iTunes Top 200: #1 – 10

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 wrap things up today with the top 10, which includes only 1 new song since we first looked at the top 100 3 years ago.  The remaining 9, all of which are, or were, part of my White Sox victory playlists, have simply moved around in order, including a surprising tie for the top spot.

#10: Harry Caray – Take Me Out To The Ballgame
iTunes stats: 17 plays, most recently on 9/30/2015
Previous ranking: #11

Moving up one spot into the top 10 is this mid-1970s recording of the Hall of Fame broadcaster, along with organist Nancy Faust, leading the Comiskey Park crowd during the 7th inning stretch.

#9: 2008 White Sox Central Division Champs Montage
iTunes stats: 106 plays, most recently on 5/12/2015
Previous ranking: #9

Radio highlights, courtesy of The Score, of the 2008 White Sox season, culminating in the team’s Division Series loss to the Rays.

#8: Journey – Don’t Stop Believin’
iTunes stats: 115 plays, most recently on 7/19/2015
Previous ranking: #8

The rallying cry for the 2005 White Sox after A. J. Pierzynski and teammates heard it being sung in a bar in Baltimore, it finally dropped off my playlist for the 2015 season.

Sox Win#7: Queen – We Are The Champions
iTunes stats: 120 plays, most recently on 7/19/2015
Previous ranking: #7

Reaching #4 on the Billboard charts in the late 70s, the song made it on to my White Sox playlist following their 2005 World Series championship.

#6: sox05_montage
iTunes stats: 126 plays, most recently on 10/24/2015
Previous ranking: #6

Radio highlights, courtesy of ESPN 1000, of the 2005 White Sox season, culminating in the team’s first World Series title since 1917.

#5: Gordon Beckham Intro
iTunes stats: 139 plays, most recently on 5/18/2015
Previous ranking: #2

The Outfield’s hit Your Love featuring Gene Honda introducing the former White Sox third baseman.

#4: Steam – Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye
Continue reading →

Historical iTunes – Top 24

itunes_imageI recently came across an iTunes Music Library XML file from an old computer that covered some time frame between 2003 and 2007.  I thought it would be interesting to take a look at the 785 songs I had listened to in that timeframe and, eventually, incorporate some of those numbers into my current library.

Today, we will look at the top 24 songs, in terms of total listens, from this iTunes library.  My initial observations are that all of these songs were either ripped from CDs or bought from the iTunes store.  Any MP3s don’t seem to be well represented in this library.

 

Close Your Eyes (Buffy/Angel Love Theme) Christophe Beck Buffy The Vampire Slayer: The Album 10 11/23/2006 10:53 AM
Sk8er Boi (Live) Avril Lavigne Avril Live – Try to Shut Me Up 9 2/28/2006 3:26 PM
Why Can’t I? (Live) Liz Phair Why Can’t I? (Sessions@AOL) – Single 7 8/5/2004 10:12 PM
Living In Sin Bon Jovi New Jersey 7 8/28/2005 11:10 AM
In These Arms Bon Jovi Keep The Faith 7 8/28/2005 12:59 PM
Livin’ On A Prayer Bon Jovi Cross Road 7 10/2/2005 10:38 AM
Keep The Faith Bon Jovi Cross Road 7 10/2/2005 10:44 AM
Connecticut’s For F*cking Jesus H Christ and The Four Hornsmen of the Apocalypse Jesus H Christ and The Four Hornsmen Of The Apocalypse 7 11/17/2006 11:45 AM
C Is For Cookie Cookie Monster Sesame Street Platinum: All-Time Favorites 7 12/8/2006 9:06 PM
Basketcase (Live) Avril Lavigne Avril Live – Try to Shut Me Up 6 1/25/2004 4:07 PM
Supernova Liz Phair Live from the Chicago Store – EP 6 10/8/2004 8:15 PM
Never Say Goodbye Bon Jovi Slippery When Wet 6 8/28/2005 12:26 PM
Continue reading →

Top 200 Albums – #1 – 10

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 finish up the list and look at the top 10 albums that I have listened to the most.

