KROQ Top 50 1988

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1ujd74jDsJVaQ3cQxfNr58?si=ed60e97c2e204559

12 The Primitives - Crash
18 Pet Shop Boys - Always on My Mind
43 The Bangles - In Your Room
44 Sisters of Mercy - This Corrosion

These are all deep, longtime favorites of mine. All of them are on playlists I have on my phone. I might have to go with "Crash," but tough choice.

first instinct is "The Killing Jar"

Quick scan turns up three things I love/like:

1. "Crash," Primitives
2. "Always on My Mind," PSB
3. "Wild Thing," Tone Loc

I'm going to be the only vote for Sparks in lieu of being the only vote for House of Love.

"Tears Run Rings" is kinda cool -- it's a sleazy Billy Joel song.

I've been listening to literally nothing but music from '88-'89 for the last couple of weeks so thanks for adding some things for me to check out.

A good number of these don't scan as anything resembling alternative/modern rock tbrr.

have not heard of most of these. went with house of love’s “christine”. chaos and the big sea.

I'm going to be the only vote for Sparks in lieu of being the only vote for House of Love.

― Halfway there but for you, Wednesday, August 2, 2023 9:55 PM (thirty-two minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

is it because you actually like the song

The Smithereens' "Only A Memory" is the first kinda sorta complicated guitar lick I learned to play, and it's still fun to do, so that.

Christine

Either PSBs really but as AOMM was an '87 release I'll go with 'Heart'

"All That Money Wants," the last great Furs song.

This list paints a pretty dire picture of 1988 -- a lot of MOR indie, a lot of one-great bands coasting on their reputations, and a bunch of the better songs here are covers. It all suggests that post-punk had run out of energy.
(maybe this is more a reflection that KROQ had lost the pulse?)

Yeah admittedly I don’t know all these songs, but the cumulative effect of the ones I do know, and even like, is kind of deadening. (also: KROQ playing Social D shocker!)

*I actually am surprised they played stuff like Tone Loc and Grandmaster Flash though

Christine for me

probably because I was in my early teens where I listened to the radio a lot, I have a fondness for a lot of these songs

like I don't remember disliking any of these really? Anyway, these were/are jams:

2 Bollock Brothers - Harley David (Son of a Bitch)
3 Siouxsie and the Banshees - Peek-A-Boo
5 Morrissey - Every Day is Like Sunday
7 Erasure - Chains of Love
9 Tone Loc - Wild Thing
12 The Primitives - Crash
13 Marc Almond - Tears Run Rings
16 Martini Ranch - Reach
22 Camouflage - The Great Commandment
25 Echo & the Bunnymen - Bedbugs and Ballyhoo
26 Siouxsie and the Banshees - The Killing Jar
27 Grandmaster Flash - Magic Carpet Ride
30 Escape Club - Wild Wild West
31 The Smithereens - Only a Memory
34 Danielle Dax - Big Hollow Man
35 The Sugarcubes - Motorcrash
38 Killing Joke - America
41 INXS - Devil Inside
44 Sisters of Mercy - This Corrosion
45 Julian Cope - Charlotte Anne

Peek-A-Boo was my introduction to Siouxsie and the Banshees, gave me a very skewed notion of what they sounded like.

This list paints a pretty dire picture of 1988 -- a lot of MOR indie, a lot of one-great bands coasting on their reputations, and a bunch of the better songs here are covers. It all suggests that post-punk had run out of energy.
(maybe this is more a reflection that KROQ had lost the pulse?)

Man, this list isn’t anywhere near as good as the 1987 one. “Desire” I guess.

is it because you actually like the song

Yes, Interior Design might have been the first Sparks record I heard, and most of it I enjoy more than almost anybody, despite the terrible production/arrangements. I can't imagine this song was a hit anywhere other than L.A.

Glad to see there seem to be a number of people voting for the House of Love in my absence.

