The Alternative Number Ones: Crash Test Dummies’ “Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm”

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.

OK: What the fuck was this? The band name sounded like a joke. The song title sounded like a joke, too. The song itself didn't sound like a joke, but it was funnier than the two things that did sound like jokes. Here, we had this guy singing weird little stories about kids who feel different and rejected, and he delivered those stories like he was a damn Tuvan throat-singer -- just rumbling those little anecdotes out as if he was actively trying to cause an earthquake. I have a deep voice, too, but I couldn't get this guy's tone right even when I exaggerated it to the most extreme degree. I tried, believe me. I did that shit all the time. I'd be out on the playground like "Thaaiiiy! Frreeouund! Barthmarks awl owver huh bud-dayyyyy!"

This song was weird as fuck, and it was huge. "Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm" -- I am about to get so sick of typing that title -- wasn't just an alt-rock radio staple. It was big everywhere. You couldn't escape it. The top-40 station would transition straight from Ace Of Base into "Whhhaaaaance thar was this kyiiiiid..." like it was the most natural thing that every happened. I made fun of "Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm" constantly, and so did every other kid I knew. But I didn't give the song that much thought because lots of strange, inexplicable songs blew up in that early-'90s moment. Over time, I learned the context behind most of those weird, inexplicable songs, to the point where they didn't seem so weird and inexplicable anymore. Not this one, though.