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Cover of Jar of Flies by Alice In Chains
Cover: Jar of Flies

Song · Alice In Chains

“No Excuses” by Alice In Chains

From the EP Jar of Flies (1994)

“No Excuses” by Alice In Chains appears on 72 radio countdowns from 30 stations between 1994 and 2025. It was first released in 1994 on the EP Jar of Flies. Its best result is #3 on the KISW 25 Greatest Rock Songs from 1994. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #22 alternative song of 1994, #243 alternative song of all time and #277 of the '90s.

72countdowns
30stations
#3best position
0#1 finishes
1top 10 finishes
1994–2025years charted

Watch

Alice In Chains - No Excuses (Official Video)

Video from YouTube (AliceInChainsVEVO). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube

"No Excuses" was the lead single from Jar of Flies, the quiet-storm EP Alice in Chains put out on Columbia in January 1994, and it showed a band famous for sludge and dread could also turn a song over on its side and let the light in. Jerry Cantrell, the band's guitarist and co-lead singer, wrote the words and music, and the group produced it themselves with Toby Wright recording and mixing.

It rides a loose, rolling groove, with Cantrell's voice floating over clean guitars that jangle more than they grind. There's still an ache under it, but it moves easily, almost breezily, which was a revelation coming from these guys.

Critics were kind, and it became the first Alice in Chains song to hit number one on Billboard's Album Rock Tracks chart, where it stayed for 26 weeks. An acoustic take on MTV Unplugged in 1996 turned out to be the last time they played it with Staley, and it has turned up on a string of compilations since, from the Music Bank box set to The Essential Alice in Chains.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.

RockLists rankings

Alternative & Modern Rock

Indie & Adult Alternative

Classic Rock

Hard Rock & Metal

All Rock Formats

Year-end countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1994 31 KROQ Los Angeles, CA KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1994 107
1994 53 91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana 91X Top 91 Songs of 1994 91
1994 40 Live 105 San Francisco, CA Live 105 Top 105.3 Songs of 1994 106
1994 29 Q101 Chicago, IL Q101 Top 101 Songs of 1994 101
1994 38 WHFS Washington, DC / Baltimore, MD WHFS Top 99.1 Songs of 1994 100
1994 3 KISW Seattle-Tacoma, WA KISW 25 Greatest Rock Songs from 1994 25
1994 80 Triple J Australia (national) Triple J Hottest 100 of 1994 100
1994 12 Radio & Records United States (national airplay chart) Radio & Records Top 94 Songs of 1994 94

All-time and decade countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1994 343 KISW KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1994) 1000
1995 223 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1995) 500
1995 629 KISW KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1995) 1000
1996 508 KISW KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1996) 1000
1998 416 KISW KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1998) 1000
1999 266 KROQ KROQ Top 300 Most Requested Songs of the '90s (Labor Day 1999) 300
1999 226 WHFS WHFS Top 500 Songs of the '90s (December 1999) 500
1999 226 Q101 Q101 Top 1,011 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 1017
1999 358 WFNX WFNX Top 500 Songs of All-Time (June 1999) 500
1999 753 107.7 The End The End Top 1077 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 1077
1999 197 CD101 CD101 Top 2000 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 2000
1999 168 CFNY 102.1 The Edge CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (November 1999) 1002
1999 483 KISW KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1999) 998
2000 81 DC101 DC101 Top 101 Rock Songs of the 90s 101
2000 454 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2000) 500
2000 198 CD101 CD101 Top 2001 Songs of All-Time (December 2000) 2001
2000 78 103.3 The Edge 103.3 The Edge Top 103 New Rock Songs of the Millennium 103
2001 452 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2001) 498
2001 199 CD101 CD101 Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (December 2001) 2002
2001 190 WBRU WBRU Modern Rock Top 500 (2001) 500
2002 37 WFNX WFNX Top 50 Grunge Songs of All-Time (June 2002) 50
2002 212 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2002) 500
2002 199 CD101 CD101 Top 2003 Songs of All-Time (December 2002) 2003
2002 121 KISW KISW Top 999 of All Time (2002) 999
2002 980 Fred (XM 44) Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002) 2002
2003 187 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2003) 500
2003 199 CD101 CD101 Top 2004 Songs of All-Time (December 2003) 2004
2004 466 107.7 The End The End Original Alternative 500 (May 2004) 500
2004 199 CD101 CD101 Top 2005 Songs of All-Time (December 2004) 2005
2004 194 Y100 Y100 Top 300 Songs of All-Time (July 2004) 300
2004 29 WBCN WBCN Grunge Top 104 (2004) 104
2005 200 CD101 CD101 Top 2006 Songs of All-Time (December 2005) 1994
2005 162 99X 99X Freedom of Choice 1000 (2005) 1000
2007 187 KROQ KROQ Top 500 Most Requested Songs of the '90s (Labor Day 2007) 500
2007 603 CD101 CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007) 2008
2008 355 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 2008) 500
2008 611 CD101 CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008) 2009
2009 137 Live 105 Live 105 Memorial 500 Song List (2009) 500
2009 606 CD101 CD101 Top 2010 Songs of All-Time (December 2009) 2010
2010 174 CFNY 102.1 The Edge 102.1 The Edge Top 200 Songs of the 90's (September 2010) 200
2010 557 CD101 CD101 Top 2011 Songs of All-Time (December 2010) 2011
2010 284 97.9 The Loop The Loop USO Rock 'N' Roll 500 (2010) 500
2011 561 CD101 CD101 Top 2012 Songs of All-Time (December 2011) 2011
2012 319 WXPN WXPN 885 Greatest Rock Songs (2012) 885
2013 558 CD101 CD101 Top 2013 Songs of All-Time (December 2013) 2012
2014 555 CD101 CD101 Top 2014 Songs of All-Time (2014) 2013
2014 966 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX 1K Countdown (2014) 1000
2014 141 94.3 WCYY WCYY CYY 500 Most Played Songs (2014) 500
2015 981 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Top 1007 Classic Rock Countdown (2015) 1007
2015 139 94.3 WCYY WCYY CYY 500 Most Played Songs (2015) 500
2016 991 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Top 1007 Countdown for 2016 1007
2019 122 94.3 WCYY WCYY CYY 500 Most Played Songs (2019) 500
2020 132 Q105.7 Q105.7 Memorial Day 500 (2020) 499
2020 140 105.9 The X 105.9 The X July 420 (2020) 420
2020 325 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ 500 (2020) 500
2020 495 DC101 The DC101 Top 500 500
2021 123 105.9 The X 105.9 The X July 420 (2021) 420
2022 167 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 900 Songs of the '90s 900
2022 124 105.9 The X 105.9 The X July 420 (2022) 420
2023 177 The Current The Current's 893 Essential Songs of the '90s 893
2023 132 94.3 WCYY WCYY CYY 500 Most Played Songs (2023) 500
2023 65 105.9 The X 105.9 The X July 420 (2023) 420
2024 258 99.1 PLR 99.1 PLR Top 400 of the Last 40 Years (2024) 400
2025 273 99.1 PLR 99.1 PLR Top 400 of the Last 40 Years (2025) 400

Charting alongside it in 1994

Best songs of 1994 →
  1. 1Black Hole SunSoundgarden
  2. 2CloserNine Inch Nails
  3. 3Self-EsteemThe Offspring
  4. 4Interstate Love SongStone Temple Pilots
  5. 5Come Out and PlayThe Offspring
  6. 6Basket CaseGreen Day

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