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

I figured I missed it.

 

2. “Found Out About You” – Gin Blossoms -- The Gin Blossoms had three really great singles at this time and this is one of them. They are kind of generic power pop but not untalented.

3. “Daughter”/”Yellow Ledbetter” – Pearl Jam -- great songs. Both of them. I remember loving "Yellow Ledbetter", it just really rang my bell. I got off the Pearl Jam train soon after Vs. but Vs still had some good stuff on it. Sadly "Yellow Ledbetter" wasn't among them.

4. “Purple Haze” – The Cure -- I remember thinking this was kind of cool the first time I heard it, but feeling vaguely bored after that. The Cure had been one of my favorite bands up to that point and I remember this is when I officially stopped paying them much heed.


6. “Today” – Smashing Pumpkins -- this was thee song of 1993/1994. It was simply huge. I loved this song and I still love it. I loved the colorful glam they brought to the grunge sound, for a while.

8. “All Apologies” – Nirvana -- another classic by Nirvana.

I remember the "Photograph" song by REM and Natalie Merchant, but I don't actually even remember how it goes now!!

 

91. "Found Out About You" by Gin Blossoms

#1 for 1 week starting January 15, 1994.

Song by Gin Blossoms
from the album Dusted
Released May 13, 1989 (album)
Recorded Whipping Post Studios in Tucson, Arizona in May, 1989
Genre Alternative rock, jangle pop
Label San Jacinto
Songwriter(s) Doug Hopkins
Producer(s) Rich Hopkins
"Found Out About You"

Single by Gin Blossoms
from the album New Miserable Experience
Released November 1993
Format CD single, cassette
Recorded 1992
Genre Alternative rock, jangle pop
Length 3:53
Label Fontana, A&M
Songwriter(s) Doug Hopkins

"Found Out About You" is the fourth single from the Gin Blossoms' second album New Miserable Experience, recorded in 1992. Written by lead guitarist Doug Hopkins, who was fired from the band after the album, the Gin Blossoms had previously recorded it on their 1989 debut album Dusted.

"Found Out About You" reached number 25 on the US Billboard Hot 100, making it the second single from the album (after "Hey Jealousy") to enter the top 40, and it is the only Gin Blossoms song that reached number one on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart. The song found the most success in Canada, where it reached number three on the RPM Top Singles chart. Elsewhere, the song just reached the top 40 in the United Kingdom and peaked at number 94 on Australia's ARIA Singles Chart in September 1994.

Gin Blossoms named their second album New Miserable Experience. In February 1992, while still working to complete it, founding member and lead guitarist/songwriter Hopkins drank heavily and grew increasingly depressed. With the other members hesitant to fire Hopkins, A&M forcefully removed him from the band and withheld $15,000 owed to Hopkins until he agreed to sign over half of his publishing royalties and relinquish his mechanical royalties. Hopkins reluctantly agreed to these demands because of his dire financial situation.[10] Scott Johnson was chosen by the band in December 1992 as Hopkins' stand-in on tour, and became a permanent member in 1994.[citation needed]

New Miserable Experience became the band's breakthrough album.[11] The first single released from the album was "Hey Jealousy", which had been written by Hopkins. The song reached No. 25 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 4 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Tracks and later went gold,[12] largely fueling the success of New Miserable Experience. However, the achievement was overshadowed by Hopkins' suicide on December 4, 1993.[13] The following year, another song by Hopkins, "Found Out About You", also reached No. 25 on the Billboard Hot 100 and climbed to No. 1 on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks. New Miserable Experience eventually reached quadruple platinum status.
---

Top 10 for the week of January 15th, 1994:

1. “Found Out About You” – Gin Blossoms
2. “Purple Haze” – The Cure
3. “Into Your Arms” – The Lemonheads
4. “Kite” – Nick Heyward
5. “Laid” – James
6. “Today” – Smashing Pumpkins
7. “Daughter”/”Yellow Ledbetter” – Pearl Jam
8. “Mr. Jones” – Counting Crows
9. “All Apologies” – Nirvana*
10. “Locked Out” – Crowded House

 

New songs I know this week:

Mr. Jones -- the song was everywhere. Just huge, but I never really got into it that much. Something just sounded "faux authentic" about it and the voice grated on me. It doesn't matter, I was starting to get out of touch. Some of their other songs from that album I liked better.

