Modern Rock Tracks No. 1s - David J and "I'll Be Your Chauffeur"

Bauhaus makes another tangential appearance on the Modern Rock Tracks chart, as band bassist David J drives a gently pleasant guitar-pop ditty to the #1 spot

David J - “I'll Be Your Chauffeur”

Weeks atop the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart: 1 week (August 18, 1990)

Billboard Hot 100 chart toppers during this time:

• Mariah Carey - “Vision Of Love” (8/18/90, 4 total weeks)

I’ve mentioned Bauhaus a couple of times in this space, most notably with my review of Love & Rockets’ #1 hit “So Alive.” The band casts a long shadow, but long after its disbanding, the component parts of the group still found a way to follow their musical passions and release well-received songs.

If you’re looking for a track like “So Alive” from Bauhaus and Love & Rockets bassist David J, you’re not going to be pleased. Whereas “So Alive” was a passionately intense infatuation song, David J’s far-less explosive “I’ll Be Your Chauffeur” moves past the fast-paced infatuation phase and eases into the more comfortable, quieter phase of a relationship.

I might be reading too much into the subtext of the song. This doesn’t have to be about a long-term relationship in the traditional sense. This could just be a song about a friend offering to take a long road trip with another friend. Maybe that friend is adamant about driving the vehicle and wants to communicate that he’s OK with doing all the driving, thus agreeing to be the other friend’s chauffeur.

But I read it more in the traditional relationship sense, where you have a couple who are desirous for something more outside of their current trappings and want to get out and explore. You can tell David J is looking at this concept from a “grass is always greener on the other side” lens, talking about how a drive away from wherever they are will take them to “a better place,” ultimately staying in their own “Eden restored.”

There’s no sense of urgency to get to that place, though. If there were, we wouldn’t be treated to the treacly notes interspersed within a relatively generic guitar-led background, and would instead be given some kind of hard-driving riff and pounding drums. Indeed, David J gives us the kind of song we’ll get later in the ‘90s from bands like Del Amitri or Deep Blue Something, or even John Mellencamp’s mid-’90s “intermezzo.” He’s desirous to make the trip with the person and, while he’s excited about it, couldn’t care less how long it takes. And hey, isn’t that sky pretty?

So curl up on this mobile sofa
I'll turn the key and let these four wheels roam
We'll take it at a steady pace
Or find a shooting star to chase
In a carriage made of leather, wood, and chrome

I think it’s one of those songs that requires a person to be in a certain mood. It’s a dreamy escape, almost poetic in its own way, and paints a picture of a world full of imagination and possibilities. It’s looking at life and finding as much happiness and fulfillment in the journey as you do at the destination. In fact, it could even be taken as an allegory for one’s journey to heaven, as the words of David J’s final verse seem to indicate:

No destination is too far
We'll turn the mileage over
The payment we shall disregard
And we will leave this place
For another place
A ticker tape welcome awaits us in the stars

David J would go on to a reasonably prolific solo career, releasing 11 studio albums between this 1990 release and his most recent, 2022’s “What The Patrons Heard.” None of his other tracks charted in the U.S., however, though he did have some minor successes in the U.K. during this run. While he will always be remembered as part of one of the most influential bands of the ‘70s and ‘80s, David J certainly made a solid impression branching out on his own. I don’t know that I would add “I’ll Be Your Chauffeur” into an everyday rotation on your playlist of modern alternative rock, but if the mood is just right and you’re looking to create a dreamy backdrop for work or driving, this would fit in very well there.

Rating: 5/10

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Chart Check: A look at other notable MRT chart songs from this time period

This week we see the last charting performance for an iconic ‘80s new-wave group and a couple of easy-listening tracks that would fit well on the playlist you’re making with David J’s song.

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“Post Post-Modern Man” by Devo: Devo hit their stride in the ‘70s and ‘80s, but still had enough gas in the tank to make a final statement on the Modern Rock Tracks chart. This single, off their 1990 album “Smooth Noodle Maps,” peaked at #7 on the MRT chart behind David J and would be the last time the band would chart in the U.S. Following this effort, the band went 20 years between studio album releases, and 2010’s “Something for Everybody” is currently the last album the band issued.

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“Put The Message In The Box” by World Party: I’m not sure why, but this song from former MRT #1 artist World Party doesn’t bother me like their chart topper did. Much like David J, there’s a breezy ease to this song, and it definitely carries a nice summer vibe for a song that peaked at #8 in the last weeks of the summer of 1990.

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“Heavy Weather Traffic” by Katydids: There’s not a lot of information out there about Katydids, but I have to think they are someone’s favorite turn-of-the-decade early ‘90s band, and I found this track to be quite nice, actually. Susie Hug (such a cute name) heads up this British unit, and this pleasant track managed a #17 peak on the Modern Rock Tracks chart behind “I’ll Be Your Chauffeur.” If you have a favorite Katydids song, please let me know!

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