Billboard Number One Modern Rock Hits 1988/1989

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Chart doesn't actually start until September 88 so I'm folding 1988 in with 1989. Big ups to Kevin Seal.

Poll Results

OptionVotes
Siouxsie and the Banshees - "Peek-A-Boo" (2 weeks) 12
The Cure - "Fascination Street" (7 weeks) 10
The Replacements - "I'll Be You" (1 week) 7
The B-52s - "Love Shack" (4 weeks) 6
XTC - "The Mayor of Simpleton" (5 weeks) 6
REM - "Orange Crush" (8 weeks) 4
Hoodoo Gurus - "Come Anytime" (3 weeks) 3
Psychedelic Furs - "All That Money Wants" (3 weeks) 2
Kate Bush - "Love and Anger" (3 weeks) 2
The Jesus and Mary Chain - "Blues From A Gun" (3 weeks) 2
Julian Cope - "Charlotte Anne" (1 week) 2
Lou Reed - "Dirty Blvd" (4 weeks) 2
REM - "Stand" (2 weeks) 2
U2 - "Desire" (5 weeks) 1
Camper Van Beethoven - "Pictures of Matchstick Men" (3 weeks) 1
Elvis Costello - "Veronica" (1 week) 1
Big Audio Dynamite - "Just Play Music!" (1 week) 1
Love and Rockets - "So Alive" (5 weeks) 1
The B-52s - "Channel Z" (3 weeks) 0
Tears For Fears - "Sowing the Seeds of Love" (1 week) 0
Public Image Ltd. - "Disappointed" (1 week) 0
Ian McCulloch - "Proud to Fall" (4 weeks) 0


balls, Thursday, 16 December 2010 04:19 (thirteen years ago) link

In order:

P-Furs
"Fascination Street"
"Blues From a Gun"
"Channel Z"

Gus Van Sotosyn (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 16 December 2010 04:21 (thirteen years ago) link

Love Shack, baby.

some dude, Thursday, 16 December 2010 04:22 (thirteen years ago) link

I accepted a few months ago that my love for the P-Furs knows no bounds.

Gus Van Sotosyn (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 16 December 2010 04:26 (thirteen years ago) link

if you get the chance to see them live i actually recommend it - very professional, solid, deliver the hits. cannot say the same for happy mondays (alas).

balls, Thursday, 16 December 2010 04:34 (thirteen years ago) link

I like "Veronica!"

timellison, Thursday, 16 December 2010 04:35 (thirteen years ago) link

Fascination Street followed
So Alive
Veronica
All That Money Wants

ENBB, Thursday, 16 December 2010 04:37 (thirteen years ago) link

Peek-A-Boo is such an amazing fucking song

including it for anyone who hasn't heard it

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i41W-NIjMfs

Supposedly they recorded the whole song backwards and then added vocals?!

franz kaptcha (Whiney G. Weingarten), Thursday, 16 December 2010 04:37 (thirteen years ago) link

Oh I missed that. I <3 Peek-a-boo.

ENBB, Thursday, 16 December 2010 04:39 (thirteen years ago) link

lol, cute original aesthetic THE KNIFE

franz kaptcha (Whiney G. Weingarten), Thursday, 16 December 2010 04:39 (thirteen years ago) link

if you get the chance to see them live i actually recommend it

them = P-Furs?

Gus Van Sotosyn (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 16 December 2010 04:40 (thirteen years ago) link

1988 was the year I realized music existed. stuff like siouxsie and Green-era REM just hits my nostalgia zone in the perfect, perfect way

franz kaptcha (Whiney G. Weingarten), Thursday, 16 December 2010 04:41 (thirteen years ago) link

I think I mind "I'll Be You" more in this context (mostly post-singer-songwriter mush) than when it crossed over on the AOR chart, where at least its sensitivity registered.

Gus Van Sotosyn (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 16 December 2010 04:41 (thirteen years ago) link

thank you Geffen Records for all the amazing sounds on the Modern Rock classic "Peek-A-Boo." I'm so glad we've come so far that we don't need major labels and can make amazing music like Ariel Pink and the Wild Nothings

franz kaptcha (Whiney G. Weingarten), Thursday, 16 December 2010 04:43 (thirteen years ago) link

hey ENBB

franz kaptcha (Whiney G. Weingarten), Thursday, 16 December 2010 04:45 (thirteen years ago) link

I thought you were going to thank them for the amazing sounds on this other modern rock and AOR hit, not represented here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSp1oCHvvwY

Gus Van Sotosyn (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 16 December 2010 04:45 (thirteen years ago) link

PEEEEEEEEKAPOO
PEEEEEEEEKAPOO

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDMtIGw16pA

franz kaptcha (Whiney G. Weingarten), Thursday, 16 December 2010 04:45 (thirteen years ago) link

where DID you get those eyes?

Gus Van Sotosyn (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 16 December 2010 04:46 (thirteen years ago) link

actual conversation between 13 year old me and my dad, 1988, "peek-a-boo" playing on the radio.

me - "i think they play this type of music at the 40 watt club (rock club in town)"
dad - "i think they recorded this in the 40 watt bathroom" *changes station*

xpost - them = pfurs

voted "love shack"

balls, Thursday, 16 December 2010 04:46 (thirteen years ago) link

HA THAT LITTLE GUY! :D

ENBB, Thursday, 16 December 2010 04:48 (thirteen years ago) link

MTV had promos at the time that would play the fuck out of peekaboo iirc

franz kaptcha (Whiney G. Weingarten), Thursday, 16 December 2010 04:49 (thirteen years ago) link

I wasn't allowed to watch MTV at that time. ;_; but I do remember dancing around to it on the radio in my friend Phoebe's room.

