Tag / Sears

by admin

iTunes Top 200 Artists: #70-80

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 artists in my iTunes library, featuring the songs I have listened to the most since 2007.  It is time to do so again, seeing which performers still resonate and if any newer ones have joined the fray.  So, without further ado, here are my most listened to artists, based on number of plays as of January 1, 2026.

We continue today with our next batch of ten artists, covering three acts I’ve seen perform live.

#80: The Beastie Boys
iTunes stats: 140 plays
Previous ranking: #76

The hip-hop pioneers, who disbanded in 2012 after Adam Yauch died of cancer, picked up 25 new listens in the last five years, leading to a four-spot drop in the rankings.

#79: Bush
iTunes stats: 141 plays
Previous ranking: #79

The winners of the American Music Award for Favorite Alternative Group in 1998, who I saw in concert back in 1996, picked up 32 additional listens while dropping staying even on the list.

#78: Britney Spears
iTunes stats: 143 plays
Previous ranking: #79

The troubled pop princess and one-time Grammy Award winner (surprised you there, didn’t I) sees a 31% increase in plays over the past five years, going up one spot.

#77: Fiona Apple
iTunes stats: 147 plays
Previous ranking: #77

The Manhattan-born singer/songwriter, who I’ve seen in concert twice, picked up 33 new listens, raising her total 29%.

#76: Black Eyed Peas
Continue reading →

by jim

30 Day Movie Challenge Day 24 – Favorite Animation

Between the second and third seasons of the TransFormers series, this film came out and didn’t just shake up the status quo, but oblitterated it.  Many of the existing characters were killed off with new ones introduced, a move that makes sense now looking back, as the point of the cartoon was to sell toys.  As a fan of the cartoon, comics, and toys, this movie was a groundbreaking event.

I didn’t see the movie when it first came out, so my first exposure to the new characters was the new season of cartoons, along with the movie adaptation comic from Marvel.  I eventually found a VHS copy of the film at Sears of all places, and still have that copy to this day.

by jim

Little Monster

Yesterday, the Cubs announced some additional renovations to the right field bleachers at Wrigley Field, replacing the family section with a new patio section that seems to have taken its inspiration from the Monster seats at Fenway Park.  The Budweiser Patio will also include a 75-foot LED sign installed above the right-field wall with the capability to display game information, but not video replay.

The board will be a welcome addition, assuming it will continue to be used for its intended purpose.  The previously installed ribbon boards that were supposed to serve a similar purpose seemed to show more in the way of ads than stats as time went on.

Honestly, I’m still somewhat surprised the team hasn’t taken over the Torco Sears Miller Lite billboard to use as a video board capable of handling video.  That seems to be the only viable option without upsetting the rooftop owners or replacing the historic scoreboard.