Pulse Rankdown: 1988 Year-End Active Rock Chart (Finished)

[rowellfarm490]

This song fell just 12 points short of making the top 2...

3


Devil Inside
INXS

796 points
Standard Deviation: 10.596 (5TH LOWEST)
Average Rank: 12.556
Year-End Rank: 13 | Peak: #2 | Weeks: 17

Butterflies & Hurricanes : 3
Mirago : 3
House Lannister : 4
campbellssoup : 5
Daryl the Beryl : 10
rowellfarm490 : 11
Doc Indie Party Rock : 20
singingrulebritannia : 26
gonecountry : 31

Movements:

SPOILER: Click to show

{10 9 9 7 6 5 4 3}
Butterflies & Hurricanes : 10
rowellfarm490 : 9
gonecountry : 9
Doc Indie Party Rock : 7
Daryl the Beryl : 6
House Lannister : 5
Mirago : 4
campbellssoup : 3

Artist performance history:
#2 Active 1990 (Suicide Blonde) | #6 Active 1988 (Never Tear Us Apart) | #7 Active 1988 (New Sensation) | #10 Alt 1988 (Devil Inside) | #21 Active 1991 (Disappear) | #23 Active 1992 (Not Enough Time) | #25 Active 1991 (Bitter Tears) | #32 Alt 1990 (Suicide Blonde) | #33 Alt 1991 (Disappear) | #47 Active 1992 (Heaven Sent) | #51 Alt 1997 (Elegantly Wasted) | #53 Alt 1992 (Not Enough Time) | #56 Alt 1991 (Bitter Tears) | #64 Alt 1992 (Heaven Sent) | #65 Alt 1993 (Beautiful Girl) | #85 Alt 1993 (Taste It) | #86 Alt 1993 (The Gift) | #94 Alt 1992 (Shining Star)

SPOILER: Click to show

{Spectators}
peacebone
jamesflame
@humanshazam
Red
Juanca

SPOILER: Click to show

{Remaining songs}
Midnight Oil - Beds Are Burning
The Church - Under the Milky Way

[rowellfarm490]

BEDS ARE BURNING
vs.
UNDER THE MILKY WAY



WOW, WHAT A SHOCKER!!! The battle was much closer this time as the 2 songs were only separated by ONE POINT! Which song will be victorious? Find out shortly...

[rowellfarm490]

I think your ranking would've made a difference this time around Red ...

2


Beds Are Burning
Midnight Oil

807 points
Standard Deviation: 8.789 (3RD LOWEST)
Average Rank: 11.333
Year-End Rank: 12 | Peak: #6 | Weeks: 19

Daryl the Beryl : 1
Butterflies & Hurricanes : 4
rowellfarm490 : 6
gonecountry : 7
Mirago : 11
campbellssoup : 11
House Lannister : 13
singingrulebritannia : 19
Doc Indie Party Rock : 30

Movements:

SPOILER: Click to show

{7 6 3 4 2 2 1 2}
Butterflies & Hurricanes : 7
rowellfarm490 : 6
gonecountry : 3
Doc Indie Party Rock : 4
Daryl the Beryl : 2
House Lannister : 2
Mirago : 1
campbellssoup : 2

Artist performance history:
#2 Alt 1988 (Beds Are Burning) | #5 Active 1990 (Blue Sky Mine) | #6 Active 1990 (Forgotten Years) | #12 Active 1988 (The Dead Heart) | #23 Alt 1990 (Forgotten Years) | #24 Alt 1990 (Blue Sky Mine) | #32 Active 1993 (Truganini) | #48 Alt 1990 (King of the Mountain) | #51 Alt 1993 (Truganini) | #70 Alt 1993 (Outbreak of Love)

---

"Under the Milky Way" repeats as champion!!!

1


Under the Milky Way
The Church

808 points
Standard Deviation: 17.520
Average Rank: 11.222
Year-End Rank: 10 | Peak: #2 | Weeks: 17

singingrulebritannia : 1
rowellfarm490 : 2
Mirago : 2
Daryl the Beryl : 3
campbellssoup : 4
Butterflies & Hurricanes : 5
gonecountry : 8
House Lannister : 21
Doc Indie Party Rock : 55

Movements:

SPOILER: Click to show

{2 2 1 6 4 3 2 1}
Butterflies & Hurricanes : 2
rowellfarm490 : 2
gonecountry : 1
Doc Indie Party Rock : 6
Daryl the Beryl : 4
House Lannister : 3
Mirago : 2
campbellssoup : 1