ENBB, Thursday, 16 December 2010 04:50 (thirteen years ago) link

looking at this, several bands i had liked disappointed me with shitty sounds in 88/89- b52s, gurus, replacements, xtc.

peekaboo is great, thanks for that.

rhymes with a$$ange (Hunt3r), Thursday, 16 December 2010 04:50 (thirteen years ago) link

this is actually a really hard choice for me. Watching 120 minutes (& its short-lived weekday version 'Postmodern MTV') & listening to my local college FM station at the time - this was pretty much the music I discovered when I started 'discovering music.' Tho if 'Head On' by JAMC were on here it would be no contest. How the hell did BFAG (lol) make it to #1 but not HO?

jerkstore cowboy (Pillbox), Thursday, 16 December 2010 04:52 (thirteen years ago) link

Head On is probably in my top three fav songs of all time so if that were on here there would be no contest for me either.

ENBB, Thursday, 16 December 2010 04:53 (thirteen years ago) link

i may be wrong but i think we will actually be getting a chance to revisit that julian lennon hit (best post-peckinpah imo) on a future album rock poll.

balls, Thursday, 16 December 2010 04:54 (thirteen years ago) link

Through the Looking Glass was my first Siouxsie album, so by the time Peepshow came out the next year I was fully prepared to be knocked over by it. And I was. "Peek A Boo" is probably still one of my favorite three tracks they ever recorded.

Lightning Is For Babies (Johnny Fever), Thursday, 16 December 2010 04:54 (thirteen years ago) link

I love several of these, but voting this one because it needs at least one vote.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Sg35MkDxts

something of an astrological coup (tipsy mothra), Thursday, 16 December 2010 04:54 (thirteen years ago) link

<3 camper van too

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAkcSd5l9Qg

franz kaptcha (Whiney G. Weingarten), Thursday, 16 December 2010 04:55 (thirteen years ago) link

How the hell did BFAG (lol) make it to #1 but not HO?

iirc "Head On" was the third (?) single from Automatic, so it probably came around in 1990.

Lightning Is For Babies (Johnny Fever), Thursday, 16 December 2010 04:55 (thirteen years ago) link

looks like they wore their nice dress shirts for that video

franz kaptcha (Whiney G. Weingarten), Thursday, 16 December 2010 04:55 (thirteen years ago) link

Camper Van Beethoven was an answer on Jeopardy once. I wish I could remember the question but unfortunately all I remember was it being really strange and the contestants were all stumped.

ENBB, Thursday, 16 December 2010 04:56 (thirteen years ago) link

looking at this, several bands i had liked disappointed me with shitty sounds in 88/89

maybe not shitty but yeah, several 80s favs seem to be losing steam here

buzza, Thursday, 16 December 2010 04:56 (thirteen years ago) link

oh man Love And Rockets So Alive too, fuck

franz kaptcha (Whiney G. Weingarten), Thursday, 16 December 2010 04:58 (thirteen years ago) link

that video was monumentally sexy as a 9 year old iirc

franz kaptcha (Whiney G. Weingarten), Thursday, 16 December 2010 04:58 (thirteen years ago) link

^^ leaning toward that, myself.

jerkstore cowboy (Pillbox), Thursday, 16 December 2010 04:59 (thirteen years ago) link

Love and Rockets > Bauhaus
Camper Van > Cracker

franz kaptcha (Whiney G. Weingarten), Thursday, 16 December 2010 04:59 (thirteen years ago) link

otm on both counts

balls, Thursday, 16 December 2010 04:59 (thirteen years ago) link

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_idRHSBnWps

would like a calmer set (Eazy), Thursday, 16 December 2010 04:59 (thirteen years ago) link

I went with "Fascination Street", but only slightly ahead of at least half its competition.

Lightning Is For Babies (Johnny Fever), Thursday, 16 December 2010 05:00 (thirteen years ago) link

x-post to WGW re: Love and Rockets

RIGHT? I love that song so much.

I think I have to vote Fascination Street though because Disintegration was the first CD I ever bought (along with Wilson Phillips at the same time - waht? I was like 12!) and, at the risk of sounding completely lame, it sort of changed my life.

ENBB, Thursday, 16 December 2010 05:01 (thirteen years ago) link

L&R s/t is easily their best LP imo

jerkstore cowboy (Pillbox), Thursday, 16 December 2010 05:02 (thirteen years ago) link

"No New Tale To Tell" is as good as they get, though.

would like a calmer set (Eazy), Thursday, 16 December 2010 05:02 (thirteen years ago) link

otm

Lightning Is For Babies (Johnny Fever), Thursday, 16 December 2010 05:02 (thirteen years ago) link

re: "NNTTT" that is. I actually think Express is the best L&R lp.

Lightning Is For Babies (Johnny Fever), Thursday, 16 December 2010 05:03 (thirteen years ago) link

My L&R opo would be "haunted when the minutes drag"

jerkstore cowboy (Pillbox), Thursday, 16 December 2010 05:04 (thirteen years ago) link

"no new tale to tell" was the "things that make you go hmm" of 87.

balls, Thursday, 16 December 2010 05:04 (thirteen years ago) link

I love express too, but it is sometimes hard to look past the canny production

jerkstore cowboy (Pillbox), Thursday, 16 December 2010 05:05 (thirteen years ago) link

A lot of these bands are well past their artistic prime here but the biggest exception to that has to be So Alive (many xposts), which is really subtle and full of low-key attitude.

Fascination Street gave me brief pause too but I started looking at the length of stays at #1, and was blown away that (a lesser REM song like) Orange Crush beat out Love Shack which seemed in constant rotation for a good year.

i love you but i have chosen snarkness (Steve Shasta), Thursday, 16 December 2010 05:06 (thirteen years ago) link

sorry but can I just . . .

