1988 Modern Rock Year-End Chart Rankdown (finished)

[Butterflies & Hurricanes]

next is the third highest standard deviation...we lose FIVE Top 5s (including *** #1 rank alert ***), but also, somebody clears their bottom 10 (or should i say bottom 5?)

[Butterflies & Hurricanes]

#16:  "Carolyn's Fingers" - Cocteau Twins


0020:  YE Rank
# 02:  peak on Billboard
1060:  rankdown points
31.23 standard deviation (3rd highest)

This was the first song I ever heard Elizabeth's Frazier's voice...I wasn't quite sure she was human, but I was entranced!


1 peacebone
4 rowellfarm490
4 singingrulebritannia
5 campbellssoup
5 Daryl the Beryl
17 Alex1901
17 Juanca
19 Geometrical
24 Butterflies & Hurricanes
27 Mirago
29 wheatsquares33
35 newpower


(echo echo echo)


82 Doc Indie Party Rock
90 American Idiot
96 gonecountry


spectators:
House Lannister
Verisimilitude
@humanshazam
janinho
MoD
Red
somelikeitwhen

[peacebone]

Carolyn's Fingers is my #1 though

[singingrulebritannia]

Hold up. Cocteau Twins wasn't my #1. It was my #4.

Also can "The Devil Inside" please not outperform my entire fucking top 10, yeesh

[Butterflies & Hurricanes]

May 4, 2020 21:44:15 GMT -5 peacebone said:

Carolyn's Fingers is my #1 though

oops - the points are not affected, i'll fix the rankings though

[Verisimilitude]

Beautiful shoegazing song, just like Iceblink Luck and Heaven Or Las Vegas.

[Deleted]

Welp, there goes another top 10 for me. Only 3 left, although at least I've got 6 other top 20s beyond that.

Was really expecting "All Night Long" to make the top 10. The xylophones help create this really cool, mysterious atmosphere that I absolutely love.

"Desire" is the only song that I would really want to see gone at this point.

[Juanca]

30. Only A Memory (37): this was a pretty good discovery, with strong melody, music and vocals.

29. Jane Says (21): I remember not liking JA’s songs back in ‘92, but with time I grew to appreciate their classic rock vibe. I believe this was one of those songs I didn’t care for in ‘92, but as soon as I heard it for this RD I put it in my 21-40 zone.

28. Soviet Snow (25): I really liked the enigmatic, eclectic production, with good synth pop sound, strong vocals and melody. Great discovery.

27. I Say Nothing (33): Less 80s female rock like Transvision Vamp and more 90s modern rock ala Sundays in a way. Good melody and rock sound that was pretty appealing.

26. What's The Matter Here? (47): I was very close to put this in my top 40. I’ve always been a fan of their nostalgic melodies, music and vocals. I like this, including the lyrics, but I preferred to rank higher some songs that I found a bit more interesting and unique.

25. All That Money Wants (28): Not one of their best, but this type of sound really appeals to me. The melody is pretty good, too, and week vocals are always a sure bet. Great discovery to me.

24. Dominion (81): I do like their dark, goth, mystic production style. I had it initially around #50, but the more I heard it the more I realized that beyond production I only liked the melody of the first part of the chorus. I didn’t care much for the vocals or melody of the verses. So I downgraded it with more listens.

23. This Corrosion (35): On the contrary, this was a much much better offering than D/MR. I dug the melody, production, instrumentation and vocals. How come this is just one a lot higher than Dominion?

22. Kiss And Tell (57): a clear misstep from my side. I failed to make the: “wait, this does have some modern rock elements” reflection point to put it in my top 40 or 30. This was a great discovery anyways, as every single I’ve heard of him (even in the last decade) I’ve liked. Pretty good sophistipop song that I’m glad to see this high.

21. Don't Let's Start (78): I may have needed a few more listens to rank it higher. It’s a fun little simple song that didn’t grab my attention that much.

[Doc Indie Party Rock]

#20: "Birthday" - Sugarcubes
This time not only her vocals but the whole damn song is outta wack (out of tune). Most depressing Birthday music I ever heard.

#19: "Tower Of Strength" - Mission UK
I echo the statement that this band has much much much better songs. The vocals pushed it into my top 40, but barely. I still really like it tho.

#18: "Talkin Bout A Revolution" - Tracy Chapman
As Green Day would say "Good Riddance". I do not get the appeal of this artist at all. Its basically just some chick with acoustic guitar singing about stuff I care nothing about with vocals that tune me out.....and with this reveal you know my #100. It's the first, and hopefully last time I'm forced to do side by side action with an artist.

#17: "All Night Long" - Peter Murphy
Pretty good for Peter Murphy. Got some Peter Gabriel vibes in the way the keys are played. A very good first time listen.