Artist performance history:
#1 Alt 1988 (Under the Milky Way) | #3 Alt 1988 (Reptile) | #18 Active 1990 (Metropolis) | #27 Alt 1990 (Metropolis) | #33 Alt 1992 (Ripple)

SPOILER: Click to show

{Spectators}
peacebone
jamesflame
@humanshazam
Red
Juanca

[rowellfarm490]

The 1988 Mainstream Rock rankdown is now complete! Thanks again to all participants. Even though we may not always agree about the songs I really do appreciate everyone's opinions. I know this wasn't the greatest year for rock radio but I still hope you had some fun going through this list. The good news is though that there are even better years to come. Don't forget to participate in the 1987 Modern Rock rankdown which is due in a little over a week from now.

SPOILER: Click to show

{UNDER THE MILKY STATS}

[gonecountry]

Jun 15, 2020 13:16:45 GMT -5 rowellfarm490 said:

The 1988 Mainstream Rock rankdown is now complete! Thanks again to all participants. Even though we may not always agree about the songs I really do appreciate everyone's opinions. I know this wasn't the greatest year for rock radio but I still hope you had some fun going through this list. The good news is though that there are even better years to come. Don't forget to participate in the 1987 Modern Rock rankdown which is due in a little over a week from now.

SPOILER: Click to show

{UNDER THE MILKY STATS}

Thanks rowellfarm490 for a great rankdown. This is the best showing I've ever had..

[Butterflies & Hurricanes]

so, if you don't include the host (& why should you), then i win the closeness contest? - was not expecting that!

thanks for a great job as host rowellfarm490

[Doc Indie Party Rock]

10. Electric Blue - Icehouse
Yup this is the 4th song that makes my top 10. Great to see this one make the top 10. One of the best Sophisti Modern Rock songs of the 80's. The guitar strums coupled with the synths. You couldn't ask for a better combination to drive the song through. So did Daryl the Beryl screw his rank up like I did with The U2 song? Seems kinda harsh to give this bottom 10. 

9. Rain in the Summertime - The Alarm
Another great one. Almost made my top 40 too. A bit calmer and more U2 sounding than usual for this band. In the early 80's they had their own much better sound.

8. Sweet Child O' Mine - Guns N' Roses
Holy Hell! I thought this would win. So British Metal beats out American Metal. Not complaining tho. This has one of the fiercest Solos in hair History and Axel Rose might not have the cleanest Glam Vocals, but he did have some powerful Sebastian Bach banshee screeches. so what with that #87 WTH scared you off??

7. New Sensation - INXS
had to happen sooner or later. All three INXS songs made my top 40, but I agree that this on is the less strongest of the three, but it is also the one that sounds most like INXS 1983. Oh my, and the same tanker of Guns N' Roses shoots this one down the crap hole too. What's going on?

6. Never Tear Us Apart - INXS
How did this Modern Rock ballad end up so high on my fierce Rock list. Easy. INXS are a free pass band onto my weekly charts since way back to their "Don't Change" days. Wish they would have done more of these synth oriented INXS Ballads.

5. Hysteria - Def Leppard
WOW! I have more in common with our Rd host that I thought I did. For split second I thought of this for my #1 and "Love Bites" for #2, but "Love Bites" always struck me as a fiercer Metal Power ballad. I am actually surprised at all the high ranks. I Should I expect the same for singles off "Pyromania", because you all know what my #1 song for '83 mainstream Rock is gonna be?

4. Desire - U2
My last Top 10 song falls. Great song. Was my #1 on Alternative so still had to be one of my crown songs here as well.

3. Devil Inside - INXS
What a riff. Easily one of my favorite INXS songs and one of those that kinda remind me of Jim Morrison by the way Michael delivers the vocals. Now this makes sense. "Suicide Blonde" being #2 didn't, and now you all have to live with the fact that we all ranked that song higher than this one.

2. Beds Are Burning - Midnight Oil
I'd say one of the years when the Modern Rock cruise overs were the best. I love hot the melody in the verses and chorus sound so different and yet come together beautifully.

1. Under the Milky Way - The Church
This song is still good. Just misses my top 50 half, because it's a bit too pretty sounding to compete wit the other songs featured on the list. I would have preferred ,and given a much higher Ranking to "Reptile". The best thing about this song is the Cure vibe the music gives, but I also would have preferred Robert Smith on vocals.

I really still consider myself a winner here, because Def Leppard scored a top 5 song on one of these games.  They are my favorite British Metal band ever.


rowellfarm490
Great job hosting and especially featuring my favorite batch of Extras. You know which ones. Also for a split second we could have had the same #1 song, so maybe Def Leppard might have made top 3? 

