Another Mix Tape Monday – Volume 13

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 13 takes us into late spring of 1994 and my the end of my sophomore year of college. The song selection is now mostly completely alternative, with just one or two hip-hop hits to go along with it., with a little pop and Aerosmith on the side.

Side A

Alice In Chains – No Excuses

The first Alice In Chains song to top the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, originally acquired via 93.5 KHY in Lafayette, added 10 new plays over the last 3 years.

iTunes Stats
2012 2015 2019
3 plays 6 plays 16 plays, most recently on 12/23/2018 

Smashing Pumpkins – Disarm

The third single from the band’s breakthrough release Siamese Dream, which was banned by the BBC because of its lyrical content, more than doubled its output over the past 3 years.

iTunes Stats
2012 2015 2019
5 plays 7 plays 15 plays, most recently on 12/17/2018 

Counting Crows – Mr. Jones

The debut single from Counting Crows, which hit #2 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart, added an impressive 14 plays over the past 3 years.

iTunes Stats
2012 2015 2019
0 plays 3 plays 17 plays, most recently on 9/17/2018 

The Cranberries – Dreams

The first single from the band, which became a hit after Linger put them on the map, saw a 13 listen increase.

iTunes Stats
2012 2015 2019
7 plays 9 plays 22 plays, most recently on 7/12/2018 

Jodeci – Cry For You

The 60th biggest hit of 1994 picked up 10 listens over the past 3 years.

iTunes Stats
2012 2015 2019
0 play 2 plays 12 plays, most recently on 11/20/2018 

Julianna Hatfield Three – Spin The Bottle

The track, featured on the Reality Bites soundtrack, added 8 additional plays over the last 3 years.

iTunes Stats
2012 2015 2019
10 plays 13 plays 21 plays, most recently on 11/1/2018 

Aerosmith – Deuces Are Wild

Aerosmith’s contribution to The Beavis and Butt-Head Experience compilation album, originally recorded for Pump, more than doubled its listens over the past 3 years.

iTunes Stats
2012 2015 2019
4 plays 6 plays 14 plays, most recently on 5/30/2018 

Gin Blossoms – Mrs. Rita

The minor Gin Blossoms, which peaked at #36 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, picked up a single new listen, 3 1/2 years ago.

iTunes Stats
2012 2015 2019
1 plays 5 plays 6 plays, most recently on 6/25/2015 

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Another Mix Tape Monday – Volume 11

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 11 takes us late into 1993 and my sophomore year of college.  It features mostly alternative and hip-hop hits, with a little pop and Aerosmith on the side.

Side A

Shai – Baby I’m Yours

The second, and final, top 10 hit for the R&B quartet more than doubled its plays in the last 3 years.

iTunes Stats
2012 2015 2019
5 plays 7 plays 15 plays, most recently on 10/12/2018 

Tears For Fears – Break It Down Again

Topping the Modern Rock Tracks chart, the comeback hit for the 80s sensations managed to double its plays over the past 3 years.

iTunes Stats
2012 2015 2019
6 plays 9 plays 18 plays, most recently on 7/28/2018 

Bell Biv Devoe – Something In Your Eyes

The only single from the band’s sophomore effort to chart, peaking at #38, the tune managed to pick up 10 additional listens over the last 3 years.

iTunes Stats
2012 2015 2019
0 plays 2 plays 12 plays, most recently on 10/3/2018 

4 Non Blondes – Spaceman

A mere 2 new listens for the minor follow up hit to What’s Up.

iTunes Stats
2012 2015 2019
2 plays 4 plays 6 plays, most recently on 1/10/2016 

Pearl Jam – Go

Used as Paul Konerko’s walkup music during his final season, the first single from Pearl Jam’s sophomore effort picked up 5 new listens in the past 3 years.

iTunes Stats
2012 2015 2019
6 plays 19 plays 24 plays, most recently on 11/7/2018 

Nirvana – Heart-Shaped Box

Nirvana’s first release from their final studio album, ranked as the 10th greatest rock track ever by Kerrang! magazine, added 14 additional plays over the last 3 years.

iTunes Stats
2012 2015 2019
4 plays 9 plays 23 plays, most recently on 12/27/2018 

Radiohead – Stop Whispering

Peaking at #23 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart, the lesser known follow up to the smash Creep tripled its plays over the last 3 years.

iTunes Stats
2012 2015 2019
1 play 2 plays 6 plays, most recently on 11/7/2018 

Side B

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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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2017 Emmy Awards – Reality and Movies

Emmy_statueWith the Emmy Awards scheduled for Sunday night, here’s day two of my predictions for the awards, today focusing on reality shows and made for TV movies.  I likely have seen not seen most (any?) of these, so I will probably not have an informed decision, but when has that ever stopped me.

