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.
Volume 8 features the first appearances on these cassettes by Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and Metallica. All three should have shown up much sooner. Metallica’s self-titled album, known colloquially as the Black Album, was released in August of 1991. Five singles were released, from July of 1991 through February of 1993. All of which should have made their way to these collections. But for whatever reason, only the last one made it. By that time, it was ok for me to admit that I liked a Metallica song, even though I already owned the CD.
A similar situation occurred with Nevermind, the second album from Nirvana. Released in September of 1991, it took until the fourth single to make it on to these cassettes, despite the fact I was rocking out to Smells Like Teen Spirit alongside everyone else. The same thing happened with Pearl Jam’s debut album, Ten, which split the middle, being released in August of 1991. The first two singles somehow never made it here, despite being listened to more than some of the songs that did. I don’t really have a good reason as to why I excluded them, or why, with this volume, I decided it was the time to let them all in.
Anyway, here we cover the winter and into the spring of 1993 and the second semester of my freshman year of college. The alternative influence starts to become more noticeable alongside old mainstays like Poison, Bon Jovi, and Def Leppard. Besides that, we are treated to a lot of hip-hop and hair metal, with a small sampling of pop, as always.
Side A
Bell Biv Devoe – Gangsta
The intended first single from the second Bell Biv Devoe record, which flopped so bad it was dropped from the album and now is lost to history.
Pearl Jam – Jeremy
iTunes stats: 15 plays, most recently on 1/4/2022
The belated first appearance on these tapes by Pearl Jam, the song, which VH1 ranked as the 11th greatest song of the 90s, saw a modest 3 listen increase over the past four years.
Wreckx-N-Effect – Rump Shaker
iTunes stats: 31 plays, most recently on 9/8/2022
Charting as the ninth biggest hit of 1993, the biggest song for butts since Sir Mix-A-Lot saw a healthy eight play increase.
Boyz II Men – In The Still Of The Night
iTunes stats: 19 plays, most recently on 12/22/2022
The cover of the old doo-wop classic, recorded for the miniseries The Jacksons: An American Dream, added five plays in the last four years.
Arrested Development – People Everyday
iTunes stats: 27 plays, most recently on 11/23/2022
Peaking at #8 on the Billboard charts, the second single for the Atlanta-based group added an additional six plays over the past four years.
Nirvana – In Bloom
iTunes stats: 25 plays, most recently on 12/8/2022
The winner of the Best Alternative Video VMA in 1993 picked up seven new plays since 2019.
TLC – What About Your Friends
iTunes stats: 25 plays, most recently on 7/8/2021
The third straight top 10 hit from TLC’s debut album added eight new listens to its total over the past four years.