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFObRusJt24

ENBB, Thursday, 16 December 2010 05:08 (thirteen years ago) link

Lo, I liked that Lou Reed song at the time but now I just see he was on a Johnny Cougar goes to the LES trip.

i love you but i have chosen snarkness (Steve Shasta), Thursday, 16 December 2010 05:09 (thirteen years ago) link

lotta stuff i love here: "peek-a-boo", "orange crush", "love shack", "so alive", the "pictures of matchstick men" cover, "blues from a gun". gotta be siouxie though.

a man called hearse (contenderizer), Thursday, 16 December 2010 05:14 (thirteen years ago) link

The first Ian McCulloch solo joint was pretty great too - a suitable counterpart to the E&B s/t LP that came out a year prior.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnK5aqbwkZA

jerkstore cowboy (Pillbox), Thursday, 16 December 2010 05:15 (thirteen years ago) link

Yeah, I've always viewed those albums as two sides of the same coin.

Lightning Is For Babies (Johnny Fever), Thursday, 16 December 2010 05:16 (thirteen years ago) link

"charlotte ann" is lovely, but i struggle with the arrangement/production

a man called hearse (contenderizer), Thursday, 16 December 2010 05:18 (thirteen years ago) link

So what is the worst song here...

i love you but i have chosen snarkness (Steve Shasta), Thursday, 16 December 2010 05:20 (thirteen years ago) link

Tears for Fears maybe?

Lightning Is For Babies (Johnny Fever), Thursday, 16 December 2010 05:21 (thirteen years ago) link

no way

jerkstore cowboy (Pillbox), Thursday, 16 December 2010 05:21 (thirteen years ago) link

They most definitely WERE past their prime by this time.

Lightning Is For Babies (Johnny Fever), Thursday, 16 December 2010 05:21 (thirteen years ago) link

Pysch Furs track is not among their best

jerkstore cowboy (Pillbox), Thursday, 16 December 2010 05:22 (thirteen years ago) link

perhaps BAD vs. PiL for battle for the basement?

i love you but i have chosen snarkness (Steve Shasta), Thursday, 16 December 2010 05:22 (thirteen years ago) link

Of the 75% I recognize, maybe Channel Z.

would like a calmer set (Eazy), Thursday, 16 December 2010 05:23 (thirteen years ago) link

fuck no, disappointed is an awesome track

xp

jerkstore cowboy (Pillbox), Thursday, 16 December 2010 05:24 (thirteen years ago) link

I like that PiL track. Surprised the BAD song here isn't "Free" though.

Lightning Is For Babies (Johnny Fever), Thursday, 16 December 2010 05:24 (thirteen years ago) link

At first glance it seems like a lot to choose from, but on looking at the list more closely, maybe it's not. It is striking to see some of these acts appearing in the charts this late in the 80s (but then it took a while for British post-punk/new wave to make it into the U.S. charts--and they were generally past their prime by the point they made it).

_Rudipherous_, Thursday, 16 December 2010 11:14 (thirteen years ago) link

I was out of college and all these bands I had listened to in high school were now a little better known, and meanwhile I was thinking: rap is getting really interesting and "what's acid house?" I voted "Orange Crush." I've never particularly liked REM, but I briefly listened to that album a lot.

_Rudipherous_, Thursday, 16 December 2010 11:36 (thirteen years ago) link

(Not that I didn't listen to any of those bands in college too, just that I had started listening to them in high school or junior high in some cases.)

_Rudipherous_, Thursday, 16 December 2010 11:37 (thirteen years ago) link

I think easily the most interesting thing about the list is how many British artists are on it.

_Rudipherous_, Thursday, 16 December 2010 11:37 (thirteen years ago) link

Voted Siouxsie's last worthwhile single

RONG-bak (Noodle Vague), Thursday, 16 December 2010 11:39 (thirteen years ago) link

I remember thinking that "Mayor of Simpleton" ripped off the Moody Blues' "Your Wildest Dreams" (and was far more annoying).

Andy K, Thursday, 16 December 2010 11:50 (thirteen years ago) link

Most of these acts ARE past their prime, but they're raging against the dying of the light.

"All That Money Wants" is one of my favorite new songs recorded for a comp.

"Disappointed" is the best INXS song never recorded.

Gus Van Sotosyn (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 16 December 2010 12:33 (thirteen years ago) link

I voted for "So Alive"; I don't really like anything else by Love & Rockets & I kinda hate the lead vocals too---but despite loving a bunch of the songs on this list, the groove of "So Alive" is a beast, & those backup vocals ooze sex in the way that things from when you're 14 years old seem to ooze sex twenty+ years later.

Euler, Thursday, 16 December 2010 12:52 (thirteen years ago) link

Went with Fascination Street, but this was such an important year for me musically, being that I was in sixth grade and had just been introduced to the local modern rock station, that I could have gone for about 10 of these.

Auto Mall Maniac (kkvgz), Thursday, 16 December 2010 12:55 (thirteen years ago) link

Orange Crush, just ahead of Blues From a Gun. An important period for me too.

The baby boomers have defined everything once and for all (Dorianlynskey), Thursday, 16 December 2010 12:56 (thirteen years ago) link

I think easily the most interesting thing about the list is how many British artists are on it.

Yeah it was that point where the most interesting or soon-to-be-important American scenes (D.C., Seattle/Portland) were either still under the big-label radar or just starting to gather steam. Fugazi had just formed, Sub Pop was just a few years old, etc. I had one hipster friend who was into all the Seattle stuff and kept going on about it, but I was way more into 120 Minutes.

something of an astrological coup (tipsy mothra), Thursday, 16 December 2010 14:08 (thirteen years ago) link

Voting "Peek A Boo," though I heard "Channel Z" in the grocery store last week, and liked it more than I would have guessed.

xhuxk, Thursday, 16 December 2010 14:31 (thirteen years ago) link

"Blues From A Gun" over "Fascination Street."

o tannenbaum, o judge (crüt), Thursday, 16 December 2010 14:33 (thirteen years ago) link

All That Money Wants 4EVA!!!!!!

kornrulez6969, Thursday, 16 December 2010 15:56 (thirteen years ago) link

how had I never heard "All That Money Wants" before????

