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Cover of Sixteen Stone by Bush
Cover: Sixteen Stone

Song · Bush

“Machinehead” by Bush

From the album Sixteen Stone (1994)

“Machinehead” by Bush appears on 78 radio countdowns from 33 stations between 1994 and 2026. It was first released in 1994 on the album Sixteen Stone. Its best result is #1 on the Q101 Top 101 Songs of 1996. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #6 alternative song of 1996, #196 alternative song of all time and #66 of the '90s.

78countdowns
33stations
#1best position
1#1 finishes
6top 10 finishes
1994–2026years charted

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Bush - Machinehead

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

"Machinehead" closed the book on Sixteen Stone, the 1994 debut from English band Bush: it was the fifth single pulled from the record, and the last, arriving in 1996. Gavin Rossdale wrote the words, Clive Langer produced, and the mix was shared by the band with Langer and Alan Winstanley.

It's the album's leanest, meanest moment, a post-grunge churn of chugging, gear-grinding guitars and a riff that clanks along like factory machinery, with Rossdale snarling over the top rather than crooning. No big ballad moves here, no slow build: it just hits the ground running and keeps pounding until it's done.

Trauma and Interscope issued it, and it took home the MTV Movie Award for Best Song from a Movie in 1997. Long after, in 2024, the staff of Consequence named it on their list of "50 Kick-Butt Post-Grunge Songs We Can Get Behind".

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 13 KISW Seattle-Tacoma, WA KISW 25 Greatest Rock Songs from 1994 25
1996 10 KROQ Los Angeles, CA KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1996 107
1996 3 91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana 91X Top 91 Songs of 1996 91
1996 10 Live 105 San Francisco, CA Live 105 Top 105.3 Songs of 1996 25
1996 1 Q101 Chicago, IL Q101 Top 101 Songs of 1996 101
1996 11 WHFS Washington, DC / Baltimore, MD WHFS Top 99.1 Songs of 1996 99
1996 14 107.7 The End Seattle, WA The End Top 107 Songs of 1996 107
1996 5 WBCN Boston, MA WBCN Top 104 Songs of 1996 104
1996 5 Radio & Records United States (national airplay chart) Radio & Records Top 96 Songs of 1996 96

All-time and decade countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
– 61 CRNC 90.1 CRNC Top 90.1 Songs of the '90s 91
1996 735 KISW KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1996) 1000
1998 899 KISW KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1998) 1000
1999 85 KROQ KROQ Top 300 Most Requested Songs of the '90s (Labor Day 1999) 300
1999 187 WHFS WHFS Top 500 Songs of the '90s (December 1999) 500
1999 143 91X 91X Fat 500 Songs of All-Time (July 1999) 500
1999 91 Q101 Q101 Top 1,011 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 1017
1999 219 WFNX WFNX Top 500 Songs of All-Time (June 1999) 500
1999 26 107.7 The End The End Top 1077 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 1077
1999 149 CFNY 102.1 The Edge CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (November 1999) 1002
1999 94 The Buzz The Buzz Top 99 Songs of All-Time (1999) 99
1999 736 KISW KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1999) 998
2000 26 Y100 Y100 Top 300 Songs of the '90s (September 2000) 100
2000 86 The Edge KEDJ Countdown 2000 (106 songs) 106
2000 57 103.3 The Edge 103.3 The Edge Top 103 New Rock Songs of the Millennium 103
2001 50 WBRU WBRU Modern Rock Top 500 (2001) 500
2002 210 KISW KISW Top 999 of All Time (2002) 999
2002 336 Fred (XM 44) Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002) 2002
2004 270 Q101 Q101 Top 300 Party Songs of All-Time (July 2004) 300
2004 171 107.7 The End The End Original Alternative 500 (May 2004) 500
2004 57 Y100 Y100 Top 300 Songs of All-Time (July 2004) 300
2004 16 WBCN WBCN Grunge Top 104 (2004) 104
2005 60 Live 105 Live 105 Top 105.3 Songs of the '90s (August 2005) 106
2005 85 96.5 The Buzz 96.5 The Buzz Top 96 of the 90s 96
2005 67 99X 99X Freedom of Choice 1000 (2005) 1000
2006 48 107.7 The End The End Top 107 Songs of the '90s (December 2006) 107
2006 318 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 2006) 500
2006 92 Live 105 Live 105 500 Co-Op Countdown (Memorial Day 2006) 500
2007 121 KROQ KROQ Top 500 Most Requested Songs of the '90s (Labor Day 2007) 500
2007 340 CD101 CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007) 2008
2008 167 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 2008) 500
2008 302 CD101 CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008) 2009
2009 172 CFNY 102.1 The Edge The Top 200 Songs of the 90's According to 102.1 The Edge 200
2009 45 Live 105 Live 105 Memorial 500 Song List (2009) 500
2009 290 CD101 CD101 Top 2010 Songs of All-Time (December 2009) 2010
2009 119 CFNY 102.1 The Edge 102.1 The Edge Top 200 Songs of All-Time (2009) 200
2010 80 CFNY 102.1 The Edge 102.1 The Edge Top 200 Songs of the 90's (September 2010) 200
2010 307 CD101 CD101 Top 2011 Songs of All-Time (December 2010) 2011
2010 341 97.9 The Loop The Loop USO Rock 'N' Roll 500 (2010) 500
2011 317 CD101 CD101 Top 2012 Songs of All-Time (December 2011) 2011
2013 316 CD101 CD101 Top 2013 Songs of All-Time (December 2013) 2012
2014 319 CD101 CD101 Top 2014 Songs of All-Time (2014) 2013
2014 13 94.3 WCYY WCYY CYY 500 Most Played Songs (2014) 500
2015 14 94.3 WCYY WCYY CYY 500 Most Played Songs (2015) 500
2019 19 94.3 WCYY WCYY CYY 500 Most Played Songs (2019) 500
2019 242 99.1 PLR 99.1 PLR Big 500 (2019) 499
2019 191 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ 500 (2019) 500
2020 20 DC101 Top DC101 of the 90's 101
2020 43 DC101 The DC101 Top 500 500
2020 245 Q105.7 Q105.7 Memorial Day 500 (2020) 499
2020 71 105.9 The X 105.9 The X July 420 (2020) 420
2020 310 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ 500 (2020) 500
2021 78 105.9 The X 105.9 The X July 420 (2021) 420
2021 171 99.1 PLR 99.1 PLR Big 500 (2021) 500
2021 415 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ 500 (2021) 500
2022 114 101X 101X 500 (2022) 498
2022 81 105.9 The X 105.9 The X July 420 (2022) 420
2022 305 X96 X96 Top 500 Alternative Songs of All Time 500
2023 345 The Current The Current's 893 Essential Songs of the '90s 893
2023 17 94.3 WCYY WCYY CYY 500 Most Played Songs (2023) 500
2023 282 KSHE 95 KSHE 95 Rock N' Roll 500 (2023) 500
2023 75 105.9 The X 105.9 The X July 420 (2023) 420
2023 92 94.1 WJJO WJJO Frequent Rocker Top 100 Songs of 2023 100
2024 306 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ Rock N Roll 500 (2024) 500
2024 49 99.1 PLR 99.1 PLR Top 400 of the Last 40 Years (2024) 400
2025 245 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ Rock N Roll 500 (2025) 500
2025 41 99.1 PLR 99.1 PLR Top 400 of the Last 40 Years (2025) 400
2026 97 101X 101X 500 (2026) 500
2026 253 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ Rock N Roll 500 (2026) 500

Also listed as: Machine Head.

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. 7Tonight, TonightThe Smashing Pumpkins

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