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Cover of Audioslave by Audioslave
Cover: Audioslave

Song · Audioslave

“Show Me How to Live” by Audioslave

From the album Audioslave (2002)

“Show Me How to Live” by Audioslave appears on 40 radio countdowns from 30 stations between 2002 and 2026. It was first released in 2002 on the album Audioslave. Its best result is #9 on the Buzz 103.1 Top 103 Buzz Cuts of 2003. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #18 alternative song of 2003, #2,047 alternative song of all time and #141 of the '00s.

40countdowns
30stations
#9best position
0#1 finishes
1top 10 finishes
2002–2026years charted

Watch

Audioslave - Show Me How to Live (Official Video)

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

"Show Me How to Live" went out in June 2003 as the third single from Audioslave's self-titled debut, and it's the supergroup at a heavy, lurching mid-tempo stomp, thick guitar and drum riffs with Chris Cornell roaring over the top and Rick Rubin keeping it lean. All four members wrote the music, Cornell wrote the words, and the band named Mary Shelley's Frankenstein as the spark for the lyric.

The tricks are the fun part. Tom Morello's solo stutters and flutters like a jammed transmission, a sound he got by tremolo picking the high E string through his Dunlop Cry Baby wah and a ring modulator, while Cornell gets his own strange warble by rapping the edge of a hand against his own neck while sliding the pitch. It climbed to number 2 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.

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
2002 72 Triple J Australia (national) Triple J Hottest 100 of 2002 100
2003 21 KROQ Los Angeles, CA KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 2003 107
2003 21 Live 105 San Francisco, CA Live 105 Top 105.3 Songs of 2003 106
2003 25 Q101 Chicago, IL Q101 Top 101 Songs of 2003 101
2003 17 WHFS Washington, DC / Baltimore, MD WHFS Top 99.1 Songs of 2003 100
2003 14 K-Rock New York, NY K-Rock Top 92.3 Songs of 2003 92
2003 14 WFNX Boston, MA WFNX Top 100 Songs of 2003 100
2003 25 89X Detroit, MI / Windsor, ON 89X Top 89 Songs of 2003 89
2003 21 Y100 Philadelphia, PA Y100 Top 100 Songs of 2003 100
2003 15 CFNY 102.1 The Edge Toronto, ON CFNY Top 102 Songs of 2003 102
2003 18 The Buzz Burlington, VT / Plattsburgh, NY / Montreal, QC The Buzz Top 99 Songs of 2003 99
2003 15 WCCC The Rock Hartford, CT WCCC Top 106 Songs of 2003 106
2003 89 Channel 104.9 San Jose, CA Channel 104.9 Top 104.9 Songs of 2003 105
2003 24 102.7 WEQX Southern Vermont and the Capital District of New York (Albany) WEQX Top 102.7 of 2003 103
2003 16 WBCN Boston, MA WBCN Top 104 Songs of 2003 104
2003 72 (tie) WBER Rochester, NY WBER Listener Countdown 2003 196
2003 35 88.3 The Sting Cleveland, OH 88.3 The Sting WBWC Top 50 Songs of 2003 50
2003 98 102.1 The Edge Dallas-Fort Worth, TX KDGE Top 102 Songs of 2003 102
2003 9 103.1 The Buzz West Palm Beach, FL Buzz 103.1 Top 103 Buzz Cuts of 2003 103
2003 20 Radio & Records United States (national airplay chart) Radio & Records Top 100 Songs of 2003 100
2004 83 Live 105 San Francisco, CA Live 105 Top 105.3 Songs of 2004 106

All-time and decade countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
2004 115 Y100 Y100 Top 300 Songs of All-Time (July 2004) 300
2005 158 99X 99X Freedom of Choice 1000 (2005) 1000
2006 46 107.7 The End The End Top 107 Songs of the Millennium (December 2006) 107
2006 370 Live 105 Live 105 500 Co-Op Countdown (Memorial Day 2006) 500
2010 106 94.1 The Zone 94.1 The Zone 210 Most Played Songs of the Decade 210
2010 34 WJRR WJRR Top 101 Songs of the Decade 101
2010 494 97.9 The Loop The Loop USO Rock 'N' Roll 500 (2010) 500
2012 739 WXPN WXPN 885 Greatest Rock Songs (2012) 885
2014 223 94.3 WCYY WCYY CYY 500 Most Played Songs (2014) 500
2015 220 94.3 WCYY WCYY CYY 500 Most Played Songs (2015) 500
2019 325 94.3 WCYY WCYY CYY 500 Most Played Songs (2019) 500
2022 383 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the 2000s 907
2022 431 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ Rock N Roll 500 (2022) 500
2022 276 101X 101X 500 (2022) 498
2023 300 94.3 WCYY WCYY CYY 500 Most Played Songs (2023) 500
2025 769 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the 21st Century 909
2025 436 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ Rock N Roll 500 (2025) 500
2026 445 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ Rock N Roll 500 (2026) 500
2026 336 101X 101X 500 (2026) 500

Also listed as: Show Me How To Live.

Charting alongside it in 2003

Best songs of 2003 →
  1. 1Seven Nation ArmyThe White Stripes
  2. 2Like a StoneAudioslave
  3. 3Bring Me to LifeEvanescence
  4. 4Somewhere I BelongLinkin Park
  5. 5Times Like TheseFoo Fighters
  6. 6Weak and PowerlessA Perfect Circle

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