Tag / Metro

by admin

iTunes Top 200: #19 – 27

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 songs in my iTunes library, featuring he songs I have listened to the most since 2007.  It is time to do so again, seeing which older songs still resonate and if any newer ones have joined the fray.  So, without further ado, here are my most listened to songs, based on number of plays as of January 1, 2025.

With the top of the charts in sight, we continue this week with songs ranking from 27th place with 56 plays up to those with 65 plays apiece, good enough for 19th place since my stats began in late 2007.

#27: Veruca Salt – Seether
iTunes stats: 56 plays, most recently on 2/5/2024
Previous ranking: #29

The group’s debut single was ranked as the 10th greatest grunge song of all time by Paste magazine in 2014.

#27: Garbage – Bad Boyfriend
iTunes stats: 56 plays, most recently on 10/26/2022
Previous ranking: #23

This lead track from the band’s fourth album features Dave Grohl, of Foo Fighters and Nirvana fame, on drums.

#27: Foo Fighters – Monkey Wrench
iTunes stats: 56 plays, most recently on 10/28/2024
Previous ranking: #36

The first single from the band’s second album, chronicling the disintegration of singer/song writer Dave Grohl’s four-year marriage to Jennifer Youngblood.

#27: Barenaked Ladies – If I Had $1,000,000
iTunes stats: 56 plays, most recently on 2/5/2023
Previous ranking: #23

This live version of the song was recorded at Chicago’s own Metro theatre.

#26: The Cast of Buffy the Vampire Slayer – The Mustard
iTunes stats: 57 plays, most recently on 2/5/2023
Previous ranking: #22

A short interlude from the musical episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer about the joys of dry cleaning.

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by admin

Yet Another Mix Tape Monday – Volume 19

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’ve done some crazy things over the years in an attempt to impress a girl that I liked.  One of the earliest was to buy tickets for a concert I really had no interest in attending just because my crush at the time liked the band’s one hit.  I had a couple things working against me: 1) she already had a boyfriend and 2) they were going to an earlier show on the tour and thus she saw the band the week before.  This is the story of I how I ended up at the Metro on the day after my 21st birthday watching Tripping Daisy with a couple hundred of my closest friends.

One of the upsides of a global pandemic and my subsequent move to remote work is that I don’t come across people  and thus no longer have any crushes to try and impress.  Saves me both time and money.

Volume 19 stretches from late summer 1995 and into the fall semester of the first of my two senior years of college.  Again, it mostly features what was considered alternative music, with Coolio interjecting some street flavor for good measure.

Side A

Tripping Daisy – I Got A Girl
iTunes stats: 14 plays, most recently on 12/10/2021

The one hit for Tripping Daisy, who I saw in concert the day after my 21st birthday, managed to make its way into my rotation a mere three times over the last four years.

Foo Fighters – This Is A Call
iTunes stats: 37 plays, most recently on 6/4/2021

Written a few months after the death of Kurt Cobain, the debut for Dave Grohl’s new venture earned eleven additional plays over these past four years.

Pearl Jam – Whipping
iTunes stats: 14 plays, most recently on 11/10/2022

Six new listens for the final appearance of Pearl Jam on these collections, which received plenty of airplay on Q101 despite not being officially released as a single.

Hootie and the Blowfish – Only Wanna Be With You
iTunes stats: 15 plays, most recently on 3/23/2022

Hootie’s ode to, among other things, the Miami Dolphins added seven new listens in the past four years.

Elastica – Stutter
iTunes stats: 12 plays, most recently on 5/20/2022

Originally released in November 1993, it was re-released the following year, made its way to radio in 1995, and doubled its listens over the past four years.

Cranberries – Ridiculous Thoughts
iTunes stats: 13 plays, most recently on 11/19/2019

Four listens for the latest from the Cranberries, though none since the world stopped thanks to COVID.

Green Day – J.A.R.
iTunes stats: 17 plays, most recently on 7/9/2022

Green Day’s contribution to the Angus soundtrack picked up a mere four listens over the past four years.

