Song · Fiona Apple
“Fast As You Can” by Fiona Apple
“Fast As You Can” by Fiona Apple appears on 23 radio countdowns from 14 stations between 1999 and 2025. It was first released in 1999 on the album When the Pawn Hits the Conflicts He Thinks Like a King What He Knows Throws the Blows When He Goes to the Fight and He’ll Win the Whole Thing ’Fore He Enters the Ring There’s No Body to Batter When Your Mind Is Your Might So When You Go Solo, You Hold You. Its best result is #13 on the WEQX Top 102.7 of 1999. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #75 alternative song of 1999 and #3,677 alternative song of all time.
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Video from YouTube (fionaappleVEVO). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube
"Fast as You Can" was the lead single from Fiona Apple's second album, When the Pawn..., in 1999, and it's a relationship song that refuses to sit still. Apple wanted to chase the swings of a romance, the highs and the lows, and halfway through the song tumbles into a woozy, disoriented stretch while the beat underneath keeps marching, which is pretty much how the heart works.
Jon Brion produced and knew from the start that he wanted Matt Chamberlain on drums, a player who can make machine-like patterns breathe. Brion worked out a restless bass idea on a keyboard in his kitchen, and around Apple's piano he stacked Mike Elizondo's bass, Patrick Warren's chamberlin and Wurlitzer and a small horn section. Paul Thomas Anderson directed the well-received video, and the single became one of her most successful in both America and Britain.
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 | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 60 | KROQ Los Angeles, CA | KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1999 | 107 |
| 1999 | 34 | Q101 Chicago, IL | Q101 Top 101 Songs of 1999 | 101 |
| 1999 | 53 | WHFS Washington, DC / Baltimore, MD | WHFS Top 99.1 Songs of 1999 | 100 |
| 1999 | 87 | 107.7 The End Seattle, WA | The End Top 107 Songs of 1999 | 107 |
| 1999 | 85 | 89X Detroit, MI / Windsor, ON | 89X Top 89 Songs of 1999 | 89 |
| 1999 | 84 | WBER Rochester, NY | WBER Listener Countdown 1999 | 101 |
| 1999 | 13 | 102.7 WEQX Southern Vermont and the Capital District of New York (Albany) | WEQX Top 102.7 of 1999 | 103 |
| 1999 | 23 | 93XRT Chicago, IL | WXRT Listener Poll: Top 25 Songs of 1999 | 25 |
| 2000 | 43 | WBER Rochester, NY | WBER Listener Countdown 2000 | 100 |
| 2000 | 79 | 102.7 WEQX Southern Vermont and the Capital District of New York (Albany) | WEQX Top 102.7 of 2000 | 102 |
| 2000 | 62 | Triple J Australia (national) | Triple J Hottest 100 of 2000 | 100 |
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 1536 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2006 Songs of All-Time (December 2005) | 1994 |
| 2005 | 483 | 99X | 99X Freedom of Choice 1000 (2005) | 1000 |
| 2007 | 1752 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007) | 2008 |
| 2008 | 1759 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008) | 2009 |
| 2009 | 1776 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2010 Songs of All-Time (December 2009) | 2010 |
| 2010 | 1820 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2011 Songs of All-Time (December 2010) | 2011 |
| 2011 | 1898 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2012 Songs of All-Time (December 2011) | 2011 |
| 2013 | 1913 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2013 Songs of All-Time (December 2013) | 2012 |
| 2014 | 1951 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2014 Songs of All-Time (2014) | 2013 |
| 2021 | 502 | 90.9 The Bridge | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '90s | 908 |
| 2023 | 298 | The Current | The Current's 893 Essential Songs of the '90s | 893 |
| 2025 | 59 | WFPK | WFPK Top 500 Songs of the '90s | 500 |
Also listed as: Fast as You Can.
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