Crowded House is one of my all time favorite bands but at the time I had yet to discover them -- I remember liking this song quite a bit and thinking that they had developed well from the 80s band I remembered. But it didn't make me a fan. Later I became one and I liked the song a lot more: especially the lyrics and the brutal sound of it.

 

Did the Gin Blossoms ever have a hit NOT written by Doug Hopkins? Thanks for the tunes, and literally go f-off and die...

 

"Found Out About You" is a perfectly fine Gin Blossoms song. I enjoy it when I hear it but wouldn't go and specifically listen to it. I do like it though I like other songs by them better.
"Mr Jones" was a great introduction to Counting Crows, one of my favorite 90s bands. Super great song.

 

92. "All Apologies" by Nirvana



Single by Nirvana
from the album In Utero
A-side "Rape Me"
B-side "Moist ******"
Released 6 December 1993
Format CD, 7" single, 12" single, cassette
Recorded February 1993 at Pachyderm Studio in Cannon Falls, Minnesota
Genre Grunge, alternative rock
Length 3:50
Label DGC
Songwriter(s) Kurt Cobain
Producer(s) Steve Albini

"All Apologies" is a song by American rock band Nirvana, written by vocalist and guitarist Kurt Cobain. It is the 12th and final song on the band's third and final studio album, In Utero, released in September, 1993. In December, 1993, it was released as the second single as a double A-side with the song, "Rape Me".

"All Apologies" was Nirvana's third number-one Modern Rock hit and reached number 32 on the UK Singles Chart. It was nominated for two Grammy Awards in 1995, and was included on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's list of "The Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll".

Cobain dedicated "All Apologies" to his wife, Courtney Love, and their daughter, Frances Bean Cobain, during the band's appearance at the Reading Festival in Reading, England on August 30, 1992. "I like to think the song is for them," he told Michael Azerrad in the 1993 biography, Come As You Are: The Story of Nirvana, "but the words don't really fit in relation to us...the feeling does, but not the lyrics." Cobain summarized the song's mood as "peaceful, happy, comfort – just happy happiness."[11]

An acoustic version of the song, featuring Lori Goldston on cello, was recorded during Nirvana's MTV Unplugged performance at Sony Music Studios in New York City on November 18, 1993. MTV began airing this version of the song as a music video shortly after, which coincided with the release of the song as the second single from In Utero in December 1993.[27] When asked in a 1993 MTV interview about the use of this version as the song's music video, Cobain revealed, "I don't think ["All Apologies"] was the best performance off the Unplugged thing," and said that he believed the band had "played that song a lot better before," but admitted he had been too busy with touring to come up with a music video for the studio version.[28]

Top 10 for the week of January 22, 1994

1. “All Apologies” – Nirvana
2. “Daughter”/”Yellow Ledbetter” – Pearl Jam
3. “Laid” – James
4. “Mr. Jones” – Counting Crows
5. “Purple Haze” – The Cure
6. “Today” – Smashing Pumpkins
7. “Found Out About You” – Gin Blossoms
8. “Locked Out” – Crowded House
9. “Cannonball” – The Breeders
10. “Kite” – Nick Heyward

 

All Apologies - My favorite Nirvana song. The Nevermind album gets all of the attention but, for my money, In Utero is the better release.

Mr. Jones - Loved this one too.

Daughter/Yellow Ledbetter - Classic!

 

"Daughter" and "Yellow Ledbetter" by Pearl Jam are like other Pearl Jam songs in that I find them plodding and I don't like Vedder's patented yowling vocals. So I'll pass on those.

"Found Out About You" by the Gin Blossoms is a pretty good one from them. I'd bought this album earlier when "Hey Jealousy" was on college radio in the fall of 1992. I didn't really follow them afterward, as they seemed a bit adult-contemporary, but I never minded hearing them on the radio.

"All Apologies" by Nirvana is one of their best songs. Loved it then and now.

Other songs:

I'm a Cure fan, but I never thought their version of "Purple Haze" was any good.