Alanis Morissette – Hand In My Pocket
iTunes stats: 21 plays, most recently on 11/20/2021

Hitting #4 on the Billboard charts, the second release from the juggernaut that was Jagged Little Pill added seven listens in the past four years.

Side B

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by admin

Travelling The 50 States – Illinois

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 continue today with the 21st state to be added to the Union: Illinois.

State: Illinois
Joined the Union: 1818
Visits: 16,000+

How do you track how often you’ve been in the state you’ve lived in your entire life, save for your time away at college?  My first “visit” came nearly 48 years ago on the day I was born at Mercy Hospital on the south side of Chicago.

I’ve managed to do 18 of the Bicentennial Bucket List: 200 Things To Do In Illinois, published by the Chicago Tribune in 2018 to celebrate the best the state has to offer in history, food, architecture, culture, sports, nature, drink, and oddities.  Among the places I visited were Water Tower, Morton Arboretum, Route 66, United Center, Skydeck at Willis Tower, the former Arlington International Racecourse, Rialto Square Theatre, Lake Michigan, The Second City, Chicago Sports Museum, and the Superman statue in downstate Metropolis.

I’ve seen baseball games at Wrigley Field, Comiskey Park, and Guaranteed Rate Field.  I’ve seen football games at Soldier Field, Memorial Stadium, Ryan Field, and Wrigley Field.  I’ve seen basketball games at the United Center, Welsh-Ryan Arena, State Farm Center, and Allstate Arena.  I’ve seen hockey games at the United Center.  I’ve seen both the White Sox and the Cubs win the World Series.  I’ve seen the Bears win a Super Bowl.  I’ve seen the Bulls win 6 NBA Championships.  I’ve even seen the Blackhawks win a Stanley Cup or two.

I’ve seen concerts at Wrigley Field, City Winery, Ravinia, the Riviera Theatre, Abbey Pub, Metro, the Chicago Theatre, United Center, Charter One Pavilion, Allstate Arena, The Vic Theatre, House of Blues, World Music Theatre, Soldier Field, and Mabel’s,

by admin

iTunes Top 200 Artists: #7

6 years ago, we first counted down the then Top 100 artists in my iTunes library.  Since that time, I’ve successfully managed to migrate my music collection to a new PC with the stats intact and expanded the count down to the Top 200..  It’s been 3 years, so I figured it was time to take yet another look at my Top 200 artists, based on the number of plays from late 2007 through January 1, 2021.

Twin sisters who bonded in high school over a love of music following the discovery of their step-dad’s guitar, we continue today with at #7 with Sara Quin and Tegan Quin, known professionally as the band Tegan & Sara.

#7: Tegan and Sara
iTunes stats: 657 plays
Previous ranking: #7

Tegan and Sara entered my consciousness in the early 2000s, when I Hear Noises started to get some airplay on WXRT.  Since then, I’ve seen them in concert, read their book. and listened to their music, with 84 songs from 10 different albums in my collection.  They’ve stayed even on the charts, thanks to a mere 50% increase in listens over the past four years.  

I saw them in concert in October of 2005, at the end of what was a very busy week.  Prior to the show, I settled in at Rock Bottom in River North to watch the end of Game 3 of the ALDS as the White Sox finished off their sweep of the Red Sox.  After the game, a group of us hopped on the Red Line and headed north to Wrigleyville to check out Tegan and Sara at the Metro.  To be honest, I don’t remember much about the show at all.  The album they were touring in support of, So Jealous, is one of my favorites and I’m sure I enjoyed the performance.  But, my favorite baseball team was headed for the ALCS, I’d just been to two playoff games, and the Weezer and Foo Fighters show was earlier that week.  It’s all sort of jumbled together at this point.

 

by admin

iTunes Top 200: #21 – 29

itunes_image4 years ago, we last counted down the Top 200 songs 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 my most listened to songs, based on number of plays as of January 1, 2020.

Today, we breach the 50 listens plateau, according to my iTunes stats dating back to late 2007.