I'm voting one of these:

Siouxsie and the Banshees - "Peek-A-Boo" (2 weeks)
REM - "Orange Crush" (8 weeks)
The Cure - "Fascination Street" (7 weeks)
The B-52s - "Channel Z" (3 weeks)

All 4 of the songs are completely undeniable IMO.

Tina Tina Cheneuse (DJP), Thursday, 16 December 2010 16:00 (thirteen years ago) link

"Channel Z" sounds great.

Gus Van Sotosyn (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 16 December 2010 16:01 (thirteen years ago) link

I remember thinking "Love Shack" was a great song, but when Cosmic Thing came out and I actually heard "Channel Z" I basically lost my mind. It's such a fucking monster of a song; I still like "Love Shack" but really "Channel Z" should have gotten the ubiquitous hold on America (I get why it didn't but I can dream).

Oh, and "Bushfire" and "Junebug" also own; I don't get how ppl can dislike that album.

Tina Tina Cheneuse (DJP), Thursday, 16 December 2010 16:04 (thirteen years ago) link

and "Dry Country." and "Roam." And "Deadbeat Club."

Gus Van Sotosyn (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 16 December 2010 16:05 (thirteen years ago) link

<3 that album and all of those but espcially Roam and Deadbeat Club.

ENBB, Thursday, 16 December 2010 16:07 (thirteen years ago) link

"Deadbeat Club" is the only accepted favorite that I've never really gotten; I tend to substitute "Topaz" for that one.

also, "FOLLOW YOUR BLISS"

Tina Tina Cheneuse (DJP), Thursday, 16 December 2010 16:07 (thirteen years ago) link

I clicked on the radio button for Peek-a-boo then scrolled down the list to make sure I was right :)
For a lot of old Banshees fans 'Looking Glass' and 'Peepshow' were confirmation that the band had left them behind but I was delighted they were always so willing to change and occasionally experiment.

Voted Siouxsie's last worthwhile single

Objection! "The Last Beat of My Heart" takes that honour, even if I was the only person to buy it.

Insane Clown 2 Electric Juggalo (onimo), Thursday, 16 December 2010 16:08 (thirteen years ago) link

I know it's kind of terrible but I still love "Kiss Them For Me"

Tina Tina Cheneuse (DJP), Thursday, 16 December 2010 16:09 (thirteen years ago) link

I know what you mean :)

Insane Clown 2 Electric Juggalo (onimo), Thursday, 16 December 2010 16:10 (thirteen years ago) link

those two are pleasant, even loveable, but not "worthwhile" imo

Rage Against the Man-Cream (Noodle Vague), Thursday, 16 December 2010 16:11 (thirteen years ago) link

one of my favorite ILM threads of the last year. Every poster brought their A-game:

POLL if you want to...POLL around the world: The B-52's Cosmic Thing

Gus Van Sotosyn (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 16 December 2010 16:11 (thirteen years ago) link

I don't like "Sowing the Seeds of Love" much b/c the video was very stupid iirc & it's a very circular song which ≠ repetitive exactly but still tends to bore me. But the one on here that's the silliest is "Desire": The Joshua Tree was my first ~~~~~adult~~~~~~ album (I take it you know what I mean, I was 13, give me a break) and "Desire" seemed like such a step down at the time, like it wanted to be seedy but even nerdy new-teen me could tell it was borrowed dirt, & plus lyrically it's just a buncha cliches (musically too); also wtf at "red guitar...on fire", absolutely ghastly rhyme there for leading into the chorus. Bonus note: the "Hollywood remix" remains a mess: the beat is less corny (for 1988) but the sorta-Bomb-Squad-y sound gets ruined by the gospel-y vocals, so it doesn't cohere into anything save a bunch of noise (which admitted is better than the original song).

Euler, Thursday, 16 December 2010 16:11 (thirteen years ago) link

would rep for lots of The Joshua Tree but obv "Desire" is a fucking warcrime

Rage Against the Man-Cream (Noodle Vague), Thursday, 16 December 2010 16:12 (thirteen years ago) link

I still love side 1 of The Joshua Tree (side 2 is the one that I thought was deep at the time & now I think it's mostly silly)

Euler, Thursday, 16 December 2010 16:15 (thirteen years ago) link

lol "Desire" is the only song on Rattle and Hum that I don't actively hate

maybe also the gospel "Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For"

thank God for Achtung, Baby! basically

Tina Tina Cheneuse (DJP), Thursday, 16 December 2010 16:16 (thirteen years ago) link

naw, side 2 has lots of greatness, but specially the 1-2 punch of Exit and Mothers of the Disappeared at the very end. xp

Lightning Is For Babies (Johnny Fever), Thursday, 16 December 2010 16:17 (thirteen years ago) link

I love "Sowing the Seeds of Love" to death, especially the big psychedelic freak-out bridge that leads into the second "Time/To eat all your words" bridge

Tina Tina Cheneuse (DJP), Thursday, 16 December 2010 16:18 (thirteen years ago) link

"Pictures of Matchstick Men" is a jam btw, & I think it's having broken big, more than other songs here, foreshadowed the one-hit-wonder funfest that was "alt" radio after the year punk broke a couple years later (& I mean that approvingly; those were good disposable days on the radio)(not that I'm calling CVB disposable, & at the time it was bizarre to see them break because for once ~I was there~)

Euler, Thursday, 16 December 2010 16:24 (thirteen years ago) link

of the songs on this list I remember, I don't think there's a single one I dislike

Tina Tina Cheneuse (DJP), Thursday, 16 December 2010 16:25 (thirteen years ago) link

is "Pictures of Matchstick Men" a cover of the Quo song?

Rage Against the Man-Cream (Noodle Vague), Thursday, 16 December 2010 16:27 (thirteen years ago) link

Yes.

Tina Tina Cheneuse (DJP), Thursday, 16 December 2010 16:28 (thirteen years ago) link

I never knew it was a cover until about five years later when I was in an electronics store and someone was playing a live clip of Status Quo doing the song a million years ago on one of the tvs.

