Tag / Scott

by admin

Another Mix Tape Monday – Volume 2

20 years ago, during my sophomore year of high school, I put together the first of what would 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. We last looked back at all 20 volumes three years ago to see which of my “favorite” songs still resonated in today’s digital world. Today, we revisit those mix tapes and see how, or if, things have changed in the past 3 years.

Volume 2 picks up in early 1990 and takes us through early summer, book-ended by Roxette hits and featuring another steady stream of hair metal and pop, with a little rap and R&B thrown in for flavor.

Side A

Roxette – Dangerous

Originally recorded from American Top 40, the fifth and final single from Roxette’s second album added 5 listens to its play total over the past 3 years.

iTunes Stats
2012 2015 2019
7 plays 12 plays 17 plays, most recently on 12/18/2018 

Skid Row – Youth Gone Wild

The first release from Skid Row, which peaked at #99 on the Billboard charts, picked up 5 new plays over the past 4+ years.

iTunes Stats
2012 2015 2019
4 plays 8 plays 13 plays, most recently on 10/3/2018 

Biz Markie – Just A Friend

Ranked #81 on VH1s list of Greatest One Hit Wonders, Biz Markie’s smash more than doubled its listens over the past 3 years.

iTunes Stats
2012 2015 2019
6 plays 12 plays 25 plays, most recently on 11/8/2018 

Mötley Crüe – Without You

Peaking at #8 on the Billboard charts, the ballad, said to be about drummer Tommy Lee’s relationship with Heather Locklear, picked up 6 additional spins since 2015.

iTunes Stats
2012 2015 2019
10 plays 11 plays 17 plays, most recently on 11/26/2018 

Aerosmith – What It Takes

Aerosmtih returns to my charts with this smash hit, which peaked at #9 on the charts and picked up a mere 3 plays over the last 3 years.

iTunes Stats
2012 2015 2019
8 plays 12 plays 15 plays, most recently on 8/14/2018 

MC Hammer – U Can’t Touch This

The first rap song to be nominated for the Record of the Year Grammy, MC Hammer’s signature tune more than doubled its play total over the past 3 years.

iTunes Stats
2012 2015 2019
3 plays 6 plays 13 plays, most recently on 12/15/2018 

Aerosmith – Rag Doll

A 1988 hit from Aerosmith, which makes an appearance on this tape thanks to my absconding my friend Scott’s cassette of their previous album, also more than doubled its play total in the last 3 years.

iTunes Stats
2012 2015 2019
3 plays 6 plays 13 plays, most recently on 10/2/2018 

Side B

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by admin

Mix Tape Monday – Volume 2 Revisited

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.  Three years ago, we looked  back at all 20 volumes and which of my “favorite” songs I still listen to today.  Today, we revisit those mix tapes and see how things have changed in the last 3 years.

Volume 2 picks up in early 1990 and takes us through early summer, book-ended by Roxette hits and featuring another steady stream of hair metal and pop, with a little rap and R&B thrown in for flavor.

Side A

Roxette – Dangerous

This big hit from Roxette nearly doubled its play total over the past 3 years.

2012 iTunes stats: 7 plays

2015 iTunes stats: 12 plays, most recently on 10/28/2013

Skid Row – Youth Gone Wild

The first release from Skid Row did manage to double its play total, despite my not having listened to it in over a year.

2012 iTunes stats: 4 plays

2015 iTunes stats: 8 plays, most recently on 11/4/2013

Biz Markie – Just A Friend

Another doubling, this time for the one hit wonder.

2012 iTunes stats: 6 plays

2015 iTunes stats: 12 plays, most recently on 12/4/2014

Motley Crue – Without You

One of the songs I had listened to the most back in 2012 only got one additional spin since then.

2012 iTunes stats: 10 plays

2015 iTunes stats: 11 plays, most recently on 4/27/2013

Aerosmith – What It Takes

Aerosmtih returns to my charts with this smash hit, which I haven’t heard as much of over the last 3 years.

2012 iTunes stats: 8 plays

2015 iTunes stats: 12 plays, most recently on 3/24/2015

MC Hammer – U Can’t Touch This

The song that put MC Hammer on the map doubled its play total over the past 3 years..

2012 iTunes stats: 3 plays

2015 iTunes stats: 6 plays, most recently on 8/15/2014

Aerosmith – Rag Doll

Aerosmith, which makes another appearance on this tape thanks to my absconding my friend Scott’s cassette of their previous album, also doubled its play total.

2012 iTunes stats: 3 plays

2015 iTunes stats: 6 plays, most recently on 3/7/2015

Side B

Continue reading →

by admin

Concert Flashback: Def Leppard

93defleppardA mere month after the Bon Jovi show, the group got back together and headed to the World Music Theatre to see Def Leppard and Ugly Kid Joe.  While I don’t remember anything about this, school would have been back in session, so Scott and I would have had to drive up from college for the weekend in order to attend this show.  While Def Leppard was certainly the draw, I would be lying if I said seeing Ugly Kid Joe wasn’t an added bonus.  Sadly, lead singer Whitfield Crane had other plans and managed to get himself arrested the night before in Columbus, Ohio after allegedly encouraging the crowd to attack the security guards.  Of course, we were not aware of this until we showed up to the World.