#16: "Carolyn's Fingers" - Cocteau Twins
This wasn't too enticing ,and I think she overdoes it with the rrrrrahaha's or whatever. I didn't understand a word she sang. Also I'm not a fan of Opera if that is what she was going for. The only opera I enjoyed was that Movie 'Repo! The Genetic Opera' That's mainly for the cast and story, and all the Phantom Of The Opera including Paul Stanley's Phantom of The Opera.

[campbellssoup]

Devil Inside (and I think What's on Your Mind) are outranking their spots on the 1988 Hot 100 rankdown!

[Doc Indie Party Rock]

May 4, 2020 23:55:08 GMT -5 campbellssoup said:

Devil Inside (and I think What's on Your Mind) are outranking their spots on the 1988 Hot 100 rankdown!

I really uplifted those two, but my top 5 remains unscathed. I'm ecstatic about that!

[House Lannister]

Kind of nice seeing What's On Your Mind, Fast Car, and Devil Inside making the top 15.

[Butterflies & Hurricanes]

#15:  "Mandinka" - Sinead O'Connor


0019:  YE Rank
# 01:  peak on Hard Report
1086:  rankdown points

As with Sugarcubes, it all began for Sinead in 1988 hitting #1 with her first single (there were 19 Alt #1 songs in '88 - imagine that!) In case you were wondering, the Mandinka are an ethnic group centered in Southern Mali. For the first time we see NO rankings in the lower half - WOW! (but there will be five more songs to accomplish this feat before we are done.) Sinead says the song was inspired by Alex Haley's Roots. Congrats to both Rowell & Mirago for (what I think is our first) double-PPPPP!


6 peacebone
11 Juanca
15 Mirago
15 rowellfarm490
21 gonecountry
27 singingrulebritannia
29 Butterflies & Hurricanes
30 newpower
31 campbellssoup
32 Doc Indie Party Rock
34 wheatsquares33
40 Daryl the Beryl
42 Alex1901
46 American Idiot
50 Geometrical


spectators:
House Lannister
Verisimilitude
@humanshazam
janinho
MoD
Red
somelikeitwhen

[Butterflies & Hurricanes]

#14:  "What I Am" - Edie Brickell (& New Bohemians)


0036:  YE Rank
# 04:  peak on Billboard
1087:  rankdown points

The former Mrs Paul Simon. Doc is not aware of too many things ... positive about this song, but the rest of us are.


10 wheatsquares33
16 campbellssoup
17 rowellfarm490
19 American Idiot
19 Daryl the Beryl
21 Mirago
22 Juanca
23 Alex1901
24 newpower
29 singingrulebritannia
29 peacebone
35 Butterflies & Hurricanes
37 gonecountry
41 Geometrical

(echo echo echo)

86 Doc Indie Party Rock


spectators:
House Lannister
Verisimilitude
@humanshazam
janinho
MoD
Red
somelikeitwhen

[Butterflies & Hurricanes]

#13:  "Desire" - U2


0001:  YE Rank
# 01:  peak on Billboard (for 5wks)
1096:  rankdown points

Temporarily interrupting this female purge is Bono & co with the 1988's BIGGEST HIT on Alt radio. Congrats to Mirago on his second PPPPP in three reveals - impressive!  *** #1 ranking alert *** Hey Doc, at least it beat your #86?


1 Doc Indie Party Rock
5 Juanca
8 campbellssoup
8 gonecountry

11 Alex1901
13 Mirago
16 newpower
26 singingrulebritannia
32 rowellfarm490
32 Butterflies & Hurricanes
34 peacebone

53 American Idiot
57 wheatsquares33
60 Daryl the Beryl
63 Geometrical


spectators:
House Lannister
Verisimilitude
@humanshazam
janinho
MoD
Red
somelikeitwhen

[Butterflies & Hurricanes]

#12:  "Crash" - Primitives


0030:  YE Rank
# 03:  peak on CMJ
1116:  rankdown points

Back to the female purge with Tracy Tracy (yes, that's the vocalist's name). This song would be "rediscovered" seven years later with its inclusion on the Dumb & Dumber Soundtrack (in a remixed version)


6 Alex1901
8 American Idiot
9 Juanca
10 Doc Indie Party Rock

14 peacebone
18 singingrulebritannia
21 campbellssoup
21 Geometrical
26 Butterflies & Hurricanes
30 Daryl the Beryl
32 newpower
36 rowellfarm490
45 Mirago

58 gonecountry
65 wheatsquares33


spectators:
House Lannister
Verisimilitude
@humanshazam
janinho
MoD
Red
somelikeitwhen

[singingrulebritannia]

Can I just say in advance congrats to the winner of the 1988 Alternative Rock rankdown "Devil Inside" by INXS

[Verisimilitude]

Crash, Mandinka, and What I Am are all incredible and I've always liked Desire.

