Every Billboard Modern Rock/Alternative #1 Single (Part 2: The 1990s)

I'm interested in seeing some of the discourse around 'Under the Milky Way.' I personally have always found that to be a truly magical track, but I know we all have our own tastes! Next up:

28. "Enjoy the Silence" by Depeche Mode


#1 for 3 weeks beginning April 21, 1990


"Enjoy the Silence" is a song by the English electronic band Depeche Mode, taken from their seventh studio album, Violator (1990). The song was recorded in 1989 and released on 16 January 1990 as the album's second single.

The single is Gold certificated in the US and Germany.[4] The song won Best British Single at the 1991 BRIT Awards

Songwriter Martin Gore created a ballad-like first version of the song, which the band took into the studio in 1989. At band member Alan Wilder's insistence, the song was re-worked into the up-tempo version released on the album.

Top 10:
01. "Enjoy the Silence" by Depeche Mode
02. "Metropolis" by the Church
03. "Nothing Compares 2 U" by Sinead O'Connor
04. "I Don't Know Why I Love You" by the House of Love
05. "Blue Sky Mine" by Midnight Oil
06. "Fools Gold" by the Stone Roses
07. "Hello" by the Beloved
08. "Cuts You Up" by Peter Murphy
09. "Pure" by Lightning Seeds
10. "This and That" by Michael Penn

 

Enjoy the Silence
It was huge for them, but I've always preferred many of their other singles to be honest. I like when they got really dark with Songs of Faith and Devotion in a few years' time. 'Enjoy the Silence' is certainly memorable and hooky, and I do always like a slower vocal melody paired with a quicker instrumental backing, but it's a bit repetitive and under developed for me. It seems to be just one verse repeated. It's my least favorite of the Violator singles. Maybe a tad too synthy for my tastes?

 

I was looking at the charts for Psychedelic Furs, I see there was a drop for 'Book of Days' on all charts except this one. Anybody know why? After 4 out of 5 albums hitting the UK Top 25, this dropped to #74. And yeah, "House" wasn't on their greatest hits around the turn of the century.

The Cure and The Psychedelic Furs were two of the very few 80's bands that continued on radio throughout the 90's and it's probably cause of what you're saying.

 

I don't have to much to add but "Metropolis" and "Enjoy The Silence" were two of my favorite songs from this period of time. Just two masterpieces really. And there was a lot of great competition but these two songs really stand out from back then.

 

Peter Murphy must have been huge for twenty minutes cause I never heard of him but I see him here and on one of the 120 Minutes clips I was watching the other day. I don't know much about Bauhaus either but I know the name. I'm learning a lot from this era on both these threads.

 

It will be interesting to see what artists are represented during that period. My memory is that, with few exceptions (like REM & U2), there was a wholesale elimination of the 80's and early 90's artists from Alt radio once Nirvana kicked in. I think it was less about "grunge" music in particular, whatever that means, but more about attitude. The way I hear it, Pearl Jam has little to do with Nirvana musically. STP were kind of their own thing as well. But, in addition to the rockers (Hole, Offspring, Smashing Pumpkins), other styles of music with a more confrontational attitude became popular. Artists like Alanis Morissette, Nine Inch Nails and Tori Amos could hardly be called grunge or punk but they had attitude and a confrontational writing style.

But I'm getting ahead of things. I'm looking forward to who we are discussing within the 92-95 time period.

 

Enjoy the Silence is one of the two or three I remember the most from back then so far. Where I worked MTV was always on and that's where I remember these tunes. I like it better now than I did then.

 

Cuts You Up, Blue Sky Mine, I Don't Know Why I Love You, Metropolis, Pure... all long-time faves. BZync is right about how radio seemed to drop the more melodic, thoughtful sounds as, heard in these tunes, once Nirvana broke.

 

Some of those harder sounds may have been reflected more on the mainstream rock stations versus the modern rock ones. Following Nirvana's first #1 in fall of 1991, melodic sounds were still very popular on this format. Look for upcoming number ones from artists like 10,000 Maniacs, Gin Blossoms, the Lemonheads, Counting Crows, etc. The same period on the mainstream rock chart saw #1s from bands like STP and Rush but also acts like Tom Petty and Collective Soul.

The idea that grunge dominated alternative radio in the early '90s just isn't reflected in the chart--which is based on airplay.

 

The Church - Metropolis

There are a lot of Australian groups on these charts. I enjoy the variety. Good jangly guitars on this song on top of this dreamy sound bed. I prefer The Church's other famous song (ah, Under the Milky Way, that's it! Thanks PW). This song fits nicely alongside Peter Murphy's Cuts You Up, but it's not as near as good of a song.

Depeche Mode - Enjoy the Silence

Cool song, his vocals on here are great. Wow this song takes me back. I was full on into Heavy Metal Mode at this time, but this song was everywhere and it stuck in your head. I actually really like the guitar line. It's simple, but it really works. The vocal really makes the song.

