Modern Rock #1 Hits of 1996

it's pretty sad that "Where It's At" didn't hit #1 but "Pepper," "Standing Outside," "Novacaine For the Soul" and "What I Got" all did.

I love 1979 and most of the rest of these are awful so that one.

― wolf kabob (ENBB), Friday, May 25, 2012 10:53 AM (4 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

If the Tracy Bonham song had been "The One" rather than "Mother, Mother," though . . .

I'm with you, dude. Pearl Jam for me. The problem with "1979" is Billy Corgan singing it.

"Wonderwall"

i got nothin here at all

these polls are just making me realize how intolerable "modern rock" from the past is to me today

I liked lots of stuff on 94 and 95 but this is where it really drops off the cliff for me. "What I Got" wins for me, and it's not even a song I'd listen to on purpose, just something I'd cheerfully bob my head to if it came on the radio.

the rock/alt sections of my top 100 singles of '96:

Top 100 Singles of 1996:

1. Spacehog - "In The Meantime"
3. Cake - "The Distance"
4. Marilyn Manson - "The Beautiful People"
5. Soul Coughing - "Super Bon Bon"
6. Smashing Pumpkins - "Tonight, Tonight"
7. Mariah Carey - "Always Be My Baby"
13. Beck - "Where It's At"
14. Soundgarden - "Burden In My Hand"
15. Oasis - "Don't Look Back In Anger"
16. Rocket From The Crypt - "On A Rope"
21. Counting Crows - "Angels Of The Silences"
22. Stone Temple Pilots - "Big Bang Baby"
23. Dave Matthews Band - "So Much To Say"
24. Metallica - "Hero Of The Day"
28. Social Distortion - "I Was Wrong"
29. Bjork - "Hyperballad"
31. Dishwalla - "Counting Blue Cars"
32. Pearl Jam - "Who You Are"
33. Geggy Tah - "Whoever You Are"
35. Smashing Pumpkins - "Muzzle"
36. The Chemical Brothers - "Setting Sun"
37. Kula Shaker - "Tattva"
38. No Doubt - "Sunday Morning"
39. The Squirrel Nut Zippers - "Hell"
40. Red Hot Chili Peppers - "Aeroplane"
41. Matchbox 20 - "Long Day"
42. Tori Amos - "Caught A Lite Sneeze"
44. Jewel - "Who Will Save Your Soul"
46. Tracy Bonham - "Mother Mother"
47. Goldfinger - "Here In Your Bedroom"
48. Semisonic - "F.N.T."
50. Alanis Morissette - "Head Over Feet"
51. The Cranberries - "Salvation"
52. Stabbing Westward - "Shame"
53. Weezer - "El Scorcho"
54. Rage Against The Machine - "Down Rodeo"
55. The Verve Pipe - "Photograph"
56. MxPx - "Chick Magnet"
57. R.E.M. - "Bittersweet Me"
58. Soul Coughing - "Soundtrack To Mary"
59. Semisonic - "If I Run"
61. No Doubt - "Spiderwebs"
63. Sponge - "Wax Ecstatic (To Sell Angelina)"
66. Chavez - "Unreal Is Here"
67. Smashing Pumpkins - "1979"
69. Pearl Jam - "Leaving Here"
71. Kula Shaker - "Hey Dude"
78. Primitive Radio Gods - "Standing Outside A Broken Phone Booth"
80. Everclear - "Heartspark Dollarsign"
81. The Wallflowers - "6th Avenue Heartache"
82. Lush - "Ladykillers"
83. Sebadoh - "Willing To Wait"
84. Hootie & The Blowfish - "Old Man & Me (When I Get To Heaven)"
85. Van Halen - "Me Wise Magic"
89. Rage Against The Machine - "Bulls On Parade"
91. Blues Traveler - "But Anyway"
92. The Refreshments - "Banditos"
93. Superdrag - "Destination Ursa Major"
98. Local H - "Bound For The Floor"
99. Sublime - "What I Got"
100. Smashing Pumpkins - "Zero"

There was real good modern rock in '96 though! It just wasn't hitting #1.

Well from that list Lush - "Ladykillers".

The '96 song I play most often these days is "Un-break My Heart."

I know I've been hating on Alannis a lot but "Head Over Feet" is the only song that I ever sort of maybe liked. It's kind of sweet.