Lightning Is For Babies (Johnny Fever), Thursday, 16 December 2010 16:30 (thirteen years ago) link

Nobody's gonna come right out and say they're voting for "Stand?" Fine, I'll do it. You know you all secretly love it.

Tub Girl Time Machine (Phil D.), Thursday, 16 December 2010 16:30 (thirteen years ago) link

I not so secretly love it, but this is a GREAT list and Stand isn't the best thing on it imo.

Lightning Is For Babies (Johnny Fever), Thursday, 16 December 2010 16:32 (thirteen years ago) link

Can be Debbie Downer for a second and say that, aside from "So Alive" and "**** (Jungle Law)", the s/t Love and Rockets album is kind of terrible?

Tina Tina Cheneuse (DJP), Thursday, 16 December 2010 16:33 (thirteen years ago) link

Motorcycle is pretty rad.

Lightning Is For Babies (Johnny Fever), Thursday, 16 December 2010 16:35 (thirteen years ago) link

basically "No Big Deal" and "Motorcycle" are my platonic ideal of everything Love and Rockets should never, ever, EVER do, whereas Earth, Sun, Moon is them at their best

Tina Tina Cheneuse (DJP), Thursday, 16 December 2010 16:35 (thirteen years ago) link

love and rockets never did much for me! I like "So Alive" and parts of Earth Sun Moon but overall they don't interest me as much as bauhaus or especially the godlike TONES ON TAIL

o tannenbaum, o judge (crüt), Thursday, 16 December 2010 16:36 (thirteen years ago) link

Bauhaus, L&R, Tones on Tail and Murphy solo all have some really great moments and some extremely dire moments. It's a very hot & cold group of musicians.

Lightning Is For Babies (Johnny Fever), Thursday, 16 December 2010 16:37 (thirteen years ago) link

tru

except I think everything Tones on Tail ever did is amazing (but their discography is the most limited of those 4)

o tannenbaum, o judge (crüt), Thursday, 16 December 2010 16:42 (thirteen years ago) link

Probably slightly derailing the thread a little, but I've only heard Ash's solo albums. Are David J's any good?

Lightning Is For Babies (Johnny Fever), Thursday, 16 December 2010 16:43 (thirteen years ago) link

you are asking me to rate my senior year of high school and I just can't do it. i will agree that "so alive" is crushed by "no new tale to tell" and add that "charlotte anne" is crushed by "my nation underground" so neither of these gets the nod.

Guayaquil (eephus!), Thursday, 16 December 2010 16:47 (thirteen years ago) link

the david j solo stuff I've heard is terrible

o tannenbaum, o judge (crüt), Thursday, 16 December 2010 16:49 (thirteen years ago) link

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ZlOErCDwc4

o tannenbaum, o judge (crüt), Thursday, 16 December 2010 16:50 (thirteen years ago) link

"So Alive" can hold its own with the rest of the L&R back catalogue IMO, it's just that the other songs on that album (except for "**** (Jungle Law)", which I think is one of their best songs) really, really cannot.

lol crut I was about to say "I'll Be Your Chauffeur" isn't bad

Tina Tina Cheneuse (DJP), Thursday, 16 December 2010 16:51 (thirteen years ago) link

I have hazy memories of having seen that video, but didn't remember the song. Sounds like Go-Betweens.

Lightning Is For Babies (Johnny Fever), Thursday, 16 December 2010 16:52 (thirteen years ago) link

Can be Debbie Downer for a second and say that, aside from "So Alive" and "**** (Jungle Law)", the s/t Love and Rockets album is kind of terrible?

so rong! Side A has three great noisy guitar tracks & then the Motorcycle coda track segues into at least three or four nice moody psych tracks in the second half (SA included). Then again, this is one of those records that I could never, ever view objectively b/c of the effect it had on me at my most impressionable (musically speaking, age 12-13 or so).

jerkstore cowboy (Pillbox), Thursday, 16 December 2010 17:58 (thirteen years ago) link

See, L&R never really did it for me, and even though I love the two B-52s tracks, no band occupied as much of my mind at the time as REM did, so of those two songs, I have to go with "Stand."

Tub Girl Time Machine (Phil D.), Thursday, 16 December 2010 18:00 (thirteen years ago) link

By the time Love and Rockets came out I had already decided Earth, Sun, Moon and Express were fucking amazing, so hearing it just sounded like L&R trying and failing to be JAMC

Tina Tina Cheneuse (DJP), Thursday, 16 December 2010 18:00 (thirteen years ago) link

wow i love a few of these songs and hate a whole bunch of them

O_o-O_0-o_O (jjjusten), Thursday, 16 December 2010 18:08 (thirteen years ago) link

^^^ massive "Desire" fan

Tina Tina Cheneuse (DJP), Thursday, 16 December 2010 18:09 (thirteen years ago) link

hahahah yeah no

O_o-O_0-o_O (jjjusten), Thursday, 16 December 2010 18:14 (thirteen years ago) link

"so alive" hit #3 on the pop charts, it was kinda huge. I distinctly recall being freaked out that the dudes from bauhaus were coming out of every radio in america. little did I know what the 90s had in store for me.

if nothing else this thread will result in some great display names (Edward III), Thursday, 16 December 2010 18:16 (thirteen years ago) link

the jjjusten top 5:

U2 - "Desire" (5 weeks)
REM - "Stand" (2 weeks)
Lou Reed - "Dirty Blvd" (4 weeks)
Public Image Ltd. - "Disappointed" (1 week)
The B-52s - "Love Shack" (4 weeks)
Tears For Fears - "Sowing the Seeds of Love" (1 week)

Tina Tina Cheneuse (DJP), Thursday, 16 December 2010 18:18 (thirteen years ago) link

Hm, "Peekaboo" is pretty cool.

