Song · The Dresden Dolls
“Coin-Operated Boy” by The Dresden Dolls
From the album The Dresden Dolls (2003)
“Coin-Operated Boy” by The Dresden Dolls appears on 21 radio countdowns from 9 stations between 2004 and 2022. It was first released in 2003 on the album The Dresden Dolls. Its best result is #1 on the CD101 Top 101 Songs of 2005. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #91 alternative song of 2005, #2,264 alternative song of all time and #457 of the '00s.
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"Coin-Operated Boy" comes from the Dresden Dolls' self-titled debut and went out as a single on Roadrunner on December 13, 2004, a wind-up music box of a song from the dark-cabaret duo of Amanda Palmer and Brian Viglione. Palmer wrote it, sings it and plays it on piano and toy piano, hammering out staccato chords while Viglione's drums tick and clatter like clockwork. Martin Bisi produced, and added some electronic touches of his own.
The joke has teeth. Palmer's narrator sings the praises of a mechanical lover over a flesh-and-blood one, and under the vaudeville grin is something lonelier: a craving for devotion that asks for no risk and nothing given back. Australia heard it too; Triple J listeners voted it in at 12 in the Hottest 100 of 2004.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | 43 | WFNX Boston, MA | WFNX Top 100 Songs of 2004 | 100 |
| 2004 | 77 | CD101 Columbus, OH | CD101 Top 101 Songs of 2004 | 101 |
| 2004 | 47 | Channel 104.9 San Jose, CA | Channel 104.9 Top 104.9 Songs of 2004 | 105 |
| 2004 | 26 | 102.7 WEQX Southern Vermont and the Capital District of New York (Albany) | WEQX Top 102.7 of 2004 | 103 |
| 2004 | 43 | X96 Salt Lake City, UT | X96 Top 50 Songs of 2004 | 50 |
| 2004 | 12 | Triple J Australia (national) | Triple J Hottest 100 of 2004 | 100 |
| 2005 | 30 | WFNX Boston, MA | WFNX Top 100 Songs of 2005 | 100 |
| 2005 | 1 | CD101 Columbus, OH | CD101 Top 101 Songs of 2005 | 101 |
| 2005 | 46 | Channel 104.9 San Jose, CA | Channel 104.9 Top 104.9 Songs of 2005 | 105 |
| 2005 | 6 | 102.7 WEQX Southern Vermont and the Capital District of New York (Albany) | WEQX Top 102.7 of 2005 | 103 |
| 2005 | 90.1 | CRNC 90.1 Niagara / Toronto, ON | CRNC Top 90.1 Songs of 2005 | 91 |
| 2005 | 280 | ModernRock.com Online | ModernRock.com Top 400 Songs of 2005 | 400 |
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 1968 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2006 Songs of All-Time (December 2005) | 1994 |
| 2007 | 850 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007) | 2008 |
| 2008 | 1009 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008) | 2009 |
| 2009 | 953 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2010 Songs of All-Time (December 2009) | 2010 |
| 2010 | 894 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2011 Songs of All-Time (December 2010) | 2011 |
| 2011 | 881 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2012 Songs of All-Time (December 2011) | 2011 |
| 2013 | 917 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2013 Songs of All-Time (December 2013) | 2012 |
| 2014 | 949 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2014 Songs of All-Time (2014) | 2013 |
| 2022 | 470 | 90.9 The Bridge | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the 2000s | 907 |
Also listed as: Coin Operated Boy.
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