Tag / Rolling Stone

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Fifty Years Of Music – 1984

Fifty years ago, I made my first appeared on the Earth.  In celebration, we are going to take a look at the year-end Billboard Hot 100 singles chart for each year of my life and see what songs resonated with me at the time and if they continue to do so to this day.

Today, we enter my second decade on the planet and look back at the music of my lifetime with 1984.  I am starting to become more familiar with the songs of the day, either from that time period or from later exposure.  38 of the Hot 100 are familiar to me now, with fourteen of them appearing in my collection in one way or another.

#89: Billy Joel – The Longest Time
iTunes stats: N/A

Written and recorded as a tribute to the music the influenced Joel as a child, the track peaked at #14 on the Hot 100.

#87: Ratt – Round and Round
iTunes stats: 25 plays

Reaching #12, the song is the band’s biggest hit and was ranked as the 20th greatest heavy metal song of all time by Rolling Stone in 2023.

#86: John Cougar Mellencamp – Pink Houses
iTunes stats: N/A

Inspired by a trip Mellencamp took from the airport in Indianapolis to his home in the godforsaken town of Bloomington, the song cracked the top ten, reaching #8 in early 1984.

#79: Madonna – Holiday
iTunes stats: N/A

Entering the Hot 100 in October of 1983, Madonna’s first big hit rose to #16, spending a total of 21 weeks on the charts.

#78: Michael Jackson – Thriller
iTunes stats: N/A

Peaking at #4 in 1984, the track re-enters the charts regularly around Halloween, giving Jackson a top 20 hit in seven straight decades.

#76: The Pointer Sisters – I’m So Excited
iTunes stats: N/A

Originally stalling out at #30 in 1982, this re-mix re-released in 1984 cracked the top ten, reaching #9.

#74: Wang Chung – Dance Hall Days
iTunes stats: 21 plays

A #1 smash on the Dance Club Songs chart, it hit #16 on the Hot 100.

#73: Bananarama – Cruel Summer
iTunes stats: N/A

Featured in The Karate Kid, the second most popular song with this name peaked at #9 in 1984.

#68: Quiet Riot – Cum on Feel the Noize
iTunes stats: 15 plays

Helping to bring national attention to LA’s burgeoning metal scene, this cover of an old Slade tune became the band’s biggest hit, reaching #5.

#66: Madonna – Lucky Star
iTunes stats: N/A

Madonna’s first top five hit, it peaked at #4 in the fall of 1984.

#64: Huey Lewis and the News – If This Is It
iTunes stats: N/A

The group’s fifth top ten hit, this throwback to the doo-wop of the 50s hit #6.

#60: ZZ Top – Legs
iTunes stats: N/A

Cracking the top ten and reaching #8, it remains the band’s highest charting single.

#55: Huey Lewis and the News – I Want a New Drug
iTunes stats: N/A

Peaking at #6, the song earned Lewis a second payday when he sued Ray Parker Jr. for plagiarizing it for his theme to Ghostbusters.

#51: Billy Ocean – Caribbean Queen (No More Love on the Run)
iTunes stats: 13 plays

Ocean took home the 1985 Grammy award for Best Male R&B Vocal performance for this track, making him the first British artist to win in that category.

Continue reading →

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Fifty Years Of Music – 1980

Fifty years ago, I made my first appeared on the Earth.  In celebration, we are going to take a look at the year-end Billboard Hot 100 singles chart for each year of my life and see what songs resonated with me at the time and if they continue to do so to this day.

We continue our look back at the music of my lifetime with 1980, the start of a new decade and the year I wrapped up kindergarten, entered the first grade, and turned six.  I still have no knowledge of these songs from their original release, but it is strange how few of that year’s songs have stood the test of time.  Only fourteen of the Hot 100 are familiar to me now, with only seven of them appearing in my collection in one way or another.

#100: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers – Refugee
iTunes stats: 19 plays

Regarded as one of Petty’s best songs, the track peaked at #15 on the charts.

#75: Billy Joel – You May Be Right
iTunes stats: N/A

Topping out at #7 on the Hot 100, the song was the lead track from Joel’s seventh album.

#66: Irene Cara – Fame
iTunes stats: N/A

The theme song of the film of the same name, it took home the Oscar for Best Original Song in 1980.

#64: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers – Don’t Do Me Like That
iTunes stats: 18 plays

The lead single from the band’s third album, it reached #10 on the charts, becoming the group’s only top ten hit.

