Tag / STP

by admin

Top 200 Albums – #161 – 165

itunes_imageNearly 4 years ago, we first counted down the Top 200 albums 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, based on number of plays from late 2007 through January 1, 2018.

We continue things with the next batch of 10 albums that rank between #161 and 165, including 5 studio recordings, 3 compilations, 1 live performance, and 1 greatest hits package.

#165: Smashing Pumpkins – Siamese Dream
iTunes stats: 48 plays
Previous Ranking: 141

The smash (no pun intended) second album from the Chicago alternative royalty used only 3 songs to make up this total.

#165: Stone Temple Pilots – Core
iTunes stats: 48 plays
Previous Ranking: 181

4 songs, most of which have some sort of problem thanks to a badly scratched disc from which they were ripped, come from the debut album from the alternative superstars.

#165: R.E.M. – Green
iTunes stats: 48 plays
Previous Ranking: 186

The sixth release, and major label debut, from the Athens, GA based alternative band has 3 different songs that I’ve listened to to make up this total, more than double since last time out.

#165: Various Artists – Grease (Soundtrack from the Motion Picture)
iTunes stats: 48 plays
Previous Ranking: 164

The soundtrack to the 1978 hit film had 5 tracks, from film stars John Travolta, Olivia Newton John, and Stockard Channing, among others, contribute to this total.

#165: Various Artists – Saturday Morning Cartoons’ Greatest Hits
iTunes stats: 48 plays
Previous Ranking: N/A

What happens when you take cartoon theme songs from the 60s and 70s and have some of the bigger alternative acts of the 90s cover them?  You get this compilation, which makes a strong debut.

Continue reading →

by admin

iTunes Top 200 Artists: #21-30

3 years ago, we first counted down the then Top 100 artists 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 artists, based on number of plays from late 2007 through January 1, 2017.

We continue today with the 10 performers who have combined for 1816 listens over the past 10 years.

#30: Klaus Badelt
iTunes stats: 161 plays
Previous ranking: #16

The composer dropped 14 spots in the rankings due to the White Sox no longer using his theme from Pirates of the Caribbean as part of their pre-game routine.

#29: Steam
iTunes stats: 164 plays
Previous ranking: #24

Another casualty of the White Sox victory playlist getting fewer plays over the last few years, Steam drops 5 spots in the rankings due to only 54 additional plays.

#28: Captain Stubby and the Buccaneers
iTunes stats: 173 plays
Previous ranking: #19

The novelty band responsible for the White Sox rally song from 1959 added 55 listens in the past 3 years, causing them to drop 9 spots in the rankings.

#27: Green Day
iTunes stats: 174 plays
Previous ranking: #30

The west coast punk rockers added 77 listens from their 18 songs to jump 3 spots in the rankings.

#26: Veruca Salt
iTunes stats: 175 plays
Previous ranking: #18

The girls from Chicago used 13 songs to increase their plays by 51, causing them to drop 8 spots.

#24: Stone Temple Pilots
iTunes stats: 182 plays
Previous ranking: #35

A 10 spot jump in the rankings, thanks to 100 new listens spurred on partially due to the death of singer Scott Weiland in December of 2015.

#24: Liz Phair
Continue reading →

by admin

Trippin’ On A Hole In A Paper Heart

scott-weilandThe polite thing to say would be that the world was shocked when news broke Friday morning that Scott Weiland, former lead singer for Stone Temple Pilots and Velvet Revolver, had died.  But the shock was not so much that Weiland had died, but that he had somehow managed to survive this long.  Weiland was 48 when he was found dead on a tour bus in Bloomington, Minnesota last week, with cocaine found near the body.

Weiland became a superstar in the early 90s as Stone Temple Pilots rode the wave of grunge with their hit albums Core and Purple.  His subsequent drug abuse led to rocky relations with his band mates and numerous arrests, causing numerous break-ups.  During one of those, he joined with former members of Guns N’ Roses to form the supergroup Velvet Revolver, before leaving the group to rejoin with STP.

Weiland leaves behind two children, who seemingly had no relationship with the singer, and a musical legacy marred by the demons that ultimately took his life.

by admin

Mix Tape Monday Revisited – Volume 18

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 listened to. Today, we revisit those mix tapes and see how things have changed in the last 3 years.

