Tag / Michelle Trachtenberg

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Another One Bites The Dust

Little more than a year after the death of former co-star Michelle Trachtenberg, Buffy the Vampire Slayer star Nicholas Brendon died Friday at his San Francisco home at the age of 54.  Brendon, who had suffered public struggles with alcohol and drug abuse and mental illness, revealed in 2023 that he had suffered a heart attack and had been diagnosed with a congenital heart defect.  His death is believed to have been due to natural causes.

Brendon made his first mark in the entertainment industry as Xander Harris on Buffy, starring for the show’s seven season run between the WB and the CW.  He failed to find long term success following the show’s end, starring in the adaptation of Anthony Bourdain’s memoir Kitchen Confidential, which lasted four episodes, and scoring notable guest appearances on Criminal Minds and Private Practice.

It has been a rough week for Buffy fans, with Brendon’s death coming on the heels of the news that Hulu was passing on the pilot for the planned sequel series from director Chloe Zhao and original star Sarah Michelle Gellar.

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The End Of Dawn

Former Buffy the Vampire Slayer star Michelle Trachtenberg, who joined the main cast in the fifth season as Dawn, Buffy’s younger sister/mystical key, died yesterday in her New York City home at the age of 39.  She was believed to have recently undergone a liver transplant and her death was attributed to natural causes, pending an autopsy.

Trachtenberg earned early fame in the mid-90s, appearing on The Adventures of Pete & Pete on Nickelodeon and All My Children on ABC.  In 1996, at the age of 10, she nabbed the title role in the film Harriet the Spy.  She joined the cast of Buffy in 2000 and remained on the show until its conclusion in 2003.  In 2004, she appeared as one of the leads in the teen comedy EuroTrip.

Despite being the youngest main cast member by far, Trachtenberg is the first actor from the cult classic series to prematurely shuttle off this mortal coil.  Earlier this month, a sequel series was announced at Hulu, with Sarah Michelle Gellar reprising her role as Buffy on a recurring basis.  There was no word if any other cast members, including Trachtenberg, would be involved.

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iTunes Top 200: #158 – 183

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.

We continue this week with the final batch of songs tied for 183rd place with 36 plays apiece and the start of the songs ranked 158th with 37 plays since my stats began in late 2007.

#183: Eminem – Stan
iTunes stats: 36 plays, most recently on 3/29/2024
Previous ranking: #144

Featuring a sample of Dido’s Thank You, the song’s title has given rise to a slang term online which refers to overzealous, maniacal, overly obsessed fans of a celebrity or personality.

#183: Def Leppard – Let’s Get Rocked
iTunes stats: 36 plays, most recently on 10/2/2024
Previous ranking: NR

The first release from the band following the death of guitarist Steve Clark, the track, which hit #1 on Billboard’s Album Rock Tracks chart, has picked up ten new listens in the past six years.

#183: The Cast of Buffy the Vampire Slayer – Dawn’s Lament
iTunes stats: 36 plays, most recently on 3/31/2024
Previous ranking: #144

Michelle Trachtenberg’s contribution to the soundtrack to the musical episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer added five new plays in these past five years.

#183: The Beatles – Day Tripper
iTunes stats: 36 plays, most recently on 9/13/2024
Previous ranking: NR

Influenced by the soul music the group encountered during their US tour, it was released as a double A-side single in December of 1965 with We Can Work It Out.

#183: The Beatles – Can’t Buy Me Love
iTunes stats: 36 plays, most recently on 9/30/2019
Previous ranking: #79

Somehow, I haven’t listened to this 1964 hit, which posted the largest pre-SoundScan jump to #1 (from #27) on the Billboard charts, in nearly six years. Continue reading →

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iTunes Top 200: #125 – 144

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.

We have completed the first quarter of the countdown and, today, we finish up the final batch of songs tied for 144th place with 31 listens and move on to the first group tied for 125th since my stats began in late 2007.

#144: The Cast of Buffy the Vampire Slayer – Dawn’s Lament
iTunes stats: 31 plays, most recently on 11/9/2019
Previous ranking: Unranked

Michelle Trachtenberg’s entry to the Buffy musical episode makes a strong debut.

#144: Biz Markie – Just A Friend
iTunes stats: 31 plays, most recently on 11/14/2019
Previous ranking: Unranked

An impressive debut for the song ranked #81 on VH1s list of Greatest One Hit Wonders and which appears on Volume 2 of my mix tapes.

#144: Bill Haley & His Comets – Shake, Rattle and Roll
iTunes stats: 31 plays, most recently on 10/25/2019
Previous ranking: Unranked

Featured in Clue: The Movie, it is considered the first giant rock and roll hit after, along with Joe Turner’s version of the song, selling over 1 million copies.

#144: The Beatles – I Saw Her Standing There
iTunes stats: 31 plays, most recently on 7/28/2019
Previous ranking: #118

A big drop for the B-side to the group’s first American single, it spent 11 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at #14.

#144: The Beatles – A Hard Day’s Night
iTunes stats: 31 plays, most recently on 8/22/2019
Previous ranking: #96

A bigger drop for the title track to both the album and the movie.

#144: The Beatles – Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da
Continue reading →