Every Billboard Modern Rock/Alternative #1 Single (Part 1: The 1980s)

"Orange Crush" is the song that finally got me into R.E.M. and is still in my top 3 R.E.M. tracks - the chorus just kills me. Growing up in Boston, this was also one of the first songs I remember both WBCN (mainstream rock) and WFNX (alternative) playing the hell out of simultaneously.

"I'm An Adult Now" was a radio staple, it seemed, for a good two years after it came out. "Angel Of Harlem" was huge for a few months, as well, but didn't seem to have the usual U2 staying power in the grand scheme of things.

 

Love this thread. Was 17 yrs old in 1988 and deeply into what was at the time typically called college rock.

Orange Crush: Had loved REM since 1983's Murmur. Really felt like they were "my" band--found out about them early, saw them live a bunch during the 80s. Was VERY excited by this bigger-sounding REM. Thought they transitioned into big rock stars extremely well.

Fisherman's Blues: Still an all-time favorite song. Loved This is the Sea, and was happily shocked when FB's came out and they dove into a full-on Irish sound.

Angel of Harlem: Didn't love it as much as some other stuff on R&H, but today think it's aged better than the vast majority of that record.

Sweet Jane: Stunning then. Stunning now. Shocking at the time. My teenage brain didn't know how to process this glacial version.

 

Credit MTV for the success of this sub-genre. According to Whitburn, "Charlotte Anne" by Cope never penetrated the Billboard Top 40. I always like Cope, buying World Shut Your Mouth, Saint Julian, and Peggy Suicide, among others, but somehow skipped My Nation Underground.

I got MTV in early December 1989 and immediately gravitated to 120 Minutes. There was no college radio within reception range.

All of the songs on the current Top 10 were and remain listenable.

 

I was not really familiar with this Julian Cope song, but I'm glad to have come across it here... it's quite good!

I kind of feel the same as MEMark about "Sweet Jane". If anything this version has only gotten better with age.

 

Good topic! Keep them coming please!

 

"Be All That You Can Be" was written by Jake Holmes, of "Dazed and Confused" fame.

 

I'm so obsessed with Fisherman's Blues that I bought the boxed set.

Also love The Trinity Sessions, but, for some reason, never explored the Cowboy Junkies further until I stumbled upon a Canadian pressing of Whites Off Earth last year.

 

"Orange Crush" was the kind of song that a young person could say about it "You know what this song is about? ...AGENT ORANGE!" and feel pretty smart.

Not that I did that.

 

I love this thread idea since I'm not terribly familiar with the songs, esp. once we get past 1994. I grew up mostly listening to metal and hard rock so this'll be a fun exercise for me. Great thread idea, @Parachute Woman! Thanks for including the dates they were at #1.

Siouxsie and the Banshees - Peek-a-Boo

This is so different from what else was in the pop charts in 1988. Who uses an accordion? The beat is really infectious. The backwards horn samples are really original. This is a really impressive song, more original than anything I remember hearing back then. Great song and perfect way to start this out.

Big Audio Dynamite - Just Play Music

This song is very "80's British pop". I like the inclusion of the guitar through the song, some nice horn parts too. My beef with this song is the incessant repetition of the chorus. The song is a one trick pony and that makes it really hard to listen to the whole thing.

The Primitives' Crash is a much better song.

The Psychedelic Furs - All That Money Wants

Psychedelic Furs are a band that I've seen by name so many times, but I've never actually heard their music until now (that I know of). The singer has a Bowie quality to his voice and singing style. The pulsating bass on this song is really good; it helps propel the song. Good song, I enjoy this one. Hell, I probably would've enjoyed hearing it on the radio back in '88.

U2 - Desire

Classic. I love U2's 80's and 90's output and this song is one that I never stop loving. My college band used to cover it and it's an INCREDIBLY simple song...and yet, it still works beautifully. Everything about the way these 4 guys put this song together makes it infectious. Bono is in great voice here. Desire just has such a great swagger. Great f'n song!

