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Cover of Look Sharp! by Joe Jackson — Cover: Look Sharp!

Song · Joe Jackson

“Got The Time” by Joe Jackson

From the album Look Sharp! (1979)

“Got The Time” by Joe Jackson appears on 16 radio countdowns from 2 stations between 1989 and 2014. It was first released in 1979 on the album Look Sharp!. Its best result is #208 on the WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1991). In the combined RockLists rankings it is #2,124 alternative song of all time.

16countdowns

2stations

#208best position

0#1 finishes

0top 10 finishes

1989–2014years charted

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"Got the Time" slams the door on Look Sharp!, Joe Jackson's 1979 debut album, and it has stayed a fixture of his concerts ever since. He wrote it back in 1977, before the final Joe Jackson Band came together, and its breakneck pace was more than his drummer of the day, Dave Cairns, could comfortably handle: Jackson wanted it fast, tight and fierce, and Cairns played looser and funkier.

The version that made the record runs on Graham Maby's churning bass, Gary Sanford's slashing guitar and David Houghton's relentless drums, with David Kershenbaum producing and Rod Hewison engineering. Jackson sings about a life that never lets up, one new demand piling onto the last, and the band plays it like they're sprinting to keep up with him. It's new wave at full tilt, nervy and furious and gone in a blur.

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

RockLists rankings

Alternative & Modern Rock

#2,124 of all time

All Rock Formats

#3,681 of all time

All-time and decade countdowns

Year	#	Station	Countdown	of
1989	231	WOXY 97X	WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1989)	500
1991	208	WOXY 97X	WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1991)	500
1999	1766	CD101	CD101 Top 2000 Songs of All-Time (December 1999)	2000
2000	1766	CD101	CD101 Top 2001 Songs of All-Time (December 2000)	2001
2001	1766	CD101	CD101 Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (December 2001)	2002
2002	1755	CD101	CD101 Top 2003 Songs of All-Time (December 2002)	2003
2003	1738	CD101	CD101 Top 2004 Songs of All-Time (December 2003)	2004
2004	1738	CD101	CD101 Top 2005 Songs of All-Time (December 2004)	2005
2005	1738	CD101	CD101 Top 2006 Songs of All-Time (December 2005)	1994
2007	1422	CD101	CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007)	2008
2008	1373	CD101	CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008)	2009
2009	1372	CD101	CD101 Top 2010 Songs of All-Time (December 2009)	2010
2010	1310	CD101	CD101 Top 2011 Songs of All-Time (December 2010)	2011
2011	1361	CD101	CD101 Top 2012 Songs of All-Time (December 2011)	2011
2013	1418	CD101	CD101 Top 2013 Songs of All-Time (December 2013)	2012
2014	1481	CD101	CD101 Top 2014 Songs of All-Time (2014)	2013

Also listed as: Got the Time.

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