Tesla – Signs

Tesla’s biggest hit was this acoustic cover of the Five Man Electrical Band hit from 1971.

iTunes stats: 4 plays, most recently on 5/4/2011

Juliana Hatfield – Say It Ain’t So

This bootleg track has the indie darling covering the hit from Weezer’s debut album.

iTunes stats: Never played

Pearl Jam – My Way

This quirky cover of the Frank Sinatra standard came from a concert in (where else) Las Vegas.

iTunes stats: 5 plays, most recently on 9/6/2011

Veruca Salt – Seether

A live version of Veruca Salt’s biggest hit.

iTunes stats: Never played

Travis – Baby One More Time

The Scottish band, who I likely would have never heard from otherwise, covered the Britney Spears hit during a concert at The Bay Tavern in Robin Hood’s Bay, North Yorkshire, England.

iTunes stats: 13 plays, most recently on 11/27/2012

Def Leppard – Two Steps Behind

From a foreign version of their greatest hits package, recorded live in Sheffield on June 6, 1993.

iTunes stats: 4 plays, most recently on 5/1/2011

K’s Choice – Not An Addict

Recorded live at the 2001 Rock am Ring festival at the Nürburgring racetrack in Germany.

iTunes stats: Never played

Garbage – When I Grow Up

I’m assuming the live version on this disc is from the 2005 show at Metro that I attended.  The only reason I’m not sure is that I have so many Garbage bootlegs, it’s hard to be sure.

iTunes stats: 6 plays, most recently on 1/6/2011

Stone Temple Pilots – Dancing Days

An acoustic version of their Led Zepplin cover, which I think may be from the Howard Stern show.

iTunes stats: Never played

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Mix Tape Monday – March 2005

After my tape deck crapped out in 1997, I was stuck listening to either the radio or full albums in whatever order the artist intended.  That all changed in 2001, when the new-fangled MP3 technology got combined with my new CD burner.

So, we skip ahead to 2005 with this entry.  Perhaps nothing interesting happened in music in 2004.  Along with a couple of television theme songs, we have new music from Snoop Dogg, Tegan and Sara, and Garbage.

Letters To Cleo – Here And Now

The biggest hit for the Boston based band.

iTunes stats: 13 plays, most recently on 3/13/2012

Creedence Clearwater Revival – Fortunate Son

As President Bush’s second term gets under way, this song suddenly became relevant again.

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

Andy Partridge – I Wonder Why The Wonderfalls

The theme song to the short-lived Fox show Wonderfalls.

iTunes stats: 10 plays, most recently on 5/19/2012

Nazareth – Love Hurts

The staple of classic rock stations in the late 80s and early 90s.

iTunes stats: 3 plays, most recently on 8/10/2011

Snoop Dogg – Drop It Like It’s Hot

The first song from Snoop Dogg that I’ve liked since his debut album.

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

AC/DC – For Those About To Rock (We Salute You)

I suppose we have Artie Lange and the Howard Stern Show to thank for the inclusion of this classic.

iTunes stats: 1 play, on 7/30/2012

Ludacris – Get Back

The latest release from the Champaign-born rapper.

iTunes stats: 12 plays, most recently on 1/4/2013

Black Eyed Peas – Let’s Get It Started

The PC version of the ubiquitous hit that introduced the Black Eyed Peas to a mainstream audience.

iTunes stats: 5 plays, most recently on 10/2/2011

The Dandy Warhols – We Used To Be Friends

The theme song to the wonderful Veronica Mars program.

iTunes stats: 20 plays, most recently on 1/2/2013

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Mix Tape Monday – June 2002

After my tape deck crapped out in 1997, I was stuck listening to either the radio or full albums in whatever order the artist intended.  That all changed in 2001, when the new-fangled MP3 technology got combined with my new CD burner.

This CD has a crazy mix of songs used as part of talk radio shows and odd live cover versions of songs along with the latest releases from Eminem, Abandoned Pools, and reality TV star Kelly Osbourne.

Soup Dragons – Running Wild (edit)

This edit of the Soup Dragons song was used as the opening theme of the old Q101 morning show hosted by Wendy Snyder and Bill Leff.

