US Alternative Scene 20 years ago: The first chart

[galvanize]

Let's celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Billboard Modern Rock/Alternative Chart with the chart itself, the 120 Minutes Video Block Playlist, and this wonderful article from idolator.com

Billboard Modern Rock/Alternative Chart 9/2/1988 (Possibly featuring oscillations' third favorite #1 ever after #1 Crush & Kiss Them For Me):

1 - Peek-A-Boo Siouxsie & The Banshees 1
2 - Just Play Music Big Audio Dynamite 1
3 - Crash Primitives 1
4 - Breakfast In Bed UB40 1
5 - Tumblin' Down Ziggy Marley & The Melody Makers 1
6 - Intoxication Shriekback 1
7 - All That Money Wants Psychedelic Furs 1
8 - Wild Wild West Escape Club 1
9 - What's The Matter Here 10,000 Maniacs 1
10 - What's On Your Mind (Pure Energy) Information Society 1
11 - Christine House Of Love 1
12 - Up There Down There Patti Smith 1
13 - High Time Icicle Works 1
14 - Liar, Liar Debbie Harry 1
15 - Don't Go Hothouse Flowers 1
16 - Dumb Things Paul Kelly & The Coloured Girls 1
17 - Motorcrash Sugarcubes 1
18 - Back On The Breadline Hunters & Collectors 1
19 - Don't Walk Away Toni Childs 1
20 - All I Wanted In Tua Nua 1

MTV's 120 Minutes Video Block Playlist September 6th, 1988:

Dreamworld - Midnight Oil
I'm An Adult Now - The Pursuit Of Happiness
Orange Crush - R.E.M.
Away - The Feelies
Way Behind Me - The Primitives
Jump Into The River - Sinéad O'connor
I've Got A Feeling - The Screaming Tribesmen
Could You Be The One - Hüsker Dü
The Mercy Seat - Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
(Glad I'm) Not A Kennedy - Shona Laing
A 120 Minutes Special: Mtv College Concert
At University Of Auburn, Al
The Godfathers:
Birth, School, Work, Death
If I Only Had Time
S.T.B.
Living Colour
Open Letter To A Landlord
Put Your Hands Up
Cult Of Personality
The Sugarcubes
Birthday
Deus
Traitor
Coldsweat
Motorcrash
Delicious Demon
Sick For Toys (Played Over Credits)

MTV's Top 20 Alternative Videos Of 1988:

20: Carolyn's Fingers - Cocteau Twins
19: Sometime To Return - Soul Asylum
18: Anchorage - Michelle Shocked
17: Love Will Tear Us Apart - Swans
16: Kidney Bingos - Wire
15: All Night Long - Peter Murphy
14: Orange Crush - R.E.M.
13: Just Play Music - Big Audio Dynamite
12: Inside Out - The Mighty Lemon Drops
11: Only A Memory - The Smithereens
10: Mandinka - Sinéad O'connor
9: No New Tale To Tell - Love And Rockets
8: Eye Of Fatima, Part 1 - Camper Van Beethoven
7: Suedehead - Morrissey
6: Balloon Man - Robyn Hitchcock & The Egyptians
5: Birth, School, Work, Death - The Godfathers
4: Coldsweat - The Sugarcubes
3: Under The Milky Way - The Church
2: Peek-A-Boo - Siouxsie & The Banshees
1: Beds Are Burning - Midnight Oil

From idolator.com:

Celebrating 20 Years Of Modern-Rock Countdowns, From Siouxsie To StaindMany people find it hard to tell the great from the godawful when it comes to 21st-century mainstream rock. To help figure out which is which, here's "Corporate Rock Still Sells," where Al "GovernmentNames" Shipley examines what's good, bad, and ugly in the world of rock and roll. This time around, he celebrates the 20th anniversary of Billboard's Modern Rock chart by cherry-picking some of its most oddly notable chart-toppers:



Last month, the Hot 100—the big cheese of Billboard's singles charts—turned 50, and the publication's been rolling out the red carpet in honor of that golden anniversary. But today, another Billboard milestone is passing by with a little less fanfare: the 20th birthday of the Modern Rock chart. The late-'80s college rock explosion resulted in more and more commercial radio stations playing a variety of young bands and singer-songwriters that didn't quite fit into the Pink Floyd/Van Hagar-heavy format covered by the Album Rock Tracks chart (now known as Mainstream Rock) Billboard responded to that trend on Sept. 10, 1998, when it published the first Hot Modern Rock Tracks chart.

