iTunes Top 200: #41 – 50

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 songs in my iTunes library, featuring he songs I have listened to the most since 2007.  It is time to do so again, seeing which older songs still resonate and if any newer ones have joined the fray.  So, without further ado, here are my most listened to songs, based on number of plays as of January 1, 2025.

We start the final quarter of this chart with the one remaining song tied for 50th place with 49 plays through the four tracks with 51 plays apiece, good enough for 41st place since my stats began in late 2007.

#50: The Beatles – Helter Skelter
iTunes stats: 49 plays, most recently on 8/15/2024
Previous ranking: #51

Considered by music historians as a key influence in the development of heavy metal, the song has added nine new plays over the past five years.

#45: The Lonely Island – Lazy Sunday (ft. Chris Parnell)
iTunes stats: 50 plays, most recently on 10/18/2024
Previous ranking: #29

A bit of a drop down the charts for the original SNL digital short that put the Lonely Island on the pop culture map and defined the phrase “viral video”.

#45: Foo Fighters – Everlong
iTunes stats: 50 plays, most recently on 3/29/2024
Previous ranking: #33

Recorded live in London’s Hyde Park, the song added five additional listens over these past five years.

#45: Elvis Presley – An American Trilogy
iTunes stats: 50 plays, most recently on 10/21/2024
Previous ranking: #60

A medley of three 19th century songs: Dixie, a blackface minstrel song that became the unofficial anthem of the Confederacy since the Civil War; All My Trials, originally a Bahamian lullaby, but closely related to African American spirituals; and The Battle Hymn of the Republic, the marching song of the Union Army during the Civil War.

#45: Dr. Dre Feat. Snoop Dogg – Nuthin’ But A “G” Thang
iTunes stats: 50 plays, most recently on 3/20/2024
Previous ranking: #43

The first single from Dr. Dre’s solo debut, which reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was named the hip-hop song of the decade by XXL magazine.

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Not Getting Better

37 games into the 2025 season, the White Sox hold a 10-27 record, good for a birthday but not for a record.  This is one game ahead of last year, when the White Sox started their longest winning streak of the year by defeating the Rays 4-1 to go to 9-28 on the year.  The White Sox, of course, finished last year with the most losses in modern MLB history.

Position Players Pitching

In the mid-2010s, putting in a position player to pitch in an effort to save overworked bullpens became more popular than ever before in the history of Major League Baseball.  Starting in 2023, rules changes restricted position players from pitching unless their team is leading by ten or more runs in the 9th inning, their team is losing by eight or more runs at any time, or the game is in extra innings.  This weekend, i saw my tenth eighth position player pitch, so it seemed like a good time to review.

5/6/2017
With a depleted bullpen and down by five against the Yankees, Joe Maddon turned to catcher Miguel Montero to pitch the final inning.  Montero’s inning could generously be called effectively wild, as he walked two and sailed one pitch over Chris Carter’s head but managed to escape without giving up a run.  Maddon’s notion to avoid going back to his bullpen proved prescient, as the following night the two teams went 18 innings, with the Cubs losing by one.

7/6/2017
Exactly two months later, Maddon again turned to his bench rather than his bullpen as the Brewers held a nine-run lead heading into the 9th inning.  This time he turned to veteran outfielder Jon Jay, who gave up just one hit while retiring the Brewers on just 16 pitches.

6/22/2019
Wrigley Field was again the stage for our next installment of position players pitching, as catcher Victor Caratini took the mound for the 9th inning with the Cubs down 10-1 to the Mets.  He did his part, throwing a 1-2-3 inning and giving the Cubs a chance to mount a comeback in the bottom of the 9th.  The rally fell short, however, as the Cubs lost 10-2.

8/17/2021
We move to the South Side for our next occurrence, this time for an opponent.  With the White Sox leading the A’s 9-0, first baseman Mitch Moreland came out to face the White Sox in the bottom of the 8th.  Facing the bottom of the batting order, Moreland gave up a single to Danny Mendick en route to a scoreless outing.

9/16/2021
Nearly a month later, the shoe was on the other foot as the White Sox were losing 9-3 to the Angels at Guaranteed Rate Field.  With two outs in the top of the 9th, Rick Renteria picks Romy Gonzalez to nail down the final out.  With Shohei Ohtani on first base, Gonzalez strikes out Max Stassi on four pitches to end the inning.

7/9/2022
With pitching in his genes, Kody Clemens took the mound for the bottom of the 8th with his Tigers trailing the White Sox 8-0.  Clemens did what none of his fellow Tigers could accomplish that day, giving up no hits and retiring the side on only fourteen pitches.

