Tag / Boiler Up!

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Top 200 Albums – #51 – 60

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 finish off the first 3 quarters with the next batch of 10 albums ranked between #51 and 60, including 4 studio recordings, 3 compilations, 2 greatest hits collectoins, and 1 live performance.

#60: P.O.D. – Satellite
iTunes stats: 102 plays
Previous Ranking: 29

2 tunes, and former White Sox closer Bobby Jenks, are responsible for this total.

#59: Garbage – Not Your Kind Of People
iTunes stats: 103 plays
Previous Ranking: 59

48 additional plays over the past 3 years gives this album the exact same ranking.

#58: Poison – Swallow This Live
iTunes stats: 105 plays
Previous Ranking: 38

The first CD I ever owned, which I received for Christmas in December of 1991, makes the list thanks to 8 tracks from the double album.

#57: Pearl Jam – Vs.
iTunes stats: 106 plays
Previous Ranking: 40

Pearl Jam’s second album, which I purchased as a midnight release at the record store in Purdue West whose name escapes me, makes the list thanks to 7 tunes.

#56: Van Halen – The Best Of Both Worlds
iTunes stats: 107 plays
Previous Ranking: 68

This greatest hits compilation makes the list thanks to 8 tracks, split between David Lee Roth and Sammy Hagar.

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Top 200 Albums – #60 – 70

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 with the next batch of 10 albums ranked between #60 and 70, including 3 studio recordings, 2 compilations, 2 comedy albums, 1 greatest hits collection, 1 soundtrack, and 1 live performance.

#70: Foo Fighters – The Colour And The Shape
iTunes stats: 92 plays
Previous Ranking: 54

Many years ago, a few years after the album had been released, I picked this up for $5 at Best Buy on Black Friday. Since that time, 4 tracks have made up this total.

#68: The Beatles – Magic Mystery Tour
iTunes stats: 95 plays
Previous Ranking: 42

6 tracks make up the total for this remastered album.

#68: Sam Kinison – Have You Seen Me Lately
iTunes stats: 95 plays
Previous Ranking: 120

The seminal comedy album from Sam Kinison uses his standup routine and a twisted remake of Wild Thing to chart this high.

#66: Various Artists – Millennium Hip-Hop Party Vol. 2
iTunes stats: 98 plays
Previous Ranking: 65

7 tracks, from artists like Coolio, Naughty By Nature, and Paperboy, make up the total for this turn-of-the-century compilation.

#66: Snoop Dogg – Doggystyle
iTunes stats: 98 plays
Previous Ranking: 50

Snoop Dogg’s debut album uses 5 songs to make up this total.

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Keep On Dancing

As we enter the Sweet 16, brackets across the nation are busted thanks to upsets galore, including the first ever 16 seed knocking off a 1 seed.  Thankfully, my Boilermakers are still alive, and thanks to my trip to Vegas this week, I have some money riding on them to win the whole thing.  Crazier things have already happened in this year’s tournament.

I’m in trouble here, as only 1 team I picked heading in to the Sweet 16 is still alive.  Virginia, the overall #1 seed, lost in the first round to the upstarts from UMBC.  Exciting times all around.

I’ve got 2 out of the remaining 4 teams still alive, and my final four slot here is still in play.  Hopefully I lose that, though, on my way to paying off the Vegas bet.

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Top 200 Albums – #120 – 129

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 #120 and 129, including 4 studio recordings, 3 compilations, 2 greatest hit packages,  and 1 live performance from a marching band.

#129: Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons – Very Best Of Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons
iTunes stats: 58 plays
Previous Ranking: 100

21 new listens to the four tunes from this particular greatest hits package caused a bit of a drop.

#129: Various Artists – On The Edge
iTunes stats: 58 plays
Previous Ranking: 139

This compilation, featuring 80s alternative hits from the likes of The Smiths, Love & Rockets, and Michael Penn, had 5 different tunes make up its total.

#127: Various Artists – Billboard Top Rock & Roll Hits: 1970
iTunes stats: 59 plays
Previous Ranking: 164

This compilation of the biggest hits of 1970 by bands that would allow themselves to be on such a compilation, like Ides of March or the Partridge Family, has 7 tunes making up its total.

#127: Liz Phair – Whitechocolatespaceegg
iTunes stats: 59 plays
Previous Ranking: 112

10 different songs make up this total for this third studio album by the one-time indie darling.

#125: Nirvana – In Utero
iTunes stats: 60 plays
Previous Ranking: 112

The last studio album from Nirvana uses 4 different tracks to make up this total.

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Dancing Days Are Here Again

It’s that time of year again, as the nation’s attention turns to the college hoops scene for the next few weeks. I’m down to just two pools this year; one at my mom’s work, and one run by a friend, as the work pool died due to lack of interest.  If it weren’t for my upcoming trip to Las Vegas, I’d likely be heading to Detroit this weekend to cheer on the Boilermakers.

A couple of upsets make up my first bracket, with the #2 seed, the Bearcats of Cincinnati, being my pick to advance to the Final Four.

After some late season stumbles, Purdue winds up as the #2 seed.  Villanova is the early favorite to win the whole thing, and, using my head instead of my heart, I’m picking them to come out of the East.

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Top 200 Albums – #151 – 158

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 #151 and 158, including 7 studio recordings, 2 soundtracks, and 1 live performance.