EveningStar (Sund4r), Thursday, 16 December 2010 19:04 (thirteen years ago) link

voted Mayor of Simpleton and regretted it instantly. P-Furs, Reed, The Replacements and the motherfucking Love Shack all deserve it more. I even like that Siouxsie song.

gospodin simmel, Thursday, 16 December 2010 19:09 (thirteen years ago) link

Ha -- on the 1990 poll I don't think anyone admitted to remembering "I'll be Your Chauffeur."

Gus Van Sotosyn (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 16 December 2010 19:37 (thirteen years ago) link

hahahaha i swear i didnt look at DJP predictions until now but yeah pretty much dude kinda knows my tastes yall

LOVE:
Siouxsie and the Banshees - "Peek-A-Boo" (2 weeks)
The B-52s - "Channel Z" (3 weeks)
Camper Van Beethoven - "Pictures of Matchstick Men" (3 weeks)
The Jesus and Mary Chain - "Blues From A Gun" (3 weeks)

OK:
REM - "Orange Crush" (8 weeks)
Elvis Costello - "Veronica" (1 week)
XTC - "The Mayor of Simpleton" (5 weeks)
The Cure - "Fascination Street" (7 weeks)
Love and Rockets - "So Alive" (5 weeks)
Hoodoo Gurus - "Come Anytime" (3 weeks)
Ian McCulloch - "Proud to Fall" (4 weeks)

DONT CARE/BLAH:
Psychedelic Furs - "All That Money Wants" (3 weeks)
Tears For Fears - "Sowing the Seeds of Love" (1 week)

HATE:
U2 - "Desire" (5 weeks)
REM - "Stand" (2 weeks)
Lou Reed - "Dirty Blvd" (4 weeks)
The B-52s - "Love Shack" (4 weeks)
The Replacements - "I'll Be You" (1 week)
Public Image Ltd. - "Disappointed" (1 week)
Kate Bush - "Love and Anger" (3 weeks)

WORSE THAN I COULD HAVE IMAGINED:
Big Audio Dynamite - "Just Play Music!" (1 week)

NOWHERE ON YOUTUBE SO IDK:
Julian Cope - "Charlotte Anne" (1 week)

O_o-O_0-o_O (jjjusten), Thursday, 16 December 2010 19:47 (thirteen years ago) link

srsly tho holy shit i cant believe how fucking awful that big audio dynamite song is jesus christ

O_o-O_0-o_O (jjjusten), Thursday, 16 December 2010 19:48 (thirteen years ago) link

I find it difficult to believe a BAD song from that time period could be WORSE than I can imagine; I mean, I lived through "Rush".

Tina Tina Cheneuse (DJP), Thursday, 16 December 2010 19:48 (thirteen years ago) link

no me too, look it up on youtube, its astounding!

O_o-O_0-o_O (jjjusten), Thursday, 16 December 2010 19:49 (thirteen years ago) link

what the hell is this

Tina Tina Cheneuse (DJP), Thursday, 16 December 2010 19:49 (thirteen years ago) link

we are going to need a new emoticon to accurately capture my reaction to this

Tina Tina Cheneuse (DJP), Thursday, 16 December 2010 19:50 (thirteen years ago) link

i know right?!?

O_o-O_0-o_O (jjjusten), Thursday, 16 December 2010 19:50 (thirteen years ago) link

what the fuck is happening in the middle of this fucking song

Tina Tina Cheneuse (DJP), Thursday, 16 December 2010 19:52 (thirteen years ago) link

it's like they decided Starship was too tough and inaccessible for romcom soundtracks and they wanted to show them how you REALLY do it

Tina Tina Cheneuse (DJP), Thursday, 16 December 2010 19:52 (thirteen years ago) link

oh just wait it keeps coming, right around the 3 minute mark it becomes particularly o_O

O_o-O_0-o_O (jjjusten), Thursday, 16 December 2010 19:53 (thirteen years ago) link

btw I have been trying very very hard to ignore the blatant trolling at the beginning of the thread but The Knife has fuck-all to do with "Peek-A-Boo"

phew, that made me feel a little better, only I still have listened to that awful awful song

Tina Tina Cheneuse (DJP), Thursday, 16 December 2010 19:54 (thirteen years ago) link

xp: that's what prompted the Starship comment!

Tina Tina Cheneuse (DJP), Thursday, 16 December 2010 19:54 (thirteen years ago) link

nest time somebody gets all the only band that matters about the clash im going to ludovico technique them with mick jones and his dance moves from this video

O_o-O_0-o_O (jjjusten), Thursday, 16 December 2010 19:55 (thirteen years ago) link

Alex in NYC (vassifer) wrote this on thread In defense of Big Audio Dynamite on board I Love Music on Apr 4, 2003

Love everything up through The Globe, but am thinking they should now change their moniker to Big Audio Mistake.

some dude, Thursday, 16 December 2010 19:55 (thirteen years ago) link

situation no win

Gus Van Sotosyn (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 16 December 2010 19:57 (thirteen years ago) link

I don't understand the series of decisions necessary in going from sounding like "E=MC2" to... that

Tina Tina Cheneuse (DJP), Thursday, 16 December 2010 19:57 (thirteen years ago) link

like I guess I understand not wanting to sound like your old band, but if it's a choice between that and sounding like complete and utter shit...?

Tina Tina Cheneuse (DJP), Thursday, 16 December 2010 19:58 (thirteen years ago) link

i srsly cant stop watching that video

O_o-O_0-o_O (jjjusten), Thursday, 16 December 2010 19:59 (thirteen years ago) link

This must've been the thing that caused BAD to split and BADII to form.

Lightning Is For Babies (Johnny Fever), Thursday, 16 December 2010 19:59 (thirteen years ago) link

"Rush" was MASSIVE; heard it in stores, pizza parlors, etc. Ubiquity did not accentuate its charms, though.

Gus Van Sotosyn (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 16 December 2010 20:00 (thirteen years ago) link

Rush was fine. I actually still like that BADII album.

