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Cover of Kerosene Hat by Cracker
Cover: Kerosene Hat

Song · Cracker

“Low” by Cracker

From the album Kerosene Hat (1993)

“Low” by Cracker appears on 88 radio countdowns from 33 stations between 1993 and 2026. It was first released in 1993 on the album Kerosene Hat. Its best result is #9 on the Live 105 Top 105 Songs of 1993. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #21 alternative song of 1993, #90 alternative song of all time and #241 of the '90s.

88countdowns
33stations
#9best position
0#1 finishes
1top 10 finishes
1993–2026years charted

Watch

Cracker - Low

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

Kerosene Hat, the second studio album from Cracker, was heralded in August 1993 by its first single, "Low", and the song is a woozy slow-burner, David Lowery drawling over a groove that sounds half asleep and half ready to throw a punch. Lowery wrote it with Johnny Hickman and Davey Faragher, and Don Smith produced, keeping the guitars thick and the swagger lazy.

It was a sleeper that took its time: third on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks late in 1993, fifth on Album Rock Tracks the following March, and finally a place on the Hot 100 in May 1994. Carlos Grasso's video has Lowery losing a boxing match to Sandra Bernhard.

The song got a strange second act in 2013, when Lowery wrote an essay on his website The Trichordist about what "Low" earned in the streaming era: 1 million plays on Pandora brought him $16.89, less than he made selling one T-shirt. The post went viral and became a touchstone in the argument over what streaming pays musicians.

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
1993 19 KROQ Los Angeles, CA KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1993 107
1993 17 91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana 91X Top 91 Songs of 1993 91
1993 9 Live 105 San Francisco, CA Live 105 Top 105 Songs of 1993 105
1993 16 Q101 Chicago, IL Q101 Top 101 Songs of 1993 101
1994 78 Triple J Australia (national) Triple J Hottest 100 of 1994 100