#61: Anne Murray – Daydream Believer
iTunes stats: 17 plays

Murray’s version of the Monkees’ classic peaked at #12 on the Hot 100, while topping the Adult Contemporary charts and hitting #3 on the country chart.

#55: Air Supply – All Out of Love
iTunes stats: N/A

Known for singer Russell Hitchcock holding the final note for a then record 16.2 seconds, the track topped out at #2.

#20: Styx – Babe
iTunes stats: N/A

Styx’s first, and only, #1 hit, it was the penultimate single to top the charts in the 1970s.

#19: KC and the Sunshine Band – Please Don’t Go
iTunes stats: 12 plays

The song spent a single week atop the charts, shortly before the breakup of the group.

#11: Rupert Holmes – Escape (The Piña Colada Song)
iTunes stats: 16 plays

The song became the first in Billboard history to climb to #1 on the Hot 100 in two different decades, having been the final #1 hit of the 70s and then returning to the top of the charts in the second week of January.

#9: Billy Joel – It’s Still Rock and Roll to Me
iTunes stats: N/A

The track, Joel’s response to critics of the era’s changing musical styles, spent eleven weeks in the top ten, including two at the top of the charts at the end of July.

#8: Lipps Inc – Funkytown
iTunes stats: N/A

Spending four weeks at #1 on the Hot 100 in the spring, the track ranked #18 in a 2018 listing of the Top 25 Dance Pop Songs of All-Time.

#5: Captain & Tennille – Do That to Me One More Time
iTunes stats: 12 plays

Reaching the top of the charts in mid-February, the song ultimately became the group’s last to crack the Top 40.

#2: Pink Floyd – Another Brick in the Wall, Part II
iTunes stats: N/A

The track was nominated for a Grammy for Best Performance by a Rock Duo or Group and was ranked #384 on Rolling Stone‘s 2010 list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

#1: Blondie – Call Me
iTunes stats: N/A

The theme song to American Gigolo, the song spent six consecutive weeks on the Hot 100, becoming the band’s biggest single.

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Fifty Years Of Music – 1979

Fifty years ago, I made my first appeared on the Earth.  In celebration, we are going to take a look at the year-end Billboard Hot 100 singles chart for each year of my life and see what songs resonated with me at the time and if they continue to do so to this day.

We continue our look back at the music of my lifetime with 1979, the year I started kindergarten and turned five.  I still have no knowledge of these songs from their original release, but we are starting to get to an era where the songs would become some of my favorites.  Only 16 of the Hot 100 are familiar to me now, with just five of them appearing in my collection in one way or another.

#95: Van Halen – Dance the Night Away
iTunes stats: 7 plays

Thought to be the only track written explicitly for the group’s second album, the track peaked at #15 on the Hot 100.

#92: Robert Palmer – Bad Case of Loving You (Doctor, Doctor)
iTunes stats: 16 plays

Originally recorded by Moon Martin the year prior, the cover version from Palmer reached #14 on the charts.

#81: Electric Light Orchestra – Don’t Bring Me Down
iTunes stats: N/A

Perhaps best known for the misheard lyric of “Bruce” following the title line, the track is the band’s highest charting hit in the US.

#78: Earth, Wind & Fire – September
iTunes stats: N/A

Peaking at #8, the song has become an Internet meme in the 21st century, becoming popular every year in September as we approach the 21st.

#53: Sister Sledge – We Are Family
iTunes stats: 14 plays

Chosen by Willie Stargell to be the official theme song of the 1979 Pirates on their way to a World Series title, the track topped out at #2 on the Hot 100.

#48: Village People – In the Navy
iTunes stats: N/A

The group’s final top 10 hit, it reached #3 on the charts.

#40: Kenny Rogers – The Gambler
iTunes stats: N/A

A crossover hit that reached the top of both the Hot 100 and the country charts, the song earned Rogers a Grammy for Best Male Country Vocal Performance in 1980.

#34: Cheap Trick – I Want You to Want Me
iTunes stats: 30 plays

After the original release from 1977 failed to chart, a rockier live version released eleven months later cracked the top 10, peaking at #7.

#31: Peaches & Herb – Shake Your Groove Thing
iTunes stats: N/A

The group’s first charting single since 1971, it spent 22 weeks on the charts, topping out at #5.

#9: Anita Ward – Ring My Bell
iTunes stats: N/A

Sampled by DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince in 1991, the song, which reached the top of the charts, was Ward’s only major hit.