I liked "Photograph" by R.E.M. and Natalie Merchant quite a bit.

I didn't remember "Rubberband Girl" by Kate Bush until playing it again, and I still don't remember it well. Ditto for Nick Heyward's "Kite."

I like "Locked Out" by Crowded House. It's not my favorite by them, but it's good to see them here.

I was not a fan of Counting Crows (too meandering, though I do like at least one of their later songs) or Smashing Pumpkins (too whiny), and that remains true.

 

93. "Loser" by Beck

#1 for 5 weeks starting the week of February 5, 1994.

Single by Beck
from the album Mellow Gold
Released

• March 8, 1993
• February 4, 1994 (re-release)

"Loser" is a song by American musician Beck. It was written by Beck and record producer Karl Stephenson, who both produced the song with Tom Rothrock. "Loser" was initially released as Beck's second single by independent record label Bong Load Custom Records on 12" vinyl format with catalogue number BL5 on March 8, 1993.

When it was first released independently, "Loser" began receiving airplay on various modern rock stations, and the song's popularity eventually led to a major-label record deal with Geffen Records-subsidiary DGC Records. After the song's re-release under DGC, the song peaked at number 10 on the United States Billboard Hot 100 in April 1994, becoming Beck's first single to hit a major chart. The song performed well internationally, reaching number one in Norway and the top 10 in Australia, Canada, Iceland, New Zealand, and Sweden. The song was subsequently released on the 1994 album Mellow Gold.

"Loser" was written and recorded by Beck while he was visiting Stephenson's home.[8] Although the song was created spontaneously, Beck has claimed to have had the idea for the song since the late 1980s; he once said, "I don't think I would have been able to go in and do 'Loser' in a six-hour shot without having been somewhat prepared. It was accidental, but it was something that I'd been working toward for a long time."[9] Beck played some of his songs for Stephenson; Stephenson enjoyed the songs, but was unimpressed by Beck's rapping. Stephenson recorded a brief guitar part from one of Beck's songs onto an 8-track, looped it, and added a drum track to it.[8] Stephenson then added his own sitar playing and other samples.[10] At that point, Beck began writing and improvising lyrics for the recording.[8] For the song's vocals, Beck attempted to emulate the rapping style of Public Enemy's Chuck D.[10] According to Beck, the line that became the song's chorus originated because "When [Stephenson] played it back, I thought, 'Man, I'm the worst rapper in the world, I'm just a loser.' So I started singing 'I'm a loser baby, so why don't you kill me.'"[11] According to Rothrock, the song was largely finished in six and a half hours, with two minor overdubs several months later.[12]

Top 10 for the week of February 5, 1994

1. “Loser” – Beck
2. “Mr. Jones” – Counting Crows
3. “All Apologies” – Nirvana
4. “Purple Haze” – The Cure
5. “Big Time Sensuality” – Bjork
6. “Found Out About You” – Gin Blossoms
7. “Laid” – James
8. “MMM MMM MMM MMM”- Crash Test Dummies*
9. “Locked Out” – Crowded House
10. “Daughter”/”Yellow Ledbetter” – Pearl Jam

* = future #1

 

Oh crap, are we doing 2 a day now? They're flying by.
"All Apologies" is a great Nirvana song but I think the unplugged version edges out this version by a hair. Terrific song either way.
Not much I like on that chart I haven't touched on already.

 

"Loser" by Beck is a bonafide 90s classic. This song was everywhere but somehow I never got sick of it. I still think it's an awesome song. Well-deserved #1.
"Big Time Sensuality" by Bjork I didn't like at the time but I dig it now. She was years ahead of her time. Great song.
"MMM MMM MMM MMM" by Crash Test Dummies was a neat little tune. Almost a novelty song but elevated by the singer's earnest vocal performance. Haven't heard it in years but I'm sure if I did I'd enjoy it.

 

"Loser" is OK. For me, it's more of a musical time and date stamp. I remember when this was on the radio all the time.

 

Top 10 for the week of February 5, 1994

1. “Loser” – Beck
From the first listen, I’ve never been a fan of this song... I guess the instrumentation is good, perhaps the “mellow dude” stream of unconscious lyrics didn’t win me over..