R.E.M. - Orange Crush

If this chart had existed for the whole decade of the 80's I know there'd be a ton of REM songs. Green is a solid album. Those background vocals really make this song. Mike Mills is a really underrated bassist (and for his background vocals). They really had a knack for crafting just incredibly solid songs. These old ones, esp. this era, always put a smile on my face. I love this song and it still feels fresh to me. That bridge part is awesome.


Overall 1988 thoughts:

Fun year to start the chart and thread. I wish it would've started in, say, 1978 so we'd get all those great "alternative" songs for the previous 10 years. Oh well. Solely judging by the #1's for this year, you get the sense that "alternative/modern rock" is danceable and fun, but also lyrically a bit deeper than other popular rock music. Driving beats and plunky bass with a charismatic vocalist, that's a hallmark of these songs.

Here's my rundown for the year -

keeps:

Siouxsie and the Banshees - Peek-a-Boo
The Psychedelic Furs - All That Money Wants
U2 - Desire
R.E.M. - Orange Crush

trashes:

Big Audio Dynamite - Just Play Music

Orange Crush is definitely the best song on this chart for 1988.

 

Julian Cope - Charlotte Anne

I'm sure that marching drum beat will come and go in pop music for all eternity. The way he sings "Charlotte Anne" is a good hook. The use of synth in place of the actual flute in an interesting choice, but then there's an actual guitar solo. Good solo too. It's a pretty sparse recording, with the constant bass just pushing it through. This song has really grown on me, it stays in you. It's not amazing, but I like listening to it.

 

I'd place Lay It Down (1995), Black Eyed Man (1991) & Pale Sun Crescent Moon (1993) above The Trinity Session.

 

I was in college (my first try at it, anyway) during this era so I have a lot of nostalgia for this era.

Definitely love mid period Siouxsie because it's how I got to know her music.

Just recently bought The Trinity Sessions on vinyl....love Sweet Jane but forgot how very, very samey samey their music can be!'

Green and/or Orange Crush were not my favorites. I think the next R.E.M. album I really liked was Out of Time.

I was trying to use the search function on Billboard to see if I could find some of the music I played for a college station in '91 but it really doesn't work all that well....grumble grumble.

 

I was a fan of Orange Crush ... I am one of those uncool folks where Green is my favourite REM album

 

Green isn't my favorite but it's definitely up there. A great album!

 

Take off for a couple of days and this thread explodes! Now to play catch-up:

U2 - Desire - Been a big U2 fan since War and I loved Rattle and Hum.

I bought REM Green the week it came out and was surprised at the sound. I like Orange Crush, but find Stand repetitive. I guess that's the opposite of some others here. But I just listened to the album again a few days ago by coincidence, and I still really like it a lot.

I had The Waterboys CD, but I think my oldest took it with him when he moved out.

First time I heard Sweet Jane was on MTV's 120 Minutes or Postmodern MTV and I sat in front of the TV mesmerized. I went and bought the CD the next day.

 

Glad to see this thread has not been abandoned. Perhaps not typical SHF fare, but a lot of interesting music to be found on those charts going forward, I think. Thank you, Parachute Woman, for starting and continuing this thread.

Side note, kind of interesting to see the small bit of Canadian representation on the top 10 (Cowboy Junkies, TPOH). Fun times to be a bar-going, live music listening Canuck, for sure. Sadly, I think poor Blue Rodeo will continue their streak of under-representation on the charts south of the 49th parallel.

 

01. "Charlotte Anne" by Julian Cope

If the Alternative Rock chart had started two years earlier I think Saint Julian would have had two or three #1s. My Nation Underground IMHO was rather less successful, slicker and less garage-y, but still great songs like this one. I think Cope got tired of pop music after this one.

02. "Orange Crush" by R.E.M.

Brave choice for first single that showed that R.E.M. would still be odd despite the big-time major label contract. Obviously tho they had to meet their label halfway sometimes; cf. #9.

05. "The Great Commandment" by Camouflage

There were a lot of great Depeche Clones at the end of the 80s (Red Flag, Celebrate the Nun, Seven Red Seven, T42) but I think for whatever reason Camouflage were the only one to come near the Alternative chart. Voices & Images just got a nice 2CD deluxe reissue; it's a solid album save perhaps for some odd English lyrics that probably poorly rendered from German.