[Butterflies & Hurricanes]

#11:  "Hazy Shade Of Winter" - Bangles


0021:  YE Rank
# 02:  peak on Hard Report
1032:  rankdown points

And the unlucky song, missing out on the Top 10 by a mere 18 points is...this Simon & Garfunkel cover by Susanna Hoffs & co, from the Less Than Zero Soundtrack. A friend at college always thought the lyrics included "Lisa Brown" instead of "leaves are brown". Damn Doc, that's three Top10s of yours gone back-to-back-to-back (but at least you have 4 left).


2 Doc Indie Party Rock
8 Juanca
8 newpower

13 Alex1901
13 Geometrical
13 gonecountry
21 Butterflies & Hurricanes
25 campbellssoup
26 wheatsquares33
28 American Idiot
30 peacebone
33 rowellfarm490
35 singingrulebritannia

59 Mirago
69 Daryl the Beryl


spectators:
House Lannister
Verisimilitude
@humanshazam
janinho
MoD
Red
somelikeitwhen

[Butterflies & Hurricanes]

May 7, 2020 19:30:08 GMT -5 Verisimilitude said:

Crash, Mandinka, and What I Am are all incredible and I've always liked Desire.

on the contrary, i think their credibility is quite strong

[Butterflies & Hurricanes]

OK guys, I intend to wrap up the Top10 tomorrow night, unless sometime Saturday works better. It's always much more fun with a large audience following along...what time works best for everyone?

[Verisimilitude]

I've always liked the Christmas bells used in Hazy Shade Of Winter. Always makes it sound perfect to play around the holidays.

[singingrulebritannia]

1 2 8 9
15 17 19
22
41
52

If you know me you know what I put where

[Butterflies & Hurricanes]

1 2 3 5 7 8
12 20
25 30

I feel like I'm doing so well, but not as well as Rowell...he only has Top 20 rankings left!

[gonecountry]

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9
24
44
70

I do not get the love for Peek-A-Boo. They have way better songs IMO

Otherwise, a very solid Top 10. I do think the Information Society and INXS songs are a little too Top 40, IMO.

[Doc Indie Party Rock]

I swear you guys over ranked that Tracy Chapman song just because you knew I would tank it.   either way it's great to see all these female lead bands songs show up this high.


#15: "Mandinka" - Sinead O'Connor
The year I didn't tank Sinead O' Conner. How could I? These year she rocked.


#14: "What I Am" - Edie Brickell (& New Bohemians)
Wasn't terrible, but it never did anything for me musically.


#13: "Desire" - U2
I suspect some under ranking for this epic epic epic U2 classic so it wouldn't be #1, but I'll bet my life it makes the top 10 on The Mainstreram rock Rd? 

#12: "Crash" - Primitives
The wrong Tracy out first. You guys suck. This is still higher than I expected. If you remove the guitars you have a killer catchy bass line.


#11: "Hazy Shade Of Winter" - Bangles
Damn one slot shy of Top 10. This was easily my favorite Bangles song. It might have been "Walk Like An Egyptian" at the time, but through the years this is this is the Bangles crown jam. Especially the way all the members sync their vocals together. It's blissful man.

 

[Butterflies & Hurricanes]

let's continue taking a closer look at some of the songs that should've been included (& would've if i'd been able to see the charts for certain weeks earlier) in our rankdown...here's our LAST SPECIAL EXTRA:

"Dumb Things" - Paul Kelly



One of dozens of Australian rock artists to flood American charts in the late 80s, Paul Kelly started his career in 1981 and is still producing new music to this day. We'll see him again (extra or ranking: unsure which) in the '86 Mainstream rankdown. This song is from his sixth studio album, Under The Sun and reached #17 on Billboard, but it climbed all the way to #4 on the Hard Report.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Tags}peacebone
American Idiot
Daryl the Beryl
wheatsquares33
campbellssoup
gonecountry
singingrulebritannia
Doc Indie Party Rock
rowellfarm490
Geometrical
Alex1901
Juanca
Mirago
newpower
House Lannister
Verisimilitude
@humanshazam
janinho
MoD
Red
somelikeitwhen

*** since I haven't heard anything to the contrary, the Top 10 will be revealed starting at (or shortly after) 9pm Central Time tonight

[Red]

I know that I didn't submit, so I can't really complain, but "Crash" didn't make the top ten?! Huh?

Not that the actual top ten is off or anything. My (obvious) #1 made it, which is all that really matters to me.

[alexcuse]

Please tag me alexcuse for the top ten thanks!

[newpower]

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6
17 | 22 | 27 | 44

I like all songs left. Even my #44.