Modern Rock Tracks No. 1s - R.E.M. and "Drive"
R.E.M. gives a somber shout-out to young people everywhere with "Drive," a song which encourages energetic exuberance while morosely reflecting on the passage of time
R.E.M. - “Drive”
Weeks atop the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart: 5 weeks (October 17 to November 14, 1992)
Previous Modern Rock #1 hit: Suzanne Vega - “Blood Makes Noise”
Next Modern Rock #1 hit: 10,000 Maniacs - “These Are Days”
Billboard Hot 100 chart toppers during this time:
Boyz II Men - “End Of The Road” (13 total weeks, 8/15/92 to 11/7/92)
The Heights - “How Do You Talk To An Angel” (11/14/92)
First things first - Boyz II Men finally hit the end of the road this week. Running a span of four different Modern Rock Tracks #1 hits, “End Of The Road” finally bids farewell to the top spot on Billboard’s flagship Hot 100 this week, giving way to The Heights and their sappy ballad “How Do You Talk To An Angel.” By commanding the top of the Hot 100 for 13 weeks, they set a record that would not be broken … until the artist who tops the charts just after The Heights managed to break it early in 1993.
Back to the alternative charts…
Hey, did you know there’s a popular British artist named David Essex? I didn’t. I’m sure all the cool kids know him, but to be fair, his highwater mark on the U.S. charts came in 1973, and even then, it was just a single hit called “Rock On.” It’s a fine song which found a sizable audience at the time, reaching #5 on the Hot 100 and spawning a slew of covers (including by Def Leppard, a band I had the pleasure of seeing live for the first time this past Tuesday in Cleveland. They did not play this one, though).
You’ll forgive your author for not having heard of David Essex, yes? I mean, I was born in the very, very late 1970s, I had a tough enough time keeping up with the pop and rock standards of my own generation, and while my parents bestowed upon me a wealth of knowledge about the music of the ‘50s and ‘60s, I must have slept through their indoctrination of early ‘70s album-oriented rock.
You know who has heard of David Essex? R.E.M. And R.E.M. loved that song so much that they ended up turning an homage of it into the first single off their “Automatic For The People” album, and that single, “Drive,” would become the band’s fourth track to top the Modern Rock Tracks chart upon its release in the fall of 1992.
At the tender age of 13 in 1992, I’m certain I didn’t pick up on any of the layers of meaning coming out of “Drive,” or even its album. I wasn’t old enough to be politically motivated, so I did not pick up on the semi-sarcastic barb “bush whacked” in Stipe’s initial lyrical flourish. “Automatic For The People” was recorded during the final months of the George H.W. Bush presidency, so his use of the term here is laced with scorn for the then-president’s administration.
I also was far too young to pick up on the band struggling through the transition from college-rock icons to “middle age” musicians looking to find their place in a changing alternative rock landscape. In David Buckley’s book “R.E.M. Fiction: An Alternative Biography,” Peter Buck reflects on the band’s lamentations and how they shaped the final sound of “Automatic”:
“The world that we’d been involved in had disappeared, the world of Hüsker Dü and The Replacements, all that had gone. We were just in a different place and that worked its way out musically and lyrically.”
I can appreciate this now more than ever. As a forever youthful personality wrapped in a middle-aged-man’s body, I completely understand the complexity of emotions that can engulf you when you consider how quickly the world is passing you by, as the youth of the next generation continues to blaze a trail forward. R.E.M. is clearly reflecting on this, as the Essex nod implies:
Hey kids, rock and roll
Nobody tells you where to go, baby
…
Hey, kids, where are you?
Nobody tells you what to do, baby
Hey kids, shake a leg
Maybe you're crazy in the head, baby
Is it R.E.M. imploring the youth of today to continue to rock, rock “around the clock,” and be fiercely independent? Or is it R.E.M. quietly lamenting that, while rocking around the clock, they’ve now become AWARE of the clock, and its slow, ominous “tick … tock … tick … tock” as time moves forward against their wishes? It’s fascinating and brilliant at the same time, with R.E.M. reaching across generations to speak about what it means to be young and what it means to see that youth pass them by.
The music video adds a lot to this interpretation, showing an emotionless Michael Stipe crowd surfing while members of the band intermittently appear playing their instruments. In one sense, the imagery reflects the band’s desire to remain relevant, showing that they can still mix it up with a younger cohort and have a good time. From another perspective, you see the band lacking the passion exuded by the audience, reflecting that, perhaps, the moment has passed them by, and while they may be participating in the youthful exuberance, they lack the energy to be fully invested in it.