07. "Fine Time" by New Order

Like 'Orange Crush', a brave choice for a first single from an album that could have been New Order's big American breakthrough. Unlike R.E.M., it didn't quite happen. Does this album do better in the States if 'All the Way' or 'Round and Round' go to radio first?

08. "Tears Run Rings" by Marc Almond

The buildup to the close of this song is astonishing. Excellent single that somewhat surprisingly got a bit of Top 40 play.

09. "Stand" by R.E.M.

This might be a motivated opinion on my part (I hate 'Stand'), but this song has always seemed out of place on Green, which I think is otherwise one of R.E.M.'s best. By this time non-LP singles were really rare in the US but if there were ever a song that called out for one this is it.

 

I'm so happy to see more and more folks joining in! Thank you so much. I really think we can have a lot of fun discussing this chart! Alright, today I'm actually going to post the next two number ones because one of them has already seen quite a fair amount of commentary...Please feel free to discuss both, as well as some of the other items I post.

7. "Stand" by R.E.M.


#1 for 2 weeks beginning January 28, 1989


"Stand" is a song by the American alternative rock band R.E.M., released as the second single from the album Green in 1989. The song peaked at number six on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming R.E.M.'s second top 10 hit in the United States. The song reached number 48 on the UK Singles Chart and number 16 in Canada. It was placed on R.E.M.'s Warner Bros. Records "best of" album In Time: The Best of R.E.M. 1988–2003 in 2003, as well as the 2011 compilation album Part Lies, Part Heart, Part Truth, Part Garbage.

The song is an example of "truck driver's gear change", as the last two rounds of the chorus are each one whole step higher than the one previous.[5] The song is meant to be a self-aware "tongue-in-cheek" 60s-esque bubblegum pop ditty, meant to resemble the music of The Banana Splits, The Archies and The Monkees.[6]

Singer Michael Stipe has said of the song's origin that he and the other band members were discussing The Banana Splits, The Archies, The Monkees, and similar 1960s pop groups. "They threw these super bubblegummysongs at me, and I said, 'I'll raise you and see you one.' And I wrote the most inane lyrics that I could possibly write. Now, it was a very intentional thing to do that. I really like most of those songs, in fact."[7] Guitarist Peter Buckdescribed "Stand" as "without a doubt, [...] the stupidest song we've ever written. That's not necessarily a bad thing though", comparing the song to "Louie Louie" by the Kingsmen in terms of 'stupid' lyrical content.[8]

 

And following "Stand" (the second single from Green to go to #1, the first time multiple singles from a single album hit the top on this chart--and it will happen many more times), this one from a godfather of alternative hit the top spot.

8. "Dirty Blvd." by Lou Reed


#1 for 4 weeks beginning February 11, 1989


"Dirty Blvd." is a Lou Reed song from his 1989 album, New York. The song contrasts the poor and the rich in New York City, and topped the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart for four weeks in early 1989.[1] Live versions appear on Perfect Night: Live in London and Animal Serenade. "Dirty Blvd." was one of the four songs Reed performed with David Bowie on the latter's 50th birthday celebration in 1997.[2] The song features a three-chord progression, a repeated sequence of G D A D.[3]

Here's the top ten during Dirty's first week at number one:

01. "Dirty Blvd." by Lou Reed
02. "Stand" by R.E.M.
03. "I'll Be You" by the Replacements
04. "Dear God" by Midge Ure
05. "Sweet Jane" by Cowboy Junkies
06. "Fine Time" by New Order
07. "Nightmares" by Violent Femmes
08. "Orinoco Flow" by Enya
09. "She Drives Me Crazy" by Fine Young Cannibals
10. "Fisherman's Blues" by the Waterboys

 

Stand
I may be in the minority based on the comments I've read so far, but I actually like 'Stand' better than 'Orange Crush.' I know it's lyrically simple bubblegum, but so did the band and I happen to love perfect little pop songs like 'Sugar, Sugar.' That's a really tough skill, being able to write a song like that. This isn't my favorite R.E.M. song by a long shot, but I enjoy it a lot. I especially like the "gear changes" at the end, as Wiki describes them. It was interesting to note that the music videos for both of these Green singles don't really feature the band. They appear very briefly in cameo at the end of 'Stand,' but they aren't the focus at all--the songs are. I grew up seeing their music videos in the '90s when Michael Stipe especially was a far more prominent visual presence.