In the two decades since, the alternative rock format has exploded—in terms of both stations and listeners—and then shrunk some, all the while going through an aesthetic identity crisis seemingly every five years. I've occasionally implied that the chart may have outlived its usefulness, given the dwindling listenership and its increasing crossover with the Mainstream Rock chart. But those arguments are largely facetious, and I hope Billboard never takes my suggestion to heart. (I'd have a lot less to follow or write about.) Two months ago, the trade mag actually added a third rock singles chart, Triple-A (as in Adult Album Alternative); the music on that chart more resembles Modern Rock's jangly early days. So with Triple-A at one pole and Mainstream Rock at the other, the Modern Rock chart is now, more than ever, effectively the center of Billboard's rock charts and its most important one, which assures that it should be alive and well for as long as there's terrestrial radio data to track.

A couple years ago, former Idolator regular Anthony Miccio counted down all of the Modern Rock No. 1s on a highly entertaining blog called modernrock4eva, which I've looked at from time to time as inspiration for this column, and to remind myself of just how silly and mercurial this chart has always been. For every No. 1 that could be praised as the harbinger of a new era along the lines of "Smells Like Teen Spirit," you have a handful of novelty hits, flukes, and bizarre mid-career diversions. I have no interest in honoring the canon, so I thought I'd go through the chart's first 21 calendar years and pick one No. 1 from each: not the best song, but the one that was most likely forgotten, never heard, or be classified as a "surprising" hit:

1988: Siouxsie and the Banshees - "Peek-a-Boo"



This isn't the most obscure of the five songs that topped the chart in its first four months of existence. But it was the chart's very first No. 1, and I can think of no more auspicious a beginning for this institution than a bonkers dance-pop crossover full of backmasked accordion.

1989: Public Image Ltd. - "Disappointed"



There are some perfectly valid reasons that this band is revered by some much more than John Lydon's other, more famous band. But this backup singer-aided ball of cheese, one of PiL's last gasps before Lydon entered an endless cycle of Sex Pistols reunions, is most likely not one of them.

1990: David J - "I'll Be Your Chauffeur"



Before embarking on this column, I had no idea that being a Bauhaus alum was apparently all it took to top this chart in its early days. Love And Rockets reached No. 1 in '89, and the next year both Peter Murphy and David J reached the summit as solo artists.

1991: U2 - "The Fly"



There were more obscure No. 1's from this year, but this wins by virtue of being one of the least-known lead singles from an established band's blockbuster album ever released. It's kind of amazing, in retrospect, that U2 managed to release this song first with future Achtung Baby smashes like "One" and "Mysterious Ways" waiting in the chamber. In light of how well they got away with this gamble, it's easier to understand where they got the balls to release "Numb" and "Discotheque" as lead singles later on.

1992: Lou Reed - "What's Good"



1992 was, for many people and especially for my 10-year-old self, ground zero for the alt-rock explosion. It was also the year I became aware of the Modern Rock chart—MTV's 120 Minutes would run through the top 10 before a commercial break each week. But even as some of the decade's biggest bands were scoring their first hits, the chart was still being dominated by oldsters enjoying their final glimpses of serious rock airplay, including Peter Gabriel, The B-52's, XTC, and ol' Lou.

1993: Tears For Fears - "Break It Down Again"



It's hard to compare this song to any of the Songs From The Big Chair megahits, but this one still sounds tremendous to me.

1994: Counting Crows - "Einstein on the Beach (For an Eggman)"



Their 1993 debut August And Everything After yielded three Modern Rock top 10 hits, but the only Counting Crows song to ever top the chart was this bouncy outtake, which was tossed on the DGC Rarities compilation.

1995: Red Hot Chili Peppers - "My Friends"



I may not particularly like the many, many power ballads RHCP has recorded since reuniting with John Frusciante. But they all beat the hell out of the one they did when Dave Navarro was in the band.

1996: The Cranberries - "Salvation"



The Cranberries' metamorphosis from the winsome Irish balladeers of "Dreams" to the creepy doomsayers of "Zombie" and this peppy anti-heroin screed is one of the more fascinating transformations of the mid-'90s alt-rock era. Some of Rihanna's fashion and artistic choices of late make me wonder if Dolores O'Riordan is her spirit animal.

