Billboard's Number One Modern Rock Songs - 1992

"Good Stuff" is a mad underrated single, and one of their slinkiest.

hate that song so much, but at least it isn't "Tell It Like It T-I-S"

not a big fan of the original version of Good Stuff but the remix included on that recent Rhino B52s comp is pretty killer

I'm not much of a fan of "Good Stuff" either but I bet you'd all love the operatic version of it that I sing around the house; hounds begin to howl.

alright forget that, I was thinking of "Is that you Mo-Dean?"

almost voted "Friday I'm In Love" but went with "Peter Pumpkinhead"

holy shit, if you google "Good Stuff" to see its (epic) lyrics, you'll find a LOT of other songs called "Good Stuff". Kelis, Trisha Yearwood, and Three 6 Mafia, apparently.

this is completely off-topic, but completely awesome

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DnU3WoQZHJE

God, I forgot about this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1XNlAQypLY

ugh, the difference between the "Steam"/"Kiss That Frog" visual effects and the "Sledgehammer"/"Big Time" visual effects is like comparing the Star Wars prequels to the original trilogy

I like "Steam" as a song fine, and it's very fun at karaoke. I think I may even have created a "Sledgehammer vs Steam" thread once.

yeah, I have no problem with the Us era stuff, i'm just saying the difference between 1986 special effects videos and 1992 special effects videos is staggering

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

how i ranked them a couple years ago:

high
one
peter pumpkinhead
teen angst
somebody to shove
midlife crisis
friday i'm in love
what's good
tomorrow
sax and violins
good stuff
mysterious ways
hit
these are days
drive
steam
blood makes noise
digging in the dirt
weirdo

some awesome, awesome shit here and "weirdo"'s the only one i'd give less than 7 or 6 to

said at the time that "high" was my favorite modern rock #1 ever and that's probably still the case

"Peter Pumpkinhead" ranked third?! Wow.

I don't understand why so many people are rating that XTC at all. But then, I might just go for the FNM vote, so we might be different demographics.

Hooray!

I was kind of amazed that most of these songs charted higher than hits by Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, RHCP, and Metallica. But it does seem that their hits were either released in 1991, released later than this, or just didn't place as high as "Weirdo" by Charlatans UK.

Voting FNM, really like "Digging In the Dirt", "Tomorrow", and "Peter Pumpkinhead", and don't know what anyone sees in the Cracker or Lou Reed.

Nirvana got to #3 ("Come As You Are") and #25 ("Lithium"), and Pearl Jam got to #21 ("Evenflow") and #5 ("Jeremy"), and RHCP got to #6 ("Under The Bridge"), #15 ("Suck My Kiss"), #19 ("Breaking The Girl"), and #7 ("Behind The Sun")

Metallica didn't chart on Modern Rock until 1996, Soundgarden didn't make any U.S. singles charts until 1994.

FNM pretty far ahead of everything else

It surprises me that "Jeremy" and "Under the Bridge" could have charted lower than those Charlatans UK, Sugarcubes, Suzanne Vega, or 10 000 Maniacs songs, none of which I can recall ever hearing. I'm still mystified by what these charts were based on. A handful of commercial alternative stations in California and the NE Coast??

Was Metallica considered modern rock in 1996 but not in 1991/92? (I'm guessing the answer is "yes".)

During the first several years of Modern Rock Tracks, the chart featured music that did not receive commercial radio airplay anywhere but on Modern Rock radio stations, of which there were few.

So yeah, then?

Voted Soul Asylum, but the Lou Reed is great too.

I'm not a big XTC fan despite my post-punk adorations but I love me some "peter pumpkinhead"

Pumpkin pie is tastier.

don't forget MTV, Sundar, which at that point probably had way more power than rock radio in terms of breaking rock bands or forming the public impression about who was a big deal

Every song on this list (except FNM, oddly, and Lou Reed) got massive airplay on my college radio station.

It's possible I didn't hate the Cracker or REM and Soul Asylum songs at the time, but more possible I didn't hate the Vega one. I'm voting for her.

American college radio stations are/were really like this? (Wikipedia does seem to suggest this.) These are the schedules for the Carleton and Ottawa stations. I couldn't really say that anything gets massive airplay on them. The stations around Detroit and Windsor do seem a bit more indie rock-ish though. (The Buffalo station plays NPR and jazz.)

Ha, OK, I just remembered being hit by a wave of alt/indie rock on the radio when my drive through upstate NY took me through the Finger Lakes region.

Well, modern/alternative rock was a much smaller and less homogenous format than it became in the years that followed, I imagine there was a lot more variation from station to station before the big Nirvana-led consensus congealed.

this is ilx, the cure will lol WALK this poll

that song wasn't very good ...

"Peter Pumpkinhead" ranked third?! Wow.

i can see why someone wouldn't like how it takes all our messianic martyr stories and blurs them together into a jingle, but the effect can give me chills by the end.

American college radio stations are/were really like this?

It's not so much college stations as commercial modern-rock stations. (Which ballooned in number over '92-'93.)

i can see why someone wouldn't like how it takes all our messianic martyr stories and blurs them together into a jingle,

i can see why someone wouldn't like it because it's kinda bland and forgettable.

Miccio's describing a Pet Shop Boys song that Andy Partridge never wrote.

FNM without hesitation

midlife crisis, no question

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

Things I like: Both U2's, Soul Asylum, 10,000 Maniacs, Morrissey, the Cure's "Friday" and REM.

things i like: Both U2's, Soul Asylum, the Cure's "
High", 10,000 Maniacs, Morrissey, the Cure's "Friday" and REM (might like the soul asylum song, just don't know if i've heard it)

"weirdo" is the only thing here that i distinctly do not like, but i will usually rep for charlatans in general (or at least 2 or 3 of their albums)

voted for "drive"

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

Every song got a vote!

Alternative Nation lives!

I know we're about to wrap these countdowns up, but just wanted to say how glad I am that "Midlife Crisis" won this poll. Listened to it five minutes ago and it still rocks 20 years later.

can I add: the top ten finalists are the most consistently varied and excellent of the decade? I look at the list and go, wow.

Yeah... The Charlatans song is pretty badass too. And that's my favorite Maniacs song.

Man, as much as I loved Drive and Somebody to Shove, I totally wouldve had to vote for "Good Stuff"--I wonder if Spotify has that album

"Ain't It A Shame" is sooo good.

so is "Dreamland"; good call, Alfred!

Rocklobster!

posted solely because I love this pic. Seriously entertaining the idea of signing up to do a B-52's ballot poll

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9Xc4MXjYvc