I'm a huge Sparks fan and I'm not sure I can remember what "So Important" sounds like. In fact, there's a good number of songs on this list that I've either forgotten or never heard at all. I think my enthusiasm for this kind of alternative rock had waned considerably by 1988.

i thought this edie brickell song was from like 1993

these options get less and less appealing to me every year

went w/ Danielle Dax which is a personal fave, but man 95% of this is garbage IMHO

Toss-up between Danielle Dax and “This Corrosion” (the 10-minute 12 inch version)

Ah, Social Distortion. You used to not be able to go a day in Los Angeles without seeing someone sporting one of their ugly skeleton hoodies or shirts. Never understood their appeal

Danielle Dax gets bonus points for me because she had been in Lemon Kittens, but I don't remember this song as well as her earlier ones

i thought this edie brickell song was from like 1993

lol no. it was definitely of its time. it did pave the way for the 90s "classic" "What's Up" by 4 Non Blondes. I am semi-convinced that were it not for Edie Brickell, that 4 NB song would not have gotten as much play ... and I hated it for years. Then, a few years back, I was at a karaoke night with a bunch of Millennial lesbians and non-binary people who were all sincerely singing along to that song, and my attitude toward it softened.

both are very good songs

lol Jerry Harrison solo!

I'm all for an expansive, inclusive canon.
But if we can't draw a red line at "What's Up", i worry that we've lost our way as a community.

I prefer "What's Up" to "What I Am" (never really got the recent hate for "What's Up," it's cheesy but that's kinda the point?)

the hate is not recent imo

xps ha I totally have a soft spot for Social Distortion, considered voting for that

I saw them a couple years back and they actually made me choke up a bit

(on this song specifically)

The song that really pairs with “what’s up” well is “round here” by counting crows

can I erase that post?

christine, easy

"The Dead Heart"

That album and tour were phenomenal.

I am fairly confident I had not heard any capital S-hoegaze in 1988 yet (maybe J&MC and mayyybe Spacemen 3 but def not MBV)... "Christine" was the first song I'd ever heard with that Alexi Midiverb + Fuzz that wasn't Husker Du.

God they played that fucking Bollock Brothers song ALL THE TIME.

A lot of amazing songs here but come on, "Chains of Love" towers over it all. The only song from that era that still makes me choke up whenever I hear it.

In the spirit of "Der Kommisar"/"99 Luftballons"/"Ca Plane Pour Moi"/"Major Tom", that Bollock Bros song is an English language cover of Serge Gainsbourg:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bPbHVWzdl8

(drummer doing some choice StuCopeland impersonations)

23 Robyn Hitchcock - Balloon Man
43 The Bangles - In Your Room

Both great tracks ofc but it's a tragedy that the Bangles never recorded "Balloon Man," which Hitchcock wrote with them in mind

https://rockremnants.com/2020/06/27/song-of-the-week-balloon-man-robyn-hitchcock-the-egyptians/

I voted for This Corrosion because of course I did.

^ Never knew that. “Balloon Man” is one of the two 3-inch CDs I still have. The other is by Lisa Lisa.

xp

I like putting "This Corrosion" on in my headphones as the plane takes off

I end up with This Corrosion in my head a bunch with different work-related words and phrases as things that need to be "explained to me"

"Chains of Love" is a never-fail karaoke smash.

I also forgot how strangely poignant "Balloon Man" is, for what is essentially a children's song.

I used to think "This Corrosion" was too over-the-top/corny but learning the backstory made me appreciate it a lot more. I voted for it

I don't know the backstory but it's definitely a possibility to get my vote. I came on board because of First and Last and Always but it has grown on me.

I came on board and was disappointed, I should have said. I was a huge fan of the Mission, lol. The Mission are, let's just say, not good. I think they wanted to be the new U2.

I have no recollection of the Mission.

My tolerance for dramatic gothy stuff has definitely increased over the years. "This Corrosion" fits right in with bands like In Solitude, Tribulation or Ghost.

i've decided, and i am right. the winner is the chevrolet venture concept car to be made reality in the early 1990s.

that said, i don't know how to even start with this list. if i vote for a song that feels auld lang syne that i don't break out in hives, it might be charlotte ann, or peek-a-boo-- they are both faaarrrr from what i like about their artists, but i'm just "lol u are doing what's being done." if i wanna think of the thing that sounds the MOST 1988 for me tho, it's This Corrosion, for sure.

i loved soft boys and hitchcock so hard from 83-86, ain't no way i'm goin for that song. it's just goofy bouncy ok-- stock in trade.