#8: Village People – Y.M.C.A.
iTunes stats: N/A

Peaking at #2, the song has long been used at Wrigley Field when the opposing team makes their first mid-inning pitching change.

#6: Gloria Gaynor – I Will Survive
iTunes stats: N/A

Released in October of 1978, the anthem spent three non-consecutive weeks atop the Hot 100 in 1979.

#5: Peaches & Herb – Reunited
iTunes stats: N/A

A huge crossover smash, it spent four weeks at #1 on both the R&B singles chart and the Hot 100 chart.

#4: Rod Stewart – Da Ya Think I’m Sexy?
iTunes stats: N/A

Ranked at #301 in Rolling Stone’s 2004 list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, it spent four weeks atop the charts in February of 1979.

#3: Chic – Le Freak
iTunes stats: N/A

The group’s third single, it became their first #1 on both the Hot 100 and the R&B charts.

#1: The Knack – My Sharona
iTunes stats: 34 plays

The band’s debut single, it spent six weeks at the top of the charts in the summer of 1979.

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Fifty Years Of Music – 1977

Fifty years ago, I made my first appeared on the Earth.  In celebration, we are going to take a look at the year-end Billboard Hot 100 singles chart for each year of my life and see what songs resonated with me at the time and if they continue to do so to this day.

We continue our look back at the music of my lifetime with 1977, the year of my third birthday.  I still have no knowledge of these songs from their original release, given my age at the time.  Only twelve of the Hot 100 are familiar to me now, with only six of them appearing in my collection in one way or another.

#99: London Symphony Orchestra – Star Wars (Main Title)
iTunes stats: 26 plays

Led by John Williams, the London Symphony Orchestra performed one of the best-known movie themes of all time.

#94: Fleetwood Mac – Go Your Own Way
iTunes stats: N/A

The group’s first top-ten hit in the United States, it was ranked as the 120th greatest song of all time by Rolling Stone in 2010.

#90: Aerosmith – Walk This Way
iTunes stats: 26 plays

First discovered by my generation thanks to the 80s remake with Run-DMC, the original peaked at #10 in early 1977.

#58: Kansas – Carry On Wayward Son
iTunes stats: N/A

Written by guitarist Kerry Livgren, the song became the band’s first Top 40 hit, reaching No. 11 in early 1977, and has remained a staple of classic rock radio.

#53: Heart – Barracuda
iTunes stats: N/A

The song, which peaked at #11 in 1977, was named the 34th-best hard rock song of all time by VH1.

#52: Fleetwood Mac – Don’t Stop
iTunes stats: N/A

Used by Bill Clinton as the theme for his presidential campaign in 1992, the third single from the band’s Rumours album reached #3 in October 1977. 

#33: Commodores – Easy
iTunes stats: N/A

Written by group member Lionel Richie and released in March of 1977, the crossover hit topped the Hot Soul Singles chart in July and peaked at #4 on the Hot 100.

#28: Steve Miller Band – Fly Like an Eagle
iTunes stats: N/A

First performed in 1973, the song was finally released in December of 1976 and went to #2 Hot 100 in March.

#21: Bill Conti – Gonna Fly Now
iTunes stats: 16 plays

Nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song, the theme from Rocky hit #1 in 1977.

#19: Eagles – Hotel California
iTunes stats: 28 plays

Winner of the 1978 Grammy for Record of the Year, the song first entered the charts in late February of 1977 and reached the top for one week in May, becoming the band’s fourth #1 hit.

#14: Jimmy Buffet – Margaritaville
iTunes stats: 21 plays

Buffet’s highest charting single, the tune reached #8 on the Hot 100 char, #13 on the Hot Country Songs chart, and #1 on the Easy Listening chart.  It re-entered the charts in September of 2023 following Buffett’s death on September 1.

#12: ABBA – Dancing Queen
iTunes stats: 11 plays

ABBA’s only number one hit in the United States, the song also topped the charts in 17 other countries.

 

by admin

Fifty Years Of Music – 1976

Fifty years ago, I made my first appeared on the Earth.  In celebration, we are going to take a look at the year-end Billboard Hot 100 singles chart for each year of my life and see what songs resonated with me at the time and if they continue to do so to this day.

We continue our look back at the music of my lifetime with 1976, the year I turned two and featuring the birth of my sister.  Given my young age, I have no knowledge of these songs from their original release.  Only 17 of the Hot 100 are familiar to me now, with only seven of them appearing in my collection in one way or another.