“Drive” is a dramatic turn from the up-tempo, jangle-rock roots that defined R.E.M. for the first decade of its existence. Most of the song is fairly morose, lacking that catchy guitar boost or drum-inflected beat that made the band a huge favorite on both college-rock radio and, eventually, alternative and pop radio as well. This isn’t “Shiny Happy People” R.E.M.; it’s something else entirely. And yet, “Automatic For The People” is routinely lauded as one of R.E.M.’s finest albums, if not THE finest album, largely because it explored something artistically that stands alone among the vast discography the band created in its 30-year career (in 2020, Rolling Stone magazine rated “Automatic For The People” the 96th greatest album of all time).
I’m largely on the fence about “Automatic,” especially as it relates to “Drive.” I appreciate the artistry and the unique decisions that make this album an all-time classic, and I do not disagree with its placement among the very best in the history of music. For me personally, I tend to enjoy the up-tempo, jangle-rock tracks that made R.E.M. a huge favorite of mine from a young age, even before I became fully awakened to the world of music outside the Hot 100 in the mid 1990s. “Drive” is definitely a terrific track, especially as it builds to its crescendo with a string arrangement produced by Led Zeppelin’s legendary bassist John Paul Jones, and while I’d argue it’s not my favorite R.E.M. track, it’s definitely one that deserves some re-appraisal with the added context I describe above.
The tonal shift away from “Shiny Happy People” and Modern Rock Tracks #1 hit “Losing My Religion” did not resonate with pop audiences in the same way the band’s “Out Of Time” hits did, but they still managed to become top-40 mainstays. “Drive” peaked on the Hot 100 at #28, and the follow-up single “Man On The Moon” finished about the same, topping out at #30. We’ll see a couple more singles from this album find a home on the MRT chart, but no other tracks from “Automatic” would take the top spot.
Even though R.E.M. was going through a proverbial midlife crisis in the early 1990s, they maintained their relevancy well into the decade and beyond. While “Automatic For The People” did not generate any other Modern Rock Tracks chart #1 hits, their follow-up album will, and when that times comes, I’ll be sure to cover it in this space.
Rating: 8/10
Chart Check: A look at other notable MRT chart songs from this time period
A lot of the top-10 tracks during this time featured artists who either topped the chart previously or were on their way to the top. Nevertheless, we have some decent songs in this week’s selection, including two from the “Singles” soundtrack and the highest-charting single from a former member of the legendary band Husker Dü.
“Nearly Lost You” by Screaming Trees (#5): Score another success for Cameron Crowe’s “Singles” soundtrack, as Screaming Trees hit their chart highwater mark with “Nearly Lost You,” a track that benefited from its placement on the seminal movie’s alt-rock-heavy playlist. It probably helped that its release coincided with the coming rise of grunge rock as well, but regardless of the reasons, it’s a solid song.
“Helpless” by Sugar (#5): Timely placement for Sugar’s highest-charting hit, “Helpless.” As R.E.M. was lamenting the loss of Husker Dü, former Husker Dü frontman Bob Mould managed to take his new band to their chart peak of #5 behind R.E.M. with this song, a pop-inflected alt-rock confection befitting the name Sugar. The band would last for a few years and would manage an additional top-20 hit on the MRT charts in the mid-’90s, but this track is likely the one that will live on from their relatively short career.
“Poison Heart” by The Ramones (#6): The Ramones released their last top-10 Modern Rock Tracks hit in 1992, “Poison Heart,” which topped out at #6 behind R.E.M. The band’s legacy was solidified long before they became hitmakers on the MRT charts, of course, but they still managed to make decent hits late into their career.
“Drown” by Smashing Pumpkins (#24): Smashing Pumpkins also benefited from placement on the “Singles” soundtrack, though with a slightly smaller degree of success than Sugar’s hit. “Drown” managed a #24 peak, which would be the last time Smashing Pumpkins would be outside the top 10 of the MRT chart pretty much throughout the ‘90s. We’ll see a lot more of them in the coming weeks and months.
Like you, I much prefer jangly R.E.M. to the brooding version. I know people love this song, but to me it just feels like a dirge. Objectively, it's good. Subjectively, I can't hit the "skip" button quick enough.
Speaking of skips, are we gonna talk about soap star Michael Damien's late 80s cover of "Rock On?" Lol. One of a handful of hits by daytime actors during this span. Without looking, I think it went to #1? What an odd era!
As for Sugar, I've been to a lot of shows, but Bob Mould (and this band) put on one of the best--and loudest-- I've ever been to. Loud as in, my ears were still ringing a couple of days later.
Interesting post! I didn't know that REM were that inspired by David Esexx's Rock On - a song I remember well when it was released in the 1970s. I can hear the connection though! Like you, I was a bigger fan of the group's previous album and singles.