"and that i don't break out in hives"

the only mission i recall is mission uk. that mission? i still don't recall them just "mission uk."

"The Dead Heart"

That album and tour were phenomenal.

this is true. and though my 10-1 fanboy-hood was v much fading by 1988, this band mid 80s were a v v amazing thing. at least to me.

Yes, the Mission UK. Some members were in the Sisters of Mercy .

i’d forgot that, too. what do i need to check, i guess?

Being a super fan of the Mission UK, at the time, I have some thoughts. You might find something on their first two albums. Their biggest song was Butterfly on a Wheel though pretty it's not really any good. I remember Blood Brother where he is screaming Ian My Love. There was some strange sexual tension reveled in the song.

I can't recommend the Mission UK, sorry.

I have a story and it happens to be the only time where I was on KROQ. A tie in with the Mission for symmetry.

I was at a party and have no idea why we were listening to the radio. I called, from the house phone, funny to think about a time when I didn't have a cell phone. Poorman put me on KROQ and asked me what I wanted to hear. I don't know if you have ever been on the radio where you have this delay, hearing yourself and it sorts of blows your mind. I requested the Mission's Tower of Strength. Poorman made a sexual joke that stood out to me as poor taste. I did remember thinking, afterwards, that he did it for laughs but it struck me. Made an impression where I'm still remembering that to this day.

Although I've already mentioned several other songs in this thread, I don't want to ignore "Beds are Burning" -- amazing that a song that sounds like this and says this got this big.

Siouxsie

Siouxsie

Lurking outside of the top 50:

58. 10,000 Maniacs - "What's the Matter Here?"
64. The Timelords - "Doctorin' the Tardis"
65. Cocteau Twins - "Carolyn's Fingers"
70. Jane's Addiction - "Jane Says"
77. The Mighty Lemon Drops -"Inside Out"
102. The Jesus and Mary Chain - "Surfin' USA"

The song that should be in the top 50 but isn't is "Under The Milky Way" by The Church. KROQ didn't really play it. Neither did rock station KLOS. But it was massive on KCRW, specifically Deirdre O'Donoghue's show Snap which gained a lot of traction this year. O'Donoghue was a former KMET DJ and she brought in some former listeners who were open to newer guitar-based music that KLOS would never play. KCRW was technically a college station, but not in the way you think of a stereotype indie college station. It's the corporate NPR mouthpiece in Los Angeles that has music shows in between NPR's national programming so on occasion it kinda sounds like a indie college station. Depending on who the DJ was, you could hear some great stuff - I remember heading "Teen Age Riot" for the first time on their overnight show. I heard Joe Frank for the first time on KCRW around then.

There's a podcast about Deirdre O'Donoghue that's worth checking out. The Mighty Lemon Drops are interviewed in it - "Inside Out" was another heavy rotation song for the station.

There are a lot of great songs here, but I'd flip around and hear them on KMPC-FM, maybe KCRW. Like I said in 1987, KROQ was heavy on the ads and an increasing rigid heavy-rotation playlist. Pirate Radio 100.3 and Mars-FM are still on the horizon but to borrow an ILX metaphor, we're well into KROQ's New Jersey years. 1988 was the best year for listening to KMPC-FM, the playlist was genuinely innovative and the station started getting some local press because they "broke" the first Melissa Etheridge album. (they did, they played the hell out of it). There's also a good chance that I'm not listening to the radio at all - I've got a box of cassettes in the back.

Voted Siouxsie. That song is such a fun head-spinner - totally unexpected. I just read the 33 1/3 on Peepshow - a full-on academic dissection of the album as an expression of early cinematic themes. I think Siouxsie once said that it was her favorite.

this is true. and though my 10-1 fanboy-hood was v much fading by 1988, this band mid 80s were a v v amazing thing. at least to me.

I first got into them with 10-1 also, but I thought they peaked at Diesel and Dust. I saw them three times in 88, and the energy they brought to the stage on that tour was higher than the tours before and after.