#97: Rick Dees & His Cast of Idiots – Disco Duck
iTunes stats: N/A

Disc jockey Dees, who was working in Memphis at the time, wrote and recorded this novelty song that spent ten weeks in the top ten and peaked at #1 for one week in October of 1976.

#96: Kiss – Rock and Roll All Nite (Live)
iTunes stats: 19 plays

This live version of the band’s 1975 tune peaked at #12 in early 1976 and became the first of six of the band’s songs to crack the Top 20 during the decade.

#89: Peter Frampton – Baby, I Love Your Way (Live)
iTunes stats: N/A

The live version, released as a single from the massive hit Frampton Comes Alive!, topped out at #12.

#87: Thin Lizzy – The Boys Are Back in Town
iTunes stats: N/A

The 272nd best song of all time, per Rolling Stone’s 2021 edition of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, the tune reached #12 in the spring of 1976.

#85: Foghat – Slow Ride
iTunes stats: 20 plays

Named the 45th Best Hard Rock song of all time by VH1 in 2009, Foghat’s highest charting single peaked at #20 in the winter of 1976.

#64: Bay City Rollers – Saturday Night
iTunes stats: N/A

The song became the band’s only #1 hit in the US and the first Billboard #1 of the Bicentennial.

#58: John Sebastian – Welcome Back
iTunes stats: 37 plays

The theme song to Welcome Back, Kotter rocketed to #1 after just five weeks on the chart.

#51: Aerosmith – Dream On
iTunes stats: 21 plays

First released as a single in 1973, the album version was re-released in late 1975, joining the Hot 100 in January of 1976 and finally hitting #6 in April.

#45: KC and the Sunshine Band – That’s The Way (I Like It)
iTunes stats: 17 plays

The band’s second #1 hit, it spent two non-consecutive weeks at the top of the charts at the end of 1975.

#40: Eric Carmen – All By Myself
iTunes stats: 12 plays

The first single from Carmen’s debut solo album, it peaked at #2 and was certified gold in April of 1976.

#37: Gary Wright – Dream Weaver
iTunes stats: N/A Continue reading →

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50 Years Of Music – 1974

Fifty years ago, I made my first appeared on the Earth.  In celebration, we are going to take a look at the year-end Billboard Hot 100 singles chart for each year of my life and see what songs resonated with me at the time and if they continue to do so to this day.

We begin our look back at the music of my lifetime with 1974, the year of my birth.  Given my late-October birthday, I only was around for a little over two months, so I have no knowledge of these songs from their original release.  Only 17 of the Hot 100 are familiar to me now, with only seven of them appearing in my collection in one way or another.

#94: The First Class – Beach Baby
iTunes stats: 22 plays

The band’s sole hit, it peaked at #4 on the Hot 100 at the end of summer, just months before my birth.

#76: Eric Clapton – I Shot The Sheriff
iTunes stats: N/A

Originally written and released by Bob Marley in 1973, this cover provided Clapton with his sole US #1 single.

#72: Elton Jon – Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
iTunes stats: N/A

Released in 1973, it was certified gold in January of 1974 and, in 2010, it was ranked #390 in Rolling Stone’s list of 500 greatest songs of all time.

#64: Golden Earring – Radar Love
iTunes stats: N/A

Considered “a rock masterpiece,” the song by the Dutch band peaked at #13 on the US singles chart.

#63: Bachman-Turner Overdrive – Takin’ Care Of Business
iTunes stats: 19 plays

Recorded in late 1973, the tune, originally conceived when Randy Bachman was still a member of The Guess Who, spent 20 weeks on the Billboard charts.

#56: Rufus & Chaka Khan – Tell Me Something Good
iTunes stats: N/A

Written by Stevie Wonder, the song has gained a second life in recent times at sports arenas thanks to the proliferation of replay reviews.

#44: Brownsville Station – Smokin’ In The Boys Room
iTunes stats: 12 plays

Peaking at #3 on the charts, the song is more well known in my world thanks to the 1985 cover by Motley Crue, their first Top 40 hit.

#40: Steve Miller Band – The Joker
iTunes stats: N/A

Released in October of 1973, the song reached the top of the US charts in early 1974.

#39: Carpenters – Top of the World
iTunes stats: 21 plays

Originally recorded for the band’s 1972 album, the song was re-recorded and released as a single following the success of a cover by country artist Lynn Anderson.