Lightning Is For Babies (Johnny Fever), Thursday, 16 December 2010 20:02 (thirteen years ago) link

ok i just checked the tracklisting for "Megatop Pheonix" which I have positive feelings toward and am relieved to see that that song is nowhere on there.

O_o-O_0-o_O (jjjusten), Thursday, 16 December 2010 20:06 (thirteen years ago) link

holy crap @ that BAD track. It's like something that missed the cut for Miami Sound Machine album filler.

I once had a copy of the "Rush" single.. on cassingle!

jerkstore cowboy (Pillbox), Thursday, 16 December 2010 20:25 (thirteen years ago) link

'the globe' >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 'rush'

jerkstore cowboy (Pillbox), Thursday, 16 December 2010 20:26 (thirteen years ago) link

"Rush Rush" >>>>>>>>>> "Rush"

Gus Van Sotosyn (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 16 December 2010 20:27 (thirteen years ago) link

NOWHERE ON YOUTUBE SO IDK:
Julian Cope - "Charlotte Anne" (1 week)

It's as meh as Copey gets and really not worth the effort but here you go:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-wix_pKEE8

Insane Clown 2 Electric Juggalo (onimo), Thursday, 16 December 2010 20:34 (thirteen years ago) link

my iphone wont recognize that youtube but it might just be mad at me for listening to that big audio dynamite song so many times

O_o-O_0-o_O (jjjusten), Thursday, 16 December 2010 20:37 (thirteen years ago) link

dude I'm pretty sure Megatop Phoenix is also fucking terrible

Tina Tina Cheneuse (DJP), Thursday, 16 December 2010 20:51 (thirteen years ago) link

i remember rewind being pretty good and there being some decent cutty pasty sampling stuff going on but its uh been years so i could be really really wrong.

around the girl in 80 days was def a huge piece of shit tho

O_o-O_0-o_O (jjjusten), Thursday, 16 December 2010 20:54 (thirteen years ago) link

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRuQOCMd2mI

does this jog yr memory

Tina Tina Cheneuse (DJP), Thursday, 16 December 2010 20:55 (thirteen years ago) link

"Rewind" is all right though, I will grant you that

Tina Tina Cheneuse (DJP), Thursday, 16 December 2010 20:57 (thirteen years ago) link

"This video contains content from Vevo, who has blocked it in your country on ow my head grounds."

Rage Against the Man-Cream (Noodle Vague), Thursday, 16 December 2010 21:00 (thirteen years ago) link

hahaha

Tina Tina Cheneuse (DJP), Thursday, 16 December 2010 21:00 (thirteen years ago) link

ok i am rapidly being convinced that an instrumental version of megatop phoenix would be awesome, but such dreams are not to be

O_o-O_0-o_O (jjjusten), Thursday, 16 December 2010 21:18 (thirteen years ago) link

ok listened to more of this album uh just never mind

O_o-O_0-o_O (jjjusten), Thursday, 16 December 2010 21:28 (thirteen years ago) link

lol

Tina Tina Cheneuse (DJP), Thursday, 16 December 2010 21:29 (thirteen years ago) link

I had forgotten this Furs song and it is pretty good.

_Rudipherous_, Thursday, 16 December 2010 21:51 (thirteen years ago) link

holy sh!t these are all untouchable

Siouxsie and the Banshees - "Peek-A-Boo" (2 weeks)
Psychedelic Furs - "All That Money Wants" (3 weeks)
The Replacements - "I'll Be You" (1 week)
The Cure - "Fascination Street" (7 weeks)
Love and Rockets - "So Alive" (5 weeks)
Tears For Fears - "Sowing the Seeds of Love" (1 week)
The Jesus and Mary Chain - "Blues From A Gun" (3 weeks)

i genuinely thought when i first joined that he was the admin (ilxor), Thursday, 16 December 2010 21:56 (thirteen years ago) link

The only possible way to choose between these is to narrow it down to "songs that are superb and that I'm worried won't get votes," so it's "Stand" or "Come Anytime" for me. But which? The Hoodoo Gurus are way more forgotten and ignored (not even mentioned on this thread, I think!) and they represent very well this weird genre of straight-ahead rock record that was "alternative" only by virtue of being kind of unpopular (see also: The Smithereens) On the other hand, "Stand" is a masterpiece which is wrongly hated by everyone from REM themselves on down. That chugging run of decending open-E bar chords under "If wishes were trees..." -- amazing!

But I'm not going to change anybody's mind about "Stand" so I'll vote for the Gurus.

It might actually be the case that "Love Shack" is the song I most admire here.

Guayaquil (eephus!), Friday, 17 December 2010 01:49 (thirteen years ago) link

Charlotte Anne

EZ Snappin, Friday, 17 December 2010 02:23 (thirteen years ago) link

my Top 5 would look something like this:

The Cure - "Fascination Street" (7 weeks)
Love and Rockets - "So Alive" (5 weeks)
The Jesus and Mary Chain - "Blues From A Gun" (3 weeks)
Siouxsie and the Banshees - "Peek-A-Boo" (2 weeks)
The B-52s - "Love Shack" (4 weeks)

World Series champion San Francisco Giants (Bee OK), Friday, 17 December 2010 02:48 (thirteen years ago) link

Screw you guys, I love "Just Play Music" (Don Letts amateur deejaying and all) and "James Brown" (West Side Story sample is genius) and "Around the Girl in 80 Ways" (Prince ska)! But not "The Globe" or "Rush." P.S. I also wore spandex shorts in 1988.

How did a boring CVB cover of "Pictures of Matchstick Men" make it to modern-rock No. 1? We will agree to disagree. "The Mayor of Simpleton" is nice but to me this list epitomizes the dullness of late-'80s "modern rock" MOR college crap except the B-52 singles, which are transcendent, and maybe "Peek-A-Boo." The rest is just the sound of programmers strenuously ignoring hip hop, metal, house, or punk. "Orange Crush" is timeless, I guess, but it's opaque to the point of seeming pro-war... which was just great for the late '80s.