#158: Icona Pop – This Is… Icona Pop
iTunes stats: 50 plays
Previous Ranking: N/A

A single entry, used as part of my White Sox playlist, allows this album to make its debut.

#158: R.E.M. – Automatic For The People
iTunes stats: 50 plays
Previous Ranking: 141

5 songs, led by the first single Drive, make up this total for the Athens, Georgia based group.

#158: Various Artists – OST – Veronica Mars
iTunes stats: 50 plays
Previous Ranking: 100

2 different tracks, from The Dandy Warhols and Tegan & Sara, make up the total for the soundtrack from the cult television show, which suffered a huge drop.

#151: Bon Jovi – VH1 Storytellers
iTunes stats: 51 plays
Previous Ranking: N/A

A strong debut for this live offering from the boys from New Jersey, thanks to 8 different tracks.

#151: The Strokes – Is This It?
iTunes stats: 51 plays
Previous Ranking: 127

One of the 4 songs making up this total, New York City Cops, was dropped from the American version of the album, released weeks after the 9/11 attacks.

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College Basketball Tipoff

The Purdue Boilermakers kick of the 2017-2018 season today, meaning it’s time to take our second ever look at the results of the now whopping 14 college basketball games I have attended in my lifetime. You’d think it would be more, since I was a big fan and we had a great team while I was in school, but for some reason I only made it to 2 games while enrolled in college. The other 12 have been post-graduation, including the first two rounds of last year’s NCAA tournament in Milwaukee. Anyway, without further ado, here are the standings for those 14 games.

All-Time Team Records
Team Won Loss Winning Pctg
Virginia Commonwealth Rams 1 0 1.000
Butler Bulldogs 1 0 1.000
Purdue Boilermakers 9 4 0.692
Northwestern Wildcats 2 2 0.500
Illinois Fighting Illini 1 3 0.250
Vermont Catamounts 0 1 0.000
Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders 0 1 0.000
Long Beach State 49ers 0 1 0.000
Iowa State Cyclones 0 1 0.000
Houston Cougars 0 1 0.000
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iTunes Top 200 Artists: #31-40

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.

Today we look at the next batch of artists, numbers 31-40, which includes a nice mix of musical genres.

#40: Tori Amos
iTunes stats: 128 plays
Previous ranking: #40

56 new listens for the same 11 songs over the past 3 years enable the singer/songwriter, who I was supposed to see live back in 1998 but missed due to a friend’s wedding, retain her position at #40.

#39: Harry Caray
iTunes stats: 129 plays
Previous ranking: #44

The legendary broadcaster moves up 5 spots in the rankings due to his 2 versions of Take Me Out To The Ballgame, one for the White Sox and one for the Cubs.

#38: Purdue All-American Marching Band
iTunes stats: 135 plays
Previous ranking: #34

The marching band for my alma mater drops 4 spots in the rankings due to only 49 new listens.

#37: No Doubt
iTunes stats: 136 plays
Previous ranking: #42

Thanks to 3 new songs and 65 new listens, the ska band I saw back in college before they hit it big jumps 5 spots in the rankings.

#35: Queen
iTunes stats: 148 plays
Previous ranking: #22

A big 13 spot drop for the band from England due mostly to their dropping off the White Sox victory playlist now more than 10 years removed from their 2005 World Series title.

#35: Metallica
iTunes stats: 148 plays
Previous ranking: #38

The one-time masters of metal manage to go up 3 spots in the rankings thanks to 69 new listens, despite Paul Konerko dropping them as his at bat music shortly before retiring.

#33: The Monkees
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16 Is Sweet

As we head in to the Sweet Sixteen, I have no earthly idea where I’m at in my two pools, thanks to Purdue advancing with two victories up in Milwaukee at the Bradley Center.  3 out of my 4 Final Four picks are still alive, so I may still have a bit of a chance to win something along the way.

A few upsets here have both the #1 and #2 seeds on the outside looking in.  While I lost one of my Final Four picks when Villanova lost, it was worth it to get a Duke loss as well.

Purdue stays alive, but faces a large challenge tonight, facing #1 seed Kansas in Kansas City. Continue reading →

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Fitbit III: Week 7

Another great week, as my streak of 50,000+ steps weeks hits 7, I broke 60,000 steps for the first time since getting back from Universal in June, and my consecutive days over goal streak reached 55.  Things got off to a slow-ish start on Sunday, as I puttered around the house before going to a wake to barely surpass my goal.  Monday and Tuesday came up with similar totals, thanks in part to similar trips to Mariano’s for lunch and trips to Hayley’s hotel to attend to her injured back.  Wednesday was the beginning of the March Madness Jiff challenge at work, where I am on a team with 3 levels of management above me, so I worked in a few extra walks during work to cross the 11,000 step plateau.  Thursday was even better, as a post-work excursion to Milwaukee to watch Purdue in the NCAA tournament helped me surpass 12,000 steps and garner my highest single-day total since the Sprint & Stride in September.  I spent Friday in an all day workshop, but an after-work walk around the neighborhood helped propel me to 9000 steps.  Saturday was split between a trip in to the city to watch rugby with Hayley followed by another trip to Milwaukee for the next round of the NCAA tournament, ending in an 8000 step day.

Total steps: 60,740

Daily average: 8677.1