 

The Alternative Top 10 Albums from MTV's 120 Minutes (the chart itself from the Gavin Report) for 23 April 1990:

01. I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got - Sinead O'Connor
02. Gold Afternoon Fix - The Church
03. The House of Love
04. Carved In Sand - The Mission UK
05. Blue Sky Mining - Midnight Oil
06. The Caution Horses - Cowboy Junkies
07. Submarine Bells - The Chills
08. Violator - Depeche Mode
09. Extricate - The Fall
10. Swagger - The Blue Aeroplanes

 

Next:

29. "The Emperor's New Clothes" by Sinead O'Connor


#1 for 1 week beginning May 12, 1990


"The Emperor's New Clothes" is a song recorded by Irish singer Sinéad O'Connor for her second studio album I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got (1990). Lyrically, the song is about personal tribulations amid the oppression of the world around her, while she sings: "I will live by my own policies/I will sleep with a clear conscience".[1] The lyric "It seems like years since you held the baby/ While I wrecked the bedroom," according to Mark Richardson from Pitchfork, "is delivered with a muted lilt, O'Connor's voice bright and possibly a little hopeful, confident in her strength despite the weight of the past"

Top 10 for the week of 5/12/90:
01. "The Emperor's New Clothes" by Sinead O'Connor
02. "Forgotten Years" by Midnight Oil *
03. "Here's Where the Story Ends" by the Sundays *
04. "Metropolis" by the Church
05. "Policy of Truth" by Depeche Mode *
06. "I Don't Know Why I Love You" by the House of Love
07. "Enjoy the Silence" by Depeche Mode
08. "Pure" by Lightning Seeds
09. "Downtown" by Lloyd Cole
10. "Cradle of Love" by Billy Idol

* = Future #1 (please don't discuss until we get to them)

 

The Emperor's New Clothes
I'm actually thrilled that this got to #1. Sinead is so often dismissed as a one-hit wonder (on a cover song, no less)--I've seen that on this very forum. She is in fact a really great songwriter in her own right and her albums are full of wonderful, interesting songs with great lyrics, inventive arrangements and a unique perspective. 'The Emperor's New Clothes' is just one of many such songs on I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got and I'm so happy that the radio was playing more than just 'Nothing Compares 2 U.' Her career in the mainstream was pretty much over after the SNL performance in October 1992, but she has continued to make very good music. Her 2012 album How About I Be Me (And You Be You) is a personal favorite.

 

ARGH! I've not commented on this so I've not been getting notices.

Sinead O'Connor is fabulous. Her first two albums are stunning, as several others here have said. Not one bad song on either. I should try to catch up on more of her music.

That whole Depeche Mode album is great. I love every song on it. But, for some reason, there was a time where I couldn't listen to Depeche Mode at all, or it would put me into a funk. I'm glad that's over and I can appreciate them again.

 

Her voice is so sweet and I love when she double tracks it.

 

Sinead O'Connor has a voice and musical style that seems like she could have been a huge star during the heyday of 90s Alternative Rock. Perhaps her controversies, viewpoints and antagonistic behaviors kept her from that, at least in the USA. I listened to/followed a lot of Alternative Rock in the 90s and she didn't get a lot of airplay or mentioned for her music. "The Emperor's New Clothes" and "Nothing Compares 2 U" were the only charting songs on the US Hot 100. It appears she was a lot more popular in the UK, some parts of Europe and Oceania. After 1994, she didn't release another album until 2000.

"Downtown" by Lloyd Cole...I don't think I've ever heard this. It's pretty good.

"Cradle of Love" by Billy Idol...This song was pretty popular. It's not my favorite Billy Idol song, but it's reasonably good. I like the slow/quieter part of the song best.

 

The people in my circle just didn't listen to Depeche Mode and I recall hearing them referred to as "Depressed Mope." Honestly I don't remember this song nor it's accompanying video. Again, being at a school that had pulled the plug on it's college radio station and which did not offer cable in the dorms sort of isolated us from what normal college kids would be exposed to.

"Blue Sky Mine" is the only one of these that I had at the time, though, of course, "Nothing Compares 2 U" had success that extended well beyond Alternative tastes.

 

A Billy Idol sighting! Not the least bit alternative, but a good tune nonetheless...

 

Nice to know someone was still listening to Billy Idol in 1990! I've always had a bit of a soft spot for him. I like his voice and he had a sense of humor about himself (see his appearance in The Wedding a Singer).

Joni Mitchell worked with him and Tori Amos covered him (I saw her do Eyes Without a Face live) so I feel I'm in good company for thinking he's a bit underrated.

 

Depeche Mode really matured from the bouncy pop beginnings ... I mean I liked those early songs but they were candy not steak ... I grew to really like them

Sinead was a really interesting character and I really liked the songs she released, even before the album these songs were off... and I know it has nothing to do with music, but there are few girls/ladies whatever that can carry off a bald/shaved head and still be really pretty ... I'm not trying to be sexist there, I hope it isn't read that way

 

I wasn't the only one--"Cradle of Love" was a big hit in 1990. That was pretty much the end. I just dug out his Greatest Hits because I remembered there being one more moderate hit (or at least one that I remembered being played on the radio some) after "Cradle". It was this from 1993:

 

01. "The Emperor's New Clothes" by Sinead O'Connor - From a very very strong album

03. "Here's Where the Story Ends" by the Sundays * - Gotta love the Sundays. Wonderful pop.

05. "Policy of Truth" by Depeche Mode * - I loved DM back in the day, but they are a band that hasn't aged as well for me.
07. "Enjoy the Silence" by Depeche Mode

08. "Pure" by Lightning Seeds - Another good album. Tight melodic pop songs. Slightly twee, but you can't have everything.

10. "Cradle of Love" by Billy Idol - The sound of Billy Idol on cruise control.

 

"The Emperor's New Clothes" was my favorite Sinead O'Connor song. I absolutely love her first two albums but after that she seemed to lose the plot. I won't talk about most of the songs in the top ten because a bunch are future #1s but I will say that I'm surprised "Pure" by The Lightning Seeds didn't make it to the top. Great song and got massive airplay where I lived.

 

This is really my era. Loved Sinead and loved Depeche Mode.

Both very much soundtracks of a relationship I was in at the time.

I still love a lot of later Sinead (her 2000 album Faith and Courage is amazing) but Violator is as far as I go with DM; didn't care much for what came later.

And even beyond those two songs/artists....

I ***LOVE*** the Sundays. LOVE them. Still among my very favorite artists even today.

 

OMG! I'd almost forgotten about this song.