"One Armed Scissor" is the debut single by American post-hardcore band At the Drive-In, released in 2000 from their album Relationship of Command. It was the first At the Drive-In song to be played regularly on a number of radio stations, and is considered to be one of the first emo songs to have achieved mainstream success.[2] The song reached No. 26 on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart and No. 64 on the UK Singles Chart. It was also the encore song of their 2016 reunion tour.
| "One Armed Scissor" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by At the Drive-In | ||||
| from the album Relationship of Command | ||||
| B-side |
| |||
| Released | August 7, 2000 | |||
| Genre | Post-hardcore, emo | |||
| Length | 3:45 | |||
| Label | Grand Royal | |||
| Songwriter(s) | [1] | |||
| Producer(s) | Ross Robinson | |||
| At the Drive-In singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Background edit
According to a Channel V interview, a one-armed scissor is a mixture of "red bull and vodka", and that the song is about their tours told from the omniscient character named the one-armed scissor who sees their hardships they deal with while on tour.[3]
This song, along with the B-side "Incetardis", was selected to be put on the compilation This Station Is Non-Operational, which itself was named after one of "One Armed Scissor"'s lyrics.
Videos edit
The music video for this song contains all footage from live shows and the road in general. A second version of the video was also released with the Fearless Records compilation This Station Is Non-Operational containing more live footage, as well as studio footage.
Track listing edit
- "One Armed Scissor" – 3:45
- "Pattern Against User" – 3:18
- "Incetardis" – 3:26
In popular culture edit
- The song was listed at No. 255 on Pitchfork's "Top 500 Songs of the 2000s".[4] A BBC Music review hailed "One Armed Scissor" as one of the "most invigorating rock songs released in the last 20 or 30 years, let alone the past 10."[5] In October 2011, NME placed it at number 113 on its list "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years".[6]
- "One Armed Scissor" is featured in the music video games Guitar Hero World Tour and Rock Band 3 as a playable track.
- Alternative Press listed "One Armed Scissor" as the decade's "contemporary punk/emo scene's best single" out of one hundred others.[7][8]
Charts edit
| Chart (2000–01) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA Charts)[9] | 85 |
| UK Singles (OCC)[10] | 64 |
| US Alternative Airplay (Billboard)[11] | 26 |
References edit
- ^ "ASCAP Songview repertory entry for this song". Retrieved January 3, 2024.
- ^ Deiterman, Corey. "Put On A Happy Face: 6 Ex-Emos Who Found More Success By Being Happy". Houston Press. Retrieved 2023-08-20.
- ^ "- YouTube". YouTube.
- ^ "Pitchfork: Staff Lists: The Top 500 Tracks of the 2000s: 500-201". Pitchfork. 2009-10-21. Archived from the original on 2009-10-21. Retrieved 2023-08-20.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ Diver, Mike. "BBC - Music - Review of At the Drive-In - Relationship of Command". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2023-08-20.
- ^ Schiller, Rebecca (October 6, 2011). "150 Best Tracks Of The Past 15 Years". NME. Retrieved November 15, 2019.
- ^ Punknews.org. "At The Drive-In's "One Armed Scissor" tops AP's "Haircut 100" singles countdown". www.punknews.org. Retrieved 2020-07-23.
- ^ AltPress (2009-10-20). "Haircut 100: Top 10 Lists From Select Ballots". Alternative Press Magazine. Retrieved 2023-08-20.
- ^ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (pdf ed.). Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 19.
- ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
- ^ "At the Drive-In Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved September 25, 2015.