Pete Scholtes, Friday, 17 December 2010 04:29 (thirteen years ago) link

Pro-war? It's a dude who got poisoned in Vietnam! (I think.)

would like a calmer set (Eazy), Friday, 17 December 2010 04:44 (thirteen years ago) link

Then, now, forever: Love Shack. As I said on the Cosmic Thing thread, I've adored them since their first van tour to Minneapolis in 1979. The very idea that a tacky little dance band from Georgia could parlay that first DB Records single into cult success on a major label, lose their founding member to AIDS, regroup a decade later and release a GAZILLION-selling worldwide hit still completely boggles my mind. Time (and wedding receptions) have not dimmed its luster for me. Anyone who hates Love Shack, well, I'll make like Fred and just holler "I can't HEAR you!!!"

He stayed true to what he is. Now he murders deer! (Dan Peterson), Friday, 17 December 2010 15:14 (thirteen years ago) link

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLGsT_dEQ8U

EveningStar (Sund4r), Friday, 17 December 2010 15:36 (thirteen years ago) link

Sund4r, I can't believe it, I was thinking of that exact Beavis & Butthead clip. I was even thinking of looking for it, although I'd forgotten it was for that particular song (but I figured it had to be from close to the same time).

_Rudipherous_, Friday, 17 December 2010 15:56 (thirteen years ago) link

I was once told I sing like Fred Schneider, which saddened me because I thought I was going for a Jello Biafra style.

http://tinyurl.com/ccccccccccccccccc (Pleasant Plains), Friday, 17 December 2010 17:03 (thirteen years ago) link

Now I can't hear one without thinking of the other (PS: I've long stopped singing in public.)

http://tinyurl.com/ccccccccccccccccc (Pleasant Plains), Friday, 17 December 2010 17:03 (thirteen years ago) link

Aw man, don't let that stop you singing! Fred, Jello, Dylan, Mark E. Smith-ah... if it's in you, work with the voice you got.

He stayed true to what he is. Now he murders deer! (Dan Peterson), Friday, 17 December 2010 17:31 (thirteen years ago) link

Haha, thanks Dan. I really stopped singing in public because I'm a homebody now. Trust me, the family gets the full brunt of my vocal stylings on a nightly basis.

But really, try to listen to "Holidays in Cambodia" and picture Just Fred.

http://tinyurl.com/ccccccccccccccccc (Pleasant Plains), Friday, 17 December 2010 17:45 (thirteen years ago) link

Hm, that might actually help me hate the B-52s a little less.

EveningStar (Sund4r), Friday, 17 December 2010 18:03 (thirteen years ago) link

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

System, Monday, 20 December 2010 00:01 (thirteen years ago) link

Inspired by this (and other) threads, I busted out Channel Z instead of the obligatory Love Shack at a Christmas party I DJ'd on Saturday. Sounded awesome, and crowd loved it.

FWIW, segued into Voodoo Cadillac Blues by Southern Culture On The Skids and the place erupted. I've never spun it at a DJ gig. Love this song:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYoLGS6uzao

He stayed true to what he is. Now he murders deer! (Dan Peterson), Monday, 20 December 2010 15:12 (thirteen years ago) link

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

System, Tuesday, 21 December 2010 00:01 (thirteen years ago) link

Totally agree with this top 2.

Lightning Is For Babies (Johnny Fever), Tuesday, 21 December 2010 00:06 (thirteen years ago) link

wow i didnt foresee a siouxsie victory but can't argue!

i genuinely thought when i first joined that he was the admin (ilxor), Tuesday, 21 December 2010 03:37 (thirteen years ago) link

Wow, can't believe I'm the only one who voted for "So Alive"! I thought it would be a contender!

i love you but i have chosen snarkness (Steve Shasta), Tuesday, 21 December 2010 03:38 (thirteen years ago) link

Yeah, that's curious considering how much talk there was about it.

Lightning Is For Babies (Johnny Fever), Tuesday, 21 December 2010 03:42 (thirteen years ago) link

6 ppl voted for 'mayor of simpleton' - DISAPPOINTED IN YOU PPL!

balls, Tuesday, 21 December 2010 03:59 (thirteen years ago) link

Wow, can't believe I'm the only one who voted for "So Alive"! I thought it would be a contender!

i swear this is my true #1 but somehow i clicked on "Fasc. St." instead... slip o the finger

i genuinely thought when i first joined that he was the admin (ilxor), Tuesday, 21 December 2010 04:05 (thirteen years ago) link

a bit sad that Veronica only got one vote.

Kim, Tuesday, 21 December 2010 13:12 (thirteen years ago) link

The B-52s - "Channel Z" (3 weeks) 0

Shame on all of you

Tina Tina Cheneuse (DJP), Tuesday, 21 December 2010 13:25 (thirteen years ago) link

a bit sad that Veronica only got one vote.

Was me. I like singing that one at karaoke.

lindseykai, Wednesday, 22 December 2010 05:32 (thirteen years ago) link

Wow, can't believe I'm the only one who voted for "So Alive"! I thought it would be a contender!

i swear this is my true #1 but somehow i clicked on "Fasc. St." instead... slip o the finger

― i genuinely thought when i first joined that he was the admin (ilxor), Monday, December 20, 2010 11:05 PM (2 days ago) Bookmark

prob would have voted for this if I'd remembered to vote :|

jerkstore cowboy (Pillbox), Wednesday, 22 December 2010 05:48 (thirteen years ago) link

Unexpectedly strong showing for Hoodoo Gurus! Worthy winner, though.

Guayaquil (eephus!), Wednesday, 22 December 2010 05:49 (thirteen years ago) link

eight years pass...

awesome thread

Mr. Snrub, Friday, 8 February 2019 08:18 (five years ago) link


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