#29: The Lonely Island – Lazy Sunday (ft. Chris Parnell)
iTunes stats: 47 plays, most recently on 10/16/2019
Previous ranking: #20

A bit of a drop down the charts for the original SNL digital short that put the Lonely Island on the pop culture map and defined the phrase “viral video”.

#29: Chance The Rapper – Step Up Part 1
iTunes stats: 47 plays, most recently on 1/24/2019
Previous ranking: Unranked

An auspicious debut for this portion of the hype video the rapper created for the White Sox used during the 2016 season.

#28: Foo Fighters – All My Life
iTunes stats: 49 plays, most recently on 9/25/2019
Previous ranking: #22

A slight decrease for the live version of the song from the Live in Hyde Park bootleg.

#27: Montell Jordan – This Is How We Do It
iTunes stats: 50 plays, most recently on 1/24/2019
Previous ranking: Unranked

A strong debut for the main walk up song for former White Sox outfielder Adam Eaton.

#23: Van Halen – Jump
iTunes stats: 52 plays, most recently on 8/11/2019
Previous ranking: #96

A tremendous jump (see what I did there?) for the song that, for years, was used as the Chicago Cubs took the field at their home games.

#23: Tag Team – Whoomp! There It Is
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by admin

Top 200 Albums – #31 – 40

itunes_imageNearly 4 years ago, we first counted down the Top 200 albums in my iTunes library. Since that time, I’ve successfully managed to migrate my music collection to a new PC with the stats intact. So, I figured it was time to take another look, based on number of plays from late 2007 through January 1, 2018.

We continue with the next batch of 10 albums ranked between #31 and 40, including 3 studio recordings, 3 greatest hits packages, and 1 live performance.

#40: Patton Oswalt – Finest Hour
iTunes stats: 128 plays
Previous Ranking: N/A

The fourth album from the mind of Patton Oswalt makes an impressive debut on the list.

#39: Garfunkel and Oates – Music Songs
iTunes stats: 129 plays
Previous Ranking: 36

8 tracks from the musical comedy duo of Riki Lindhome and Kate Micucci make up this total.

#38: David Cross – Shut Up, You Fucking Baby!
iTunes stats: 130 plays
Previous Ranking: 54

Every track from the first comedy album from David Cross makes up this total.

#37: Garbage – Garbage
iTunes stats: 132 plays
Previous Ranking: 54

The debut album from the Garbagers, whose total would be higher if not for their greatest hits album, makes the list on the backs of 12 tunes.

#36: Motley Crue – Motley Crue Greatest Hits
iTunes stats: 133 plays
Previous Ranking: 29

9 of the glam metal bands biggest hits make up the total for this greatest hits package.

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by admin

iTunes Top 200: #21 – 30

itunes_image3 years ago, we first counted down the then Top 100 songs in my iTunes library. Since that time, I’ve successfully managed to migrate my music collection to a new PC with the stats intact. So, I figured it was time to take another look, expanding out the field to the top 200 songs, based on number of plays as of January 1, 2016.

We continue today with the 10 songs that comprise #s 21-30, with plays throughout the 30s, four of which come from the same band and another three are television show theme songs.

#30: Foo Fighters – Everlong
iTunes stats: 31 plays, most recently on 10/23/2015
Previous ranking: #36

A live version of the band’s biggest hit, from their Skin and Bones album.

#29: Garbage – Bad Boyfriend
iTunes stats: 32 plays, most recently on 10/17/2015
Previous ranking: #27

The first track from the band’s fourth album features Dave Grohl, of Foo Fighters and Nirvana fame, on drums.

#27: Dr. John – My Opinionation
iTunes stats: 33 plays, most recently on 11/7/2015
Previous ranking: #32

The theme song to Blossom, the 90s pantheon to weird teenage girls being themselves.

#27: Katy Perry – I Kissed A Girl
iTunes stats: 33 plays, most recently on 10/27/2015
Previous ranking: #24

A small drop for the song ranked #66 for the decade of the 2000s by Billboard magazine..