4/3/2023
The Giants had a big 7-3 lead against the White Sox heading into the 9th inning when Jose Ruiz took the mound looking to hold the line.  Instead, he faced six batters, giving up five runs on two home runs while only getting a single out.  Down by nine, rookie manager Pedro Grifol brought in infielder Hanser Alberto to mop up.  He gave up two hits but wrapped up the inning without giving up a run.

5/1/2025
With the White Sox holding a surprising 8-0 lead over the Brewers, Jake Bauers, who started the game in left field, came in to pitch the bottom of the 8th.  He quickly put down the White Sox, getting a 1-2-3 inning on just ten pitches.

Fitbit XI – Week 15

A nice week, finishing over 30,000 for the first time in four weeks and having my highest total since going to see Michael in March.  The week got off to a decent start on Sunday, finishing with just over 4100 steps.  Monday saw a nice improvement, jumping up to 4700 steps.  A very small falloff on Tuesday left me 11 steps shy of 4700.  My worst day of the week came on Wednesday, falling down to 3900 steps.  A day off with a baseball game put me 34 steps away from 5200 on Thursday.  A night out on Friday helped me to my best day of the week with 6800 steps.  Another trip to see the White Sox at Rate Field on Saturday ended the week with 5200 steps.

Total steps: 34,731

Daily average: 4961.6

iTunes Top 200: #50 – 60

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 songs in my iTunes library, featuring he songs I have listened to the most since 2007.  It is time to do so again, seeing which older songs still resonate and if any newer ones have joined the fray.  So, without further ado, here are my most listened to songs, based on number of plays as of January 1, 2025.

Today we wrap up the third quarter of our list, jumping from the final song tied for 60th place with 46 plays all the way up to the first group of tunes with 49 plays apiece, good enough for 50th place since my stats began in late 2007.

#60: Bell Biv DeVoe – Do Me!
iTunes stats: 46 plays, most recently on 11/9/2023
Previous ranking: #41

A mere three new listens for this second single from the former New Edition members, which reached #3 on the Billboard charts.

#57: Weezer – Hash Pipe
iTunes stats: 47 plays, most recently on 6/26/2024
Previous ranking: #51

This first single from the band’s long awaited comeback album in 2001 peaked at #24 on the Mainstream Rock chart.

#57: Toad the Wet Sprocket – Walk on the Ocean
iTunes stats: 47 plays, most recently on 10/28/2024
Previous ranking: #56

Reaching #18 on the Hot 100, the song was written following a vacation singer Glen Phillips took to Orcas Island.

#57: Sir Mix-A-Lot – Baby Got Back
iTunes stats: 47 plays, most recently on 7/24/2024
Previous ranking: #43

The classic ode to large backsides sat atop the Hot 100 for five weeks in the summer of 1992.

#54: Garbage – Only Happy When It Rains
iTunes stats: 48 plays, most recently on 3/2/2024
Previous ranking: #68

A live version of the 1995 hit from the band’s One Mile High… Live video.

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Connecting The City 2.0

Back in 2021, Nike announced they would be introducing City Connect uniforms to Major League Baseball, reimagining each team’s look to “celebrate[s] the bond between each team and its city.”  The White Sox were one of the first to get a City Connect, the infamous Southside set that was widely recognized as one of, if not the best rendition of the initial go-arounds.  Each City Connect uniform combination was intended to last for three years.

Four years later, the second wave of City Connects are being released and the White Sox will likely find themselves on the bottom of most rankings.  Announced yesterday, the new uniform set is the first collaboration between the MLB and NBA, as the jerseys basically adopt the Chicago Bulls look, with red jerseys with black pinstripes, black sleeves, and Chicago across the chest in a very Bulls-like wordmark.

First, the good: I like the black hat with the winged sock logo and the red brim.  And that’s about it.  The jersey looks like a cheap generic that you would pick up at Walgreens or Osco, not something a major league team would wear.  The black pants have red stripes down the sides with “SOUTHSIDE” repeated in black within the stripe.  Overall, this seems like a lazy, bottom of the barrel idea and I can’t see how this City Connect program will last long-term if they are already down to ideas like this.