Dirty Blvd.
I remember reading something from Pitchfork once a long time ago that claimed five artists were sort of the originators of 'alternative' music before such a label or idea existed. They were David Bowie, Iggy Pop, Brian Eno, Kraftwerk and Lou Reed. Throw in the major punk acts of the mid/late '70s and I'd pretty much agree with that assessment. I'm glad that Lou made it all the way to the top of the Alternative charts so long after his career started, when he was an established icon. And I think 'Dirty Blvd.' is a killer Lou Reed song. I can't claim to be a huge fan of his, but he has perhaps 20-30 songs that I absolutely love and this is one of them. It really encapsulates everything great about Lou Reed--his storytelling, his preferred subject matter, his cool, his groove, that subtle guitar thing he does, his dissonant, relaxed singing...it is such a Lou Reed track.

As for the rest of the top ten...I will save commentary on "I'll Be You" because that one was headed up the charts (*hint* we'll be seeing it as a #1 soon enough). Fascinating to see that Enya of all people hit the top ten on this chart. She would actually do it once again in 1991 when 'Caribbean Blue' got all the way to #3. She may not be the first person to come to mind in this genre, but she is definitely 'alternative' to majority pop.

And I'll highlight this one..."She Drives Me Crazy" by Fine Young Cannibals peaked at #5 on the alternative charts but made it all the way to #1 on the Hot 100:

A truly mainstream success for an alternative song, and a powerful earworm to this day.

 

As for "Stand", well, I love The Banana Splits, The Monkees, and dumb bubblegum pop from the 60s and 70s so I guess it's no surprise that i like this song. Not my favorite R.E.M. song but still a good song. I remember cruising around in my Suzuki Samurai with my girlfriend listening to green a lot that winter. Very good song, great album.

Ok, "Dirty Blvd." by Lou Reed. I was already a fan from back in his Velvet Underground/Transformer days but this was the first time I'd ever heard him on the radio with a new song. Loved the song, like the album. Not my favorite Lou Reed album but it was good and I really did love (and still love) this song. Didn't realize it actually topped the Alternative Chart though.

 

How interesting that Dirty Blvd. is #1 this time. I love this song.

It's interesting because I came here to comment on Sweet Jane. I got into the Velvet Underground heavily in 1992 - had never heard of them before. Heavily got into them throughout the rest of the ''90s. Learned Sweet Jame via them (the original version). Around 1998, I met the woman who became my wife, and she got me into the Philly non-commercial music station (WXPN). It was around this time that I first heard the Cowboy Junkies version of Sweet Jane.

I really like the Cowboys Junkies take on this track. I especially like that they incorporated the "heavenly wine and roses" coda which was edited out of the VU version and is one of the things that really po'd Lou Reed when VU recording the Loaded album (on which the original version of Sweet Jane appears).

 

Yeah, I really loved that FYC album. I don't own it anymore. Perhaps I'll revisit it and maybe re-buy it.

 

Dirty Blvd. Well, that's more like it. Most of these songs I remember because at work MTV was on all day. The great majority to me were vapid and i never listened to it at home. I mean REM was jangly and listenable at work but that's it. This Lou Reed tune came out of nowhere and yeah, it's a good tune from a good LP. I thought it stood right up there with SRV and Bowie.

 

I'd agree with Lou Reed being one of the originators of alternative music (assuming Velvet Underground is included here).
Likewise Iggy Pop (assuming Stooges is included here).

Not sure why only these individuals are mentioned --- I'd almost include John Cale in a list if it was expanded to 10 or 20 people. (John Cale was also in Velvet Underground ---I'm not making assumptions about who knows what --- I would think that is a well-known fact that John Cale was in VU, but I find that I am old enough now --- that what I think is common knowledge -- may not necessarily be so for younger folks).