Song · At the Drive In
“One Armed Scissor” by At the Drive In
From the album Relationship of Command (2000)
“One Armed Scissor” by At the Drive In appears on 23 radio countdowns from 13 stations between 2000 and 2025. It was first released in 2000 on the album Relationship of Command. Its best result is #37 (tie) on the WBER Listener Countdown 2001. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #91 alternative song of 2001 and #4,600 alternative song of all time.
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"One Armed Scissor" was At the Drive-In's first single, pulled from their 2000 album Relationship of Command, and it plays like five guys trying to outrun one another. It was the first song of theirs that a number of radio stations played regularly, and it's often counted among the first emo songs to break into the mainstream. The title, the band explained in a 2001 Channel V interview, means a Vodka Red Bull, cast as an all-seeing narrator recounting their life on the road.
Cedric Bixler-Zavala, Omar Rodríguez-López, Jim Ward, Paul Hinojos and Tony Hajjar wrote it together, Ross Robinson produced, Chuck Johnson engineered and Andy Wallace mixed. Its video is built from tour footage, the 2005 compilation This Station Is Non-Operational took its name from a line in it, and it served as the encore on their 2016 reunion tour.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
Indie & Adult Alternative
All Rock Formats
Year-end countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 103 | KROQ Los Angeles, CA | KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 2000 | 107 |
| 2000 | 63 | Live 105 San Francisco, CA | Live 105 Top 105.3 Songs of 2000 | 105 |
| 2000 | 88 | WHFS Washington, DC / Baltimore, MD | WHFS Top 99.1 Songs of 2000 | 100 |
| 2000 | 99 | WFNX Boston, MA | WFNX Top 100 Songs of 2000 | 100 |
| 2000 | 89 | 89X Detroit, MI / Windsor, ON | 89X Top 89 Songs of 2000 | 89 |
| 2000 | 88 | The Buzz Burlington, VT / Plattsburgh, NY / Montreal, QC | The Buzz Top 99 Songs of 2000 | 99 |
| 2000 | 96 | 102.7 WEQX Southern Vermont and the Capital District of New York (Albany) | WEQX Top 102.7 of 2000 | 102 |
| 2001 | 67 | KROQ Los Angeles, CA | KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 2001 | 107 |
| 2001 | 59 | 91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana | 91X Top 91 Songs of 2001 | 91 |
| 2001 | 73 | K-Rock New York, NY | K-Rock Top 92.3 Songs of 2001 | 93 |
| 2001 | 46 | WFNX Boston, MA | WFNX Top 100 Songs of 2001 | 100 |
| 2001 | 46 | 107.7 The End Seattle, WA | The End Top 107 Songs of 2001 | 107 |
| 2001 | 37 (tie) | WBER Rochester, NY | WBER Listener Countdown 2001 | 191 |
| 2001 | 102.7 | 102.7 WEQX Southern Vermont and the Capital District of New York (Albany) | WEQX Top 102.7 of 2001 | 103 |
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | 1784 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007) | 2008 |
| 2008 | 1799 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008) | 2009 |
| 2009 | 1825 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2010 Songs of All-Time (December 2009) | 2010 |
| 2010 | 1760 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2011 Songs of All-Time (December 2010) | 2011 |
| 2011 | 1795 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2012 Songs of All-Time (December 2011) | 2011 |
| 2013 | 1770 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2013 Songs of All-Time (December 2013) | 2012 |
| 2014 | 1829 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2014 Songs of All-Time (2014) | 2013 |
| 2022 | 109 | 90.9 The Bridge | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the 2000s | 907 |
| 2025 | 518 | 90.9 The Bridge | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the 21st Century | 909 |
Also listed as: One Arm Scissor; One-Armed Scissor.
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