^^

these threads making me wish i had my headphones at work

Alanis Morissette, "Ironic"
Oasis, "Champagne Supernova"
Cranberries, "Salvation"
Tracy Bonham, "Mother, Mother"
Dishwalla, "Counting Blue Cars"

all-time worst sequence

I can't remember the Dishwalla song because I just keep thinking about that song that went "Tell me all your thoughts on God, cause I'd really like to meet her". Was that them? If not it must have been around the same time.

That indeed is the song you're thinking of.

It's a weird love/hate year for me, where I realize the difference between what I love ("Wonderwall," "1979," "Salvation," "Pepper," "What I Got," "Swallowed") and what I have no desire to ever hear again ("Champagne Supernova," "Counting Blue Cars," "Down") is pretty small and maybe can just be chalked up to adolescence.

I really do love how many of these songs are some guy rasping over a loop.

wait you love "Salvation"?

oh hell yeah.

seriously, anybody who has beef with the fast, hard two minute cranberries song with trumpets apparently hasn't heard 85% of cranberries songs.

it's basically a rocket from the crypt song

was that a trumpet or Dolores O'Riordan

I have never heard this Dishwalla song before in my life

Primitive Radio Gods for me. Never liked 1979, and No Code has some way better tracks.

Everything else listed is gross.

oh never mind yes I have

I have never heard this Dishwalla song before in my life

i have a hard time believing this, and expect you're in for an OH THAT SONG unless this was written while listening to it

lol xpost

this is when KJEE in Santa Barbara started sucking

"Swallowed" would probably be my second place.

seriously, anybody who has beef with the fast, hard two minute cranberries song with trumpets apparently hasn't heard 85% of cranberries songs.

― da croupier, Friday, May 25, 2012 11:10 AM (1 minute ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

it's basically a rocket from the crypt song

― da croupier, Friday, May 25, 2012 11:10 AM (1 minute ago) Bookmark

haha otm

Yeah but RFTC was way better.

seriously though; Oasis? really, everyone?

at least we are spared "Don't Look Back In Anger" on this poll

'Novocaine For The Soul'.

"Don't Look Back in Anger" as a title sums up this period of college radio well.

i wonder if it's true that "champagne supernova" was arranged to simulate someone having an orgasm in the listener while they lie there bored

it's like spanish fly in your chardonnay

"Wonderwall" is basically to this poll as "You Oughta Know" is to the '95 one, it's fine to hate it or be sick of it but there's not really any way to look at this lineup that it's not in the upper half

I was weirdly really, really into that Tracy Bonham song when it first came out. For some reason that I couldn't possibly explain now.

Actually, my vote will probably wind up going one of several embarrassingly enjoyable songs by bands that I generally dislike. "Salvation" is maybe the only Cranberries song I like after their first couple of singles (although, admittedly, that's probably because Dolores' thoughtful and persuasive perspective on doing lines probably kept me off of skid row). And I really like the sound of "Swallowed", which is probably largely thanks to Albini.

I don't know. There was a lot of much better alt stuff in '96 (obvs) and I really didn't have much time for the radio at that point.

i actually missed that pearl jam song upon first scan, it is really good but prob not enough to sway me

"Wonderwall" is basically to this poll as "You Oughta Know" is to the '95 one, it's fine to hate it or be sick of it but there's not really any way to look at this lineup that it's not in the upper half

OTM

I was weirdly really, really into that Tracy Bonham song when it first came out. For some reason that I couldn't possibly explain now.

OTM

though i think "swallowed" and "salvation" are late high-points for the assclowns who made them, I have to vote for "Pepper"

Hey, better than the last list. Three new favourites: "Pepper," "1979," and "Standing Inside a Riddle Wrapped Around an Enigma Cascading Down the Mountain of History." I'm a little tired, so "Pepper."

The '96 song I play most often these days is "Un-break My Heart."

― go down on you in a thyatrr (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, May 25, 2012 11:03 AM (13 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

feel like we've had enough time to get over '96 to the point where this should be true for everybody

The Butthole Surfers hit Top 40 Airplay. This is 1996 and I must celebrate it.

perspective:

1. Beck: Odelay
2. Fugees: The Score (Ruffhouse/Columbia)
3. Sleater-Kinney: Call the Doctor (Chainsaw)
4. DJ Shadow: Endtroducing . . . DJ Shadow (Mo' Wax)
5. Los Lobos: Colossal Head (Warner Bros.)
6. Steve Earle: I Feel Alright (Warner Bros.)
7. Stereolab: Emperor Tomato Ketchup (Elektra)
8. Amy Rigby: Diary of a Mod Housewife (Koch)
9. Tricky: Pre-Millennium Tension (Island)
10. Pulp: Different Class (Island)
11. R.E.M.: New Adventures in Hi-Fi (Warner Bros.)
12. Everything but the Girl: Walking Wounded (Atlantic)
13. Patti Smith: Gone Again (Arista)
14. Wilco: Being There (Reprise)
15. Cassandra Wilson: New Moon Daughter (Blue Note)
16. [File Under Prince]: Emancipation (NRG)
17. Iris DeMent: The Way I Should (Warner Bros.)
18. Me'Shell NdegéOcello: Peace Beyond Passion (Maverick/Reprise)
19. Nearly God: Nearly God (Island)

"Swallowed" is a horror

I really like the sound of "Swallowed", which is probably largely thanks to Albini.

I really think Bush in general would have a far better rep if they could somehow keep Rossdale the riff-maker from Rossdale the singer

Is Pearl Jam into their sensitive-guy phase yet? Add them to the Green Day list.

I really think Bush in general would have a far better rep if they could somehow keep Rossdale the riff-maker from Rossdale the singer

doesn't that sum up most acts from this era?

that entire bush album sounds amazing and yeah it's all albini

Gibby Haynes must be angry someone is going around stealing work from him.

Especially a dude who died in 1969.

I was curious as to how "Pepper" was received at the time in my old fanzine, so I went back and checked. People like me who were comparatively older (i.e., 30s and beyond) uniformly loved it, giving it 8.0 or higher; people who were in their 20s almost uniformly hated it, except Gavin Edwards. The very youngest person, though, who I think was maybe 17 or 18 at the time, she loved it too. People tended to write very long comments. Most notable exception was Jeff Pike, who wrote "Sell out!" and gave it an 8.0.

HA - Freudian slip... or slip of some kind.

xpost

I liked it enough to buy the album at 18 or 19 or whateverthehell. Same could not be said for "Who Was In My Room Last Night?" (those two songs marking the extent of my BS exposure at the time).

Most notable exception was Jeff Pike, who wrote "Sell out!" and gave it an 8.0.

lol, awesome.

Same could not be said for "Who Was In My Room Last Night?"

This track was so far superior to "Pepper" I was really bummed out that it didn't cross over in the same way.

I always thought the Surfersk second biggest hit was "Hurdy Gurdy Man"

Surfer SK was a really weird comeback album IMO although I know a lot of people stan for it.

I like the compressed distorto-tremolo guitar sound in Pepper, and also the cheesy Bollywood synth strings.

while i always loved the butthole surfers' faster and more rocking songs ("butthole surfer", "human cannonball", "fast") and often at least half wished they'd do a few more of them, i wound up somewhat disappointed with independent worm saloon, their big hard rock move. "strawberry" is all time; love "who was in my room", "dust devil" and "edgar"; like at least a few more - but the constant, industrial-strength pound & grind gets kind of boring over the long haul. the first BHS album that really felt bloated, and unsurprisingly their first that was clearly sequenced for the CD era. nice to see them finally knuckle down and kick some ass, texas style, but i miss the textural variety and experimental weirdness of the early albums.

[/digression]

re: johnny's praise of "who was in my room"

I always thought the Surfersk second biggest hit was "Hurdy Gurdy Man"

i don't think "hurdy gurdy man" charted in either the US or the UK, though i'm not certain. it did get some MTV play. "who was in my room" was at least a minor modern rock hit in the US.

I loved 'Worm Saloon'-era Buttholes-as-metal-band. I bet if they kept that up, they would have never had a "Pepper" but might be still making records for The End or Hydra Head or somethin

I recall "Pepper" as being critically revered.. 95/96/97 had a lot of "finally" moments for long-term 120 Minutes bands finally scoring 1 hit. I don't think the song is worth being ashamed of. It still sounds like they wrote it under hallucinogens, and besides the radio-ubiquity it doesn't really feel like an obvious attempt to sell out or anything.. It fits into their late-period discography nicely.

At least it didn't have acoustic guitar, which is included on most of my least-favorite Butt tracks.

John E Smoke?!?!?

At least it didn't have acoustic guitar, which is included on most of my least-favorite Butt tracks.

― billstevejim, Monday, May 28, 2012 1:49 PM Bookmark

I don't know the song but there is something beautifully Geir-ish about this, in a world where Geir was a big-time Butthole Surfers fan.