So, two members of local band Enuff Z’nuff were recruited to open the show with what I remember being an acoustic set.  To this day, I can’t name an Enuff Z’nuff song, so I can’t say that they made much of an impression.  The Internet tells me that they may have done a cover of the Beatles Revolution.

My main memory of the Def Leppard portion of the show is lead singer Joe Elliot trying to curry favor with the crowd by wearing a Chicago Bulls t-shirt.  Judging by the setlist posted on the Interwebs, it was a pretty solid show, with all of their big hits being covered, including their latest from the Last Action Hero soundtrack.  Given my fandom for the band at the time, I’m glad I got the chance to see them live.  And, all these years later, I would rather have the story of Ugly Kid Joe missing the show than having actually seen them.

by admin

Concert Flashback: Bon Jovi II

93bonjovi-2Less than 5 months since their last Chicago appearance, Bon Jovi returned to the area, this time at the World Music Theatre in beautiful Tinley Park.  This time they had Extreme on board as their opening act.  If I had to guess, I would say the guest list for this show included my sister, Scott, Tracie, Courtney, and, probably, Mike.  It was either this show or the next one where Mike managed to fall asleep between the openers and the main performers, while a Metallica song was blasting over the speakers.

Extreme opened up the show with a 12 song set, apparently, which were 10 more songs than anyone was looking to hear.  The strange thing was that they didn’t close out their set with their two hits, but rather wrapped them around a bunch of other songs nobody cares about to this day.  Eventually, the boys from New Jersey came out and, according to the Interwebs, played mostly the same set as their March appearance, although with 2 fewer songs, despite the additional $.25 in the ticket price.

Nothing particularly interesting sticks out about the show, other than the possible sleeping incident.  After seeing Bon Jovi twice in under 5 months, I haven’t seen them again in the 20 years since.

by jim

Concert Flashback: Too Legit World Tour

92hammerDuring the spring of 1992, my friends and I were big fans on the R&B group Boyz II Men.  When we found out that they were coming to town, as one of the opening acts for the former MC Hammer’s Too Legit world tour, we decided to make this our first concert experience.  A little more than a week before high school graduation, a small group of us, which included at least myself, Scott, Tracie, Courtney, headed north to the Rosemont Horizon to see the show.

The scheduled performers for the evening were, in reverse order, Hammer, Boyz II Men, and Oaktown 357.  who I didn’t even realize were a female rap group until I just looked them up now on Wikipedia.  For reasons I don’t remember, the girls of Oaktown 357 did not perform that night, and instead were replaced by a little group called Jodeci.  While I hadn’t heard of them at the time, they would come to have a few hits that I would enjoy over the years.

Boyz II Men, who were the stars of the show as far as our small group was concerned, played the middle set.  They only had the one album out at the time, and hadn’t really hit it big yet.  Of course, later that year, their hit from the Boomerang soundtrack, End of the Road, would make them the biggest stars in music.  I don’t remember how many songs they ended up singing, but it couldn’t have been much more than 5 or 6.

Eventually, Hammer came out and, no matter what you think of his music, put on one hell of a show.  He was a few years removed from his U Can’t Touch This heyday and the follow-up, 2 Legit 2 Quit, did not have the success of its predecessor.  You wouldn’t know it from the show, as Hammer poured 100% effort to dance and rap, in that order, for the full house that had come out to see him.

It was definitely an experience.  From our perspective, we were the only white folks in attendance, which doesn’t seem likely today.  From the ticket stub, it doesn’t appear that we had great seats, but, being our first concert, we certainly didn’t know any better.  This was my last hip-hop show, and while something in the rock genre would probably have made more sense for my first show, it does make a funny story all these years later.

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Ballpark Tour: Great American Ball Park

GABP

Stadium Name: Great American Ball Park

Location: Cincinnati

Home Team: Reds

Years in Service: 2003 – Present

Visits: 7

After 32 1/2 seasons at Riverfront Stadium, the Reds moved next door to the newly built Great American Ball Park for the 2003 season, opening against the Pittsburgh Pirates.  Bronze statues of former stars Joe Nuxhall, Ernie Lombardi, Ted Kluszewski, and Frank Robinson are located in front of the main entrance.

Less than a month into the stadium’s existence, I made my first trip to the GABP with my friend Scott, who had moved to the Cincinnati area, to see the Reds take on the Padres.  The next season, the Cubs opened their season in Cincinnati against the Reds, so another trip was in order, where Vice President Dick Cheney threw out the first pitch..  In August of 2005, I attended the Reds game against the Diamondbacks, kicking off a string of 3 stadiums in 3 states in 9 days.  In 2006, the Cubs once again opened their season on the road against the Reds and again it constituted a road trip down to see, where this time President George W Bush threw out the first pitch.  I made a return trip that summer for interleague play to see the White Sox battle the Reds.  In 2007, when the Cubs were looking the clinch the division, I made the trip down, but missed it by one day.  The next year, I made my final, to date, trip down to Cincinnati and saw the Rockies defeat the Reds.