Eminem – Without Me

The latest smash hit from the non-Vanilla Ice.

iTunes stats: 10 plays, most recently on 5/30/2012

Kelly Osbourne – Papa Don’t Preach

Fresh off the surprise reality smash of the year comes Ozzy’s youngest daughter.

iTunes stats: 5 plays, most recently on 9/7/2011

Abandoned Pools – The Remedy

The debut single from a band that was never heard from again.

iTunes stats: 1 play, on 7/30/2012

Garbage – Cherry Lips (Go Baby Go)

The unofficial third release from Beautiful Garbage was a number 1 hit in Australia.

iTunes stats: 11 plays, most recently on 8/2/2012

Dave Grohl – TIny Dancer (Live)

This live performance of the Elton John hit comes from the old Craig Kilborn show.

iTunes stats: 10 plays, most recently on 3/13/2012

Ednaswap – Torn (Acoustic)

This live performance by the original performers of the Natalie Imbruglia hit comes from the Howard Stern show.

iTunes stats: Never Played

Pink – Janie’s Got A Gun (Live)

Pink’s cover of the Aerosmith hit comes from a performance on MTV.

iTunes stats: Never Played

Weezer – American Gigolo

Another in a long line of Weezer songs that I had completely forgotten about.

The Strokes – Hard To Explain

The first UK single from The Strokes was their third in the US.

iTunes stats: 12 plays, most recently on 5/25/2012

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Mix Tape Monday – January 2001

After my tape deck crapped out in 1997, I was stuck listening to either the radio or full albums in whatever order the artist intended.  That all changed in 2001, when the new-fangled MP3 technology got combined with my new CD burner.

The first CD I burned, in January of 2001, had multiple versions, and this is the one I kept for myself.  It contains a mix of current and old hits, along with some radio bits.  Of course, my song selection was limited at the time to the CDs and few MP3s I had on hand.

Offspring – Original Prankster

The latest hit from the Offspring kicked things off for this disc.

iTunes stats: 7 plays, most recently on 4/25/2011

Soul Coughing – Super Bon Bon

A minor hit from 1996 for the band from New York.

iTunes stats: 3 plays, most recently on 9/24/2012

Mexican Cheerleader – Our Party

This tune was included to introduce my friend Scott to some local punk music.  I don’t think it did much for him.

iTunes stats: 13 plays, most recently on 9/17/2011

Howard Stern Show Parody – Dancing In Their Sheets

There was a song parody contest on the Howard Stern Show in 2000 and this ode to racism was one of the finalists.

Crew Cuts – Sh-Boom

Seeing as how I just bought this song from the iTunes store last week, I have no idea where I had gotten it from nearly 12 years ago.

iTunes stats: 1 play, on 11/5/2012

Faith Hill – Breathe

Country’s cross-over into pop was big early in the century, and this was one of the bigger hits.

iTunes stats: 4 plays, most recently on 5/26/2012

The Corrs – Breathless

The lasses from Ireland had their first big American pop hit at the time.

iTunes stats: 6 plays, most recently on 11/9/2012

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by jim

30 Day Picture Challenge Day 21 – A Picture Of Something You Wish You Could Forget

It was a normal Tuesday morning at work when the Consultant stopped by my desk to say that a plane had crashed into the World Trade Center and that we were under attack.  Little did I know that for once, Chicken Little was right and the sky really was falling.

Most of the morning was a blur.  Updates were hard to get through traditional sources and most of the news I was getting was from the old Warren Ellis forum on Delphi and whatever incarnation of the Bendis Board was up at the time.  I tried to go out to my car to get an update from the Howard Stern show, which at the time was on a one hour tape delay.  Unfortunately, Chicago was one of the few markets that cut away from the show in order to simulcast a news station.

We all know what happens next: the Pentagon gets hit, another flight crashes in Pennsylvania, and, eventually, the buildings fall.  It’s a day that, for a little while, unified the country, but at great cost.  A day we would all like to forget.  A day we never will.

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Prolific Authors

Since I haven’t finished a book in a while (although I should get one done soon), I thought I would take a look back at the authors I have read the most.  Since I started keeping track, I have read books by 181 different authors, but we will only be looking at those whom I have read more than once.

Author Name Total
Nancy Holder 13
Christopher Golden 12

Most, if not all of these are due to Buffy and Angel tie-in novels.

Greg Rucka 11
Stephen King 9

Strange that these two are bunched together, as I have read all of Rucka’s non-tie-in work, and I haven’t read anything by King in years. That may change next year, though. Continue reading →

by jim

2011 New Fall Season – Thursdays

CBS

Big Bang Theory – The nerds return for more fun.

How To Be A Gentleman –  This looks to be horrible.  I doubt it lasts through November sweeps.

Person Of Interst – Michael Emerson’s first post-Lost series.  That alone is enough of a reason to give this a chance.

The Mentalist – Based on the premiere, it will be more of the same from The Mentalist.  It’s a good enough show, but I can see it burning out quickly if they don’t shake things up sometime soon.

NBC

Community – Back for a surprising third season.  John Goodman has joined in a recurring role, and, so far, looks to have brought his A-game. 

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