Volume 18 covers the summer of 1995 and the lead up to the first of my two senior years of college.

Side A

Stone Temple Pilots – Dancing Days

The Led Zeppelin cover nearly doubled its impressive total over the past 3 years.

2012 iTunes stats: 7 plays

2015 iTunes stats: 13 plays, most recently on 6/28/2015

PJ Harvey – Down By The Water

The surprise mainstream hit for the indie darling also nearly doubled its total in the last 3 years.

2012 iTunes stats: 7 plays

2015 iTunes stats: 13 plays, most recently on 2/4/2015

REM – Strange Currencies

I finally listened to this tune from the Athens, GA boys.

2012 iTunes stats: Never played

2015 iTunes stats: 2 plays, most recently on 7/12/2015

Live – All Over You

Live’s latest has gone unheard in nearly 4 years.

2012 iTunes stats: 5 plays

2015 iTunes stats: 5 plays, most recently on 8/15/2011

Soul Asylum – Misery

Only one new listen for the follow-up from Soul Asylum over the past 3 years.

2012 iTunes stats: 3 plays

2015 iTunes stats: 4 plays, most recently on 1/2/2013

Collective Soul – December

A slight increase for Collective Soul’s latest, which hasn’t been heard in nearly 2 years.

2012 iTunes stats: 2 plays

2015 iTunes stats: 3 plays, most recently on 9/10/2013

Elastica – Connection

The debut hit from Elastica added 4 listens in the last 3 years.

2012 iTunes stats: 7 plays

2015 iTunes stats: 11 plays, most recently on 6/17/2015

Juliana Hatfield – Universal Heart-Beat

The first solo release from Juliana Hatfield more than doubled its number of listens in the last 3 years.

2012 iTunes stats: 3 plays

2015 iTunes stats: 8 plays, most recently on 7/12/2015

Side B

Continue reading →

by admin

Mix Tape Monday Revisited – Volume 17

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 listened to. Today, we revisit those mix tapes and see how things have changed in the last 3 years.

Volume 17 picks up in early 1995 and the second semester of my junior year and takes us into early summer.  At this point, it is nearly all alternative, with just one hip-hop breakthrough.

Side A

Hole – Asking For It

One of three Hole songs to feature a contribution from Kurt Cobain, the latest from Courtney Love and company doubled its play total, despite not being heard in 2 1/2 years.

2012 iTunes stats: 2 plays

2015 iTunes stats: 4 plays, most recently on 10/11/2012

Cranberries – Twenty One

The minor hit from the band’s second album added its only play in the last 3 years.

2012 iTunes stats: Never played

2015 iTunes stats: 1 play, on 8/25/2014

Veruca Salt – Number One Blind

The follow up single to Seether added a paltry 2 listens over the past 3 years, most recently over 2 years ago.

2012 iTunes stats: 7 plays

2015 iTunes stats: 9 plays, most recently on 5/1/2013

Stone Temple Pilots – Unglued

4 new plays for the latest from STP in the last 3 years.

2012 iTunes stats: 9 plays

2015 iTunes stats: 13 plays, most recently on 6/26/2015

Pearl Jam – Better Man

The biggest hit from the grunge superstars’ 3rd album added a paltry 2 listens over the past 3 years.

2012 iTunes stats: 4 plays

2015 iTunes stats: 6 plays, most recently on 6/23/2015

Nirvana – Where Did You Sleep Last Night

Only 1 new listen for the posthumous unplugged hit from the Seattle rockers.

2012 iTunes stats: 2 plays

2015 iTunes stats: 3 plays, most recently on 3/18/2015

Weezer – No One Else

Weezer’s latest picked up 3 new listens over the past 3 years.

2012 iTunes stats: 7 plays

2015 iTunes stats: 10 plays, most recently on 3/10/2015

Offspring – What Happened To You?

The final offering from Offspring’s debut album added 4 additional plays in the last 3 years.

2012 iTunes stats: 8 plays

2015 iTunes stats: 12 plays, most recently on 4/14/2015

Side B

Continue reading →

by admin

Mix Tape Monday Revisited – Volume 15

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 listened to. Today, we revisit those mix tapes and see how things have changed in the last 3 years.

