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

Since it's the original Woodstock anniversary, what did you guys think of Woodstock '99 - I had a chance to go with a friend driving there but I passed cause I didn't like the group of acts enough and it was on a military base with no grass so I knew it would be hot. Not as hot as it got. I watched it on MTV I think when it aired. Was that on pay-per-view? I forget.

 

1999 goes out with a really whiny whimper as "All the Small Things" by Blink-182 reaches #1. As a massive fan of the original punk-pop bands (the Ramones, Buzzcocks, the Undertones, etc.), I was not totally on board when Green Day came around with an inferior version of the style and rode it to the bank. But Green Day eventually won me over, even if they don't measure up to their predecessors. For me, Blink-182 was a further devolution of the style, to the point where the genre became embarrassing. Yes, "All the Small Things" is catchy enough, but it's also watered down and whiny, like punk for the Disney Channel. Bah, humbug, I say! I prefer to end my year with R.E.M.'s "The Great Beyond," the #1 song that week on the adult alternative chart. (That said, the Blink-182 song is better than Creed, Bush, or Limp Bizkit.)

To sum up 1999:

In my collection:
"Learn to Fly" by the Foo Fighters

OK on the radio:
"Scar Tissue" by the Red Hot Chili Peppers? Sort of?

Change the station:
"Every Morning" by Sugar Ray
"My Own Worst Enemy" by Lit
"Higher" by Creed
"The Chemicals Between Us" by Bush
"Re-Arranged" by Limp Bizkit
"All the Small Things" by Blink-182

I'd had my issues with this chart in the previous few years, but 1999 is when it really got hopeless, with only a handful of songs I liked hitting the chart all year. No wonder I stopped listening to the radio. Gimme indie rock!

Thanks to @WilliamWes for keeping this going, and to @Parachute Woman for starting it in the first place.

 

Hmm, let me try that:

"Cuts You Up" by Peter Murphy (1990)
"Nothing Compares 2 U" by Sinéad O'Connor (1990)
"Here's Where the Story Ends" by the Sundays (1990)
"Way Down Now" by World Party (1990)
"Never Enough" by the Cure (1990)
"Merry Go Round" by the Replacements (1990)
"Losing My Religion" by R.E.M. (1991)
"Get the Message" by Electronic (1991)
"So You Think You're in Love" by Robyn Hitchcock and the Egyptians (1991)
"Smells Like Teen Spirit" by Nirvana (1991)
"Sax and Violins" by Talking Heads (1992)
"One" by U2 (1992)
"Weirdo" by the Charlatans (1992)
"Regret" by New Order (1993)
"Into Your Arms" by the Lemonheads (1993)
"All Apologies" by Nirvana (1994)
"Basket Case" by Green Day (1994)
"Name" by the Goo Goo Dolls (1995)
"Wonderwall" by Oasis (1995)
"The Way" by Fastball (1998)

It was hard to cut my initial list of 30 down to 20, especially at the end.

 

Great list! Several of yours were on my initial long list before I cut it down to 20 (Sinead, New Order, both Nirvana tracks). There really was a lot of great music on this chart. It's nice to be reminded of that after looking at these 1999 charts!

 

1999 Ranking

Red Hot Chili Peppers – Scar Tissue
Foo Fighters – Learn To Fly
Lit – My Own Worst Enemy
Bush – The Chemicals Between Us
Sugar Ray – Every Morning
Blink-182 – All The Small Things
Creed - Higher
Limp Bizkit – Re-arranged

 

Foo Fighters - Learn to Fly

What a great song. It's super melodic, it rocks, and the chorus is awesome. They always had fantastic videos too.

Limp Bizkit - Re-Arranged

I've never heard this song before this. I'm totally surprised I like this. It's got a good groove, cool bass line, it's kind of trippy and it's just overall a cool track. There are definitely traces of 311 here which is fine by me. I dig Wes Borland's guitar playing on here too. Cool track, totally unexpected. Looks like I was the only to like this one!

Blink-182 - All the Small Things

It's the typical late 90's pop-punk stuff. The vocal melody is terrible and that's in addition to the actual lyrics and the vocal itself. Overall it's a decent song, enjoyable in some way, but nothing I'd purposely seek out to listen to. I like the mellow section, that was a nice change of pace.

***

I'll write up my 1999 review and "best of" for the 90's whenever I have more time.

 

Did Freedy Johnston's "Bad Reputation" ever chart on the Modern Rock list? Wikipedia says it peaked at #54 on the Hot 100 in February of 1995.