Of all the newer stadiums that have opened over the past 20 years, Great American Ball Park does not often illicit the praise that the others get.  However, I like it.  It’s a fine place to see a game and has plenty of the modern amenities that are required here in the 21st century.  I wouldn’t hesitate to return, despite the fact that it has been 5 years since I’ve been there.

by admin

Ballpark Tour: McAfee/Network Associates Coliseum

Stadium Name: McAfee/Network Associates Coliseum

Location: Oakland

Home Team: A’s

Years in Service: 1968 – Present

Visits: 2

The Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum opened in 1966 as the home of the Oakland Raiders.  Two years later, Charlie Finley moved his A’s from Kansas City to Oakland and became the baseball tenant of the stadium.  In 1998, the stadium became known as Network Associates Coliseum.  In mid-2004, Network Associates was renamed McAfee and the stadium was renamed McAfee Coliseum accordingly.  Following the 2008 season, the name reverted back to Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum until April 27, 2011, when it was renamed Overstock.com Coliseum. Just over a month later, the Coliseum was renamed O.co Coliseum, after Overstock.com’s marketing name.  The A’s have officially been looking for a new home since 2005, with Major League Baseball sitting on a feasibility study for over 4 years on the team’s potential future in the East Bay.

Both times I’ve traveled to the Bay area, I’ve taken in both Giants and A’s games.  My first trip to what at the time was called Network Associates Coliseum was on September 6, 1999 while I was out west visiting my friend Scott.  The Tigers triumphed over the A’s that day, and my one memory of the stadium is that the seats were not necessarily positioned in such a way as to face the field for baseball purposes.

My second trip to the Bay area, for the JavaOne conference in 2008, actually started out with a BART trip out to Oakland for a 2-1 A’s victory over the Orioles on May 5th.  The A’s had opnened up three sections of the third deck as designated All-You-Can-Eat seats, where, for the price of the ticket, free ballpark fare was included.  While I enjoyed the novelty of the free foodstuffs, the seats, while directly behind home plate, were horrible.  Leaving early in order to catch the train back to San Francisco led to the problem of trying to get out of the stadium, since none of the gates were open.

The A’s have spent nearly a decade trying to find a new home, and with good reason.  The Coliseum is mainly configured for the Raiders and the A’s have been second class citizens in their own home for decades.  Earlier this year, a game had to be postponed due to a sewage backup.  While the A’s, MLB, and San Jose try to figure things out in the courtroom, the A’s will continue to be behind the 8-ball due to their stadium situation.

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30 For 30 – See One Of The Seven Wonders Of The World

The 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.  We start with #2 on their list, see one of the Seven Wonders of the World.  They open it up to more than just the original seven wonders of the ancient world, which is good, because who has seen those?  So, for the sake of this post, we will concentrate on the wonders of the modern world and the not so exciting story of the first, and so far only, time that I saw the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, CA.

In the fall of 1999, I took my first trip to the Bay Area to visit my old friend Scott, who had moved there after college for an exciting opportunity with the chip-maker known as AMD.  While there, we took trips to both Candlestick Park in San Francisco and whatever name the Oakland Coliseum was using at the time.  One of those trips took us across the fabled Golden Gate Bridge.

There you go.  As I said, nothing exciting about the story.  But, a story none the less.

by admin

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

Mix Tape Monday – Volume 2

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 2 picks up in early 1990 and takes us through early summer, book-ended  by Roxette hits and featuring another steady stream of hair metal and pop, with a little rap and R&B thrown in for flavor.

Side A

Roxette – Dangerous

Roxette’s big hit was taped off the radio from American Top 40.

iTunes stats: 7 plays, most recently on 3/26/2011

Skid Row – Youth Gone Wild

An out of sequence hit taped off of the cassette.

iTunes stats: 4 plays, most recently on 7/22/2011

Biz Markie – Just A Friend

The huge hit was taped off the radio station formerly known as Z95.

iTunes stats: 6 plays, most recently on 1/29/2011

Motley Crue – Without You

The big ballad from the Crue was another hit taped off of American Top 40.

iTunes stats: 10 plays, most recently on 5/31/2011

Aerosmith – What It Takes

Aerosmtih’s smash hit was yet another tune taped from the good folks at American Top 40.

iTunes stats: 8 plays, most recently on 8/15/2011

MC Hammer – U Can’t Touch This

Rap’s first huge crossover hit was taped from Z95.

iTunes stats: 3 plays, most recently on 12/14/2010

Aerosmith – Rag Doll

Another hit out of time, taped off of Scott’s cassette.

iTunes stats: 3 plays, most recently on 5/12/2011

Side B

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