CHART ATTACK! #6: 11/4/89
This week’s Chart Attack! is dedicated to my buddy Raz. Raz has hated just about every post I’ve done with the exception of Chart Attack! #2, because it covered a week in 1990. Raz’s rule is "if I don’t know it already, it sucks," and apparently he didn’t listen to the radio except for somewhere around 1990. Well, this isn’t 1990, but it’s close. So let’s look back and see what was going on the week of November 4, 1989!
10. Love Shack – The B-52’s Amazon iTunes
9. (It’s Just) The Way That You Love Me – Paula Abdul Amazon iTunes
8. Dr. Feelgood – Mötley Crüe Amazon iTunes
7. Rock Wit’cha – Bobby Brown Amazon iTunes
6. Love In An Elevator – Aerosmith Amazon iTunes
5. When I See You Smile – Bad English Amazon iTunes
4. Sowing The Seeds of Love – Tears For Fears Amazon iTunes
3. Miss You Much – Janet Jackson Amazon
2. Cover Girl – New Kids On The Block Amazon iTunes
1. Listen To Your Heart – Roxette Amazon
10. Love Shack – The B-52’s I was going to ask you to please raise your hand if you don’t like this song, but it might be easier to ask you to raise your hand if you do like this song. We may get less hands. Listen, I appreciate "Love Shack" for what it is: a fun, party song that was absolutely perfect for The B-52’s. But damn if it isn’t one of the most overplayed songs in history. (The only way it could get worse would be if someone did a "Love Shack"/"Two Princes" mashup.)
You know what, though? In 1989, I didn’t mind it so much. Every party I went to in those days featured the song (band OR DJ), and it always seemed to keep people on the dance floor. (And honestly, it seems to still do the same thing at weddings these days.) And the song, which marked a "comeback" for the B-52’s (the band had never had a real hit in the U.S. before), was voted "Best Single of 1989" by Rolling Stone’s Music Awards, and the video won two MTV Video Music Awards. So who knows. Maybe people like it more than I imagine. But I’m sure as hell not offering it for download here!
9. (It’s Just) The Way That You Love Me – Paula Abdul Surely you remember when Paula Abdul was on top of the charts…and the world? I’m sure we’ll be talking about her again in future Chart Attack posts, so let’s focus purely on this single. "(It’s Just) The Way That You Love Me" was the second single off of her debut album, Forever Your Girl, and was originally released in November 1988 in a different edit from the album track. Abdul was not yet popular, and the track peaked at #88.. It took the release of "Straight Up" to command the attention of listeners (and MTV viewers). "Straight Up" hit #1, as did her next two singles. Opting to revert to the original album version, this single was re-released in November. This week marked its debut in the Top 10, and it peaked at #3 just four weeks later. Well played!
8. Dr. Feelgood – Mötley Crüe …and the world let out a collective sigh of relief to find that this was not a cover of the song made popular by Aretha Franklin. Their first album recorded post-sobriety (and, for that reason, wisely recorded with each member of the band playing their parts separately), Dr. Feelgood was the band’s first album to top the chart – and the single remains their highest-charting hit, peaking at #6 the week prior to this one. You can’t deny it – "Dr. Feelgood" is a strong rock song. With a driving bass/guitar riff, a good chorus and lyrics that aren’t half-bad, this song deserved to be their big one.
7. Rock Wit’cha – Bobby Brown If you close your eyes and think back, you might be able to recall a time when Bobby Brown was a truly talented artist. The 5th and final hit off of Don’t Be Cruel, "Rock Wit’Cha" was a smooth, slow R&B jam that, as with the others, showcased the production skills of L.A. Reid and Babyface. This single peaked this week at #7 and could have been seen as a disappointment within the Brown camp: four of his other singles (including "On Our Own" from the Ghostbusters II soundtrack) had cracked the top five, the exception being the leadoff title track from the album. Perhaps it was the fact that "Rock Wit’cha" sounded extremely similar to "Roni," one of his previous hits. Either way, Bobby probably had no idea that he had only two more shots in the Top 10 with his next album, and then…well, we all know how the story goes.
