Song · Metric
“Youth Without Youth” by Metric
From the album Synthetica (2012)
“Youth Without Youth” by Metric appears on 17 radio countdowns from 13 stations between 2012 and 2025. It was first released in 2012 on the album Synthetica. Its best result is #7 on the 102.1 The Edge Top 50 New Rock Songs of 2012. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #23 alternative song of 2012, #4,265 alternative song of all time and #208 of the '10s.
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"Youth Without Youth" was the lead single from Synthetica, Metric's 2012 album, and it hit the ground running: it went straight in at the top of Canada's alternative rock chart and refused to budge for a record 16 weeks. Emily Haines and James Shaw wrote it, and Shaw produced, with Gavin Brown, John O'Mahony and Liam O'Neil as co-producers and O'Mahony on the mix.
It's a stomping, glammed-up strut with a sour aftertaste, Haines sketching a society coming apart at the seams as seen by a kid with nothing to lose. Rolling Stone's Jon Dolan gave it 3 stars out of 5 and summed it up as "glam sugar with a bitter core", while Billboard's Jillian Mapes singled out Haines' vivid, violent imagery of a young life slipping into malaise and crime.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 15 | CD101 Columbus, OH | CD101 Top 102.5 Songs of 2012 | 103 |
| 2012 | 7 | CFNY 102.1 The Edge Toronto, ON | 102.1 The Edge Top 50 New Rock Songs of 2012 | 50 |
| 2012 | 24 | WBER Rochester, NY | WBER Listener Countdown 2012 | 131 |
| 2012 | 23 | 88.3 The Sting Cleveland, OH | 88.3 The Sting WBWC Top 88 Songs of 2012 | 88 |
| 2012 | 60 | 102.7 WEQX Southern Vermont and the Capital District of New York (Albany) | WEQX Top 102.7 of 2012 | 103 |
| 2012 | 22 | 99 Rock Lebanon-Hanover-White River Junction, NH-VT | 99Rock WFRD Top 99 of 2012 | 99 |
| 2012 | 63 | The Current Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN | The Current Top 89 Songs of 2012 | 89 |
| 2012 | 41 | ALT 104.5 Philadelphia, PA | Radio 104.5 Top 50.5 Songs of 2012 | 51 |
| 2012 | 95 | 107.1 The Peak Westchester County, NY | WXPK Top 107 Songs of 2012 | 107 |
| 2012 | 132 | WXPN Philadelphia, PA | WXPN Year in Review: Top 200 Songs of 2012 | 200 |
| 2012 | 31 | 96.5 The Buzz Kansas City, MO-KS | 96.5 The Buzz Top 96 Songs of 2012 | 96 |
| 2012 | 27 | X96 Salt Lake City, UT | X96 Top 50 Songs of 2012 | 50 |
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 1451 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2013 Songs of All-Time (December 2013) | 2012 |
| 2014 | 735 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2014 Songs of All-Time (2014) | 2013 |
| 2020 | 73 | CFNY 102.1 The Edge | 102.1 The Edge Top 102 of the 2010s | 102 |
| 2025 | 275 | The Current | 893 Essential Songs of The Current: 2005 to Now | 893 |
| 2025 | 647 | 90.9 The Bridge | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the 21st Century | 909 |
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