[Daryl the Beryl]

Jun 15, 2020 23:42:56 GMT -5 Doc Indie Party Rock said:

10. Electric Blue - Icehouse
Yup this is the 4th song that makes my top 10. Great to see this one make the top 10. One of the best Sophisti Modern Rock songs of the 80's. The guitar strums coupled with the synths. You couldn't ask for a better combination to drive the song through. So did Daryl the Beryl screw his rank up like I did with The U2 song? Seems kinda harsh to give this bottom 10. 

I cannot remember where I had it in my original draft, but when I was finalizing my list for some reason I thought it was another dad rock song

[singingrulebritannia]

On one hand, 3rd worst closeness...on the other hand, I was the only #1 ranking for the winner. We'll call it square.

Thanks for hosting rowellfarm490!

[Juanca]

40. The Real Life (30s): This was his last 80s hit back home, making the top 5 of our #1 pop station and my personal chart. I still like the sound and

39. Angel (2): WHAATT??!!! Very surprised at this missing the top 20. It’s my 2nd favorite 80s song by Aerosmith–just behind Janie. Epic power/rock ballad, with great vocals and melody.

38. The Valley Road (40s): My 2nd favorite Bruce Hornsby song, a personal top 20. Maybe a bit more pop for this RD, but I still liked it much more than Look Out (in my 80s), whose melody and slower vibe wasn’t that appealing to me

37. Common Ground (50s): A pretty good discovery for me. Vocals, melody and music are solid.

36. Tall Cool One (3): !!! My favorite solo Plant song, which made the top 10 of my personal chart back in 88. Great production, instrumental, vocals, melody… pretty good song to drive to. Much more interesting and fun than Heaven Knows for me (I had that one in my 40s for this RD). I was warming up to Ship of Fools (in my 30s), which was a pretty good discovery.

34. Flowers (50s): I like it quite a bit, but it sounded more out of place here than in Alt.

32. On the Turning Away (40s): A pretty good discovery for me. Even though it’s far from their classics, it still sounds pretty good.

31. No Smoke Without a Fire (30s): One of my favorite discoveries in this RD, with powerful music and vocals.

30. I Don't Wanna Go on with You Like That (teens): One of my favorite 80s Elton John songs, and a personal chart topper. I loved the sophistipop sound

28. Roll with It (30s): I wasn’t a big fan of this in ’88 but I grew to appreciate its more classic blues vibe in the 90s. Now it’s my second favorite from this album. Definitely like it much more than Don’t You Know (in my 60s for this RD)

27. I Know You're Out There Somewhere (~20): I’ve always been a fan of this song, which reached my personal top 10 in ’88. Love the melancholic vibe in the verses and more upbeat in the chorus. Great melody, instrumentation, and harmonies.

26. Bring Me Some Water (70s): I guess I don’t get 80s Melissa

25. Be Still My Beating Heart (20s): This barely made my top 25 back then, as I thought it was a bit too boring. I’ve grown to like it more with time and appreciate the strong musicality, vocals and vibe. I found it more at home in this RD than Alt.

24. When We Was Fab (teens): My second favorite from Cloud 9. Great production with lots of different sounds and influences and good vocal arrangement.

23. When It’s Love (11): Another song I’ve grown to love with time. Pretty good rock ballad.

21. Love Bites (~20): Idem.

[Daryl the Beryl]

Average ranks update:

The following artists have been added to the database:
3
Balaam & the Angel
The Bluenotes
Bob Dylan
Danny Wilde
Elton John
Europe
George Harrison
The Georgia Satellites
The Gregg Allman Band
Honeymoon Suite
Icehouse
Jimmy Barnes
John Hiatt
John Kilzer
Kingdom Come
Michael Bolton
Mike Oldfield
The Moody Blues
Paul Carrack
Randy Newman
Rhythm Corps
Robin Trower
The Rossington Band

The following artists have their average ranks lowered:
Aerosmith -1.236
Alarm, The -8.467
Bad Company -3.295
Bon Jovi -1.667
Bruce Springsteen -9.833
Cheap Trick -14.75
The Church -2.567
Cinderella -5.917
David Lee Roth -10.334
Def Leppard -6.714
Eddie Money -4.4
Eric Clapton -1.117
Foreigner -18.5
Guns N' Roses -2.924
Henry Lee Summer -7
Huey Lewis & the News -18.5
INXS -6.53
Jerry Harrison -11.5
Jethro Tull -4
John Mellencamp -2.882
Little Feat -11.5
Melissa Etheridge -3.429
Midnight Oil -4
Pat Benatar -10.5
Pink Floyd -0.821
Robbie Robertson -19.667
The Robert Cray Band -5
Robert Palmer -6.667
Robert Plant -2.921
Rod Stewart -13
Scorpions -1
The Smithereens -2.589
Steve Winwood -9
Sting -2.492
Talking Heads -4.667
U2 -1.395
Van Halen -6.896

