RockLists.com

Song · The Breeders

“Cannonball” by The Breeders

From the album Last Splash (1993)

“Cannonball” by The Breeders appears on 78 radio countdowns from 31 stations between 1993 and 2026. It was first released in 1993 on the album Last Splash. Its best result is #1 on the Live 105 Top 105 Songs of 1993. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #1 alternative song of 1993, #134 alternative song of all time and #157 of the '90s.

78countdowns
31stations
#1best position
1#1 finishes
4top 10 finishes
1993–2026years charted

Watch

The Breeders - Cannonball

Video from YouTube (The Breeders). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube

"Cannonball" blasted out of Last Splash, the Breeders' second album, as a single on 4AD and Elektra on August 9, 1993, and it's one of the oddest, most joyful hits of its time. Kim Deal wrote it and produced it with Mark Freegard, who also engineered, and the demo went by the name "Grunggae", a nod to how it crossed island riffs with grunge.

It sounds just like that name suggests: a bass line from Josephine Wiggs that bounces like a ball down the stairs, Jim MacPherson's drums kicking in, and then guitars from Kim and Kelley Deal that lurch from lazy strum to full-on squall and back again. Kelley, Kim and Wiggs trade vocals, whispering, cooing and shouting, and the whole song keeps stopping and starting like it can't decide whether to lounge on the beach or tear the house down.

It reached 44 on the Hot 100 and 40 in Britain, and in France, where it came out that November, it hung around the chart for 30 weeks and peaked at 8. The original "Grunggae" demo finally surfaced on LSXX, the album's 20th anniversary reissue, in 2013.

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
1993 11 KROQ Los Angeles, CA KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1993 107
1993 3 91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana 91X Top 91 Songs of 1993 91
1993 1 Live 105 San Francisco, CA Live 105 Top 105 Songs of 1993 105
1993 11 Q101 Chicago, IL Q101 Top 101 Songs of 1993 101
1993 8 John Peel (BBC Radio 1) John Peel's Festive Fifty of 1993 50
1993 5 Triple J Australia (national) Triple J Hottest 100 of 1993 100

