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Cover of Bloodletting by Concrete Blonde — Cover: Bloodletting

Song · Concrete Blonde

“Bloodletting (The Vampire Song)” by Concrete Blonde

From the album Bloodletting (1990)

“Bloodletting (The Vampire Song)” by Concrete Blonde appears on 18 radio countdowns from 4 stations between 1999 and 2024. It was first released in 1990 on the album Bloodletting. Its best result is #87 on The Colorado Sound Top 900 Songs of the '90s. In the combined RockLists rankings it is #788 alternative song of all time.

18countdowns

4stations

#87best position

0#1 finishes

0top 10 finishes

1999–2024years charted

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Bloodletting (The Vampire Song)

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"Bloodletting (The Vampire Song)" opens Concrete Blonde's 1990 album Bloodletting, and it's the moment the band pulled on the black lace and walked into goth territory without giving up the alternative-rock bite of their first two records. Johnette Napolitano wrote it and sings it in a smoky, haunted wail, her time in New Orleans and a spell reading The Vampire Chronicles feeding the atmosphere. James Mankey's guitar coils and drips, Paul Thompson paces the drums slow and deliberate, Steve Wynn guests on backing vocals, and Chris Tsangarides co-produced with the band.

For all the fangs in the title, it isn't a horror song: underneath, it's about happiness draining out of a life. I.R.S. put it out as a single in 1990, and while it never troubled the major charts and trailed "Joey", it's counted as the band's second-biggest hit.

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

RockLists rankings

Alternative & Modern Rock

#788 of all time

Indie & Adult Alternative

All Rock Formats

All-time and decade countdowns

Year	#	Station	Countdown	of
1999	132	CD101	CD101 Top 2000 Songs of All-Time (December 1999)	2000
2000	128	CD101	CD101 Top 2001 Songs of All-Time (December 2000)	2001
2001	128	CD101	CD101 Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (December 2001)	2002
2002	128	CD101	CD101 Top 2003 Songs of All-Time (December 2002)	2003
2003	128	CD101	CD101 Top 2004 Songs of All-Time (December 2003)	2004
2004	128	CD101	CD101 Top 2005 Songs of All-Time (December 2004)	2005
2005	128	CD101	CD101 Top 2006 Songs of All-Time (December 2005)	1994
2007	578	CD101	CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007)	2008
2008	560	CD101	CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008)	2009
2009	567	CD101	CD101 Top 2010 Songs of All-Time (December 2009)	2010
2010	585	CD101	CD101 Top 2011 Songs of All-Time (December 2010)	2011
2011	607	CD101	CD101 Top 2012 Songs of All-Time (December 2011)	2011
2013	618	CD101	CD101 Top 2013 Songs of All-Time (December 2013)	2012
2014	645	CD101	CD101 Top 2014 Songs of All-Time (2014)	2013
2021	772	90.9 The Bridge	90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '90s	908
2022	87	The Colorado Sound	The Colorado Sound Top 900 Songs of the '90s	900
2022	483	The Colorado Sound	The Colorado Sound Top 1055 Colorado Sound Songs of All Time	1055
2024	242	KEXP	The Best Opening Tracks of All Time	738

Also listed as: Bloodletting (the Vampire Song).

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