I remember when somebody asked Marcus about one of the those Sex Pistols reunion tours (the first one, I think), he laughed and said he didn't begrudge them anything; they did so much to make the world a more interesting place, they were entitled to do whatever they wanted to do.

On a much smaller scale, that's part of what I feel about "Pepper." In the early '80s, the Butthole Surfers were about as far away as one could get from the place where people made hit records and made a lot of money. For a brief period in the mid-'90s, a window had improbably opened whereby they could get some commercial airplay and make a little money. So they wrote a (to me) really catchy song that sounded like Beck; the lyrics were more or less as weird as what they'd always written, albeit less profane (who cares). Good for them.

lol "Champagne Supernova" is not going to siphon many votes from "Wonderwall"

― some dude, Friday, May 25, 2012 1:50 PM (3 days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I thought this too, but here we are

― Godzilla vs. Rodan Rodannadanna (The Yellow Kid), Monday, May 28, 2012 12:27 AM (13 hours ago) Bookmark

holy fucking shit, what is WRONG with you people

"Champagne Supernova" is a fine song! Maybe a bit long but it's got some good lines, well-delivered, and a good overall wash of sound. Beats the pants off anything on Be Here Now although I know that's sort of faint praise. I'd basically rather hear it than "Wonderwall" most of the time.

yeah comparing to Be Here Now is totally stacking the deck, let's just say it's the worst of those 10 singles from the first two Oasis albums

It sports one of the grossest guitar solos in the history of gross guitar solos.

No way, it is definitely better than "Roll With It!"

This "oh no! they dumbed down/sold out/whatever!" talk is hilarious to me as someone who's never heard a Buttholes song other than "Pepper" and thinks it's great.

i don't even think they necessarily dumbed down or sold out, it's just horrible and tiresome to me

As popular as it was with Oasis fans in 1996, and even though it had a music video made for it, 'Champagne Supernova' wasn't a single here in the UK. The video recieved a lot of airplay, but there wasn't a single release. I remember one or two people getting confused, because they'd see the video to 'Champagne Supernova' on the music channels and thought it was coming out as a single. See also: 'Morning Glory', which also had a video made for it which also received a lot of airplay in the UK, but only came out as a single in Australia(!)

dr c with the real talk itt weller backing guitar solo 4 lyfe

yeah it's funny how dramatically different Oasis's singles campaigns were in the US compared to the UK. iirc "Morning Glory" was also the first single off the album in the US, or at least the first one i heard on the radio moderately before "Wonderwall" broke huge.

prob cos 'roll with it' and 'some might say' were never really the obvious singles to lead with, tbh- almost as if mcgee was looking to lead off the weak foot wrt singles

This "oh no! they dumbed down/sold out/whatever!" talk is hilarious to me as someone who's never heard a Buttholes song other than "Pepper" and thinks it's great.

― The Reverend, Monday, May 28, 2012 3:11 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

This is what they used to sound like

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fW0xpoGmEk

stay on board at least for the wet fat at 1:02

*fart

This is what the Eels' dude's gated snare adult contemporary sounded like before "Novacaine For The Soul Patch":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2BKw2v1q_Oc

I had no idea that people listened to the Butthole Surfers for the lyrics.

That's actually the only thing I've ever heard by him. It was probably my least favorite song on a taped episode of 120 minutes I had in 9th grade. Some day I'll have to get around to listening to Eels.

xp

It's a shame they don't have the actual video. It had a guy jumping, trying to reach a balloon or something.

I had no idea that people listened to the Butthole Surfers for the lyrics.

"By this time I guess you've figured out about Florida
Drink the muddy water in the Vaseline stain
They be makin' tadpoles the size of Americans down in Florida
That be tellin' Julio Iglesias what to sing, now"

I learned much wisdom from them.

Y Kant E Read

LIFE IS WHITE
AND I AM BLACK
JESUS AND HIS LAWYER
ARE COMING BACK

seriously, ten of you like this garbage

Dude, that song is cool. Yeah, some ropey lyrics, but I remind you that this is a poll about modern rock hits in 1996 - - - I think you could get fined back then if your song didn't have a labored, cynical Jesus reference and/or bold statement of personal bleak hollowness.

true but ugh man

His next album was way better and the only thing of his I bother keeping around anymore.

yeah, 2nd Eels album is def their saving grace (although not totally devoid of the qualities i hate about their hit)

Is it embarrassing to admit I like that song?

Although "Last Stop: This Town" is awesome, too... and probably one of the weirder songs to get Modern Rock airplay. Talking carrot video also strange.