RockLists.com
Cover of Veni Vidi Vicious by The Hives
Cover: Veni Vidi Vicious

Song · The Hives

“Hate To Say I Told You So” by The Hives

From the album Veni Vidi Vicious (2000)

“Hate To Say I Told You So” by The Hives appears on 49 radio countdowns from 30 stations between 2001 and 2026. It was first released in 2000 on the album Veni Vidi Vicious. Its best result is #1 on the Live 105 Top 105.3 Songs of 2002. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #8 alternative song of 2002, #2,320 alternative song of all time and #107 of the '00s.

49countdowns
30stations
#1best position
1#1 finishes
3top 10 finishes
2001–2026years charted

Watch

The Hives - Hate to Say I Told You So (Official Music Video)

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

"Hate to Say I Told You So" is the calling card of Sweden's the Hives, the first single from their second album, Veni Vidi Vicious. It came out at home in 2000 on Burning Heart and then made its way around the rest of the world in 2002.

It's garage punk wound as tight as a guitar string can go: a stop-start riff that jerks like a cattle prod, a bass line that stalks back and forth, drums that hit like slammed doors, and a singer yelping with the smug glee the title promises. Nothing in it lasts longer than it needs to. Pelle Gunnerfeldt produced and recorded it, and the songwriting credit goes to Randy Fitzsimmons.

Plenty of people call it the Hives' signature song, and the critics' lists back that up. It was nominated for Best Single at the 2002 Kerrang! Awards; Q ranked it 54th among its 100 Greatest Guitar Tracks in 2005; Pitchfork slotted it at 244 on its 500 best songs of the 2000s; and NME put it at 84 on a 2011 list of the best tracks of the previous 15 years.

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
2001 47 John Peel (BBC Radio 1) John Peel's Festive Fifty of 2001 50
2002 11 KROQ Los Angeles, CA KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 2002 107
2002 4 91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana 91X Top 91 Songs of 2002 91
2002 1 Live 105 San Francisco, CA Live 105 Top 105.3 Songs of 2002 106
2002 32 Q101 Chicago, IL Q101 Top 101 Songs of 2002 101
2002 12 WHFS Washington, DC / Baltimore, MD WHFS Top 99.1 Songs of 2002 100
2002 19 K-Rock New York, NY K-Rock Top 92.3 Songs of 2002 92
2002 39 WFNX Boston, MA WFNX Top 100 Songs of 2002 100
2002 16 107.7 The End Seattle, WA The End Top 107 Songs of 2002 107
2002 54 89X Detroit, MI / Windsor, ON 89X Top 89 Songs of 2002 89
2002 13 CD101 Columbus, OH CD101 Top 101 Songs of 2002 101
2002 30 Y100 Philadelphia, PA Y100 Top 100 Songs of 2002 100
2002 4 The Buzz Burlington, VT / Plattsburgh, NY / Montreal, QC The Buzz Top 99 Songs of 2002 99
2002 68 Channel 104.9 San Jose, CA Channel 104.9 Top 104.9 Songs of 2002 105
2002 23 (tie) WBER Rochester, NY WBER Listener Countdown 2002 224
2002 16 102.7 WEQX Southern Vermont and the Capital District of New York (Albany) WEQX Top 102.7 of 2002 103
2002 38 Radio 104.1 Hartford-New Haven, CT WMRQ Top 104 Songs of 2002 104
2002 32 103.1 The Buzz West Palm Beach, FL Buzz 103.1 The 103 Most Played Buzz Cuts of 2002 103
2002 33 Triple J Australia (national) Triple J Hottest 100 of 2002 100
2003 56 Live 105 San Francisco, CA Live 105 Top 105.3 Songs of 2003 106

All-time and decade countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
2002 1991 CD101 CD101 Top 2003 Songs of All-Time (December 2002) 2003
2003 403 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2003) 500
2003 1795 CD101 CD101 Top 2004 Songs of All-Time (December 2003) 2004
2004 1795 CD101 CD101 Top 2005 Songs of All-Time (December 2004) 2005
2005 64 96.5 The Buzz 96.5 The Buzz Top 96 of the New Millennium 96
2005 321 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2005) 500
2005 1790 CD101 CD101 Top 2006 Songs of All-Time (December 2005) 1994
2005 431 99X 99X Freedom of Choice 1000 (2005) 1000
2005 95 WFPK WFPK Top 100 Party Songs 100
2006 35 107.7 The End The End Top 107 Songs of the Millennium (December 2006) 107
2006 302 Live 105 Live 105 500 Co-Op Countdown (Memorial Day 2006) 500
2006 246 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2006) 499
2007 1788 CD101 CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007) 2008
2008 1744 CD101 CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008) 2009
2009 72 WFNX WFNX Top 101 Songs of the Decade (December 2009) 101
2009 1735 CD101 CD101 Top 2010 Songs of All-Time (December 2009) 2010
2010 191 94.1 The Zone 94.1 The Zone 210 Most Played Songs of the Decade 210
2010 1709 CD101 CD101 Top 2011 Songs of All-Time (December 2010) 2011
2011 1653 CD101 CD101 Top 2012 Songs of All-Time (December 2011) 2011
2013 1619 CD101 CD101 Top 2013 Songs of All-Time (December 2013) 2012
2014 1671 CD101 CD101 Top 2014 Songs of All-Time (2014) 2013
2022 81 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the 2000s 907
2022 410 101X 101X 500 (2022) 498
2024 384 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 1055 Songs of the 21st Century 1055
2024 550 WXPN WXPN The 885 Greatest Songs of the 21st Century (2024) 885
2025 259 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the 21st Century 909
2025 287 WYEP WYEP Best Songs of the 21st Century (So Far) 714
2026 464 101X 101X 500 (2026) 500
2026 569 KXT KXT 917 Song Countdown 917

Also listed as: Hate to Say I Told You So; I Hate To Say I Told You So; Hate to Say I Told You So!.

Charting alongside it in 2002

Best songs of 2002 →
  1. 1By the WayRed Hot Chili Peppers
  2. 2AerialsSystem of a Down
  3. 3ToxicitySystem of a Down
  4. 4You Know You're RightNirvana
  5. 5All My LifeFoo Fighters
  6. 6SweetnessJimmy Eat World

Comments

Log in or create a free account to join the conversation about "Hate To Say I Told You So" by The Hives.

Be kind and stay on topic. Guidelines

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