I got into Midnight Oil quite enthusiastically in 1989 because I moved to SE Asia, long story, and the local music stores stocked lots of Australian bands, and I was able to pick up their back catalog for cheap. My favorite was Red Sails on the Sunset.

I don't want to ignore "Beds are Burning" -- amazing that a song that sounds like this and says this got this big.

that was kinda like my amazement re the Bollock Brothers song ... like "Chains of Love" is not as explicit. Like other political songs that got big prior to/contemporaneous to "Beds Are Burning" were less explicit (e.g. many REM hits). ... it definitely is a sign of the "post-modern" / end of the century thinking about the meaninglessness of protest and everything be recouped/appropriated by capitalism etc.

it still feels weird to talk about the late 80s/early 90s in a removed historical sense lol

10-1 and Red Sails still sound futuristic to me, especially the spooky production on the latter. Diesel was a bit of a disappointment by comparison, but still has some great songs. I also saw them in 1988, and it was indeed thrilling; they did “(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding” for the encore.

Also since we are talking history—- was Stop by Erasure used as a Gay Pride anthem around the time?

(like a healing hand)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgifFdi8eio

58. 10,000 Maniacs - "What's the Matter Here?"
64. The Timelords - "Doctorin' the Tardis"
65. Cocteau Twins - "Carolyn's Fingers"
70. Jane's Addiction - "Jane Says"
77. The Mighty Lemon Drops -"Inside Out"
102. The Jesus and Mary Chain - "Surfin' USA"

wow, all these got massive play and felt pretty definitive of that time, at the time -- esp. "Jane Says," I'm not a fan but it was everywhere, it was in the air

a vibe that became a miasma

tho i appreciate the song ok

Like "Jane Says" a lot, didn't realize it was as old as 1988, it feels so much like the early 90s to me

The 1988 “Jane Says” recording didn’t seem to get nearly as much airplay as the live version that was released in ‘97, which hails from the first Lollapalooza

I grew up listening to KROQ in the 1993-1997 time frame and it's interesting to see what they kept playing and what faded away during the punk revival. The most obvious contrast is between New Order (on constant repeat) and Pet Shop Boys (completely dropped).

5 Morrissey - Every Day is Like Sunday
7 Erasure - Chains of Love
9 Tone Loc - Wild Thing
12 The Primitives - Crash
17 House of Love - Christine
20 Talking Heads - (Nothing But) Flowers
21 Midnight Oil - The Dead Heart
31 The Smithereens - Only a Memory
32 Pet Shop Boys - Heart
35 The Sugarcubes - Motorcrash
41 INXS - Devil Inside
44 Sisters of Mercy - This Corrosion

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

Certainly would’ve voted “Jane Says” if it made the list (and I’m not even much of a Janes fan).

Voted Peek a boo. Such a cool move, to me then, to me now. Felt actually creative and still within them.

Second in my heart all other things considered now, Erasure- Chains.

Most futuristic to me, thinkin’ back: Sugarcubes

Most ubiquitous, at that moment: INXS - Devil Inside. My 10-years-older-than-me sister had this track. This album bummed me out.

Zeitgeist- still This Corrosion, on this list, for me.

FUUUUCK thx for reading my ted talk— sorry.

I can't quite stick up for "Devil Inside" in 2023 but boy did I dig it in 1988.

I remember when KROQ announced that INXS were filming the video for "Devil Inside" down at the Balboa Fun Zone in Newport Beach on a Friday night. It seemed like every teenager in Orange County crowded into the penninsula when filming was going on... I used to hang with a UCI group that would see the midnight showings of Rocky Horror at the Balboa Theatre - they're in the video when you see a quick dolly of some new wavers standing against a wall.

“Don’t you wish you were part of my generation?” Ellie asked everyone who wasn’t.

lol Gina Arnold! Yet another late 80s signifier.

lol

This was the weakest year. Saturday Night it was This Corrosion after listening to it in all its 11 minute glory but voting "Christine" for that noise.

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

What a Top 3, highly approve of these results.

hell yeah. 1988 is good again

Agreed so much bs skimmed away

I was supposed to be at tonight's game. Now trying for Wednesday when Ohtani is on the mound.

Lol, wrong thread.

Yeah Ohtani's more of a throwback to 1888