6. Love In An Elevator – Aerosmith The first single off of Pump, arguably the last good Aerosmith album, "Love In An Elevator" had it all: an infectiously fun call-and-response verse ("whoa yeah!"), great harmonies, a full two minutes of guitar solos by two different band members, and ridiculously stupid lyrics that include the line "kiss your sassafrass." And I haven’t even gotten to the video yet.
No, not the video of my cat rocking the guitar solo.
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The actual video created by Aerosmith. You can’t beat this video. Hot mannequins that turn into real women, midgets, Joe Perry’s naked wife…seriously. Awesome video.
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I bought this on cassingle before Pump was released, and I won’t lie. I air-guitar rocked it all the freaking time.
5. When I See You Smile – Bad English (download) Long live the rock power ballad! Bad English was a band comprised of members of rock group The Babys (well, their late ’70s incarnation, anyway), with Neil Schon of Journey thrown in for good measure. (Keyboardist Jonathan Cain was a member of both The Babys and Journey.) They released two albums before breaking up, and only had two singles…although you’ll be forgiven if you don’t necessarily recall "Price of Love," which only spent two weeks in the Top 10 in March of 1990.
"When I See You Smile," however, enjoyed an impressive six weeks in the Top 10, including two at #1, before being knocked off the top by "Blame It On The Rain." Damn you, Milli Vanilli! The lyrics are cheesy (what do you expect from Diane Warren?), the guitars are loud (what do you expect from Neil Schon?), but the vocal is right-on. For a long time, I didn’t know that lead vocals were from John Waite, despite the familiarity of his voice from "Missing You." And because Waite sells the vocal, the song works. Well, at least for me, it does. I gather some of you hate it. But when I was younger and heard this song on the radio, I wished I had written it for a girl. Because then I would have totally gotten some.
4. Sowing The Seeds of Love – Tears For Fears (download) It’s always a true test of the music journalist to see if they can avoid really obvious clichés – for example, comparing this song (and the video, and the album cover) to the Beatles in their psychedelic phase. Thankfully, I’m not a music journalist. So blah blah blah, Beatles Beatles Beatles. Yes, the song wears its influences on its sleeve, from the sound of the snare drum (not produced by Jeff Lynne, I might add), to the lush orchestrations and harmonies, but I have a hard time finding fault with the song. If I had to make a criticism, I suppose it might be that somehow, the lead-ins to the first two choruses have a majesty that doesn’t feel deserved to me so early in the song. And that criticism probably doesn’t even make sense to anybody but me. So download the song, and enjoy its nooks and crannies. The bridge is fantastic.
3. Miss You Much – Janet Jackson This song was a big one for Janet Jackson. Although Rhythm Nation 1814 was her fourth album, only her previous record, Control, had been a hit, with five Top 5 singles. "Miss You Much" was the lead-off single from OU812 RN1814 and helped establish Jackson’s credbility as more than just a one-album artist. Written by her powerhouse team, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, it was on the Hot 100 for a full five months, including four impressive weeks at #1. Oh, and it wound up becoming the biggest-selling song of 1989, with over four million copies sold. Janet’s career may be in question now, but there’s no doubt that "Miss You Much" made it damn clear that Miss Jackson was a force to be reckoned with.
2. Cover Girl – New Kids On The Block I feel fortunate that I’ve been able to make it through five Chart Attack! postings without an NKOTB mention, but I guess it had to happen at some point. It may be hard to remember now, but at the time, this band was gigantic. Five singles were released from their second album, Hangin’ Tough, and since I’ve sadly heard them all, I can safely say that this was the worst of the bunch. And yet, it made it to #2, which seems odd, unless you recall that quality had very little to do with NKOTB’s success. The songs were catchy, but the hype around them was unstoppable. And once they were gone, it was hard to remember truly how huge they were…until nine or ten years later when it happened all over again, with Backstreet Boys and ‘N Sync.
