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“Sonic Reducer” by The Dead Boys

From the album Young Loud and Snotty (1977)

“Sonic Reducer” by The Dead Boys appears on 17 radio countdowns from 3 stations between 1999 and 2023. It was first released in 1977 on the album Young Loud and Snotty. Its best result is #552 on the 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of All Time. In the combined RockLists rankings it is #1,194 alternative song of all time.

17countdowns

3stations

#552best position

0#1 finishes

0top 10 finishes

1999–2023years charted

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"Sonic Reducer" roared out of the Dead Boys' 1977 debut, Young, Loud and Snotty, on Sire, but it was born earlier: Cheetah Chrome and David Thomas wrote it in their Rocket from the Tombs days, and Stiv Bators rewrote the lyrics when the Dead Boys took it over.

It's pure snarl: guitars grinding like a chainsaw, drums hammering, and a vocal that's all sneer and spit. Punk fans have treated it as a classic ever since, and bands as far apart as Guns N' Roses, Pearl Jam and Bad Religion have covered it. The Beastie Boys sampled it on "An Open Letter to NYC" from their 2004 album To the 5 Boroughs, and it turned up in the video game Tony Hawk's Underground 2.

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

RockLists rankings

Alternative & Modern Rock

#1,194 of all time

Indie & Adult Alternative

#5,807 of all time

All Rock Formats

#2,171 of all time

All-time and decade countdowns

Year	#	Station	Countdown	of
1999	867	CD101	CD101 Top 2000 Songs of All-Time (December 1999)	2000
2000	918	CD101	CD101 Top 2001 Songs of All-Time (December 2000)	2001
2001	921	CD101	CD101 Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (December 2001)	2002
2002	921	CD101	CD101 Top 2003 Songs of All-Time (December 2002)	2003
2002	1912	Fred (XM 44)	Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002)	2002
2003	910	CD101	CD101 Top 2004 Songs of All-Time (December 2003)	2004
2003	1510	Fred (XM 44)	Fred XM Top 2044 Songs of All-Time (July 2003)	2044
2004	910	CD101	CD101 Top 2005 Songs of All-Time (December 2004)	2005
2005	909	CD101	CD101 Top 2006 Songs of All-Time (December 2005)	1994
2007	989	CD101	CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007)	2008
2008	924	CD101	CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008)	2009
2009	939	CD101	CD101 Top 2010 Songs of All-Time (December 2009)	2010
2010	969	CD101	CD101 Top 2011 Songs of All-Time (December 2010)	2011
2011	939	CD101	CD101 Top 2012 Songs of All-Time (December 2011)	2011
2013	908	CD101	CD101 Top 2013 Songs of All-Time (December 2013)	2012
2014	883	CD101	CD101 Top 2014 Songs of All-Time (2014)	2013
2023	552	90.9 The Bridge	90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of All Time	909

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