1997: Live - "Lakini's Juice"



Along the same lines as "Salvation," this is a fascinating instance of an overexposed band becoming somewhat interesting at the exact moment that its career took a nosedive. It's a shame Live's ensuing commercial decline was full of more pap like "The Dolphin's Cry" than riffs as fucking nasty as the one here.

1998: The Goo Goo Dolls - "Slide"



1998 was a truly dire year for Modern Rock: It began with the 15-week reign of Marcy Playground, who were succeeded by the seven-week reign of Fastball (you can probably guess the songs). Things didn't get much better from there, and I can honestly say every single one of the 11 songs that topped the chart that year holds at least one unpleasant memory for me. And while this one isn't as good as "Iris," it's still the least overplayed of these songs that I could choose.

1999: Limp Bizkit - "Re-Arranged"



Most of Limp Bizkit's fun songs shoehorned in incongrously slow, serious bridges, so it was pretty shocking that they managed to make a whole song out of one of those brooding grooves that turned out to be one of their best hits.

2000: Green Day - "Minority"



Reminding myself that Green Day had such a popular "political" song shortly before American Idiot makes me marvel at how well they succeeded at selling that album as both a comeback and a change of pace.

2001: Sum 41 - "Fat Lip"



2001 was the year that Staind, Nickelback, Linkin Park and Incubus all became power ballad superstars, but at least one band was having some goofy, sloppy fun at No. 1 (well, two, if you count those guys that covered "Smooth Criminal").

2002: Unwritten Law - "Seein' Red"



Every time I read this song's title and tried to remember what it sounded like before looking it up on YouTube, all I could think of was Chevelle's "The Red," which reached No. 4 at almost the exact same time that this song topped the chart, features a refrain of the phrase "seeing red," and has remained a much stronger radio staple in the years since.

2003: Jane's Addiction - "Just Because"



A perfunctory one-week chart-topper from a hollow, pointless reunion. And thanks to Entourage's really, really annoying theme song, it isn't even the best-known track from its parent album.

2004: The Offspring - "Hit That"



This seems to be about the point where The Offspring decided to back off from the antics of novelty hits like "Pretty Fly (For A White Guy)." But before getting fully serious with their recent hit "Hammerhead," they had to wean themselves off the silly shit by making a song with farting ska horns, awkwardly deployed hip-hop slang, and a video starring an animated dog.

2005: Audioslave - "Be Yourself"



Audioslave was an ugly marriage of convenience always headed for an inevitable divorce, but this song marked one time they seemed almost convincingly compatible.

2006: The Foo Fighters - "DOA"



Even though it's just three years old, it's not even the 10th-most-played Foo Fighters song on radio now. A shame, since it's just about their only recent single that follows through on the unfulfilled promise of muscular new wave glimpsed on early singles like "This Is A Call" or "Monkey Wrench."

2007: Incubus - "Anna Molly"



"Megalomaniac" could've been their "Lakini's Juice," but instead these guys kept at it and made leaner, better hard-rock hits.

2008: Staind - "Believe"



I leave you with the current No. 1, partly to give symmetry to our journey, and partly because I hope someday soon we'll all have long forgotten that gooey Diane Warren bullshit like "believe in me, 'cause I was meant for chasing dreams" ever topped a chart that's championed much weirder, better stuff.

[galvanize]

CMJ's Top 20 Most Played Albums On College Radio in 1988:

01 MIDNIGHT OIL Diesel And Dust
02 CAMPER VAN BEETHOVEN Our Beloved ...
03 SUGARCUBES Life’s Too Good
04 THE CHURCH Starfish
05 SINEAD O’CONNOR The Lion And The Cobra
06 SMITHEREENS Green Thoughts
07 TRACY CHAPMAN Tracy Chapman
08 SOUL ASYLUM Hang Time
09 PRIMITIVES Lovely
10 GODFATHERS Birth, School, Work, Death [12-Inch]
11 ZIGGY MARLEY Conscious Party
12 LOVE AND ROCKETS Earth.Sun.Moon
13 RAILWAY CHILDREN Recurrence
14 FIREHOSE If’n
15 BIG AUDIO DYNAMITE Tighten Up Vol. ‘88
16 WIRE A Bell Is A Cup Until It Is Struck
17 ERASURE The Innocents
18 INXS Kick
19 SHRIEKBACK Go Bang!
20 TALKING HEADS Naked

