Tag / Whitney Houston

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50 Years Of Music – 1987

Fifty years ago, I made my first appeared on the Earth.  In celebration, we are going to take a look at the year-end Billboard Hot 100 singles chart for each year of my life and see what songs resonated with me at the time and if they continue to do so to this day.

We continue our look back at the music of my lifetime with 1987, the year I wrapped up seventh grade, moved to eighth grade, and turned 13.  I started to have some awareness of the pop music of the day, but still have many blind spots, even to this day.  35 of the Hot 100 are familiar to me now, with only 13 of them appearing in my collection in one way or another.

#98: Beastie Boys – (You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party!)
iTunes stats: 16 plays

Named one of the 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, it peaked at #7 the first week of March in 1987.

#93: Huey Lewis and the News – Doing It All for My Baby
iTunes stats: N/A

The song of choice for my eighth-grade music class critic report, it reached #6, making the band the first group to have five top ten singles from one album.

#74: Bon Jovi – Wanted Dead or Alive
iTunes stats: 29 plays

Hitting #7 on the Hot 100 and #13 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, it made Slippery When Wet the first glam metal album to have three top ten hits.

#72: Gloria Estefan and Miami Sound Machine – Rhythm Is Gonna Get You
iTunes stats: N/A

The lead single from the group’s tenth studio album, it topped out at #5.

#67: Ben E. King – Stand by Me
iTunes stats: 22 plays

Originally peaking at #4 in 1961, the song was re-released alongside the film of the same name in 1987, reaching #9 and giving King a top ten hit, either as part of a group or as a solo artist, in four decades.

#59: Michael Jackson – Bad
iTunes stats: N/A

Originally intended to be a duet with Prince, the song spent two weeks atop the Hot 100 and was Jackson’s eighth #1 hit.

#58: Madonna – La Isla Bonita
iTunes stats: N/A

The fifth and final single from the True Blue album, it peaked at #4, giving Madonna her eleventh top five single, trailing only Elvis Presley and the Beatles at the time.

#52: Suzanne Vega – Luka
iTunes stats: N/A

Vega’s highest charting US hit, it reached #3 and earned Vega multiple Grammy nominations in 1988. Continue reading →

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50 Years Of Music – 1986

Fifty years ago, I made my first appeared on the Earth.  In celebration, we are going to take a look at the year-end Billboard Hot 100 singles chart for each year of my life and see what songs resonated with me at the time and if they continue to do so to this day.

We continue our look back at the music of my lifetime today with 1986, the year I finished grammar school, moved on to junior high and the seventh grade, and turned 12.  I am starting to become more familiar with the songs of the day, although there are quite a few here, even in the top ten, which did not stand the test of time.  38 of the Hot 100 are familiar to me now, with 18 of them appearing in my collection in one way or another.

#89: Run-D.M.C. featuring Aerosmith – Walk This Way
iTunes stats: 55 plays

Charting higher than the original did in the 70s, it became the first hip-hop single reach the top five, peaking at #4.  It became Run-D.M.C.’s biggest hit and helped Aerosmith revitalize their career.

#76: Madonna – True Blue
iTunes stats: N/A

The title track from Madonna’s third album, it spent three weeks at #3.

#74: Mike + The Mechanics – All I Need Is a Miracle
iTunes stats: 7 plays

Nominated for the Best Pop Performance By a Duo or Group Grammy, it topped out at #5 on the Hot 100.

#72: John Cougar Mellencamp – Small Town
iTunes stats: N/A

Reaching #6, Mellencamp wrote the song to detail his experiences growing up in small-town Indiana.

#69: Van Halen – Why Can’t This Be Love
iTunes stats: 13 plays

The group’s first single with new singer Sammy Hagar, it shot to #3 on the Hot 100.

#68: Cameo – Word Up
iTunes stats: 10 plays

The lead single from the group’s thirteenth studio album, it became their first Top 40 hit, topping out at #6.

#67: El DeBarge – Who’s Johnny
iTunes stats: 23 plays

Featured in Short Circuit, the debut solo single from DeBarge peaked at #3.

#66: John Cougar Mellencamp – R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A.
iTunes stats: N/A

The third single from Mellencamp’s Scarecrow, it reached #2 on the Hot 100.

#65: James Brown – Living in America
iTunes stats: 27 plays

Featured prominently on the Rocky IV soundtrack, the tune, which reached #4, earned Brown a Grammy for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance.

#62: The Outfield – Your Love
iTunes stats: 101 plays

Peaking at #6, the song became a popular sports anthem and was used locally as the walkup music for former White Sox infielder Gordon Beckham.

#59: Eddie Money – Take Me Home Tonight
iTunes stats: 22 plays

Featuring Ronnie Spector in the chorus, the single topped out at #4 in November.

#58: Janet Jackson – Nasty
iTunes stats: N/A

Reaching #3 on the Hot 100, the song ranked at #11 on Rolling Stone’s 200 Best Songs of the 1980s.