All-time and decade countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
– 80 CRNC 90.1 CRNC Top 90.1 Songs of the '90s 91
1994 44 Live 105 Live 105 Revolutionary 500 (July 1994) 500
1994 12 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1994) 500
1995 369 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1995) 500
1995 138 Live 105 Live 105 Revolutionary 300 (July 1995) 300
1996 20 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1996) 498
1999 136 KROQ KROQ Top 300 Most Requested Songs of the '90s (Labor Day 1999) 300
1999 76 WHFS WHFS Top 500 Songs of the '90s (December 1999) 500
1999 329 91X 91X Fat 500 Songs of All-Time (July 1999) 500
1999 35 WFNX WFNX Top 500 Songs of All-Time (June 1999) 500
1999 302 107.7 The End The End Top 1077 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 1077
1999 45 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1999) 500
1999 54 CD101 CD101 Top 2000 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 2000
1999 670 CFNY 102.1 The Edge CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (November 1999) 1002
1999 95 The Buzz The Buzz Top 99 Songs of All-Time (1999) 99
2000 93 DC101 DC101 Top 101 Rock Songs of the 90s 101
2000 27 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2000) 500
2000 54 CD101 CD101 Top 2001 Songs of All-Time (December 2000) 2001
2001 28 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2001) 498
2001 48 CD101 CD101 Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (December 2001) 2002
2001 1562 WFPK WFPK 2001 Greatest Songs of All Time 2000
2001 193 WBRU WBRU Modern Rock Top 500 (2001) 500
2002 48 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2002) 500
2002 48 CD101 CD101 Top 2003 Songs of All-Time (December 2002) 2003
2002 349 Fred (XM 44) Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002) 2002
2003 53 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2003) 500
2003 48 CD101 CD101 Top 2004 Songs of All-Time (December 2003) 2004
2004 210 Q101 Q101 Top 300 Party Songs of All-Time (July 2004) 300
2004 387 107.7 The End The End Original Alternative 500 (May 2004) 500
2004 50 CD101 CD101 Top 2005 Songs of All-Time (December 2004) 2005
2004 200 Y100 Y100 Top 300 Songs of All-Time (July 2004) 300
2005 26 Live 105 Live 105 Top 105.3 Songs of the '90s (August 2005) 106
2005 116 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2005) 500
2005 49 CD101 CD101 Top 2006 Songs of All-Time (December 2005) 1994
2005 274 99X 99X Freedom of Choice 1000 (2005) 1000
2006 103 107.7 The End The End Top 107 Songs of the '90s (December 2006) 107
2006 241 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 2006) 500
2006 185 Live 105 Live 105 500 Co-Op Countdown (Memorial Day 2006) 500
2006 20 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2006) 499
2007 140 KROQ KROQ Top 500 Most Requested Songs of the '90s (Labor Day 2007) 500
2007 21 CD101 CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007) 2008
2007 302 WTMD WTMD Top 897 Songs of All Time 897
2008 179 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 2008) 500
2008 25 CD101 CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008) 2009
2009 303 Live 105 Live 105 Memorial 500 Song List (2009) 500
2009 23 CD101 CD101 Top 2010 Songs of All-Time (December 2009) 2010
2010 27 CD101 CD101 Top 2011 Songs of All-Time (December 2010) 2011
2011 26 CD101 CD101 Top 2012 Songs of All-Time (December 2011) 2011
2012 295 WYEP WYEP Top 500 Songs Countdown 500
2012 582 WXPN WXPN 885 Greatest Rock Songs (2012) 885
2013 19 CD101 CD101 Top 2013 Songs of All-Time (December 2013) 2012
2014 17 CD101 CD101 Top 2014 Songs of All-Time (2014) 2013
2014 490 94.3 WCYY WCYY CYY 500 Most Played Songs (2014) 500
2015 496 94.3 WCYY WCYY CYY 500 Most Played Songs (2015) 500
2018 308 The Current The Current's 893 Essential Songs 892
2019 198 KEXP KEXP Listeners' Favorite Songs of All Time 627
2020 1234 WXPN WXPN 2020 Greatest Songs of All Time 2020
2020 256 105.9 The X 105.9 The X July 420 (2020) 420
2021 28 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '90s 908
2021 187 105.9 The X 105.9 The X July 420 (2021) 420
2022 21 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 900 Songs of the '90s 900
2022 181 X96 X96 Top 500 Alternative Songs of All Time 500
2022 189 105.9 The X 105.9 The X July 420 (2022) 420
2022 168 KEXP KEXP Top Songs of the Last 50 Years (1972-2022) 491
2023 20 The Current The Current's 893 Essential Songs of the '90s 893
2023 60 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of All Time 909
2023 196 105.9 The X 105.9 The X July 420 (2023) 420
2024 720 WYEP WYEP Best Songs of the Past 50 Years 1049
2024 56 107.7 The End The End Sweet Summer Vibes Countdown (2024) 100
2025 67 WFPK WFPK Top 500 Songs of the '90s 500
2026 1154 WYEP WYEP Greatest Songs of All Time 1180
2026 782 KXT KXT 917 Song Countdown 917

Also listed as: cannonball.

Charting alongside it in 1993

Best songs of 1993 →
  1. 2CreepRadiohead
  2. 3LingerThe Cranberries
  3. 4PlushStone Temple Pilots
  4. 5No RainBlind Melon
  5. 6Soul to SqueezeRed Hot Chili Peppers
  6. 7Heart-Shaped BoxNirvana

Comments

Log in or create a free account to join the conversation about "Cannonball" by The Breeders.

Be kind and stay on topic. Guidelines

No comments yet. Be the first to share your thoughts.