Back In The Day: The Billboard Modern Rock Charts From 35 Years Ago

[TenderLovingKiller®]

Modern Rock Tracks for Week Ending 11/11/1989

No. 1 Song
Ian McCulloch - “Proud To Fall”

Tracks that fell out of the top
Max Q - “Way Of The World”
Thompson Twins - “Sugar Daddy”
Big Audio Dynamite- “James Brown”
Red Hot Chili Peppers - “Knock Me Down”

New Additions
The Jesus & Mary Chain - “Blues From A Gun”


Eurythmics - “Don’t Ask Me Why”


Graham Parker - “Big Man On Paper”


Flesh For Lulu - “Time & Space”

 

[TenderLovingKiller®]

 

[TenderLovingKiller®]

Modern Rock Tracks for Week Ending 11/18/1989

No. 1 Song
Ian McCulloch - “Proud To Fall”

Tracks that fell out of the top
Tears For Fears - “Sowing The Seeds Of Love”
Fuzzbox - “Self!”
The Innocence Mission - “Black Sheep Wall”
The Ocean Blue - “Between Something And Nothing”

New Additions
The Del Fuegos - “Move With Me Sister”


The Cure - “Lullaby”


Dramarama - “Last Cigarette”


Michael Penn - “No Myth”

 

[TenderLovingKiller®]

 

[TenderLovingKiller®]

I absolutely love that Michael Penn tune.

 

[AndySlash]

i have no recollection of proud to fall whatsoever.

 

[TenderLovingKiller®]

i have no recollection of proud to fall whatsoever.

Me neither. It’s funny how some tracks that never reach the top spot develop a big legacy while some just seemed to exist only within this time frame and then are never heard from again.

 

[jamieanderson1968]

For a lot of these bands this was the last swing at the ball to get out of the minor leagues. Labels put relatively big money into them and were hoping to build on their hype from a few years previously.

 

[jamieanderson1968]

God, I totally forgot about that Dramarama song and video. Wish I still had forgotten it

 

[TenderLovingKiller®]

Modern Rock Tracks for Week Ending 11/25/1989

No. 1 Song
Ian McCulloch - “Proud To Fall”

Tracks that fell out of the top
The The - “Kingdom Of Rain”
The Love Shack - “Love Shack”
Rickie Lee Jones - “Satellites”

New Additions
Iggy Pop - “Livin’ On The Edge Of The Night”


The Alarm - “Devolution Workin’ Man Blues”


The Creatures - “Standing There”

 

[TenderLovingKiller®]

Not only is that The Creatures tracks objectively bonkers. They missed the opportunity of naming their track “Standin’ There” which would have made for an “-in’” trifecta of new tracks.

The Iggy Pop track is a nice surprise. I wasn’t familiar with one.

 

[imtheocean]

I was watching the Creatures video thinking - this sounds an awful lot like Souixsie and the Banshees. Then I looked up their wikipedia and found out why. Its Souixsie and Budgie.

 

[TenderLovingKiller®]

I was watching the Creatures video thinking - this sounds an awful lot like Souixsie and the Banshees. Then I looked up their wikipedia and found out why. Its Souixsie and Budgie.

It’s wild, it feels like the whole song is based around timpani drums and xylophone.

Starting off the video with close up man areola was certainly a choice too.

 

[imtheocean]

It’s wild, it feels like the whole song is based around timpani drums and xylophone.

Starting from ff the video with close up man areola was certainly a choice too.

Yeah, I couldn't follow the thematic transition from the Garden of Eden to Tango Dancing, but whatever. Love the drums.

 

[Wicked Dreamer]

from Billboard that week... RIP to one of the GOATs

 

[TenderLovingKiller®]

Modern Rock Tracks for Week Ending 12/02/1989

No. 1 Song
Ian McCulloch - “Proud To Fall”

Tracks that fell out of the top
The Alarm - “Sold Me Down The River”
Squeeze - “If It’s Love”
The Sugarcubes - “Regina”
The Primitives - “Sick Of It”

New Additions
The B-52’s - “Roam


The Psychedelic Furs - “House”


The Ocean Blue - “Drifting Falling”


The Primitives - “Secrets”

 

[Nee Lewman]

Man the election folllowed by Christmas music season has really done a number to me at least listening to the number one album here. I haven’t listened to this McCulloch album yet.

 

[TenderLovingKiller®]

Man the election folllowed by Christmas music season has really done a number to me at least listening to the number one album here. I haven’t listened to this McCulloch album yet.

I don’t think you’re missing much. Surprised it’s been on the top of the chart for the past 3 weeks now. It’s not a bad song but also not super memorable.

 

[Nee Lewman]

I don’t think you’re missing much. Surprised it’s been on the top of the chart for the past 3 weeks now. It’s not a bad song but also not super memorable.

Still something I intend to do at some point is listen to the album. I had made it a point to at least listen to the album the number one song came from.

 

[imtheocean]

Whoever filmed the Ocean Blue video must have been super dizzy by the end of it. So many rotating shots.