Song · Fountains of Wayne
“Red Dragon Tattoo” by Fountains of Wayne
From the album Utopia Parkway (1999)
“Red Dragon Tattoo” by Fountains of Wayne appears on 10 radio countdowns from 3 stations between 2007 and 2023. It was first released in 1999 on the album Utopia Parkway. Its best result is #539 on The Colorado Sound Top 900 Songs of the '90s. In the combined RockLists rankings it is #2,664 alternative song of all time.
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"Red Dragon Tattoo" was the second single from Utopia Parkway, the 1999 second album from Fountains of Wayne, and it's a zippy valentine to terrible romantic ideas. Chris Collingwood and Adam Schlesinger wrote and produced it and cut it at Stratosphere Sound in New York City.
The story follows a guy who heads to Coney Island for a tattoo to win over the girl he's after, with a cheeky name-check of Korn that Schlesinger admitted was there partly because it was so out of place it made you laugh. The hooks come fast and the harmonies sparkle, power pop with a wink. It reached number 79 in the UK and 61 in Australia, and after Schlesinger's death The New York Times named it among his 30 essential songs.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
Indie & Adult Alternative
All Rock Formats
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | 1156 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007) | 2008 |
| 2008 | 1192 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008) | 2009 |
| 2009 | 1193 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2010 Songs of All-Time (December 2009) | 2010 |
| 2010 | 1121 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2011 Songs of All-Time (December 2010) | 2011 |
| 2011 | 1160 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2012 Songs of All-Time (December 2011) | 2011 |
| 2013 | 1200 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2013 Songs of All-Time (December 2013) | 2012 |
| 2014 | 1229 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2014 Songs of All-Time (2014) | 2013 |
| 2022 | 539 | The Colorado Sound | The Colorado Sound Top 900 Songs of the '90s | 900 |
| 2022 | 1052 | The Colorado Sound | The Colorado Sound Top 1055 Colorado Sound Songs of All Time | 1055 |
| 2023 | 724 | The Current | The Current's 893 Essential Songs of the '90s | 893 |
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