#56: INXS – What You Need
iTunes stats: N/A

The band’s first top ten hit in the US, it peaked at #5 on the Hot 100.

#54: Genesis – Invisible Touch
iTunes stats: N/A

The first of five consecutive top five singles, it was their first and, to date, only #1 single in the United States.

#53: OMD – If You Leave
iTunes stats: 24 plays

Recorded for the Pretty in Pink soundtrack, the song topped out at #4, becoming the group’s highest-charting single.

#51: Stacey Q – Two of Hearts
iTunes stats: 19 plays

The first single my sister owned, which took her years to realize she was playing on the wrong speed, it peaked at #3 in the fall of 1986. Continue reading →

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Fifty Years Of Music – 1985

Fifty years ago, I made my first appeared on the Earth.  In celebration, we are going to take a look at the year-end Billboard Hot 100 singles chart for each year of my life and see what songs resonated with me at the time and if they continue to do so to this day.

We continue our look back at the music of my lifetime with 1985, the year I wrapped up fifth grade, moved to sixth grade, did the Super Bowl Shuffle, and turned 11.  31 songs of the Hot 100 are familiar to me now, with only fifteen of them appearing in my collection in one way or another.

#97: Don Henley – All She Wants to Do Is Dance
iTunes stats: N/A

The sixth solo single from the Eagles drummer peaked at #9 on the Hot 100.

#92: Bruce Springsteen – Born in the USA
iTunes stats: 15 plays

Ranked as the 275th greatest song of all time by Rolling Stone, the track broke the top ten, hitting #9 in January of 1985.

#88: David Lee Roth – California Girls
iTunes stats: 22 plays

Roth’s first solo single after leaving Van Halen, this version matched the original by the Beach Boys, topping out at #3.

#75: Katrina and the Waves – Walking on Sunshine
iTunes stats: 14 plays

Hitting #9 on the Hot 100 in 1985, the song was briefly banned in the southern US after Hurrican Katrina in 2005.

#74: Bryan Adams – Summer of ’69
iTunes stats: N/A

Peaking at #5 on the charts, the song was ranked at #70 on Blender’s list “The 500 Greatest Songs Since You Were Born” in 2005

#67: Bruce Springsteen – Glory Days
iTunes stats: 14 plays

The fifth of a record-tying seven singles from the Born in the USA album to hit the top five, it stalled out at #5 in the summer of 1985.

#61: Harold Faltermeyer – Axel F
iTunes stats: 18 plays

The instrumental theme to Beverly Hills Cop, the track reached #3 on the Hot 100.

#58: Madonna – Material Girl
iTunes stats: N/A

Spending two weeks at #2, the second single from Like a Virgin gave Madonna two simultaneous top five hits.

#57: Tina Turner – We Don’t Need Another Hero (Thunderdome)
iTunes stats: N/A

Turner peaked at #2 with this hit from the soundtrack to Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, which also earned her a Golden Globe and Oscar nominations.

#56: Animotion – Obsession
iTunes stats: 16 plays

The band’s first single reached #6 on the Hot 100.

#53: Don Henley – The Boys of Summer
iTunes stats: N/A

The track, which earned Henley a Grammy in 1986, hit #5 on the Hot 100 and topped the Top Rock Tracks chart for five weeks.

#51: Prince & the Revolution – Raspberry Beret
iTunes stats: 5 plays

Peaking at #2 in 1985, the song re-entered the Hot 100 at #33 in 2016 following Prince’s death.

Continue reading →

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Yet Another Mix Tape Monday – Volume 7

33 years ago, during my sophomore year of high school, I put together the first of what would eventually 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.  Today, we revisit those mix tapes for the fourth time and see how, or if, the soundtrack of my youth still resonates in today’s digital world and how much has changed over the past four years.

Back in the day, the acquisition of music was a much more tactile experience than it is today.  Going out to a store, physically touching the racks of CDs or cassettes while looking for the right one… it could create a memory just as vivid as those tied to the music itself.

I remember clear as day, just over thirty years later, going to the record store after my last final of first semester and coming out of JL Records with both Guns N’ Roses’ Use Your Illusion I and AC/DC’s Live.  Something to celebrate the end of that first go-around in school before heading home for winter break.  I remember going to Orland Square Mall and coming home with Toad The Wet Sprocket’s Fear and TLC’s Ooooooohhh… On the TLC Tip.  I remember picking up a used copy of Tesla’s Five Man Acoustical Jam at Discount Den and then trading it for LL Cool J’s Mama Said Knock You Out at the record store in Purdue West whose name is escaping me at the moment.

Compare that to today.  Do I have any particular memory of downloading, say, Taylor Swift’s 1984 on MP3?  Or buying Strange Little Birds by Garbage off of Amazon?  Of course not.  It’s even worse for streaming.  So, while music is more available and ubiquitous than it ever has been before, we do lose a little something in the trade.