Outstanding Reality Show Host

Alec Baldwin, Match Game

W. Kamau Bell, United Shades Of America

RuPaul Charles, RuPaul’s Drag Race

Heidi Klum and Tim Gunn, Project Runway

Gordon Ramsay, MasterChef Junior

Martha Stewart and Snoop Dogg, Martha & Snoop’s Potluck Dinner Party

RuPaul already took home the prize for hosting the long-running hit.

Outstanding Reality Show Competition

The Amazing Race

American Ninja Warrior

Project Runway

RuPaul’s Drag Race

Top Chef

The Voice

The Amazing Race is the usual favorite in this category and I don’t see a reason for that to change this year.

Outstanding Variety Talk Series

Full Frontal with Samantha Bee

Jimmy Kimmel Live

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert

The Late Late Show with James Corden

Real Time with Bill Maher

A little more turnover here, thanks to the ongoing changes that is the late night landscape.  I think John Oliver and his HBO show, Last Week Tonight, certainly deserves the award.

Outstanding Variety Sketch Series

Billy On The Street

Documentary Now!

Drunk History

Portlandia

Saturday Night Live

Tracey Ullman’s Show

Given the election boost, I’m going to give the nod to SNL this time around.

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iTunes Top 200 Artists: #41-49

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 break in to the top 50 today, and cross the 100 listen barrier for the first time .

#49: Hole
iTunes stats: 97 plays
Previous ranking: #43

6 songs, written mostly by either Kurt Cobain or Billy Corgan, added only 28 new listens over the past 3 years for Courtney Love’s band, causing a 6 spot drop in the rankings.

#49: Boyz II Men
iTunes stats: 97 plays
Previous ranking: #53

The stars of my first concert added 48 new listens from their 9 tunes to raise 4 spots in the rankings.

#48: P.O.D.
iTunes stats: 99 plays
Previous ranking: #36

A big 12 spot drop in the rankings for the band responsible for Bobby Jenks’ walk-on music.

#47: Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
iTunes stats: 103 plays
Previous ranking: #55

An average of just over 10 plays per track, thanks to more than doubling their number of listens over the past 3 years, enables the Florida rockers to jump 8 spots.

#46: Weird Al Yankovic
iTunes stats: 107 plays
Previous ranking: #49

The parody hit-maker nearly doubled the total number of listens for his 7 tracks over the past 3 years.

#45: Snoop Dogg
iTunes stats: 110 plays
Previous ranking: #46

The ganja-smoking gangsta rapper added 45 additional listens, enabling him to move up one spot in the rankings.

#44: The Offspring
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iTunes Top 200: #79

itunes_image3 years ago, we first counted down the then Top 100 songs 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 songs, based on number of plays as of January 1, 2016.

Today, we continue with the next grouping of 10 songs tied for 79th place with 21 plays apiece since late 2007.

#79: Mexican Cheerleader – American Nice
iTunes stats: 21 plays, most recently on 9/12/2015
Previous ranking: Unranked

The song that serves as a ringtone for the band’s singer on my phone.

#79: Me First And The Gimme Gimmes – Rainbow Connection
iTunes stats: 21 plays, most recently on 8/9/2014
Previous ranking: #58

A punk cover of the quintessential Muppets hit.

#79: The Lonely Island – Dick In A Box (ft. Justin Timberlake)
iTunes stats: 21 plays, most recently on 8/21/2015
Previous ranking: #76

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

#79: John Williams – Prelude and Main Title March
iTunes stats: 21 plays, most recently on 12/18/2015
Previous ranking: Unranked

The iconic theme song to the original set of Superman films.

#79: Hole – Doll Parts
iTunes stats: 21 plays, most recently on 8/16/2015
Previous ranking: Unranked

The hit from Courtney Love and company also appeared on Volume 16 of my mix tapes.

#79: Hole – Celebrity Skin
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iTunes Top 200: #79 – 96

itunes_image3 years ago, we first counted down the then Top 100 songs 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 songs, based on number of plays as of January 1, 2016.

Today, we start the final 100 songs of the countdown with the last grouping of songs tied for 96th place with 20 plays apiece and the first tied for 79th place with 21 plays since late 2007.

#96: The Cast of Buffy The Vampire Slayer – Standing
iTunes stats: 20 plays, most recently on 12/11/2015
Previous ranking: #76

Performed by Anthony Stewart Head as a ballad to Buffy that she does not hear, unlike the songs revealing truths elsewhere in the episode.

