The Alternative Number Ones: Ned’s Atomic Dustbin’s “Not Sleeping Around”

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 members only. Thank you to everyone who's helping to keep Stereogum afloat.

They had two bass players. That was the first thing that anyone noticed. It jumped out. Really, lots of things jumped out. They had a funny name, and they represented a nebulously defined genre, or maybe a subculture, that also had a funny name. Their song titles were sometimes funny, too. Their logo looked cool on a tie-dyed T-shirt. They had a guitarist named Rat, and Rat had bright-red whiteboy dreadlocks. To an American kid in the early '90s, everything about Ned's Atomic Dustbin seemed weird and vivid and interesting. At least for a little while, the music lived up to that impression.

The Ned's Atomic Dustbin moment was brief and evanescent, as moments tend to be. You might get some attention for a weird instrumental configuration and a funny band name, but that attention will only last so long. In a world as proudly snarky as alt-rock radio, today's sensation becomes tomorrow's punchline. By the time that Ned's Atomic Dustbin reached #1 on the Billboard Modern Rock chart, their moment was just about over. Their vibe was more memorable than their songs, even though their songs were really good.