 

Great song. It peaked at #28 on the Modern Rock chart in November, 1994.

Source: Freedy Johnston Chart History

 

Awesome research, thanks. Found the week in question.

Billboard Alternative Songs Chart: 1994-11-12

 

The video for "High" just wasn't that memorable, the band messing about in clouds and Robert flying on a kite. It's ok, not their best.

 

1999 and final decade thoughts:

Wow, there were only 8 #1's this year! Here's how they fared for me this year:

keeps:

Sugar Ray - Every Morning
RCHP - Scar Tissue
Foo Fighters - Learn to Fly
Limp Bizkit - Re-Arranged
Blink-182 - All the Small Things

trashes:

Lit - My Own Worst Enemy
Creed - Higher
Bush - The Chemicals Between Us

My favorite #1 of the year is Foo Fighters' Learn to Fly. That's a great song. I don't think '99 was a good year for me and alternative rock, because besides Foo even the songs I keep still aren't that amazing. I mean, I liked the Limp Bizkit song! Certainly a down year.

It's been great to see the progression of 90's music in this thread. We started off where the songs were truly an alternative to the pop and rock charts and then this music became the mainstream. As I said, I stopped listening to the radio in Summer of 1994 so it was surprising that I heard more of these songs than I thought I would've. If we do the 2000's I'm sure that number will increase.

Favorite #1 from each year:
1990 - The Sundays - Here's Where the Story Ends
1991 - R.E.M. - Losing My Religion
1992 - U2 - One
1993 - Depeche Mode - Walking In My Shoes
1994 - Nirvana - All Apologies
1995 - Green Day - When I Come Around
1996 - Oasis - Champagne Supernova
1997 - Third Eye Blind - Semi-Charmed Life
1998 - Everlast - What It's Like
1999 - Foo Fighters - Learn to Fly

Of that group, I have to give the edge of "Best #1 of the 1990's" to The Sunday's Here's Where the Story Ends. It's such a gorgeous song and it's one I can still listen to over and over. Of these 10 songs, the ones that stand out as "signposts" are The Sundays, Nirvana & Third Eye Blind. Those 3 songs perfectly encapsulate those eras of alternative music for the decade.

I still can't believe that Radiohead didn't get a #1 on this chart or even on the UK main charts. Creep absolutely should've hit the top, not stalling at #2.

@Parachute Woman & @WilliamWes thank you both for leading this thread. It's been a blast. If you decide to brave the 2000's I'll definitely participate.

 

So I just purchased this book, solely for the Modern Rock section, and I was not disappointed.

Stunningly, the song "X-French Tee Shirt" by Shudder to Think never charted on the Alternative Charts. I can't get over that...

 

Probably why it took me years to find that Shudder To Think album. It's one of the most creative and dynamic records from the mid-90's. Craig Wedren I see was the singer- his voice took some adjusting for me - maybe that's a reason it didn't chart? Anyway awesome album 'Pony Express'.

 

Thanks and it was great reading all your posts. Good to know you'll be around if we go for it at some point. I finally finished all the reviews I was doing for other threads but now I'm pretty tired so I'm taking a breather but this is still in the back of my mind.

 

Indeed. I remember the video playing on 120 Minutes a few weeks in a row and then poof..it was gone.

Speaking of 120 Minutes, their entire set was posted on YouTube awhile back. Unedited footage. Similar posts were made for Pavement and Sunny Day Real Estate ..all from 1994.

ShudderToThink - Unedited 120 Minutes Footage

There are 3 takes of "X-French Tee Shirt".

 

Speaking for myself only, I was never able to get past his voice.

 

It will be somewhat tougher (though not impossible) for some of us now that Billboard has put most of their charts and archives behind a paywall. Going through the number ones should still be easy enough, but looking through the full charts (as I liked to do) will require me to find scans of the issues (they're out there, on Google Books and elsewhere) unless I decide to pay for Billboard access. (I'm thinking about it, since I frequently used their site as a resource for the music trivia game I periodically host. I'm trying to decide if it justifies the cost.)

 

Oh, I'm sorry to hear that they have implemented pay walls. Their website was such a great resource for chart history.

 

For sure. It really bummed me out to see the change this week.

 

I’m really in a 90’s mood over the last month waxing nostalgic for being a twenty something and I see Lit’s - My Own Worst Enemy is getting beaten up here, what am I missing??? Why the dislike?