Modern Rock Tracks No. 1s - The Charlatans and "Weirdo"
Madchester continues its run on the modern rock charts with The Charlatans and "Weirdo," a track that exists in a really cool alternative timeline from my grunge-heavy experience in the '90s
The Charlatans - “Weirdo”
Weeks atop the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart: 1 week (May 23, 1992)
Previous Modern Rock #1 hit: Cracker - “Teen Angst (What the World Needs Now)”
Next Modern Rock #1 hit: XTC - “The Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead”
Billboard Hot 100 chart toppers during this time:
Kris Kross - Jump (5 total weeks, beginning 4/25/92)
I need to spend some more time on a deep dive into the Madchester music scene of the early 1990s. Honestly, I could probably use a primer on all things British alternative rock during the 1990s in general; the transition away from British acts dominating the Modern Rock Tracks chart will start to happen more and more as we get closer to the mid-’90s, which meant that teenage Matt didn’t get exposed to some of the more dominant sounds across the Atlantic.
For example, I was pleasantly surprised by Happy Mondays and their Madchester smooth-dance-rock amalgam “Kinky Afro,” which topped the MRT charts earlier in the decade. For someone like me — a young lad who was weened on post-grunge heavyweights like Offspring, Smashing Pumpkins, and Green Day — listening to Madchester tracks is like being transported to an alternate reality where the power-chord angst of grunge wasn’t the main theme, but rather this crazy parallel dimension where everything is chill, just take some Ecstasy and get lost in the groove, man. It’s like a ‘60s pastiche with ‘90s sensibilities.
I’ll admit that, on first listen, I didn’t think I’d like this week’s song on quite the same level as the Happy Mondays track, but playing the song on repeat as I type this, I can say I was pleasantly surprised by The Charlatans and their lone MRT chart topper, “Weirdo,” enough so that I think I like it even more.
I’m pretty sure I grew up in a post-Madchester world where bands in America tried to play catchup to this sound. I listen to tracks like “Weirdo” and I hear the proto-electronic/guitar mish-mash that bands like Smashing Pumpkins would try to perfect after their pure-rock moment dissipated. Indeed, if you listen to “Weirdo” and then follow it immediately after with “The End Is The Beginning Is The End” from the “Batman & Robin” soundtrack , you’d be forgiven for thinking it was the same band, just evolved slightly into something a little more rock and a little less electronic.
The charm that comes with Madchester seems to be that it’s relatively less polished and produced, almost like it’s sticking to the basics in order to create the proper mood. And it succeeds for the most part. As I re-listen to “Weirdo,” I find myself getting occasional chills at moments that are relatively basic musically but hit the right feel at the right moment. For example, in the music video above, right around the 2:40 mark the guitar cuts out and it’s just the backbeat of the drum machine holding the whole thing down. And three seconds later, this stone-cold bass groove just comes in out of nowhere and bowls me over. It’s so smooth and perfect, and set against the beat of the percussion, it’s just perfection. I live for those moments in music, and The Charlatans nailed it with this track.
And then again, right around the 3:07 mark, the guitar comes back in and sends you sonically in a completely different direction. And it’s so much fun listening and re-listening to find those moments, none of which sound over-produced or haphazardly dubbed. It’s just taking different pieces of different types of music and interlocking them into a song that’s both chill and frenetic, and again, I say, I need to dig deeper into these bands and songs because I am all in on this.
Lyrically, the song takes the listener on a journey through what it means to be a weirdo, and just embracing it in spite of everyone judging you for that weirdness. In a way, it’s almost reflective of the Madchester scene: What we’re doing here is weird from a mainstream music perspective, but we’re having fun being who we are, so we’re going to roll with it, no matter what others think or how it makes us feel inside. It’s another method to deal with the internal struggles of generational differences; whereas bands like Cracker just let out their frustrations with an angsty “who gives a fuck, not my problem” attitude with songs like last week’s chart topper “Teen Angst,” Madchester bands sort of roll with it and just keep moving forward in spite of their societally frowned-upon differences.
Most of the time you are happy
You're a weirdo
And before the introduction ends
There is someone feeling sorry for themselves
So yeah, The Charlatans are weirdos, but you know what? They’re outwardly happy, in spite of those moments where they might feel sorry for themselves. They dust themselves off and move forward, and quite frankly, if they’re making good music like this as a result of their weirdness, let ‘em be weird!