Volume 15 takes us into through the summer of 1994 and into the fall and my junior year of college. The song selection is, again, mostly alternative with some west coast gangsta rap.

Side A

Frente! – Labour Of Love

The hit from Marvin! The Album picked up an impressive 6 additional listens over the last 3 years.

2012 iTunes stats: 10 plays

2015 iTunes stats: 16 plays, most recently on 4/29/2015

Mazzy Star – Fade Into You

The mesmerizing tune from Hope Sandoval and company nearly tripled its total for an amazing 16 play increase.

2012 iTunes stats: 9 plays

2015 iTunes stats: 25 plays, most recently on 6/23/2015

Nirvana – Verse Chorus Verse

A modest 2 listen increase for this posthumous B-side from the trio from Seattle.

2012 iTunes stats: 9 plays

2015 iTunes stats: 11 plays, most recently on 3/14/2013

Warren G – This D.J.

An infinite increase for the lesser-received follow up to Regulate.

2012 iTunes stats: Never played

2015 iTunes stats: 4 plays, most recently on 7/3/2015

Cracker – Eurotrash Girl

The hidden track picked up 3 additional listens over the past 3 years.

2012 iTunes stats: 10 plays

2015 iTunes stats: 13 plays, most recently on 2/10/2015

Stone Temple Pilots – Interstate Love Song

The latest hit from STP added 4 new listens over the past 3 years, despite not being heard in over a year.

2012 iTunes stats: 1 play, on 10/3/2010

2015 iTunes stats: 5 plays, most recently on 7/1/2014

Gin Blossoms – Allison Road

The Gin Blossoms latest nearly doubled its total over the last 3 years.

2012 iTunes stats: 7 plays

2015 iTunes stats: 13 plays, most recently on 5/8/2015

Weezer – Undone (The Sweater Song)

The debut hit from Weezer added 4 new listens over the past 3 years.

2012 iTunes stats: 9 plays

2015 iTunes stats: 13 plays, most recently on 4/14/2015

Side B

Continue reading →

by admin

Mix Tape Monday Revisited – Volume 14

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 listened to. Today, we revisit those mix tapes and see how things have changed in the last 3 years.

Volume 14 takes us into the early summer of 1994, following the end of my sophomore year of college.  The song selection continues to be  mostly alternative, with a little G-funk added for flavor.

Side A

Stone Temple Pilots – Big Empty

This entry from The Crow soundtrack picked up a paltry 2 additional listens and hasn’t been heard in well over 2 years.

2012 iTunes stats: 3 plays

2015 iTunes stats: 5 plays, most recently on 3/23/2013

Aerosmith – Crazy

A healthy 7 play increase for the final installment of the Alicia Silverstone video trilogy, now with extra Liv Tyler.

2012 iTunes stats: 11 plays

2015 iTunes stats: 18 plays, most recently on 12/18/2014

Soundgarden – Black Hole Sun

The big hit for Soundgarden more than doubled its number of plays over the past 3 years.

2012 iTunes stats: 2 plays

2015 iTunes stats: 5 plays, most recently on 8/29/2014

Green Day – Longview

The “debut” that pushed Green Day into the mainstream more than doubled its number of listens over the last 3 years.

2012 iTunes stats: 3 plays

2015 iTunes stats: 7 plays, most recently on 6/4/2015

Hole – Miss World

The introduction of Courtney Love to a mainstream audience picked up 5 additional listens over the past 3 years.

2012 iTunes stats: 9 plays

2015 iTunes stats: 14 plays, most recently on 12/15/2014

Pearl Jam – Dissident

The latest from Pearl Jam has not been heard once in over 3 years.

2012 iTunes stats: 8 plays

2015 iTunes stats: 8 plays, most recently on 3/19/2012

Sarah McLachlan – Possession

The first hit for Sarah McLachlan quadrupled its paltry total over the past 3 years.

2012 iTunes stats: 1 play

2015 iTunes stats: 4 plays, most recently on 11/20/2014

Side B

Continue reading →

by admin

Mix Tape Monday Revisited– Volume 12

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 listened to.  Today, we revisit those mix tapes and see how things have changed in the last 3 years.