Volume 7, containing songs from those long-remembered CDs, covers the fall of 1992 and the end of the first semester of my freshman year of college.  We are treated to the last gasps of hair metal and pop, with a little dance, alternative and hip-hop thrown in for good measure.

Side A

Guns N’ Roses – November Rain
iTunes stats: 18 plays, most recently on 11/11/2021

The longest song ever to crack the top 10 on the Billboard charts, peaking at #3, the opus, which checks in at 3 seconds shy of 9 minutes, picked up just six new plays in the last four years.

Def Leppard – Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad
iTunes stats: 16 plays, most recently on 11/10/2022

The 86th biggest hit of 1992 managed to double its plays since 2019.

Toad The Wet Sprocket – All I Want
iTunes stats: 25 plays, most recently on 11/20/2021

Topping out at #15 on the Billboard charts, the first hit from Toad the Wet Sprocket only picked up four new listens over the past four years.

Tesla – Signs
iTunes stats: 13 plays, most recently on 9/27/2021

Reaching #8 on the Billboard Hot 100, the live track, recorded in 1990, has gained a mere nine listens since 2012.

Soup Dragons – Divine Thing
iTunes stats: 22 plays, most recently on 6/14/2021

The alternative dance single that became a moderate alternative hit in the US gained just two additional listens, with the latest coming over two and a half years ago.

Ugly Kid Joe – Neighbor
iTunes stats: 15 plays, most recently on 12/8/2022

The lead single from Ugly Kid Joe’s major label debut, this track added five plays since 2019.

The Heights – How Do You Talk To An Angel
iTunes stats: 20 plays, most recently on 11/29/2021

The theme song from the short-lived FOX show The Heights, nominated for the 1993 Outstanding Individual Achievement in Music and Lyrics Emmy, picked up six new plays.

Side B

Continue reading →

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Another Mix Tape Monday – Volume 7

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 7 covers the fall of 1992 and the end of the first semester of my freshman year of college.  We are treated to the last gasps of hair metal and pop, with a little dance, alternative and hip-hop thrown in for good measure.

Side A

Guns N’ Roses – November Rain

The longest song ever to crack to top 10 on the Billboard charts, peaking at #3, the opus, which checks in at 3 seconds shy of 9 minutes, picked up 7 new plays in the last 3 years.

iTunes Stats
2012 2015 2019
3 plays 5 plays 12 plays, most recently on 11/14/2018 

Def Leppard – Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad

The 86th biggest hit of 1992 picked up a mere 2 listens since 2015 and only 4 since 2012.

iTunes Stats
2012 2015 2019
4 plays 6 plays 8 plays, most recently on 12/5/2018 

Toad The Wet Sprocket – All I Want

Topping out at #15 on the Billboard charts, the first hit from Toad the Wet Sprocket only picked up 4 new listens over the past 3 years.

iTunes Stats
2012 2015 2019
10 plays 17 plays 21 plays, most recently on 12/9/2018 

Tesla – Signs

The live track, which I once owned on CD before trading it in for LL Cool J’s Mama Said Knock You Out, gained a mere 4 new listens, with the last one coming only 2 weeks after I bought the band’s namesake car.

iTunes Stats
2012 2015 2019
4 plays 5 plays 9 plays, most recently on 7/13/2017 

Soup Dragons – Divine Thing

The alternative dance single that became a moderate hit in the US gained 9 additional listens.

iTunes Stats
2012 2015 2019
9 plays 14 plays 20 plays, most recently on 9/23/2018

Ugly Kid Joe – Neighbor

Ugly Kid Joe, who debuted much too late for their 80s hairband style, saw a five-fold increase in the amount of plays this first single from their first full length album.

iTunes Stats
2012 2015 2019
1 plays 2 plays 10 plays, most recently on 11/12/2018 

The Heights – How Do You Talk To An Angel

The theme song from the short-lived FOX show The Heights, nominated for the 1993 Outstanding Individual Achievement in Music and Lyrics Emmy, picked up 6 new plays.

iTunes Stats
2012 2015 2019
4 plays 8 plays 14 plays, most recently on 7/14/2018 

Side B

Continue reading →

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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 →
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And The Oscar Went To

A few thoughts on the Oscar telecast before we get into my predictions from yesterday.

  • In the same week an ESPN writer is fired for using a headline that could be considered insensitive to Jeremy Lin, Billy Crystal dons black face for the Oscars.
  • There’s enough time for a special Cirque de Soleil performance, but not for the 2 nominees for Best Song?  Who says Hollywood is out of touch?
  • Emma Stone truly is lovely, isn’t she?
  • The Marty Scorsese drinking game would certainly get one drunk tonight.
  • Wait, Whitney Houston died?  Why wasn’t that in the news or something?

So, how did my predictions fare?  Out of 24 categories, I managed to get 9 correct.  Here are my predicted winners along with the actual winners. Continue reading →