#1: The Cast of Buffy The Vampire Slaying – Once More, With Feeling
iTunes stats: 326 plays
The soundtrack album to the musical episode of Buffy The Vampire Slayer takes the top spot thanks to 21 of the 23 tunes from the album.

#2: Various Artists – The Muppets
iTunes stats: 287 plays
The entire album contributed to this total for the soundtrack album from the big Muppets comeback movie in 2011.

#3: The Lonely Island – Incredibad
iTunes stats: 181 plays
7 tracks from the debut album, most of which originated as digital shorts on SNL.

#4: Foo Fighters – Live In Hyde Park 2006
iTunes stats: 180 plays
This bootleg makes the list thanks to 8 live versions of the band’s greatest hits.

#5: Various Artists – Billboard’s Top Rock ‘n’ Roll Hits: 1969
iTunes stats: 171 plays
8 of the 10 songs on this album contributed to this total, with the vast majority coming from Steam, thanks to its connection with the White Sox.

#6: Tegan and Sara – So Jealous
iTunes stats: 156 plays
The entire album, which I have also had loaded in my car’s CD player since 2005, makes up this total.

#7: Aerosmith – O, Yeah! Ultimate Aerosmith Hits
Continue reading →

iTunes Top 100 Artists: #21-30

itunes_image

My latest desktop computer arrived in late 2007, at which point I transitioned all of my music off of my laptop. 2 iPods, 2 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 100 artists that I’ve listened to as of 8/21/2013, according to iTunes. Today we look at the the the next batch, numbers 21-30, which includes a nice mix of musical genres and comedy.

#21: Bon Jovi

iTunes stats: 113 plays

25 tunes make up the total for the boys from New Jersey who I’ve seen in concert twice.

#22: Queen

iTunes stats: 112 plays

O,nly 3 songs from Queen make up the list, with the majority coming from the one celebrating the 2005 World Series Championship.

#23: Dr. Dre

iTunes stats: 111 plays

The father of west coast rap used 9 tunes to place this high on the list.

#24: Steam

iTunes stats: 110 plays

Only 1 song made up the entire total for Steam, thanks to its inclusion on my White Sox playlist.

#25: Alanis Morissette

iTunes stats: 109 plays

The Canadian songstress, who I saw in 1996 at the New World Music Theater, sets a new high with 33 songs making up her total.

#26: George Carlin

Continue reading →

Goodbye, iPhone 4S – Music Edition

A little more than a week ago, I upgraded my phone from the iPhone 4S to the newly released iPhone 5S.  The biggest difference, aside from a slightly bigger screen, is the jump from 3G (or 4G, if you believe AT&T’s hype) to LTE.  I had the 4S for a little under 2 years, and in that time, we traveled the world together (well, at least going back to the UK) and have listened to a lot of podcasts and music. Here is every song (all 2079 of them) I’ve listened to on the phone, with some (ok, very little) bonus commentary.  Godspeed.

 

Let’s Go-Go-Go White Sox Captain Stubby and the Buccaneers 33
He’s a Pirate Klaus Badelt Pirates of the Caribbean (Soundtrack from the Motion Picture) 32
Take Me Out To The Ballgame Harry Caray 31
Thunderstruck AC/DC The Razors Edge 31
Gordon Beckham Intro 29
Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye Steam Billboard’s Top Rock ‘n’ Roll Hits: 1969 29
Don’t Stop Believin’ Journey Journey’s Greatest Hits 27
sox05_montage 27
We Are The Champions Queen Queen: Greatest Hits I & II 27
Your Love The Outfield Play Deep 27
2008 White Sox Central Division Champs Montage Chris Tannehill WSCR 670 The Score 25
Take Me Out To The Ballgame Nancy Faust 25
Harvester Of Sorrow Metallica …And Justice For All 20

You would hope that these numbers would have been higher, but this past season’s miserable performance by the White Sox has put the songs on their playlist out of mind more often than not.