#37: Billy Preston – Nothing From Nothing
iTunes stats: 13 plays

The song, which found a second life on the Elf soundtrack, hit the top of the charts in October of 1974.

#28: Paul Anka – (You’re) Having My Baby
iTunes stats: N/A

Anka’s first #1 since the 50s, I’m more familiar with the version on Piranha Man’s album.

#22: Paul McCartney & Wings – Band on the Run
iTunes stats: N/A

Released as a single in April of 1974, the song became the third non-Beatles American chart-topping single for Paul McCartney.

#20: Blue Swede – Hooked On A Feeling
iTunes stats: 18 plays

This cover by the Swedish pop group reached #1 in 1974 and continues to be relevant today, thanks to its inclusion in Reservoir Dogs, Ally McBeal, and Guardians of the Galaxy.

#17: David Essex – Rock On
iTunes stats: 22 plays

Peaking at #5 on the US singles chart, I became familiar with the tune thanks to the 1989 cover by Michael Damian.

#12: Kool & The Gang – Jungle Boogie
iTunes stats: 10 plays

The tune peaked at #4 on the Hot 100 charts and #2 on the Hot Soul singles chart.

#9: Elton John – Bennie and the Jets
iTunes stats: N/A

The third Elton John track to make the year-end list, it is perhaps best known locally thanks to a cover version by the former Mrs. Ben Zobrist, which was used as Zobrist’s walk-up music while he was with the Cubs.

#1: Barbara Streisand – The Way We Were
iTunes stats: N/A

Debuting on the charts in late November, 1973, the sing eventually topped the charts twice in February of 1974, eventually spending 23 consecutive weeks on the Hot 100 chart.

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Prolific Authors – 2 Books

Way back in December of 2011 (and again every other December since), we’ve taken a look at the authors I have read the most, dating back to high school.  This year, since I’ve far surpassed my reading output of any year on record, I thought it would be nice to take a deeper dive into those books I’ve read through October. Since our last check-in, I’ve read an additional 118 books, so there could be some movement over the past two years, but it’s time to take another look and see if my “favorite” authors have changed much in that time span.  Today, we start things off with the now 41 authors I’ve read twice, an increase of six over two years ago.

Max Barry

An Australian author, I’ve enjoyed the two novels of his I’ve read, Jennifer Government and Company.

Laura Caldwell

I have no idea how I came across the work of this local author, but I must have enjoyed it enough to go back for seconds.  Unfortunately, she passed away in 2020.

Michael Chabon

Winner of the 2001 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, the most recent of the two works of his I’ve read.  I have another, Wonder Boys, waiting in the to read pile, so he rise up some day.

Fate Of The Union – Max Allan Collins with Matthew V. Clemens

Matthew V. Clemens

The co-author, with Max Allan Collins, of the final two chapters of the Reeder and Rogers trilogy.

Ernest Cline

The man responsible for both Ready Player One and Ready Player Two.

Bill Clinton

The former president has co-written two novels with James Patterson.

Felicia Day

The first author here that I’ve happened to meet in person.

Cameron Dokey

She makes the list based on two entries in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer series.

Diane Duane

Living in Ireland, she is responsible for a Star Trek: The Next Generation book and a Spider-Man novel, of all things.

Warren Ellis

The comic writer, currently in exile after being called out for abusing women, makes the list thanks to two prose novels.

David Fisher Continue reading →

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Yet Another Mix Tape Monday – Volume 18

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 18 covers the summer of 1995, the first summer that I worked at First Suburban National Bank in Maywood.  I would end up spending three summers working there, the first two as a teller and the third attempting to create a database to track their safe deposit boxes.  I met a lot of interesting people from many different backgrounds, some of whom became friends for a time.

After I graduated and started working towards my career, my involvement at the bank started decreasing.  For a while, I kept my bank account there and would occasionally pop in to see how the old gang was doing, but eventually the on-site branch of a much-larger banking institution got my business.  By October of 2010, when the bank was closed by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, I no longer had any contact with anyone from the bank.

Side A

Stone Temple Pilots – Dancing Days
iTunes stats: 37 plays, most recently on 12/22/2022

A radio hit despite never being officially released as a single, the Led Zeppelin cover added ten new listens to its impressive total over the past four years.