Volume 12 covers the summer of 1993 and into the fall and my sophomore year of college.  Alternative has mostly taken over, although there’s still a small smattering of pop and hair metal, or whatever we were calling Def Leppard and Guns ‘N Roses back then.

Side A

10,000 Maniacs – Because The Night

The hit from MTV Unplugged, which was Natalie Merchant’s swan song with the group, more than doubled its total over the past 3 years.

2012 iTunes stats: 9 plays

2015 iTunes stats: 21 plays, most recently on 1/16/2015

Cracker – Low

Somehow, I’ve only listend to the first hit from Cracker’s sophomore effort once in the last 3 years.

2012 iTunes stats: 13 plays

2015 iTunes stats: 14 plays, most recently on 7/16/2012

Def Leppard – Miss You In A Heartbeat

The minor hit for the boys from Sheffield garnished only 1 additional listen, nearly 2 years ago now.

2012 iTunes stats: 2 plays

2015 iTunes stats: 3 plays, most recently on 8/11/2013

Cher w/ Beavis & Butthead – I Got You Babe

Cher’s threesome with the animated duo, from the hit film Beavis & Butthead Do America, earned a healthy increase over the past 3 years.

2014 iTunes stats: 17 plays

2015 iTunes stats: 22 plays, most recently on 5/16/2015

Guns N’ Roses – Estranged

The GnR opus doubled its listens over the past 3 years.

2012 iTunes stats: 2 plays

2015 iTunes stats: 4 plays, most recently on 6/21/2014

Lemonheads – Into Your Arms

More than a tripling of listens for the big hit from Evan Dando and the boys.

2012 iTunes stats: 4 plays

2015 iTunes stats: 13 plays, most recently on 6/5/2015

Side B

Continue reading →

by admin

Top 200 Albums – #120 – 130

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 continue climbing up the list and look at the 6 albums tied for 120th with 34 listens and the 5 albums tied for 127th with 33 listens.

#120: Arrested Development – 3 Years, 5 Months And 2 Days In The Life Of …
iTunes stats: 34 plays
The debut album from the Atlanta-based alternative hip-hop group has a nearly even split amongst its 3 hit singles to make up this total.

#120: Various Artists – Clueless
iTunes stats: 34 plays
The hit movie soundtrack makes the list thanks to songs from Smoking Popes, Jill Sobule, and The Muffs.

#120: Sam Kinison – Have You Seen Me Lately
iTunes stats: 34 plays
The seminal comedy album from Sam Kinison uses his standup routine and a twisted remake of Wild Thing to chart this high.

#120: Hole – Celebrity Skin
iTunes stats: 34 plays
The second Hole album, alledgedly written by Billy Corgan, Courtney Love’s boyfriend at the time, has 2 tracks make up this total.

#120: George Carlin – You Are All Diseased
iTunes stats: 34 plays
Another standup routine from George Carlin puts him on the list again.

#120: Stone Temple Pilots – Purple
Continue reading →

by admin

Top 200 Albums – #181 – 185

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 continue towards the bottom of the list and look at the 5 albums tied for 181st with 23 listens.

#181: Stone Temple Pilots – Core
iTunes stats: 23 plays
4 songs, most of which have some sort of problem thanks to a badly scratched disc, come from the debut album from the alternative superstars.

#181: Various Artists – Dazed And Confused
iTunes stats: 23 plays
The soundtrack to the movie about high school in the 70s gets on the charts on the backs of 4 entries.

#181: Violent Femmes – Violent Femmes
iTunes stats: 23 plays
The debut album from the alt rock pioneers suprisingly makes the list, thanks to 4 songs that I normally skip because the volume on them is so low.

#181: Various Artists – Can’t Hardly Wait
iTunes stats: 23 plays
The soundtrack to the movie about the killer party in a 90s high school scores this high thanks to only 2 tracks, from Smash Mouth and Third Eye Blind.

#181: Blur – The Best Of
iTunes stats: 23 plays
Blur’s best of compilation, which I picked up cheap at a Black Friday sale at Best Buy some years back, made the list on the strength of 2 songs.