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Cover of What It Is to Burn by Finch — Cover: What It Is to Burn

Song · Finch

“What It Is to Burn” by Finch

From the album What It Is to Burn (2002)

“What It Is to Burn” by Finch appears on 13 radio countdowns from 13 stations between 2003 and 2005. It was first released in 2002 on the album What It Is to Burn. Its best result is #46 on the Q101 Top 101 Songs of 2003. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #85 alternative song of 2003.

13countdowns

13stations

#46best position

0#1 finishes

0top 10 finishes

2003–2005years charted

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Finch - What It Is To Burn

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Finch named their 2002 debut album after "What It Is to Burn", and the song earns the honor: post-hardcore that screams and swoons in the same breath. Nate Barcalow wrote it as a letter home from a man in hell to the one he loves, and he sings like he feels every lick of flame, while Alex Linares and Randy Strohmeyer's guitars surge and crash over Derek Doherty's bass and Alex Pappas's drums. Mark Trombino produced, recorded and mixed.

Fans already knew it: a longer, orchestral demo had turned up on Drive-Thru's Welcome to the Family compilation in 2001, and plenty of them still prefer that take. The tighter album cut went out as a single in 2003, landed in the pilot of One Tree Hill, and became the band's only song to chart in the US.

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

RockLists rankings

Alternative & Modern Rock

Hard Rock & Metal

All Rock Formats

Year-end countdowns

Year	#	Station	Countdown	of
2003	78	KROQ Los Angeles, CA	KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 2003	107
2003	88	91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana	91X Top 91 Songs of 2003	91
2003	59	Live 105 San Francisco, CA	Live 105 Top 105.3 Songs of 2003	106
2003	46	Q101 Chicago, IL	Q101 Top 101 Songs of 2003	101
2003	56	K-Rock New York, NY	K-Rock Top 92.3 Songs of 2003	92
2003	53	Y100 Philadelphia, PA	Y100 Top 100 Songs of 2003	100
2003	51	The Buzz Burlington, VT / Plattsburgh, NY / Montreal, QC	The Buzz Top 99 Songs of 2003	99
2003	105	WCCC The Rock Hartford, CT	WCCC Top 106 Songs of 2003	106
2003	100	WBCN Boston, MA	WBCN Top 104 Songs of 2003	104
2003	50	88.3 The Sting Cleveland, OH	88.3 The Sting WBWC Top 50 Songs of 2003	50
2003	64	102.7 WEQX Southern Vermont and the Capital District of New York (Albany)	WEQX Top 102.7 of 2003	103
2003	55	Radio & Records United States (national airplay chart)	Radio & Records Top 100 Songs of 2003	100

All-time and decade countdowns

Year	#	Station	Countdown	of
2005	71	96.5 The Buzz	96.5 The Buzz Top 96 of the New Millennium	96

Also listed as: What it is to Burn; What It Is To Burn.

Charting alongside it in 2003

Best songs of 2003 →

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