#96: The Breeders – Cannonball
iTunes stats: 20 plays, most recently on 8/4/2015
Previous ranking: #54

The first single for the new band fronted by former Pixie Kim Deal and her sister Kelley.

#96: The Beatles – Getting Better
iTunes stats: 20 plays, most recently on 12/16/2015
Previous ranking: #58

The initial idea for the song’s title came from a phrase often spoken by Jimmie Nicol, the group’s stand-in drummer for the Australian leg of a 1964 tour.

#96: The Beatles – A Hard Day’s Night
iTunes stats: 20 plays, most recently on 8/25/2015
Previous ranking: #96

From 1964, the song is the title track to both the album and the movie.

#96: AC/DC – Back In Black
iTunes stats: 20 plays, most recently on 9/10/2015
Previous ranking: #58

Written as a tribute to former lead singer Bon Scott, who had died during the songwriting for the album.

#79: 10,000 Maniacs – Candy Everybody Wants
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iTunes Top 200: #141 Continued

itunes_image3 years ago, we first counted down the then Top 100 songs 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 songs, based on number of plays as of January 1, 2016.

We continue today with the final grouping of songs tied for 141st place with 18 plays apiece since late 2007.

#141: Eminem – Cleaning Out My Closet
iTunes stats: 18 plays, most recently on 6/20/2015
Previous ranking: #70

Peaking at #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, this song became one of the highest-charting singles of Eminem’s career.

#141: Dr. Dre featuring RBX and Snoop Dogg – Let Me Ride
iTunes stats: 18 plays, most recently on 7/1/2014
Previous ranking: #76

This 1994 Grammy Award winner for Best Rap Solo Performance also appeared on Volume 11 of my mix tapes.

#141: Dr. Dre – Keep Their Heads Ringin’
iTunes stats: 18 plays, most recently on 8/26/2015
Previous ranking: #96

This 1995 hit from the Friday soundtrack also appeared on Volume 17 of my mix tapes.

#141: Cracker – Teen Angst (What The World Needs Now)
iTunes stats: 18 plays, most recently on 6/24/2014
Previous ranking: #76

Charted at number 1 on the US Modern Rock Tracks, arguably breaking Cracker into the mainstream.

#141: Bloodhound Gang – Bad Touch
iTunes stats: 18 plays, most recently on 9/19/2015
Previous ranking: #96

Ranked at No. 49 on the list of the 100 Worst Songs Ever released in 2010 by AOL Radio.

#141: The Beatles – I Want To Hold Your Hand
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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

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Mix Tape Monday Revisited– Volume 13

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 13 takes us into late spring of 1994 and my the end of my sophomore year of college. The song selection is now mostly completely alternative, with just one or two hip-hop hits to go along with it., with a little pop and Aerosmith on the side.

Side A

Alice In Chains – No Excuses

A doubling of plays for the Alice in Chains hit which was originally acquired via 93.5 KHY, Lafayette’s rock station.

2012 iTunes stats: 3 plays

2015 iTunes stats: 6 plays, most recently on 1/15/2015

Smashing Pumpkins – Disarm

The follow up to Today, the smash hit that put them on the map, garnered a scant 2 additional listens over the past 3 years.

2012 iTunes stats: 5 plays

2015 iTunes stats: 7 plays, most recently on 3/24/2015

Counting Crows – Mr. Jones

I have no real explanation for why I hardly ever listen to the debut smash from the Counting Crows, picking up 3 listens, but none in well over 1 1/2 years.

2012 iTunes stats: Never played

2015 iTunes stats: 3 plays, most recently on 10/14/2013

The Cranberries – Dreams

A slight 2 listen increase for The Cranberries big hit.

2012 iTunes stats: 7 plays

2015 iTunes stats: 9 plays, most recently on 6/26/2014

Jodeci – Cry For You

The minor Jodeci hit picked up 2 listens over the past 3 years, including one just a month ago.

2012 iTunes stats: Never played

2015 iTunes stats: 2 plays, most recently on 5/26/2015

Julianna Hatfield Three – Spin The Bottle

A 3 listen increase for the hit from the Reality Bites soundtrack.

2012 iTunes stats: 10 plays

2015 iTunes stats: 13 plays, most recently on 5/29/2015

Aerosmith – Dueces Are Wild

Aerosmith’s contribution to the Beavis and Butthead album picked up only 2 additional listens over the past 3 years.

2012 iTunes stats: 4 plays

2015 iTunes stats: 6 plays, most recently on 11/20/2014

Gin Blossoms – Mrs. Rita

The minor Gin Blossoms hit picked up 4 new listens, despite not being heard in nearly 2 years.

2012 iTunes stats: 1 play

2015 iTunes stats: 5 plays, most recently on 8/20/2013

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