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Cover of Brushfire Fairytales by Jack Johnson
Cover: Brushfire Fairytales

Song · Jack Johnson

“Flake” by Jack Johnson

From the album Brushfire Fairytales (2000)

“Flake” by Jack Johnson appears on 39 radio countdowns from 23 stations between 2001 and 2025. It was first released in 2000 on the album Brushfire Fairytales. Its best result is #1 on the Channel 104.9 Top 104.9 Songs of 2002, and it was voted number one on two countdowns in total. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #42 alternative song of 2002, #3,011 alternative song of all time and #301 of the '00s.

39countdowns
23stations
#1best position
2#1 finishes
5top 10 finishes
2001–2025years charted

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Flake

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"Flake" was Jack Johnson's first single and the only one lifted from his debut album, Brushfire Fairytales, and it introduced a folk-rock sound that barely bothers to raise its voice: an easy acoustic strum, a sleepy, conversational vocal and a groove so relaxed it practically has sand in it. Ben Harper drapes Weissenborn slide guitar over the top, Tommy Jordan adds steel drums, and JP Plunier's production leaves plenty of air around all of it.

It gave Johnson his first Hot 100 entry, sat on top of Billboard's Triple-A chart for three weeks and finished 2002 as that chart's biggest song, and it made the top 10 in New Zealand, still his only visit there. It has stayed a fixture of his live sets, and radio has never quite let go of it.

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#StationCountdownof
2001 3 91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana 91X Top 91 Songs of 2001 91
2002 21 KROQ Los Angeles, CA KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 2002 107
2002 100 Live 105 San Francisco, CA Live 105 Top 105.3 Songs of 2002 106
2002 14 Q101 Chicago, IL Q101 Top 101 Songs of 2002 101
2002 25 WHFS Washington, DC / Baltimore, MD WHFS Top 99.1 Songs of 2002 100
2002 74 89X Detroit, MI / Windsor, ON 89X Top 89 Songs of 2002 89
2002 2 CD101 Columbus, OH CD101 Top 101 Songs of 2002 101
2002 41 Y100 Philadelphia, PA Y100 Top 100 Songs of 2002 100
2002 51 The Buzz Burlington, VT / Plattsburgh, NY / Montreal, QC The Buzz Top 99 Songs of 2002 99
2002 1 Channel 104.9 San Jose, CA Channel 104.9 Top 104.9 Songs of 2002 105
2002 19 93XRT Chicago, IL WXRT Listener Poll: Top 30 Songs of 2002 30
2002 4 WBER Rochester, NY WBER Listener Countdown 2002 224
2002 1 102.7 WEQX Southern Vermont and the Capital District of New York (Albany) WEQX Top 102.7 of 2002 103
2002 99 103.1 The Buzz West Palm Beach, FL Buzz 103.1 The 103 Most Played Buzz Cuts of 2002 103
2002 48 Radio & Records United States (national airplay chart) Radio & Records Top 100 Songs of 2002 99

All-time and decade countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
2002 1963 CD101 CD101 Top 2003 Songs of All-Time (December 2002) 2003
2003 87 91X 91X Top 91 Songs of All-Time (December 2003) 91
2003 213 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2003) 500
2003 1745 CD101 CD101 Top 2004 Songs of All-Time (December 2003) 2004
2004 1745 CD101 CD101 Top 2005 Songs of All-Time (December 2004) 2005
2005 49 96.5 The Buzz 96.5 The Buzz Top 96 of the New Millennium 96
2005 1740 CD101 CD101 Top 2006 Songs of All-Time (December 2005) 1994
2005 449 99X 99X Freedom of Choice 1000 (2005) 1000
2007 1837 CD101 CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007) 2008
2007 737 WTMD WTMD Top 897 Songs of All Time 897
2008 315 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 2008) 500
2008 1863 CD101 CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008) 2009
2009 182 WYEP WYEP 913 Songs That Matter from the Last Decade 913
2009 1879 CD101 CD101 Top 2010 Songs of All-Time (December 2009) 2010
2009 220 WYEP WYEP 913 Essential Songs 913
2010 1936 CD101 CD101 Top 2011 Songs of All-Time (December 2010) 2011
2011 2010 CD101 CD101 Top 2012 Songs of All-Time (December 2011) 2011
2013 369 WXPN WXPN 885 Greatest Songs of the New Millennium (2013) 885
2022 288 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the 2000s 907
2022 1197 WYEP WYEP Countdown to Fall 2022 603
2024 505 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 1055 Songs of the 21st Century 1055
2024 659 WXPN WXPN The 885 Greatest Songs of the 21st Century (2024) 885
2025 370 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the 21st Century 909
2025 498 WYEP WYEP Best Songs of the 21st Century (So Far) 714

Charting alongside it in 2002

Best songs of 2002 →
  1. 1By the WayRed Hot Chili Peppers
  2. 2AerialsSystem of a Down
  3. 3ToxicitySystem of a Down
  4. 4You Know You're RightNirvana
  5. 5All My LifeFoo Fighters
  6. 6SweetnessJimmy Eat World

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