Fitbit XI – Week 13

A down week thanks to some packed mornings with lots of back-to-back meetings.  The week got off to a good start on Sunday, finishing with 4700 steps thanks to a trip down to Rate Field to see the Sox of White battle their brothers in Red.  Monday kept up the pace, coming in at 4600 steps.  A big falloff on Tuesday put me down to 3700 steps.  Another drop on Wednesday dropped me to 3200 steps.  The nadir of the week came on Thursday as I fell to 2500 steps.  An improvement on Friday left me 26 steps shy of 4300.  Another dropoff on Saturday ended the week with 4000 steps.

Total steps: 27,278

Daily average: 2896.9

iTunes Top 200: #71 – 77

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 songs in my iTunes library, featuring he songs I have listened to the most since 2007.  It is time to do so again, seeing which older songs still resonate and if any newer ones have joined the fray.  So, without further ado, here are my most listened to songs, based on number of plays as of January 1, 2025.

We continue this week with the four remaining songs tied for 77th place with 43 plays, the four tunes tied for 73rd place with 44 plays, and, finally, the two tracks with 45 plays apiece, good enough for 71st place since my stats began in late 2007.

#77: The Crystal Method – Bones Theme
iTunes stats: 43 plays, most recently on 11/27/2019
Previous ranking: #41

An original composition by the group for the long running FOX show, it has gone unheard in more than five years.

#77: The Cranberries – Zombie
iTunes stats: 43 plays, most recently on 2/7/2024
Previous ranking: #125

Written about the IRA bombing in Warrington in 1993, the first single from the Cranberries sophomore effort jumped nearly 50 spots on the rankings.

#77: The Cast of Buffy the Vampire SlayerI’ve Got A Theory/Bunnies/If We’re Together
iTunes stats: 43 plays, most recently on 8/31/2024
Previous ranking: #60

This entry from Once More With Feeling, where we learn the truth behind the evil that is bunnies, added five new plays over the previous five years.

#77: Bad Religion – Infected
iTunes stats: 43 plays, most recently on 8/31/2024
Previous ranking: #98

The third single from the band’s eighth studio album, it peaked at #27 on Billboard’s Modern Rock Tracks chart.

#73: Foo Fighters – Breakout (Live)
iTunes stats: 44 plays, most recently on 6/6/2024
Previous ranking: #60

This live version from the group’s 2006 show in London’s Hyde Park picked up six new plays since 2020.

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Fitbit XI – Week 12

My streak of 30,000 step weeks ends at two after a down week.  The week got off to a decent start on Sunday, finishing with 4600 steps.  Monday was just 13 steps lower, again finishing with 4600 steps. shy of 4000.  A big falloff on Tuesday put me down to 3600 steps.  A slight improvement on Wednesday left me 27 steps away from 3700.  Thursday was the low point of the week, finishing with 3100 steps.  A trip to Rate Field on Friday to see the Sox of White battle the Red pushed me up to 5900 steps.  Another drop off on Saturday ended the week with 3500 steps.

Total steps: 29,112

Daily average: 4158.9

iTunes Top 200: #77 – 89

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 songs in my iTunes library, featuring he songs I have listened to the most since 2007.  It is time to do so again, seeing which older songs still resonate and if any newer ones have joined the fray.  So, without further ado, here are my most listened to songs, based on number of plays as of January 1, 2025.

We continue this week with the two remaining songs tied for 89th place with 42 plays and begin the first batch of tunes with 43 plays apiece, good enough for 77th place since my stats began in late 2007.

#89: Cracker – Teen Angst (What The World Needs Now)
iTunes stats: 42 plays, most recently on 12/17/2024
Previous ranking: #68

This entry, which charted at #1 on the US Modern Rock Tracks, arguably broke Cracker into the mainstream.

#89: Concrete Blonde – Joey
iTunes stats: 42 plays, most recently on 3/31/2024
Previous ranking: #68

The band’s biggest hit, which spent four weeks atop the Modern Rock Tracks chart and hit #19 on the Billboard Hot 100.

#77: TLC – Creep
iTunes stats: 43 plays, most recently on 1/5/2024
Previous ranking: #98

The lead single from the band’s second album, the group’s first number one hit on the Billboard Hot 100.

#77: Mott the Hoople – All the Young Dudes
iTunes stats: 43 plays, most recently on 12/27/2024
Previous ranking: #79

Written by the David Bowie, the song was rated #253 in the list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time by Rolling Stone.

#77: The Lonely Islands – Dick in a Box (ft. Justin Timberlake)
iTunes stats: 43 plays, most recently on 11/12/2024
Previous ranking: #68

The SNL Digital Short premiered on December 16, 2006 and became a viral hit when the uncensored version was posted online the following day.

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