Tag / Ben E. King

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Fifty 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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Top 200 Albums: #71 – 80

We last counted down the Top 200 albums in my iTunes library four years ago. Since that time, the world has literally changed, and my commute has decreased from 1+ hours each way to 25 steps. So, despite the decrease in potential listening time, I figured it was time to take another look, based on number of plays from late 2007 through the morning of January 1, 2022.

We continue our countdown today with the next batch of ten albums that I have listened to the most over the last 15 years, with a strong concentration on the 60s, 80s, and 90s.

#80: Various Artists – Rock N’ Roll Era: 1961
iTunes stats: 138 plays
Previous Ranking: 90

Seven tunes, from artists like Del Shannon, Dion & The Belmonts, and Ben E. King, added 62 listens for this Time Life compilation.

#79: Snoop Dogg – Doggystyle
iTunes stats: 140 plays
Previous Ranking: 66

A 43% increase for the 1993 solo debut from the rapper from Long Beach.

#77: Pearl Jam – Contra
iTunes stats: 141 plays
Previous Ranking: 73

This bootleg album, which contains numerous live performances including the band’s 1992 MTV Unplugged appearance, adds 55 new plays to the eight different tracks in my collection.

#77: Various Artists – Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion
iTunes stats: 141 plays
Previous Ranking: 98

The first soundtrack to the Lisa Kudrow/Mira Sorvino comedy uses eight different 80s tracks, from artists like Tears For Fears, Culture Club, and The Go-Go’s, to rise 21 spots on the chart thanks to a 95% increase to its previous mark.

#76: No Doubt – Tragic Kingdom
iTunes stats: 142 plays
Previous Ranking: 89

An 84% increase for six of the songs from the band’s third studio album and major label debut.

Continue reading →

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Top 200 Albums – #79 – 90

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 up the second half with the next batch of 10 albums ranked between #79 and 90, including 4 studio recordings, 3 comedy albums, and 3 compilations.

#90: Various Artists – Rock N’ Roll Era: 1961
iTunes stats: 76 plays
Previous Ranking: 152

7 tunes, from artists like Del Shannon, Dion & The Belmonts, and Ben E. King, are part of this Time Life compilation.

#89: No Doubt – Tragic Kingdom
iTunes stats: 77 plays
Previous Ranking: 92

6 songs from the band’s breakthrough effort make up its total.

#88: Weezer – Weezer
iTunes stats: 78 plays
Previous Ranking: 77

4 tunes from Weezer’s debut, known as the Blue Album, place it on the list.

#85: The Beatles – Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
iTunes stats: 79 plays
Previous Ranking: 50

The remastered version of this Beatles’ classic makes the list thanks to 20 new listens across 5 different songs.

#85: Various Artists – Monsters Of Rock
iTunes stats: 79 plays
Previous Ranking: 74

This compilation of 80s hair bands, like White Lion, Winger, and Firehouse, makes up this total thanks to 8 different tracks.

Continue reading →

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Top 200 Albums – #91 – 98

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 start the second half with the next batch of 10 albums ranked between #91 and 98, including 4 studio recordings, 3 compilations, 2 comedy albums, and 1 live performance.

#98: Pearl Jam – Ten

iTunes stats: 72 plays
Previous Ranking: 70

The debut album from Pearl Jam places on the list on the backs of 6 different tracks.

#98: Various Artists – Romy And Michele’s High School Reunion
iTunes stats: 72 plays
Previous Ranking: 92

The first soundtrack to the Lisa Kudrow/Mira Sorvino comedy uses 8 different 80s tracks to make up this total, nearly double its previous mark.

#98: Def Leppard – Vault (Limited Live CD)
iTunes stats: 72 plays
Previous Ranking: 107

The import version of Def Leppard’s first greatest hits compilation contained this additional live disc, of which 9 tracks make up this total.

#94: The Beatles – Help
iTunes stats: 74 plays
Previous Ranking: 60

The remastered version of this classic album uses 5 tunes to make up its total.

#94: Patton Oswalt – Tragedy Plus Comedy Equals Time
iTunes stats: 74 plays
Previous Ranking: N/A

A strong debut from another of Patton Oswalt’s comedy albums.

Continue reading →

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Top 200 Albums – #149 – 157

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, looking at the 6 albums tied for 152nd with 27 listens and the 3 albums tied for 149th with 28 listens.

#149: Def Leppard – Vault: Def Leppard’s Greatest Hits
iTunes stats: 28 plays
This collection of the Sheffield band’s greatest hits used 4 tunes to score this high on the list.

#149: Various Artists – Friends-Music From The T.V. Series
iTunes stats: 28 plays
This soundtrack compilation, released following the smash first season of the television show, has 7 songs, from the likes of Joni Mitchell, The Pretenders, and, of course, The Rembrandts, to make up its total.

#149: Various Artists – Monster Ballads, Vol. 2
iTunes stats: 28 plays
5 songs from this collection of ballads, performed by rock bands like Warrant and Cinderella, place it on the chart.

#152: George Carlin – Life Is Worth Losing
iTunes stats: 27 plays
Another comedy album by George Carlin takes its place on this list.

#152: Cracker – Cracker
iTunes stats: 27 plays
Only 2 songs from Cracker’s debut album make up this total.

#152: Various Artists – Rock N’ Roll Era: 1961
iTunes stats: 27 plays
7 tunes, from artists like Del Shannon, Dion & The Belmonts, and Ben E. King, are part of this Time Life compilation.

#152: Various Artists – Mallrats
Continue reading →

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It’s Off To Work I Go

Monday had me chained to a chair doing mindless, repetitive work all day, so I pulled out my phone and listened to some tunes.  This list is the music that got me through the drudgery of that day.

You Shook Me All Night Long AC/DC Back In Black 2/10/2014 10:53 AM
Baby One More Time Travis 2/10/2014 10:57 AM
Hand In My Pocket Alanis Morissette Jagged Little Pill 2/10/2014 11:00 AM
Girl, You’ll Be a Woman Soon Urge Overkill Pulp Fiction OST 2/10/2014 11:04 AM
In Your Eyes Peter Gabriel So 2/10/2014 11:16 AM
All Apologies Nirvana MTV Unplugged in New York Rock 2/10/2014 11:20 AM
Our Party Mexican Cheerleader Mexican Cheerleader 2/10/2014 11:22 AM
If You Dont Know Me by Now Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes The 70s Love Collection 2/10/2014 11:26 AM
Girls & Boys Blur The Best Of (Disc 1) 2/10/2014 11:30 AM
Crazy Seal Crazy 2/10/2014 11:36 AM
You Suck The Murmurs The Murmurs 2/10/2014 11:39 AM
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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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 →