Late in the year,CMJ gets a copy of thedebut 7-inch (on vinyl,of course) fromAberdeen,Washington’s Nirvana,featur-ing a cover of Shocking Blue’s“LoveBuzz”b/w “Big Cheese.”Naturally,we’reimpressed.“Nowhere else are you gonna hearsuch a teeth-rattling Seattle sludgemeister dem-olition job,”we wrote in the December 2,1988issue of CMJ New Music Report.“Nirvanamixes things up good and choppy,including allthe ingredients for primal rock greatness.”•The 1988 CMJ Music Marathon is held inOctober at New York City’sVista InternationalHotel in the World Trade Center.Panelists andperformers include Billy Bragg,Siouxsie AndThe Banshees,Lou Reed,Bob Guccione,Jr.,Sire Records’Howie Klein,Megadeth andAnthrax.Also in CMJ history,the number ofairplay reporters passes 500 for the first time,and CMJ founder/CEO Bobby Haber wedsJoanne Abbot Green in Great Neck,New York.•International acts reign supreme in 1988,including Sydney,Australia’s Midnight Oil,which scores CMJ’s No.1Album Of The Yearwith its sixth full-length,Diesel And Dust.Noone seems to notice/care that 1988’s Album OfThe Year was actually released in August 1987,because “Beds Are Burning”is such a goddamngood song.Also from the Land Down Under,The Church releases Starfish,featuring thehaunting Top 40 hit “Under The Milky Way.”Meanwhile,from nearby New Zealand,theFlying Nun record label drops influentialrecordings from Chills,the Verlaines and Bats,among others.•From another part of theworld,Iceland’s Sugarcubes deliver one of1988’s biggest debuts,the quirky and accessibleLife’s Too Good.Featuring soon-to-be solo sen-sation Björk on lead vocals,the group willnever repeat the commercial and critical successof its debut,and will break up in 1992,afterreleasing just two more albums.•AmnestyInternational organizes the unprecedented“Human Rights Now!”tour,with BruceSpringsteen,Peter Gabriel,Sting,TracyChapman and Youssou N’Dour — a 44-day,20-show,round-the-world trek,commemorat-ing the 40th anniversary of the U.N.’s“UniversalDeclaration Of Human Rights.”•Four yearsafter launching,Russell Simmons and RickRubin’s Def Jam Records releases PublicEnemy’s sophomore album,It Takes A NationOf Millions To Hold Us Back,in April 1988.Therelease,fueled by the militant social commen-tary of the pugnacious Flavor Flav and therighteous Chuck D,eventually goes platinumand changes Hip-Hop forever.•After six yearswith I.R.S.Records,R.E.M. takes the major-label plunge and signs with Warner Bros.TheAthens,Georgia group’s first release for thelabel,Green,spawns the lead tracks “Stand”and“Orange Crush.”•Original American punkoutfits like Social Distortion,the Dickies andGovernment Issue resurface,and Minor Threatvocalist Ian MacKaye forms Fugazi and workswith Pailhead.•Metallica’s …And Justice ForAll is released.Considered by many to be thelast genuine heavy metal album in the Metallicacatalog,Justice is the Bay Area band’s first full-length release following the untimely death oforiginal bassist Cliff Burton in 1986.FlotsamAnd Jetsam’s Jason Newsted,who is selected toreplace Burton,is barely audible on the album,as his bass tracks are buried beneath a wall ofJames Hetfield’s rhythm guitar and LarsUlrich’s drums.In 2003,the group will admitthat,shortly after Newsted joined Metallica,hebecame a passive-aggressive punching bag forthe three surviving members of the band,whomourned Burton’s passing by getting remark-ably drunk and hazing Newsted until he finallyquit in January 2001.•Sadly,1988 is markedby the passing of many artists,including bluespianist and singer Memphis Slim,VelvetUnderground singer and actress Nico,leg-endary rock vocalist Roy Orbison,Red HotChili Peppers guitarist Hillel Slovak,Jazz trum-peter and vocalist Chet Baker,blues guitaristRoy Buchanan and pop singer Andy Gibb.•The Pixies’full-length debut,Surfer Rosa,isreleased,as is Morrissey’s first post-Smiths soloalbum,Viva Hate.Other significant releases ofthe year include Sonic Youth’s DaydreamNation,Soundgarden’s Ultramega OK,CowboyJunkies’The Trinity Session,Edie Brickell AndNew Bohemians’Shooting Rubberbands At TheStars,Camper Van Beethoven’s Our BelovedRevolutionary Sweetheart,Screaming Trees’Invisible Lantern,Fishbone’s Truth And Soul,U2’s Rattle And Hum,Dinosaur Jr.’s Bug,fIREHOSE’s if’n,Living Colour’s Vivid,Michelle Shocked’s The Texas Campfire Tapes,Tracy Chapman’s self-titled debut,andNothing’s Shocking,the major label debut fromLos Angeles’s Jane’sAddiction.