PJ Harvey – Down By The Water
iTunes stats: 24 plays, most recently on 5/26/2021

Eight new plays for the surprise mainstream hit by the indie darling, which hit #2 on Billboard’s Modern Rock Tracks chart.

R.E.M. – Strange Currencies
iTunes stats: 12 plays, most recently on 9/9/2022

Nearly left off the Monster album due to its rhythmic similarities to Everybody Hurts, the song picked up five new plays over the past four years.

Live – All Over You
iTunes stats: 22 plays, most recently on 6/7/2022

Hitting #4 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart despite never being released as a single in the US, Live’s latest has more than doubled its plays in the last four years.

Soul Asylum – Misery
iTunes stats: 18 plays, most recently on 3/1/2022

Originally recorded off of Q101, the debut single from Soul Asylum’s follow-up to their breakthrough album added seven new listens over these past four years.

Collective Soul – December
iTunes stats: 18 plays, most recently on 5/13/2022

Peaking at #20 on the Billboard charts, the second single from the band’s second album more than doubled its output over the last four years.

Elastica – Connection
iTunes stats: 21 plays, most recently on 5/9/2022

The first US hit from Elastica, peaking at #53 on the Billboard charts, added just four listens in the last four years.

Juliana Hatfield – Universal Heart-Beat
iTunes stats: 21 plays, most recently on 12/22/2022

Hitting #5 on the Modern Rock Tracks charts, the solo release from Juliana Hatfield garnered eight additional listens in the last four years.

Side B

Continue reading →

by admin

Prolific Authors – 2 Books

Way back in December of 2011 (and again every other December since), we’ve taken a look at the authors I have read the most, dating back to high school.  This year, since I’ve far surpassed my reading output of any year on record, I thought it would be nice to take a deeper dive into those books I’ve read through August. Since our last check-in, I’ve read an additional 60 books from 54 different authors. There shouldn’t be much movement over the past 2 years, but it’s time to take another look and see if my “favorite” authors have changed much in that time span.  Today, we start things off with the 35 authors I’ve read twice.

Max Barry

An Australian author, I’ve enjoyed the two novels of his I’ve read, Jennifer Government and Company.

Laura Caldwell

I have no idea how I came across the work of this local author, but I must have enjoyed it enough to go back for seconds.  Unfortunately, she passed away last year.

The Amazing Adventures Of Kavalier & Clay – Michael Chabon

Michael Chabon

Winner of the 2001 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, the most recent of  the two works of his I’ve read.  I have another, Wonder Boys, waiting in the to read pile, so he rise up some day.

Matthew V. Clemens

The co-author, with Max Allan Collins, of the final two chapters of the Reeder and Rogers trilogy.

Felicia Day

The first author here that I’ve happened to meet in person.

Cameron Dokey

She makes the list based on two entries in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer series.

Diane Duane

Living in Ireland, she is responsible for a Star Trek: The Next Generation book and a Spider-Man novel, of all things.

Warren Ellis

The comic writer, currently in exile after being called out for abusing women, makes the list thanks to two prose novels.

David Fisher Continue reading →

by admin

iTunes Top 200 Artists: #110-120

It’s been 4 years since we last counted down the Top 200 artists 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 the artists that have entertained me the most based on number of plays from late 2007 through January 1, 2021.

We continue today with our next batch of 10 artists, the second tied for 120th place, 3 tied for 127th, the single artist at 116th and 115th, 3 tied for 112nd, and the first of 2 tied for 110th.  We have our final newcomer making their debut this week.

#120: Bruce Springsteen
iTunes stats: 68 plays
Previous ranking: #119

The Boss adds 32 new listens while dropping one spot on the list thanks to the 4 tunes in my collection.

#117: P.M. Dawn
iTunes stats: 69 plays
Previous ranking: #150

The trip-hop duo jumps 33 spots thanks to 38 new plays for 3 of their hit singles.

#117: John Travolta
iTunes stats: 69 plays
Previous ranking: N/A

The actors combines his contributions to two movie soundtracks, Grease and Pulp Fiction, to make the highest ranking debut.

#117: Color Me Badd
iTunes stats: 69 plays
Previous ranking: #109

The early 90s boy band drops 8 places, with 28 new listens, now one of their three tracks in my collection is no longer being used as the walkup music for former White Sox catcher Tyler Flowers.

#116: Skid Row
iTunes stats: 70 plays
Previous ranking: #119

The New Jersey band added 34 additional listens to the 5 songs that are in my collection.

#115: Oasis
Continue reading →