1. Listen To Your Heart – Roxette 1989 was a good year for Roxette, essentially bookended by #1 singles. "The Look" had been a #1 hit in January, and "Listen To Your Heart" hit #1 for this one week in November. There are few musical similarities between the two songs: "Listen To Your Heart" sounds like a Heart power ballad from the mid-80s, similar to "Alone" or "Never." (I have confirmed that the two songs were not written by the same people.) Another interesting tidbit: "Listen To Your Heart" was the first ever single to be released solely on cassette – no 45 RPM was issued.
If "Listen To Your Heart" has been in your head in recent years, you can blame a group called D.H.T., a dance/pop group from Belgium. They released a remake of the song in their home country in 2003, and eventually reached the U.S. #8 in August of 2005. D.H.T. has found popularity with two mixes: a sparse ballad version, and a driving trance version. My gym seems to like the dance version a lot, so it’s been forced into my brain to the point where I actually find it tolerable – and lead singer Edmee has a fantastic voice. Songwriters Per Gessle (also 1/2 of Roxette) and Mats Persson won BMI’s Dance Song of the Year for the tune in November 2005. Don’t forget D.H.T., because we’ll be discussing them in an entry in the very near future.
And that brings us to the end of another CHART ATTACK! Enjoy your rockin’ power ballad and your Beatle-esque tune, and I’ll see you back here next week for more chart-y goodness!
November 3rd, 2006 at 11:02 am
Two things re "Love in an Elevator":1) I had no idea that Punkin is so talented.2) What really blew my little new-gitar-player mind about that tune was the shuffle-time solo bridge that takes up the middle 1/3 of the song. Wild shit. Especially that "Go-Wiin-Doow-wwwn" vocal break right in the middle of it. Hot.
November 3rd, 2006 at 12:51 pm
*Roxette just signed a huge $ deal with Capitol Records here in the U.S. That took me for surprise a few days ago.
*John Waite of Bad English/Babys just recorded a version of his smash song, “Missing You,” as a duet with Allison Krause. It’s actually a great pairing.
*I remember when “Love Shack” was a hit on MTV, me and my friend Carlos (yes, same name as me and currently in the band Interpol) tried to figure out what they yelled during the part where the music stops. Finally, we saw an interview with Fred from the B52’s and he said they’re saying, “tin roof rusted.”
November 3rd, 2006 at 1:08 pm
November 4, 1989 was a terrible week in American music. That’s all I have to say.
November 3rd, 2006 at 2:35 pm
I am going to have nightmares about a Waite/Krauss (Allison Krause was killed at Kent State in 1974) Missing You for the rest of the day.
I don’t think he’s in Love in an Elevator, though he might be, but you should do a post at some point about the music video escapades of John Kalodner
November 3rd, 2006 at 4:26 pm
What do you mean only Control had been a hit, your facts are F*cked.
November 3rd, 2006 at 4:34 pm
Awesome comment!
There were no hits off of her first two albums, Janet Jackson or Dream Street. The albums themselves reached #63 and #147, respectively, as opposed to Control which hit #1.
Does that make sense or do you need me to type slower?
November 3rd, 2006 at 5:58 pm
And Janet was awesome in “Good Times,” too. Well, maybe not awesome. But she was *in* “Good Times,” that we know.
November 3rd, 2006 at 6:50 pm
The people whose house was the set in the Love Shack video helped design rooms at Kate Pierson’s inn.I don’t care if it’s overplayed. Love In an Elevator — now THAT was overplayed.
November 4th, 2006 at 2:58 pm
To echo Elaine, November 4, 1989 was a terrible week in American music.
And that one week lasted for ten fucking years.