I’m a little embarrassed now, given how much I’ve gone on about the band, that I didn’t include them in every instance I could in this column prior to today. “Weirdo” was the lead single off the band’s second album, “Between 10th and 11th,” but prior to this they notched two top-10 entries on the MRT chart, one of which I missed completely. “The Only One I Know,” which peaked at #5 in September 1990 behind Jane’s Addiction and their terrific chart-topper “Stop!,” is a solid track with a mix of Deep Purple-infused organs and that signature Madchester smooth groove. The follow-up single, “Then,” did even better, peaking at #4 behind The Sisters of Mercy and their MRT #1 hit “More.” For whatever reason I didn’t include it in the Chart Check section of the column that time, but I should have. It’s so smooth and good, and would help set the stage for Happy Mondays taking the Madchester torch to the top of the charts immediately after The Sisters of Mercy’s run at #1.
The Charlatans are legit, you guys. They have three #1 albums in the U.K., two more that peaked at #2, and nine albums that placed in the top 10 overall. That’s what the kids call “pretty darn good.” From 1990 through 2006, the band maintained a steady presence in the top 40 on the U.K. charts, which speaks to their adaptability and staying power there. In the U.S., their fortunes were not as good chart-wise, as the aforementioned grunge and post-grunge waves simply overpowered their sophisticated Madchester sound. That said, they still managed to maintain a presence on the MRT chart for a little while longer. “I Don’t Want To See The Sights,” the third single off “Between 10th and 11th” peaked at #13 later in 1992, and the first single off their next album “Up To Our Hips,” titled “Can’t Get Out Of Bed,” peaked at #6 on the MRT chart in 1994.
Regardless of where you stand on the Madchester sound, I’m finding more and more that it’s the right mix of indie/alternative rock smooshed together with some well-placed electronic flourishes and even some occasional ‘60s-era musical accompaniment. It’s a perfect sonic blend of the past, present, and future, and it’s inspiring me to continue to explore more of the British alternative scene from that era.
Rating: 9/10
Chart Check: A look at other notable MRT chart songs from this time period
There’s a surprising number of chart peaks behind a one-week #1 hit this time around. We get the final top-10 hits from two previous MRT chart-topping acts, the very best of the Soup Dragons, and some Teenage Fanclub love to round out the group.
“The Sweetest Drop” by Peter Murphy: You might remember Mr. Murphy from his chart-topping hit “Cuts You Up,” which held on to the #1 spot for two months and was noted to be one of the top-10 best songs in the history of the Modern Rock Tracks chart in a 2018 review by Billboard magazine. Obviously he never quite hit the same level with his follow up hits, but he came close with “The Sweetest Drop,” which peaked at #2 behind “Weirdo.” Your mileage may vary on this particular track, but in my opinion it’s not bad.
“Divine Thing” by Soup Dragons: Always a bridesmaid, never a bride. Soup Dragons came close to the top spot once before with their terrific track “I’m Free,” which peaked at #2 behind The Cure in 1990. I’d argue that “Divine Thing” is even better, but it still didn’t have enough to make it to the top of the charts. It peaked at #3 behind The Charlatans. Within two years, they’ll have disbanded, but for a short while there, they were pretty terrific.
“Someday” by Concrete Blonde: Former MRT chart toppers Concrete Blonde re-entered the charts during this time with what would be their last top-10 MRT hit, “Someday,” the follow up to their #2 single “Ghost of a Texas Ladies’ Man.” This track peaked at #8 behind The Charlatans. It’s fine.
“What You Do To Me” by Teenage Fanclub: I’m really far behind on my Substack reading, as life has been busy, but one of my favorite Substack authors
recently wrote a really nice review of Teenage Fanclub, and I’m looking forward to diving into the things he’s written about them before. This track, “What You Do To Me,” is a really nice mix of hard and soft rock, and it peaked at #19 behind The Charlatans. It has pop sensibilities while holding on to its alt-rock roots (especially with that full-on music freakout in the last 20 seconds of the song), and if this is indicative of the rest of the band’s catalog, it’s going to be a fun deep dive into their material.
I love The Charlatans' first five albums, but in particular, their first three and ESPECIALLY the often overlooked 'Up To Our Hips.' They all have a killer groove. I definitely missed the swirling, psychedelic keys of Rob Collins when he tragically died (after their 1995 S/T LP).
The one thing I always liked about their sound along with The Stone Roses and early Happy Mondays, Primal Scream, etc. they took it beyond the obvious angsty guitar rock and left that to the Americans. Even the shoegaze lushness of My Bloody Valentine which is incredibly sonic, layered, and noisy, retains a melodic element to it that most American rock bands lacked. In some respects, it's like the difference between US and British humor. While the Americans often resort to the obvious, the British are more clever, dry, sarcastic, and witty.
Nothing, of course, against the American bands of the early '90s, The Screaming Trees were one of my faves. But I always appreciated, respected, and dug bands like the Charlies.
Just re-discovered this album too in the past week! I honestly had forgotten about it but it includes several good tracks including Weirdo, Page One, and Tremelo Song.