[busyboy]

With Metallica in the Top 10 right now, I think Alternative should mesh with Active and call it a day once and for all.

[Chato]

^^It didn't really take their current top10 hit to show just that (in fact Metallica have been scoring Modern Rock hits since 1996).

I like the articles that are being posted at idolator.com, this one perfectly illustrates how 'alternative' rock radio has become completely obsolete and anachronistic and nowadays isn't much more than active rock in disguise (with some more or less slightly left-leaning stations being notable exceptions).

[busyboy]

Actually, I thought "Until It Sleeps" and "Hero of the Day" were Alt-friendly enough to become minor hits, but I digress. I used Metallica's presence in the Top 10 just for dramatic effect, and because AC/DC's new single hasn't gone Top 40 yet (it currently sits at #49) so I couldn't use it as an example.

This sucky situation is nothing new, really, we've been mentioning it for months. It's interesting that you say that the left-leaning stations are an exception. It says it all, actually. They should switch format, with the Active-leaning stations going, well, Active, and end this mess.

[jazklash]

This 1988 chart just goes to show how Modern Rock radio completely lost touch with its roots a long-ass time ago. Not only is this kind of variety and open spirit missing, these days most of the music played there is nothing more than an adulterated (I'd even go so far as to say corrupted), frat-boy leaning, LCD, version of the original sources. Which wouldn't be that bothersome if its airtime would exclusively remain on the one format it truly belongs - Active Rock. The way things are now, it's as if Alternative went to prison and its Active Rock cellmate is the violent, sadistic, king of the pen, who gets a kick out of f**king them very hard in the ass until it bleeds!

But hey, maybe I just saw too many direct-to-video prison flicks!

[banet2001]

Sept 10, 2008 13:30:14 GMT -5 @busyboy said:

With Metallica in the Top 10 right now, I think Alternative should mesh with Active and call it a day once and for all.

I have been saying that for years. Just call all current rock "Mainstream" rock and have alternative rock start from scratch and reach out to the interesting, diverse and ingenious music that is ignored by the public in general today (much like most of the artists in the 1988 chart were ignored by the masses in 1988). Hopefully a new format will emerge and mirror that of the early days of alternative radio.

[fran182]

Alternative scene is so much better right now....than 20 years ago

[galvanize]

Sept 11, 2008 10:27:02 GMT -5 @fran182 said:

Alternative scene is so much better right now....than 20 years ago

post.

[Chato]

Poor Janet.

[busyboy]

Leave Janet out of this! >:(

She's still a queen in my heart... [/img]

[jazklash]

Sept 11, 2008 12:00:46 GMT -5 @galvanize said:

Sept 11, 2008 10:27:02 GMT -5 @fran182 said:

Alternative scene is so much better right now....than 20 years ago

post.

Nevermind him. We were all 16 once. ;)

[fran182]

Sept 11, 2008 18:21:42 GMT -5 jazklash said:

Sept 11, 2008 12:00:46 GMT -5 @galvanize said:

post.

Nevermind him. We were all 16 once. ;)

Come on how do you expect me to love something that's not for my generation...I mean probably of the bands that already had sucess around 1988 i like The Cure, U2, Metallica, Pink Floyd and Guns N' Roses.

[WotUNeed]

Sept 12, 2008 4:26:38 GMT -5 @fran182 said:

Come on how do you expect me to love something that's not for my generation.