Since this was the EmptyVee Video era, this toon was in constant rotation.

2. “Mr. Jones” – Counting Crows
Uh-Oh. Another song that was popular, but one that never hooked me.

3. “All Apologies” – Nirvana
Another great song by the band that represents the decade for me. Great melody, as the song slowly builds.

4. “Purple Haze” – The Cure
5. “Big Time Sensuality” – Bjork
6. “Found Out About You” – Gin Blossoms
Catchy guitar rock, the lyrics and theme are sadly linked to the songwriter’s tragic death.
7. “Laid” – James
Decades later, this is the track that jumps out as the “Oh Yeah! What a great forgotten track!”

8. “MMM MMM MMM MMM”- Crash Test Dummies*
Mmm mmm mmm OK. One of those bands and songs that you remember, but never think, let’s play that song!

9. “Locked Out” – Crowded House
Another great song by one of the best pop/rock bands of this era. Neil Finn has a catalog of great melodic songs.

10. “Daughter”/”Yellow Ledbetter” – Pearl Jam
Another 2 songs that were everywhere, deservedly so. With Nirvana and Pearl Jam around, the future of rock seemed to be healthy and Vital.

* = future #1

Was this really 25 years ago..??!!!???

 

Beck opened for U2 on the recent Joshua Tree tour. There were 40,000 people singing "I'm a loser baby, so why don't you kill me." Beck had to stop and marvel at that.

One thing I really like about this time in the chart is the variety of styles covered. I think it was a lot of fun here for next few years. A very interesting time for the radio.

 

“Found Out About You” – Gin Blossoms - I had the GB album & much of it was quite good. Many songs are like less focused versions of the singles. If you like the singles you will like the album. Expectations met.
“Daughter”/”Yellow Ledbetter” – Pearl Jam - I didn't like PJ at the time. I thought they sounded too early 70s. I couldn't understand them being lumped into the modern sound of grunge. Looking back it makes more sense as grunge owed a great debt to late 70s punk music, so a call back to the 70s wasn't such a longshot I suppose. I loved Vitalogy. I guess by then I'd gotten over the 70s thing. Both of the songs in question are good and I do listen to them when they come up on shuffle, but with hindsight, I think PJ were just warming up.
“Kite” – Nick Heyward - Another fantastic album. Kite is just a perfect pop song, which Nick Heyward bashes out at least once per album. This track & it's accompanying album turned me into a fan. I thought he was just Haircut 100. What do I know? His most recent disc is quite good as well.
“Today” – Smashing Pumpkins - My wife and I had KROQ as our alarm clock radio station. One morning I lie in bed trying to wake up & this song came on. After it was done I told my wife how much liked his voice. "That's because he sounds like you" she shot back. Hmmm. I guess I do sing whiny & nasally. Thanks to Billy Corgan for making me feel like my voice is better than it is.
“All Apologies” – Nirvana - Everything on this album is good. But a high percentage of tracks are great. Here's one. Why does a lot of 90s music sound like 90s music, yet Nirvana still sounds so fresh to my ears?
“Rubberband Girl” – Kate Bush - I knew a few KB songs when I moved in with my girlfriend, soon to be my wife. She had the hits CD The Whole Story. I became a fan. What a unique and wonderful artist. I loved The Sensual World. Not only were the songs well written and performed, but the production was warm and, well, sensual. Her next album, The Red Shoes didn't show up until late 1993. The lead single was Rubberband Girl. I was primed to love it but, even now, I find it a lesser effort, as was the album. But we still have The Sensual World.
“Mr. Jones” – Counting Crows - I became a fan with the album after this one. This is okay. It has the benefit of being very original.
“Locked Out” – Crowded House - This band has a knack of releasing a lead single that isn't really representative of the album it comes from. Chocolate Cake is probably the weakest song from WoodFace. Locked Out is a good energetic track but not what I think of when I play Together Alone. This is a great album & a wonderful sounding disc. Still listen to it regularly.
“Loser” – Beck - This song was all over the radio. Couldn't get away from it. The chorus is just irresistible. That guitar riff demands attention.
"MMM MMM MMM MMM”- Crash Test Dummies - Another very unique track. Radio was full of the odd and different at this time. I still love this one. Another recording that sounds great. In a way it reminds me of Trio's Da Da Da.