November 4th, 2006 at 6:19 pm
I don’t agree that 11/4/89 was a horrible year in American music. There were some good songs in this chart attack. However, by the early 90s, the pop landscape was so fractured that the ratio of shit to stellar songs was slanted to the shit side.
November 4th, 2006 at 11:22 pm
I have to agree with Mr. Korry on this one. I think it also has a lot to do with how old you were when you heard these songs, where you were in your life, etc. I have the same sort of nostalgia for this stuff that I have for Mellow Gold. I’m not saying it’s all good or bad; I’m just saying that our judgments are often clouded by factors we often haven’t even considered.
Except in the case of "Love Shack." That songs sucks no matter how you slice it.
November 5th, 2006 at 7:20 pm
Here’s a fun fact: Diane Warren not only wrote "When I See You Smile," she also wrote "Blame It on the Rain." I wonder if that’s the only time in pop history that one songwriter was responsible for back-to-back #1 hits by different artists. Anyone?
November 6th, 2006 at 1:53 am
“To echo Elaine, November 4, 1989 was a terrible week in American music.”
From roughly May 1989 to July 1990, I liked a ton of Top 40 songs that were constantly on the radio. I was in 8th grade during the ’89-’90 school year, and it was a good year indeed. The golden haze of nostalgia colors my memories of these songs and others from that time, but I will say that in 8th grade I didn’t like “Miss You Much,” yet when I heard it again three years ago I suddenly loved it. The bridge of that song gives me goosebumps now, as strange as that may sound. “Dr. Feelgood,” on the other hand, sounded much better when I was 13, but it deserved to be Motley Crue’s biggest hit.
I still like “Love Shack” (maybe because Athens, GA, is my favorite city), I think “The Way That You Love Me” is Abdul’s best single off of “Forever Your Girl,” I think the “Quiet Storm Remix” of “Rock Wit’cha” outdoes the album version (you can probably find it on LimeWire, the 1.7 of you who care), I can’t remember what “Cover Girl” sounded like and that’s just fine (you’re right, though, Jason, New Kids were freakin’ HUGE in ’89), and if you’re going to record a Beatles-esque song you might as well go all out and make something as mind-blowing as “Sowing the Seeds of Love.” Confetti and cannons for everyone!
Thanks for the memories!
November 6th, 2006 at 2:34 am
It’s so interesting to see the differing perspectives. I understand (and sympathize with) those of you in junior high in 1989. I started high school in 1981, so, by 89, I thought everything on the radio was crap by comparison. The list of the top 10 for 11/4/89 just reminded me how badly radio sucked. See, I was 22 by then. There’s a big, honkin’ change of life between 14 and 22.Don’t mind me. I’ll try not to spout off without thinking from now on.
November 6th, 2006 at 10:32 am
I love all these comments. That’s all I have to say. I love knowing where people were in their lives when they heard these tracks.
November 6th, 2006 at 1:33 pm
I don’t blame you, Elaine. I was 22 for most of 1998, and if I were to look at a Top 40 chart from almost any week of that year I’d probably scratch my head at most of the song titles.
I put together some mixes last year of songs I still like from certain years of my life: 1980-’81, when I was in preschool and first started to remember songs I was hearing on the radio ("I Love a Rainy Night," "Don’t Stand So Close to Me," "The Tide Is High"); 1981-’82, when I was in kindergarten ("Centerfold," "Get Down on It" … and "Cool Night," hells yeah); 1985-’86, when I was in fourth grade ("You’re Only Human," "Perfect Way," "Go Home"); the summer of ’86 got an entire disc of its own ("Something About You," "I Can’t Wait," "Digging Your Scene"); the spring and summer of ’87 (Bruce Willis’s cover of "Respect Yourself," "Ship of Fools," "Don’t Disturb This Groove"); the summer of ’89 also got a disc of its own ("Every Little Step," "Good Thing," Mica Paris’s lost gem "My One Temptation"); and finally 1989-’90 (anybody else remember Brent Bourgeois’s "Dare to Fall in Love" or Louie Louie’s "Sitting in the Lap of Luxury" from the spring of 1990?).
