Artist · chart history
Ultra Vivid Scene
Band Formed 1987
Ultra Vivid Scene formed in 1987. Ultra Vivid Scene has 6 chart appearances on 3 radio countdowns from 3 stations on RockLists, spanning 1990–2003. The most successful song on radio countdowns is “Staring at the Sun”, which appears on 2 lists with a best position of #94. The station that charted Ultra Vivid Scene most often is Fred (XM 44) (XM Satellite Radio (national)), with 4 appearances. The artist’s biggest year on year-end countdowns was 1990.
Ultra Vivid Scene was Kurt Ralske's baby, a New York City outfit that for its first stretch amounted to one man with a head full of the Velvet Underground and the Jesus and Mary Chain. Ralske had played guitar in Nothing But Happiness and Crash before striking out alone with a 7-inch single on Justine Records, "Slow You Down" backed with "Totally Free". 4AD signed him in 1988, and that year brought the She Screamed EP and then, in October, a self-titled debut he wrote, produced and played entirely by himself: hushed, narcotic pop wrapped in gauze and feedback.
Joy 1967–1990 followed in April 1990, and that same month Ultra Vivid Scene finally played its first dates in the United Kingdom, a rare sighting for an act that had managed only a handful of American shows behind the first record in 1989. "Staring at the Sun" and "Special One" are the songs that lodged on rock radio, all drowsy melody and fuzz, with "It Happens Every Time" and "Grey Turns White" rounding out a record that sounds like sunlight leaking through a dirty window.
By Rev, in October 1992, Ralske had an actual band behind him, Julius Klepacz on drums and Jack Daley on bass, and the album landed on Columbia's Chaos imprint instead of 4AD.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
Songs by Ultra Vivid Scene on radio countdowns
| # | Song | Strength | Lists | Best | #1s | Peak year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Staring at the Sun | 2 | #94 | – | 1990 | |
| 2 | It Happens Every time | 1 | #935 | – | – | |
| 3 | Grey Turns White | 1 | #1090 | – | – | |
| 4 | Special One | 2 | #104 | – | 1990 |
Albums with charting songs
Where each song was first released, from MusicBrainz.
Every countdown appearance
| Year | # | Song | Countdown |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 591 | Staring at the Sun | Fred XM Top 2044 Songs of All-Time (July 2003) |
| 2003 | 935 | It Happens Every time | Fred XM Top 2044 Songs of All-Time (July 2003) |
| 2003 | 1090 | Grey Turns White | Fred XM Top 2044 Songs of All-Time (July 2003) |
| 2003 | 1520 | Special One | Fred XM Top 2044 Songs of All-Time (July 2003) |
| 1990 | 104 | Special One | KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1990 |
| 1990 | 94 | Staring at the Sun | Live 105 Top 105.3 Songs of 1990 |
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