 

I've been waiting for years now for an opportunity to say (in jest), "You're a loser, baby, so why don't I kill you", but none has arisen thus far ...

 

94. "Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm" by Crash Test Dummies

#1 for 1 week on March 12th, 1994.

Single by Crash Test Dummies
from the album God Shuffled His Feet
Released October 1, 1993
Format CD single
Recorded 1993 (Music Head Recording in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin)
Genre Alternative rock,[1] folk rock
Length 3:55
Label BMG/Arista
Songwriter(s) Brad Roberts
Producer(s) Jerry Harrison, Crash Test Dummies


"Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm" is a song by the Canadian folk rock group Crash Test Dummies, It was released on October 1, 1993 as the lead single from their second album, God Shuffled His Feet. Despite receiving mostly negative reviews from critics, it was very successful around the world, peaking at number one in Australia, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, and on the US Modern Rock Tracks chart. It also became a top-five hit on both the UK Singles Chart and the all-genre US Billboard Hot 100, but in the band's native Canada, it stalled at number 14 on the RPM Top Singles chart.

Each verse describes the isolation and suffering of a child, two of whom have a physical abnormality. In the first verse, a boy is injured in a car accident and misses school for an extended period; when he returns to class, his hair has changed color from black to bright white. In the second verse, a girl refuses to change clothes in the presence of other girls due to the birthmarks that cover her body. The third child is a boy whose parents make him come directly home after school; during services at their church, they "shake and lurch" across the floor. During a 2010 live performance for the Dutch radio station Kink FM, Brad Roberts whispered "Pentecostal" during the third verse, suggesting this is the denomination of the church.[2]

An alternative version sometimes performed at live concerts replaced the third verse with one concerning a boy whose mother disposed of his tonsils after a tonsillectomy, thus depriving him of the possibility of bringing them to show and tell.[3]

Top 10 for the week of March 12, 1994:

1. “Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm” – Crash Test Dummies
2. “Loser” – Beck
3. “God” – Tori Amos*
4. “No Excuses” – Alice in Chains
5. “Mr. Jones” – Counting Crows
6. “Return to Innocence” – Enigma
7. “Get Off This” – Cracker
8. “All Apologies” – Nirvana
9. “13 Steps Lead Down” – Elvis Costello
10. “Big Time Sensuality” - Bjork

* - future #1

 

I never cared for the Crash Test Dummies song. It's OK - I don't hate it - but it's one of the weaker # 1's I've seen from this chart.

Of the other songs in the top ten list, the stand out for me is No Excuses by Alice in Chains. This is my absolute favorite from them.

 

Top 10 for the week of February 5, 1994

I think this was literally where I tapped out of alternative radio. At this point it's just a version of AOR with a few British and alt-legacy acts sprinkled in.

1. “Loser” – Beck
I sorta like the hip-hop musical bed on this one, but this has always struck me as a paint-by-numbers attempt to write a Generation X/slacker anthem.

2. “Mr. Jones” – Counting Crows
There is nothing alternative or modern about this song, or Counting Crows. 1994-6 weirdly saw a hippie/jam band fad incorporated into alternative radio/festivals/etc. CC, Blind Melon, Black Crows, Phish, Widespread Panic, others all get alt-play around this time. It always perplexed me because I thought the point of (post)punk was to transcend that stuff

3. “All Apologies” – Nirvana
I always make the mistake of thinking this was on Nevermind. A leftover maybe?

4. “Purple Haze” – The Cure
This is the apotheosis of the 1994 Modern Rock Chart: a legacy band having a radio hit with an AOR cover

5. “Big Time Sensuality” – Bjork
She's an artist I admire more than like, but it was really refreshing to hear this at the time; it really stands out compared to the rest of the chart

7. “Laid” – James
The one song that keeps a toehold in the late-80s Modern Rock charts. No idea how this because a bit; James had a few near-hits on modern rock radio, so, like Cure, New Order, Siouxsie etc they possibly benefit here from alternative's moment in the sun. But I always got the impression that this was treated as something of a novelty song.

