Blog series Volume 2-My most played music albums(soundtrack/compilation)through the year 1999

 

Welcome back to the second installment of my most played album list. The first installment was a list of my most played album (non soundtrack/compilation) up to the year 1999. This time, I am focusing on my most played albums (soundtrack/compilation) up to the year 1999.  Just like the first volume, excluded from the list is any Greatest Hits or boxsets(unless the boxset contains reissue of the original album).

Here's the soundtrack/compilation on the list:

The Crow Soundtrack-1994

I watched the movie The Crow three times at the theaters when it was released in 1994, which is rare for me. The soundtrack is a beautiful rock filled masterpiece that keeps you listening over and over. The Cure, Nine Inch Nails, Stone Temple Pilots and Rage Against the Machine are just a sample of the artists on the soundtrack and that is just on side one(or the first part of the album for those that never had a cassette before). 

Batman Soundtrack-1989

This is the first soundtrack that I have ever owned.  I remember jamming to it while in the backseat of my mom's car.  Prince did a masterful job on this album.  Most people know Batdance, which is the last song on  the album. I have to say that the song The Future,in my opinion, is the greatest opening song off of a soundtrack...ever. I know people might disagree but you should check it out to judge for yourself. 

Pulp Fiction Soundtrack-1994

I mentioned earlier that I rarely see movies multiple times at the theaters. The one film that I have seen the most at the theaters is Pulp Fiction (four times). The soundtrack is a vital part of that theater experience.  This is the first soundtrack that I owned that brought different music genres from different decades together on one album. As a person that has an eclectic taste in music, I absolutely loved it. 

Saturday Mornings: Cartoons Greatest Hits-(Compilation) 1995 

This compilation album brought together rock artists to sing from their favorite Saturday Morning (mostly) shows. The album is pretty good across the board, even if you aren't familiar with the show it came from.  A few standout gems from the album are Spider-Man (by The Ramones), Gigantor (by Helmet) and Underdog by Butthole Surfers).

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles soundtrack-1990

I love the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles animated series and was excited to hear a live action movie was coming out. The album matched the movie's theme about family,  which isn't usually the case with soundtracks.  The album kept you moving to the beat as well as showing its heart to the listener. It had me singing T-U-R-T-L-E Power throughout my day. 

Mortal Kombat soundtrack-1995

I remembered going to Blockbuster Music to pick up the Mortal Kombat soundtrack and  I couldn't put it down. The first half of the album is great and whole album is pretty good.  The obvious stand out song is the Mortal Kombat theme (techno mix) by The Immortals. You are probably singing it in your head right now. Test your might.

Jock Jams Vol 2-1996

I imagine three responses in my head for this selection: "Oh yeah Jock Jams", "Oh wow Jock Jams" and What's Jock Jams?". Jock Jams was a music compilation series that has a different mix of songs that you would hear at the stadium events. Jock Jams Vol 2 has a weird mix that I absolutely love. From No Diggity to The Chicken Dance, the whole album will keep you moving and jamming. 

Angus soundtrack-1995

The movie Angus is a coming of age story that I would recommend to anyone. I would give that same recommendation for its soundtrack. The most well known song on the album is J.A.R. (Jason Andrew Relva) by Green Day. It also has songs by Goo Goo Dolls and Weezer. It is a great rock album that I listen to every few weeks. 

Mallrats soundtrack-1995

As a comic book geek, I love the movie Mallrats. The soundtrack has some of the classic lines mixed in with good music. Bands like Bush, Belly, Weezer(I'm down with any soundtrack with them on it) and Sublime are featured throughout the album. I put it on and jam without any worries. 

Judgment Night soundtrack-1993

As I mentioned in the first post, I love the mix of rock and rap music.  The soundtrack to Judgment Night is right up my alley. Each song teams up a rap and rock artist/group and it's so awesome. Some of my favorites on the album are Me, Myself and My Microphone (Living Colour and Run D.M.C) and Fallin' (De La Soul and Teenage Fanclub). I brought the cassette and played it like crazy until I lost it. Then, I brought it on CD. The reason I mentioned this is the arrangement of the songs on cassette is different than what it is on CD (and digital). I really don't understand why but all the songs are there so I'm cool.