The following artists have their average ranks raised:
.38 Special 15.667
Bruce Hornsby & the Range 2.5
The Fabulous Thunderbirds 15
George Thorogood & the Destroyers 1.114
Great White 1.3
Jimmy Page 7.367
Keith Richards 2.167
Neil Young 5.81
Tommy Conwell & the Young Rumblers 16.5
White Lion 11
Yes 7.25

View the average ranks of all the artists, including the updated averages, here!

[Juanca]

20. Don't Shed a Tear (40s): A minor hit in 88 for me. I really like his vocals, and the verses sound cool, but the chorus isn't as strong and the vocal arrangements sort of make it worse to me.

19. Finish What You Started (20s): This was a nice discovery for me in a recent RD. Sounds cool, different, rocker than typical Van Hagar.

18. All Fired Up (15): This was her last hit back home, and a personal top 5 (not her last one, as she came back in the 90s with Somebody's Baby). I love the production, the long musical intro, her vocals, and the overall strong rock vibe. Classic Pat.

17. Check It Out (50s): Not as strong melodically or musically as Real Life to me. Kinda repetitive.

16. In God's Country (30s): A good example of classic rock U2. It wasn't popular back home, though, so I only learned about it years later.

15. The Flame (7): This was a minor hit back home (Ghost Town was THE hit), but a personal favorite back then -and in karaokes :) The type of melodic, rock ballad I dig.

14. Only a Memory (14): This sounded just as good as Alt.

13. One Step Up (50s): I wasn't a big fan of this era back in '88. This was my favorite single but still didn't make my personal top 30.

12. The Dead Heart (30s): Good MO stuff, just couldn't compete with stronger songs for me.

11. Tunnel of Love (60s): I think the music and production is better than OSU, but not the melody. And the song is a tad longer than it should.

10. Electric Blue (20s): A hit back home and a personal top 5. Sound melodic pop rock stuff with pretty good vocals. Still sounds good

9. Rain In the Summertime (teens): Another great 90s discovery for me. Almost sophistipop to me. Love the production.

8. Sweet Child O' Mine (1): Huh? I'm legit surprised this is not top 5 in mainstream rock. This is THE definition of a late 80s rock classic. I don't see any other song rocking as much as this in terms of instrumentation, while combining strong vocals, melody, and a unique song structure. It becomes epic in the bridge. I wasn't that much into strong rock stuff back in the 80s, but this was a no brainer of a personal chart topper.

7. New Sensation (8): A minor hit back home, that made it to my personal top 10. However, it easily obtained gem classic status a year later when decade rankings were elaborated, and then when dance clubs and parties would add a few 80s hits. Since then, it's become a staple in 80s radio stations, and a personal favorite (another karaoke favorite, too). Still sounds strong, fun, rich.

6. Never Tear Us Apart (4): Such a different song for INXS. I wasn't that big a fan of it first, so it took a long time for it to become a personal top 10. The more I watched the video, the more I dug it. It's just an epic ballad that highlights Michael's vocals and transforms what could sound like a typical 60s ballad into a powerful rock ballad. A classic.

5. Hysteria (12): This was my favorite song from this album, and a personal top 5. This was also their biggest hit back home. The nostalgic vibe, melody, vocals an lush production are highlights to me.

4. Desire (13): A big hit back home, and a personal chart-topper. Initially maligned by purists which said that U2 had sold out to pop, but I did like the nod to old rock studs, the harmonica, and the high energy vibe of this one. Not in my top 10 U2 songs --but they have a lot of good stuff.

3. Devil Inside (teens): I LOVE this song, as it was my #1 Alt, but I just saw it more as an Alt than a mainstream rock song

2. Beds Are Burning (6): This was a big rocker, and another song that, like New Sensation, took a while back home to reach classic status. This and Blue Sky Mine are two rock gems.

1. Under the Milky Way (5): My #2 Alt that I still love, but I was planning to give a bit more love to a few songs I felt were stronger as mainstream rock songs. Interestingly that my ranking would've not affected these top 2!


Thanks rowellfarm490 for another great RD, and sorry for my late comments!!