Nostalgia makes me like some of those songs more than I probably should now that I’m 31 ("Who’s Johnny" by El DeBarge is definitely cheesy but so what?), but it’s fun to look back at the songs you grew up with and see which ones still hold up one way or another.
Will a song like James Blunt’s "Beautiful," which I don’t like, hold up for someone who’s 10 or 12 or 14 right now once he or she turns 30? Yeah, probably so. And that’s a great thing.
November 6th, 2006 at 2:11 pm
I have to say that I remember the day the album "Dr. Feelgood" came out. My college roommate and I were at Crossgates Mall (in Albany), perusing Sam Goody’s, and he excitedly picked up the new release. (Me, I was content to pick up a copy of Pete Townshend’s "White City" from the bargain bin.)
He couldn’t wait to play it– we got in the car and drove aimlessly while the cassette played. I don’t remember what songs we actually heard, except that one was "Dr. Feelgood." Our listening experience lasted for about 15 minutes before we ejected the tape from the player, pulled the car over, ripped about 10 feet of magnetic tape out of the cassette case, and tossed said tape out of car window–I guess you could say we didn’t like the album.
We popped my new copy of "White City" into the tape player and drove home to the sweet and strident sounds of Pete Townshend (accompanied by David Gilmour)… it was a good day.
November 6th, 2006 at 2:16 pm
Great story!
I used to have a friend who would do the same: pop in a cassette, and if he didn’t like it within 45 seconds, he’d throw it out the window.
"White City" is an underrated album. You have the great Gilmour work on "Give Blood" but also the classic Townshend backing vocals on "Brilliant Blues" and "Crashing By Design…" and I think the acoustic melody of "I Am Secure" is one of the prettiest things he’s written.
November 6th, 2006 at 9:14 pm
I was 28 in ’98.
For me, radio started to suck in ’85, suck hard in ’87, suck like a Hoover by ’93 and actually invert itself through suction by ’98. That isn’t to say there weren’t bright spots in there, or that it’s been brilliant before/since. But man — once the mid-Eighties hit, production became seriously canned, and copying became the watchword (vs. originality). When you bought an Aerosmith album and got a Diane Warren album … it was enough to break a rocker’s heart. It just seemed that for years, the same six songwriters, five producers and two labels ruled the airwaves. Until grunge came along, and then everybody copied that.
Meh. A pox on 1998. But to prove my own un-awesomeness, I will completely cop to the nostalgia of the early 80’s top 40 scene, to include Tommy Tutone, Greg Kihn, Toto, the Cars and Alan Parsons.
All that said, “Sowing The Seeds Of Love” is pretty awesome. And I used to think Paula Abdul was hot.
That might be the most damning admission yet.
November 8th, 2006 at 11:30 am
[…] So, remember at the end of last Friday’s Chart Attack! when I asked you to remember the name D.H.T.? […]
January 4th, 2007 at 10:02 pm
[…] 7. Love Will Never Do (Without You) – Janet Jackson We spoke briefly of the massive success of Rhythm Nation 1814 back in CHART ATTACK! #6, when we covered the lead-off single, "Miss You Much." This time, we’re covering the end of her reign, as this single was her seventh and final top-five hit from the album. While it seems second-nature to view Jackson as a sex symbol, remember that in this point of her career, she was still an innocent. Her previous album included the notorious abstinence ballad "Let’s Wait Awhile," and RN 1814 was an album that spoke more of societal problems within the world. I don’t think anybody would hear this song and think it’s "sexy" – it’s more "fun" like previous hits "When I Think Of You" and "Escapade" – but yet, it became the first time she was publicly viewed as an artist embracing her sexuality. You can thank the late, great photographer Herb Ritts for that one, who created a beautiful video featuring both sides of her persona – the fun and the sexy. […]