Art is timeless.

[Mic Technique]

Sept 11, 2008 10:27:02 GMT -5 @fran182 said:

Alternative scene is so much better right now....than 20 years ago

Wow. I really can't say much more than that is a genuinely sad, sad post and thought alike.

[Pipa]

Sept 12, 2008 4:26:38 GMT -5 @fran182 said:

Come on how do you expect me to love something that's not for my generation

This line bothers me even moreso than the other one.

[fran182]

So basically people here wanted me to say i love 80's music....and then i would be cool

Come on....Like i said there's not much stuff i like from 20 years ago!!!

[musicaddict]

Actually, i wouldn't say anything if i were you

[busyboy]

Sept 14, 2008 9:59:32 GMT -5 musicaddict said:

Actually, i wouldn't say anything if i were you

Oh wow, you read everybody's mind! Can I borrow your crystal ball?

[fran182]

Sept 14, 2008 9:59:32 GMT -5 musicaddict said:

Actually, i wouldn't say anything if i were you

lol i know people would tell those things....but i hate that it always has to be

"wow! In the past it was so much better"

[musicaddict]

Sept 14, 2008 10:21:41 GMT -5 @fran182 said:

Sept 14, 2008 9:59:32 GMT -5 musicaddict said:

Actually, i wouldn't say anything if i were you

"wow! In the past it was so much better"

yeah i also don't like it, but in this situation, i wouldn't be all like "how do i appreciate stuff from not my generation?" sorta thing... it makes you look immature and that is just a dumb statement. (not meaning i like stuff from the past)

[fran182]

Well tell other 15 years old to listen to 60s/70s//80's music and you will get the same answer...

Well i'd rather seem imature this way than from asking people if they like me

[musicaddict]

Sept 14, 2008 11:06:05 GMT -5 @fran182 said:

from asking people if they like me

oh lawl! that was intentional!

[Pipa]

Sept 14, 2008 11:06:05 GMT -5 @fran182 said:

Well tell other 15 years old to listen to 60s/70s//80's music and you will get the same answer...

So was I the lone exception?

[WotUNeed]

Sept 14, 2008 12:01:54 GMT -5 Pipa said:

Sept 14, 2008 11:06:05 GMT -5 @fran182 said:

Well tell other 15 years old to listen to 60s/70s//80's music and you will get the same answer...

So was I the lone exception?

I have a feeling a lot of the people who are passionate enough to be on music message boards have less limited tastes than our young friend.

[fran182]

Sorry...My music can be limited can suck...and everything

But i don't feel duty to like music from 20/30 years ago more than 90's and 00's music

[fran182]

Sept 14, 2008 10:30:27 GMT -5 musicaddict said:

Sept 14, 2008 10:21:41 GMT -5 @fran182 said:

"wow! In the past it was so much better"

yeah i also don't like it, but in this situation, i wouldn't be all like "how do i appreciate stuff from not my generation?" sorta thing... it makes you look immature and that is just a dumb statement. (not meaning i like stuff from the past)

lol you said something similar in a Metallica thread at the alt/rock section

[musicaddict]

Sept 14, 2008 16:54:01 GMT -5 @fran182 said:

Sept 14, 2008 10:30:27 GMT -5 musicaddict said:

yeah i also don't like it, but in this situation, i wouldn't be all like "how do i appreciate stuff from not my generation?" sorta thing... it makes you look immature and that is just a dumb statement. (not meaning i like stuff from the past)

lol you said something similar in a Metallica thread at the alt/rock section

i prob. did lol... but that is the alternative section, and you know how it is like...

[fran182]

Sept 14, 2008 16:57:16 GMT -5 musicaddict said:

Sept 14, 2008 16:54:01 GMT -5 @fran182 said:

lol you said something similar in a Metallica thread at the alt/rock section

i prob. did lol... but that is the alternative section, and you know how it is like...

yeah..i didn't even remember this is the Nostalgia section

[Cody]

Alternative, Rock, and Active Rock should all just combine, just call it "Rock". Use all of the R&R AND Mediabase stations and Billboard could have a top 100 Rock chart based entirely off Airplay, and #1 would have around 5000 spins all the time, which would pretty much mean only the most deserving songs would ever hit #1.

Too bad it'll never happen...