RockLists.com
Cover of Odelay by Beck
Cover: Odelay

Song · Beck

“Devil's Haircut” by Beck

From the album Odelay (1996)

“Devil's Haircut” by Beck appears on 59 radio countdowns from 26 stations between 1996 and 2026. It was first released in 1996 on the album Odelay. Its best result is #29 on the Triple J Hottest 100 of 1996. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #42 alternative song of 1996, #529 alternative song of all time and #289 of the '90s.

59countdowns
26stations
#29best position
0#1 finishes
0top 10 finishes
1996–2026years charted

Watch

Beck Devil's Haircut Live 9-6-1997 New York,NY

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

"Devil's Haircut" was the second single from Odelay, Beck's fifth album, put out by DGC in 1996, and it's the sound of a crate-digger with a four-track mind turning the whole record store into one song. Beck wrote it with John King and Mike Simpson, and produced and mixed it with the Dust Brothers.

The credits read like a one-man pawnshop: Beck plays acoustic, electric and slide guitar, bass, drums, organ, clavinet, electric piano, celesta, harmonica and percussion, and sings lead. What comes out is a fuzzed-up, strutting groove, a garage-rock riff chopped into a hip-hop loop, with Beck drawling his surreal, image-stacked lines over the top like a beat poet who wandered into a block party. It's funky, grimy and very funny, and it still makes sense as a rock song.

It reached 94 on the Billboard Hot 100, 23 on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks and 22 on the UK Singles Chart. Mark Romanek directed the video in New York City, and at the close of 1996 Melody Maker ranked it the sixth best single of the year.

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#StationCountdownof
1996 56 KROQ Los Angeles, CA KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1996 107
1996 56 91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana 91X Top 91 Songs of 1996 91
1996 48 Q101 Chicago, IL Q101 Top 101 Songs of 1996 101
1996 53 WHFS Washington, DC / Baltimore, MD WHFS Top 99.1 Songs of 1996 99
1996 75 107.7 The End Seattle, WA The End Top 107 Songs of 1996 107
1996 94 WBCN Boston, MA WBCN Top 104 Songs of 1996 104
1996 62 WBER Rochester, NY WBER Listener Countdown 1996 100
1996 29 Triple J Australia (national) Triple J Hottest 100 of 1996 100
1996 89 Radio & Records United States (national airplay chart) Radio & Records Top 96 Songs of 1996 96
1997 56 107.7 The End Seattle, WA The End Top 107 Songs of 1997 107
1997 105 105.7 The Point St. Louis, MO 105.7 The Point Top 105.7 of 1997 106

All-time and decade countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1999 192 KROQ KROQ Top 300 Most Requested Songs of the '90s (Labor Day 1999) 300
1999 203 WHFS WHFS Top 500 Songs of the '90s (December 1999) 500
1999 112 Q101 Q101 Top 1,011 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 1017
1999 383 WFNX WFNX Top 500 Songs of All-Time (June 1999) 500
1999 77 107.7 The End The End Top 1077 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 1077
1999 1639 CD101 CD101 Top 2000 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 2000
1999 428 CFNY 102.1 The Edge CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (November 1999) 1002
2000 1639 CD101 CD101 Top 2001 Songs of All-Time (December 2000) 2001
2001 1639 CD101 CD101 Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (December 2001) 2002
2001 1608 WFPK WFPK 2001 Greatest Songs of All Time 2000
2002 1631 CD101 CD101 Top 2003 Songs of All-Time (December 2002) 2003
2002 82 The Buzz The Buzz Top Songs of All-Time (Labor Day 2002, partial) 144
2002 422 Fred (XM 44) Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002) 2002
2003 1621 CD101 CD101 Top 2004 Songs of All-Time (December 2003) 2004
2004 130 Q101 Q101 Top 300 Party Songs of All-Time (July 2004) 300
2004 219 107.7 The End The End Original Alternative 500 (May 2004) 500
2004 1621 CD101 CD101 Top 2005 Songs of All-Time (December 2004) 2005
2005 1615 CD101 CD101 Top 2006 Songs of All-Time (December 2005) 1994
2005 360 99X 99X Freedom of Choice 1000 (2005) 1000
2006 415 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 2006) 500
2006 195 Live 105 Live 105 500 Co-Op Countdown (Memorial Day 2006) 500
2007 126 KROQ KROQ Top 500 Most Requested Songs of the '90s (Labor Day 2007) 500
2007 293 CD101 CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007) 2008
2008 196 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 2008) 500
2008 246 CD101 CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008) 2009
2009 287 Live 105 Live 105 Memorial 500 Song List (2009) 500
2009 250 CD101 CD101 Top 2010 Songs of All-Time (December 2009) 2010
2009 409 WYEP WYEP 913 Essential Songs 913
2010 271 CD101 CD101 Top 2011 Songs of All-Time (December 2010) 2011
2011 264 CD101 CD101 Top 2012 Songs of All-Time (December 2011) 2011
2013 259 CD101 CD101 Top 2013 Songs of All-Time (December 2013) 2012
2014 253 CD101 CD101 Top 2014 Songs of All-Time (2014) 2013
2014 325 94.3 WCYY WCYY CYY 500 Most Played Songs (2014) 500
2015 324 94.3 WCYY WCYY CYY 500 Most Played Songs (2015) 500
2019 359 94.3 WCYY WCYY CYY 500 Most Played Songs (2019) 500
2019 206 KEXP KEXP Listeners' Favorite Songs of All Time 627
2020 471 DC101 The DC101 Top 500 500
2021 417 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '90s 908
2021 377 105.9 The X 105.9 The X July 420 (2021) 420
2022 463 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 900 Songs of the '90s 900
2022 260 105.9 The X 105.9 The X July 420 (2022) 420
2022 951 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 1055 Colorado Sound Songs of All Time 1055
2023 89 The Current The Current's 893 Essential Songs of the '90s 893
2023 267 105.9 The X 105.9 The X July 420 (2023) 420
2023 289 WYEP WYEP Countdown to Fall 2023 1229
2023 420 94.3 WCYY WCYY CYY 500 Most Played Songs (2023) 500
2024 59 KEXP The Best Opening Tracks of All Time 738
2026 1034 WYEP WYEP Greatest Songs of All Time 1180

Also listed as: Devils Haircut; The Devil's Haircut.

Charting alongside it in 1996

Best songs of 1996 →
  1. 1Down311
  2. 2PepperButthole Surfers
  3. 3Where It's AtBeck
  4. 4SpiderwebsNo Doubt
  5. 5What I GotSublime
  6. 6MachineheadBush

Comments

Log in or create a free account to join the conversation about "Devil's Haircut" by Beck.

Be kind and stay on topic. Guidelines

No comments yet. Be the first to share your thoughts.