Schoolhouse Rock! Rocks-1996

I absolutely love Schoolhouse Rock videos that appeared on Saturday morning between cartoons. So, I knew I  Schoolhouse Rock! Rocks was something I would play quite a bit. Just like the Saturday Mornings compilation,  this album features different artists and groups doing their rendition of Schoolhouse Rock songs. My favorite song on the album is Moby's rendition of Verb: That's What's Happening. This is an album that you can rock out with and learn something as well. 

Wayne's World soundtrack-1992

"I think we'll go with a little Bohemian Rhapsody gentlemen". The soundtrack to Wayne's World delivers that and a whole lot more. You also have Red Hot Chilli Peppers,  Iron Maiden, Alice Cooper and Eric Clapton featured on the album.  You will find yourself jamming to every song on a consistent basis. 

This concludes the soundtrack/compilation list for Volume two. Volume three will focus on my top most played albums (non soundtrack/compilation) from the year 2000-current. Thank you again and I'll see you next time.

Blog series Volume 1-My most played music albums(non soundtrack/compilation)through the year 1999

 

Throughout my life,  music has been an important part of who I am, the connections I share and the experiences that I carry. I started to think about which albums that I have listened to the most since I was able to buy music. So, I came up with a list of the most played albums through my life. One thing that is excluded from the list is any Greatest Hits or boxsets(unless the boxset contains reissue of the original album).

The first section of my list focuses on the most played albums (non soundtrack/compilation) through the year 1999. 

Here are the albums (in no particular order):

Apocalypse '91: The Enemy Strikes Black
(Public Enemy)-1991

I was a Public Enemy fan from the videos I've watched on MTV(when the channel actually focused on music videos). This was the first of their albums I was able to buy and it was well worth it.  It gave you thought provoking lyrics to go along with great beats so you don't forget the experience. The team up with Anthrax for Bring The Noise also brought my love of songs with a rap and rock mix (it will show up more on the list) to the forefront. 

August and Everything After (Counting Crows)-1993

This album came out when I was still riding the city bus to get everywhere.  So, I got to listen to it on my cassette player(some will remember those and others will look at that like a horse and buggy) for the first time heading to school. For me, Counting Crows' music is great to travel with regardless of far you are going. Round Here is one of the best opening songs for an album and it gets you immersed into the journey. 

No Need to Argue (The Cranberries)-1994

Even though I could have easily put each of their albums on this list, I will only pick one Cranberries album for the list.  No Need to Argue is definitely the choice for me. I remember driving in my first car with one of my friends from college listening to this album.  We used to sing Empty in the car (there's no film footage of this though) and had so much fun. Even though Zombie was the main song everyone remembers from the album, Daffodil Lament is a powerhouse song on its own. Then, you follow that up with the title track, which is a perfect balance. If you haven't checked it out,  you should. 

OG: Original Gangster (Ice-T)-1991

OG: Original Gangster had so many things that made it an album that I played a lot. I consider Ice-T a great storytelling in his songs, which is definitely evident throughout the whole album. The prime examples are New Jack Hustler and the title track OG: Original Gangster. It also gives you a track from his hard rock band Body Count. It gives you a lot of storytelling styles to keep you engaged, listening and jamming.

Odelay(Beck)-1996

I got a promotional CD of this album when I worked at Blockbuster Music (more things that people might need to do a search for on the internet). Odelay is so different and eclectic throughout the whole album.  It has sounds of funk, rap, electronica and rock from different decades that you can enjoy, which is why I played it a lot. Where It's At is still an awesome song that's in my head. "Two Turntables and a Microphone".

Flood (They Might Be Giants)-1990

There are three points of reference to this album before I ever brought it. First, I saw the original video of Istanbul (Not Constantinople) by They Might Be Giants on Nickelodeon in between the end of one show and the beginning of another show. This was was a thing television programmers did throughout the 80's and 90's. Then, I watched that same song and Particle Man(from the same group) play on an episode of Tiny Toon Adventures.  Finally,  I have an exercise in my drama class in high school that involved the song They Might Be Giants being played in the background. I found out all of these songs were on the same album called Flood. I love this album and still play it a lot to this day.

Dookie(Green Day)-1994

The album Dookie by Green Day came around(no pun intended) at the right time for me. I was in college and rode the bus from home to school and everywhere in between. I played it in my Walkman wherever I went. Well, it wasn't really a Walkman. It was more like the cassette player you can get when you don't have enough money for a Walkman. Anyway,  I listened to this album as I grew as an adult and made friendships through the years. In some ways,  it was the adrenaline, heart felt friend that you will always share a connection with.