FooFighters#25: Foo Fighters – Everlong
iTunes stats: 35 plays, most recently on 10/30/2015
Previous ranking: #23

The second version of the song to make the countdown this week, this one being a live version from the band’s concert in London’s Hyde Park.

#25: The Crystal Method – Bones Theme
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by admin

Top 200 Albums – #29 – 37

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 crack the top 30 with the 9 albums ranked from 37th to 29th with between 76 and 86 listens.

#29: Motley Crue – Motley Crue Greatest Hits
iTunes stats: 86 plays
9 of the glam metal bands biggest hits make up the total for this greatest hits package.

#29: Garbage – Chicago ’05
iTunes stats: 86 plays
This bootleg, from the bands 2005 show at the Metro, uses all 17 songs from its setlist to make up this total.

#29: P.O.D. – Satellite
iTunes stats: 86 plays
2 tunes, and former White Sox closer Bobby Jenks, are responsible for this total.

#32: The Beatles – Past Masters, Vol. 2 [2009 Stereo Remaster]
iTunes stats: 84 plays
This remastered version of the album has 10 songs that make up its total.

#33: The Beatles (White Album) [Disc 1] [2009 Stereo Remaster]
iTunes stats: 82 plays
This remastered version of the classic double album has 8 songs that make up its total.

#34: Garbage – Version 2.0
iTunes stats: 80 plays
12 tracks from the band’s second album make up this total.

#34: Various Artists – Buffy The Vampire Slayer: The Album
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by jim

The 10,000 Step Club Revisited

Last spring, I took an initial look at the top 20 step days I’ve had since starting the GlobalFit program way back in July of 2011.  At the time, I had only surpassed the 10,000 step plateau 31 times.  In the 8 months since then, I have managed to raise that number to 45.  With the GlobalFit program officially wrapping up earlier this week, I thought it would be appropriate to take a new, and final, look at my updated top 20 step days over the past 3 1/2 years.

btn10K-41: 6/6/2013 – 24,988 steps

My best single day total came during my 2013 trip to Disney World.  The day’s excursion to both Epcot Center and the Magic Kingdom ended up with a total of approximately 12.5 miles.  And yes, it still bothers me that I didn’t get those 12 additional steps to reach 25,000.

2: 7/27/2013 – 20,592 steps

My second highest total came nearly 2 months after my highest, thanks to the BTN 5K and a, for lack of a better word, misunderstanding about where I should be picked up after the race.  These 2 days are the sum total of my days over 20,000 steps.

3: 6/8/2013 – 17,852 steps

My third highest output brings us back to Disney World, this time for a day split between Animal Kingdom in the morning and Hollywood Studios in the afternoon.

4: 9/23/2014 – 15,728 steps

A new addition since my original list, this total was accomplished thanks to the Sprint & Stride 5K race that was held at work last fall.

5: 9/9/2012 – 14,957 steps

We round out the top 5 with my highest total outside of the United States.  A Sunday in Belfast spent walking from our hotel, down to the Titanic museum, and then back again.

6: 6/7/2013 – 14,940 steps

Another day of 2013’s vacation to Disney World, this day started with a morning trip to the hotel pool, followed by an abbreviated day at the Magic Kingdom.

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by admin

Concert Flashback: Garbage IV

12garbageWith the Cubs on the road, I was able find parking across from Wrigley Field well before the start of the show, Garbage’s first in Chicago in 7 years.  Prior to heading downtown to meet Tina for dinner prior to the show, I walked past the Metro just in time to see Shirley Manson and Butch Vig mingling with the fans, signing autographs and taking pictures.

In the less than 2 years since this show, I have lost any and all thoughts about White Mystery, the opening act.  We showed up in the middle of their performance following a delightful dinner at the Weber Grill.  Once they finished, Garbage came out and, led by Manson, put on a riveting 90 minute show that combined the bands hits from the past 17 years along with songs from their newest effort.

The night was hot, and not just because of the music or Manson.  By the end of the show, my shirt was completely soaked through.  But it was worth it.  While I missed their return performance the following spring, I’m looking forward to them coming back to Chicago once again and dragging my old self out to see them, reliving my youth for an evening.