Song · Joe Jackson
“Obvious Song” by Joe Jackson
From the album Laughter & Lust (1991)
“Obvious Song” by Joe Jackson appears on 1 radio countdown from 1 station in 2002. It was first released in 1991 on the album Laughter & Lust. Its best result is #1797 on the Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002). In the combined RockLists rankings it is #7,066 alternative song of all time.
Joe Jackson wrote "Obvious Song" on his own and produced it with Ed Roynesdal for Laughter & Lust, his ninth studio album, and in 1991 it became his first American single for Virgin. The label chose it on purpose: Virgin's Diana Fried explained that Jackson, for all his long career, hadn't had much radio success lately, so rather than lead with something poppier they wanted a track that album, alternative and college stations would play.
The bet paid off. It went to number 2 on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks and 28 on Album Rock Tracks, and Billboard called it "rebellious social commentary", lent weight by the way Jackson phrases a line. Marcus Nispel directed the video.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
All Rock Formats
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 1797 | Fred (XM 44) | Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002) | 2002 |
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