Licensed To Ill (Beastie Boys)-1986

This album was one of the first cassette tape that I ever brought(along with Run DMC's "Tougher Than Leather"). I played it so much that I've had two copies on cassette and one copy on CD through the years. You have (You Gotta) Fight For Your Right(To Party), No Sleep Till Brooklyn and Paul Revere back to back to back on the album. Time to Get Ill was the song that I tested the bass with in my first car(I didn't have a loaded bass system because I had factory speakers). As much as I love Paul's Boutique, I listened to Licensed To Ill much more. 

De La Soul is Dead(De La Soul)-1991

The thing I like about rap (and any type of music) when there's a lot of different styles you can listen to. De La Soul is Dead is different from the other albums on the list but I love it just as much. I remember buying this cassette tape at Walmart before I learned they censor the albums they carry in their stores(which is why I rarely buy music there). Despite that, I played that album so much that I got my friend from high school jamming to it every time we hung out. You can imagine this album playing at the roller skating place,  especially  with the song A Roller Skating Jam Named "Saturday ". That song and Ring Ring Ring(Ha Ha Hey) are great songs on a classic album(which I have the unedited version of these days).

Connected (Stereo MCs)-1992

I love music that have a positive message/stream of consciousness to it. You saw a bunch of albums like this in the late 80's to early 90's. I heard the song Connected by Stereo MCs and loved what it was saying.  I brought the album of the same name and I played it like crazy. Ground Level and Step It Up are great songs that will get you dancing and thinking throughout the album.

Face To Face(Face To Face)-1996

Face To Face's self titled album will always be linked to the Sega Saturn for me. I didn't have a CD player at the time other than my Sega Saturn game system (I kinda wish I still had that system). I remember this adrenaline filled rock album would play while the screen showed a spaceship flying into space. You could easily use this album as a soundtrack to any fighting and/or adventure game, especially with songs like Walk The Walk and I Won't Lie Down. 

 Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite-Maxwell-1996

 I played Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite for the first time in store when I worked at Blockbuster Music. It had a different style and flavor than some of the R&B albums around that time. Maxwell's voice is unique, powerful and very smooth. The album takes you on a ride throughout like you are driving and not in a rush. Once I heard the first track, The Urban Theme, I was convinced that I needed to buy this CD. I'm still a Maxwell fan to this day. 

This concludes Volume one of the four part series.  Volume two will cover soundtracks/compilations from the same time period.  

My recap of the Oscars broadcast 4/25/2021

 

My recap of the Oscars broadcast:

I didn't like the way they tried to make it look like a movie. It took away all the liveliness of an award show,  especially for a non Oscar show watcher.

Camera angles were bad in the first hour or so. The beginning with Regina King (on stage) and the award that Bryan Cranston introduced are prime example. Also, they got camera people in several shots but it got better.

It took almost 90 minutes into the show to show their first clip. How can you promote the best of any category when people don't know what it looks like? In my opinion, that was a bad choice.

They really should have planned the steps for the stage a little better. If you were coming from the left or the right of the stage, you were mostly good. The people that had a straight line at the front of the stage had rough time. I seen at least two people almost fall getting up on stage. I posted a picture above so you get an idea of what I'm talking about.

The winners went mostly the way I thought it would (especially Best Supporting Actress) except for Anthony Hopkins.

Best part of the night was Glenn Close showing her musical and Spike Lee knowledge, even  doing Da Butt to the song Da Butt by EU.

Ok I'm done. Lol 

Review- A Whisker Away

A Whisker Away is an anime movie that centered on a young girl named Miyo Sasaki. Miyo is going through life not feeling like she belongs as a human. She loved a boy at school named Hento but she is awkward around him. So, as a form of escape from regular life, she puts on a cat mask that transforms her into a cat. She visits Hento in her cat form and feels the love that he has in his heart. The lines between the cat world and her human form starts to blur by a series of events that might change her life forever.  I like this movie and definitely recommend it, especially if you ever felt awkward in life and in love. There are parts of the movie that reminds me of the Studio Ghilbi classic The Cat Returns. The movie also deals with the family dynamic as well as their love for their pets. 

8.5 out of 10 

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