The Alternative Number Ones: R.E.M.’s “Orange Crush”

In The Alternative Number Ones, I'm reviewing every #1 single in the history of the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks/Alternative Songs, starting with the moment that the chart launched in 1988. This column is a companion piece to The Number Ones, and it's for subscribers only. Thank you to everyone who's helping to keep Stereogum afloat.

In December of 1987, the cover of Rolling Stone made a bold claim. The four members of R.E.M. -- all lit tastefully, with half of their faces in shadow -- stared straight into the camera. Next to them were these words: "America's best rock & roll band." The thesis of Steve Pond's accompanying article went something like this: R.E.M. are an underground band, but they aren't really an underground band, and they're maybe about to become extremely famous. Here's how Peter Buck put it: "We're the acceptable edge of the unacceptable stuff." As a critic, it sure is nice when musicians' quotes do your job for you.

You can't appear on the cover of Rolling Stone unless you're already a very, very big deal, and R.E.M. were that. They'd only been a band for seven years, but they'd already released five albums, each selling better than the one before. They'd become the Beatles of American college radio, that band that dominated and defined the entire format. Their latest single was on its way to becoming a top-10 hit on the pop charts. The article notes that R.E.M.'s deal with IRS, the label where they started their career, had just expired and that the members of the band weren't sure what they'd do next. Soon after that article, R.E.M. would make the major-label leap, signing to Warner Bros. for millions. A few years after that, they would become superstars.