All-time and decade countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1994 37 Live 105 Live 105 Revolutionary 500 (July 1994) 500
1994 90 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1994) 500
1995 99 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1995) 500
1995 83 Live 105 Live 105 Revolutionary 300 (July 1995) 300
1995 892 KISW KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1995) 1000
1996 454 Q101 Q101 Top 500 Songs of All-Time (1996) 500
1996 114 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1996) 498
1996 545 KISW KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1996) 1000
1996 44 WNEW-FM WNEW Firecracker 500 (1996) 500
1997 235 102.3 WBAB WBAB Top 1,023 Rock and Roll Songs of All Time (1997) 1023
1998 575 KISW KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1998) 1000
1999 142 KROQ KROQ Top 300 Most Requested Songs of the '90s (Labor Day 1999) 300
1999 177 WHFS WHFS Top 500 Songs of the '90s (December 1999) 500
1999 494 91X 91X Fat 500 Songs of All-Time (July 1999) 500
1999 171 Q101 Q101 Top 1,011 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 1017
1999 133 WFNX WFNX Top 500 Songs of All-Time (June 1999) 500
1999 118 107.7 The End The End Top 1077 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 1077
1999 125 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1999) 500
1999 50 CD101 CD101 Top 2000 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 2000
1999 479 CFNY 102.1 The Edge CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (November 1999) 1002
1999 511 KISW KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1999) 998
2000 75 Y100 Y100 Top 300 Songs of the '90s (September 2000) 100
2000 76 DC101 DC101 Top 101 Rock Songs of the 90s 101
2000 95 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2000) 500
2000 50 CD101 CD101 Top 2001 Songs of All-Time (December 2000) 2001
2001 97 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2001) 498
2001 55 CD101 CD101 Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (December 2001) 2002
2001 174 WBRU WBRU Modern Rock Top 500 (2001) 500
2002 104 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2002) 500
2002 55 CD101 CD101 Top 2003 Songs of All-Time (December 2002) 2003
2002 336 KISW KISW Top 999 of All Time (2002) 999
2002 208 Fred (XM 44) Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002) 2002
2003 128 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2003) 500
2003 55 CD101 CD101 Top 2004 Songs of All-Time (December 2003) 2004
2004 205 Q101 Q101 Top 300 Party Songs of All-Time (July 2004) 300
2004 414 107.7 The End The End Original Alternative 500 (May 2004) 500
2004 56 CD101 CD101 Top 2005 Songs of All-Time (December 2004) 2005
2004 162 Y100 Y100 Top 300 Songs of All-Time (July 2004) 300
2005 91 96.5 The Buzz 96.5 The Buzz Top 96 of the 90s 96
2005 135 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2005) 500
2005 53 CD101 CD101 Top 2006 Songs of All-Time (December 2005) 1994
2005 117 99X 99X Freedom of Choice 1000 (2005) 1000
2006 96 107.7 The End The End Top 107 Songs of the '90s (December 2006) 107
2006 180 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 2006) 500
2006 154 Live 105 Live 105 500 Co-Op Countdown (Memorial Day 2006) 500
2006 113 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2006) 499
2007 152 KROQ KROQ Top 500 Most Requested Songs of the '90s (Labor Day 2007) 500
2007 29 CD101 CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007) 2008
2008 258 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 2008) 500
2008 29 CD101 CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008) 2009
2009 129 CFNY 102.1 The Edge The Top 200 Songs of the 90's According to 102.1 The Edge 200
2009 94 Live 105 Live 105 Memorial 500 Song List (2009) 500
2009 29 CD101 CD101 Top 2010 Songs of All-Time (December 2009) 2010
2010 25 CD101 CD101 Top 2011 Songs of All-Time (December 2010) 2011
2011 21 CD101 CD101 Top 2012 Songs of All-Time (December 2011) 2011
2013 21 CD101 CD101 Top 2013 Songs of All-Time (December 2013) 2012
2014 20 CD101 CD101 Top 2014 Songs of All-Time (2014) 2013
2014 158 94.3 WCYY WCYY CYY 500 Most Played Songs (2014) 500
2015 144 94.3 WCYY WCYY CYY 500 Most Played Songs (2015) 500
2019 208 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ 500 (2019) 500
2019 124 94.3 WCYY WCYY CYY 500 Most Played Songs (2019) 500
2020 1516 WXPN WXPN 2020 Greatest Songs of All Time 2020
2020 285 Q105.7 Q105.7 Memorial Day 500 (2020) 499
2020 165 105.9 The X 105.9 The X July 420 (2020) 420
2020 283 DC101 The DC101 Top 500 500
2021 623 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '90s 908
2021 387 99.1 PLR 99.1 PLR Big 500 (2021) 500
2021 148 105.9 The X 105.9 The X July 420 (2021) 420
2022 68 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 900 Songs of the '90s 900
2022 146 105.9 The X 105.9 The X July 420 (2022) 420
2022 172 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 1055 Colorado Sound Songs of All Time 1055
2022 310 101X 101X 500 (2022) 498
2023 264 The Current The Current's 893 Essential Songs of the '90s 893
2023 846 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of All Time 909
2023 140 105.9 The X 105.9 The X July 420 (2023) 420
2023 94 94.3 WCYY WCYY CYY 500 Most Played Songs (2023) 500
2024 364 99.1 PLR 99.1 PLR Top 400 of the Last 40 Years (2024) 400
2025 395 WFPK WFPK Top 500 Songs of the '90s 500
2025 203 99.1 PLR 99.1 PLR Top 400 of the Last 40 Years (2025) 400
2025 873 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2025) 1043
2026 381 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ Rock N Roll 500 (2026) 500
2026 743 WYEP WYEP Greatest Songs of All Time 1180
2026 358 101X 101X 500 (2026) 500

Charting alongside it in 1993

Best songs of 1993 →
  1. 1CannonballThe Breeders
  2. 2CreepRadiohead
  3. 3LingerThe Cranberries
  4. 4PlushStone Temple Pilots
  5. 5No RainBlind Melon
  6. 6Soul to SqueezeRed Hot Chili Peppers

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