8. “MMM MMM MMM MMM”- Crash Test Dummies*
Also kind of a novelty song. I think only REM's Monster challenges this CD as a used-CD store fixture.

10. “Daughter”/”Yellow Ledbetter” – Pearl Jam
There is nothing alternative or modern about Pearl Jam. Frathouses loved this one for some reason.

 

Oh boy. I hated "Loser" by Beck and it made me disregard him for a couple of years. "Where It's At" started to turn me around a couple of years later, and I actually became a fan after that with Midnite Vultures (a better Prince album than Prince had made in years). But one constant has remained: "Loser" just seems like a novelty slacker anthem with annoyingly tossed-off lyrics.

And "Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm" by the Crash Test Dummies is even more grating, with its pseudo-important lyrics and those comically baritone vocals. There's a reason it ends up on "worst song" lists--it's godawful.

The top 10 is really starting to take a nosedive, in my opinion. On the March 12 list, I really like Nirvana's "All Apologies" and Elvis Costello's "13 Steps Lead Down"--a nice return to rock from him--and the Bjork song is fine, but I'd flip the channel on the rest.

 

“No Excuses” – Alice in Chains - I really love AiC, but my wife can't stand the strained, off-kilter, harmonizing.

"Get Off This” – Cracker - I like Low better, but this is a fun song.

 

Just like with TFF's "Break It Down Again" upthread, until I went to YouTube I don't think I'd heard "No Excuses" since the '90s. Remembered it instantly, though.

 

Pearl Jam - Daughter

I like the use of acoustic guitars on this song and more on the album (Elderly Woman...). Vs. is my favorite PJ album and it made me happy that they bettered the debut. Great emotional singing from Eddie Vedder here. His lyrics were responsible for a good bit of the 90's being more serious lyrically. It's a welcome change. There's always time for partying, but sometimes you need to have the real ugly stuff sung about. The band didn't have a lot of flash musically, but I always appreciated the tasty licks and riffs they put into the music. My love for the band fell over the years, but I really love these early years and how driven and passionate they were. Daughter is a great song and one of the best on the album.

As for Yellow Ledbetter, it's a fantastic song, but why was it a B-side/Double A-side for Daughter? It was originally the B-side for Jeremy from the previous album. It makes no sense for it to be released again 2 years later as a B.

I'm shocked that Smashing Pumpkins' Today only topped out at #4. The song was inescapable for what felt like 2 years solid. I never cared for it, but I might think differently today.

Gin Blossoms - Found Out About You

They had a good sound, even if it was kind of basic. It's highly melodic rock with solid vocals. It's a catchy song and well-played. I don't love it by any means, but it's enjoyable.

Nirvana - All Apologies

Damn, what a great riff. This song show immense growth from the band that made Nevermind. They're still doing the quiet/loud thing, but it works here (again). Great use of cello on this one, just a perfect addition. The combination of heavy with the melodic vocal is perfect. All Apologies is my favorite Nirvana song and I love both this version and the one from Unplugged.

Beck - Loser

I don't know why, but I hated this song back in the day. I think I just hated the slacker mentality. The chorus annoyed me. Now when I listen to this I think it's freaking hilarious and mostly completely original. The exception being the acoustic guitar riff is very close to Allman Brothers Band - Midnight Rider. The song is a weird mixture of acoustic blues and white boy hip hop. I like that Beck didn't take himself seriously. It's funny how opinions can change, because now when I look at this song I think it's great.

Crash Test Dummies - Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm

Gimmicky. Still painful to listen to 25 years later. Pass.

Now, as for music that I enjoy listening to...Alice in Chains' No Excuses is a fantastic song. The Jar of Flies EP was such a breath of fresh air. I loved Dirt (and Sap, and Facelift) and it was just so great how different and vital Jar of Flies was. It's one I still listen to frequently and No Excuses is a joyous song.

 

I've already given my opinion on "MMM MMM MMM MMM" so here's my opinion on two new entries I like:
"Return To Innocence" by Enigma is still one of my favorites from the era. It's almost timeless. And a killer video didn't hurt at all.
"Get Off This" by Cracker is pretty darn good. Not one of my absolute favorites by them but pretty close. Great chorus.