Cannonball The Breeders The First 1000 Years- Rock 19
Man Or Muppet Jason Segel The Muppets 15
It’s Time For Our Song Miss Piggy The Muppets 14
Get Out There And Help Those Guys Jason Segel The Muppets 13
Main Title LOST Soundtrack LOST Soundtrack 13
Are You A Man Or A Muppet? Amy Adams The Muppets 12
How Charming, A Finale Uncle Deadly The Muppets 12
I’m On A Boat (ft. T-Pain) The Lonely Island Incredibad 12
Down At The Ole Barbershop Kermit The Muppets 11
Me and Drugs David Cross Bigger and Blackerer 11
The Antichrist Howard Stern Private Parts: The Album 11
Continue reading →

iTunes Top 100: #1 – 10

itunes_imageMy latest desktop computer arrived in late 2007, at which point I transitioned all of my music off of my laptop. 2 iPods, 2 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, it is now time to look at digital music with the Top 100 songs that I’ve listened to as of 6/2/2013, according to iTunes. Today we look at the top 10 songs, all of which are featured on my White Sox playlist that gets used driving home from victories.

#1: Klaus Badelt – He’s a Pirate

Was used as the background music for the White Sox pregame intro video until this season.

iTunes stats: 127 plays, most recently on 5/26/2013

#2: Gordon Beckham Intro

The Outfield’s hit “Your Love” featuring Gene Honda introducing the then rookie third baseman.

iTunes stats: 115 plays, most recently on 5/26/2013

#3: Captain Stubby & the Buccaneers – Let’s Go-Go-Go White Sox

Dating from 1959, the song was resurrected during the 2005 season for an inter-league matchup against the Dodgers, the White Sox opponent in the 1959 World Series.

iTunes stats: 114 plays, most recently on 5/26/2013

#4: AC/DC – Thunderstruck

The song has been used as the White Sox take the field since 2004.

iTunes stats: 110 plays, most recently on 5/26/2013

#5: Steam – Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye

The number one hit from 1969 enjoyed a second life when White Sox organist Nancy Faust started playing it as a taunt whenever the White Sox would hit a home run or chase the opposing team’s pitcher in 1977.

iTunes stats: 107 plays, most recently on 5/26/2013

Continue reading →

Goodbye, iPhone 3G – Music Edition

As I wait for tomorrow’s delivery of my new iPhone 4S, it is time to say goodbye to the 3G that has been my trusty companion for nearly the past 3 1/2 years.  We’ve traveled the world together (well, at least Canada and the UK) and have listened to a lot of music.  Here is every song (all 1597 of them) I’ve listened to on the phone, with some (ok, very little) bonus commentary!

He’s a Pirate Klaus Badelt Pirates of the Caribbean (Soundtrack from the Motion Picture) 100
Gordon Beckham Intro 91
Let’s Go-Go-Go White Sox Captain Stubby and the Buccaneers 87
Thunderstruck AC/DC The Razors Edge 84
Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye Steam Billboard’s Top Rock ‘n’ Roll Hits: 1969 83
sox05_montage 75
We Are The Champions Queen Queen: Greatest Hits I & II 73
Boom P.O.D. Satellite 70
Don’t Stop Believin’ Journey Journey’s Greatest Hits 69
2008 White Sox Central Division Champs Montage Chris Tannehill WSCR 670 The Score 65

No surprise that the top 10 are all part of (or were part of) my White Sox victory playlist.  This gets played on the way home from every White Sox winner, plus the occassional ride to a game.  Continue reading →

C Band Shuffle

Standing The Cast Of Buffy The Vampire Slayer Once More, With Feeling 12/14/2010 5:54 PM
Best Of You Foo Fighters Skin And Bones 12/14/2010 5:59 PM
Ms. Jackson OutKast Stankonia 12/14/2010 6:03 PM
Dancing Days Led Zeppelin Houses of the Holy 12/14/2010 6:07 PM
Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye Steam Billboard’s Top Rock ‘n’ Roll Hits: 1969 12/14/2010 6:11 PM
California Dreamin’ The Mamas & The Papas California Dreamin’ 12/14/2010 6:14 PM
Continue reading →