RockLists.com
Cover of Automatic by The Jesus and Mary Chain
Cover: Automatic

Song · The Jesus and Mary Chain

“Head On” by The Jesus and Mary Chain

From the album Automatic (1989)

“Head On” by The Jesus and Mary Chain appears on 31 radio countdowns from 12 stations between 1990 and 2025. It was first released in 1989 on the album Automatic. Its best result is #21 on the KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1990. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #37 alternative song of 1990 and #644 alternative song of all time.

31countdowns
12stations
#21best position
0#1 finishes
0top 10 finishes
1990–2025years charted

Watch

The Jesus And Mary Chain - Head On (Official Music Video)

Video from YouTube (UPROXX Indie Mixtape). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube

"Head On" was cut for Automatic, the Jesus and Mary Chain's 1989 album, and it followed as a single before 1989 was out. Brothers Jim and William Reid wrote it and produced it together, and it's the Scottish band's sound boiled down to its sweetest essence: a punchy, bright guitar riff, a beat that drives straight ahead, and Jim Reid's cool, detached vocal floating over a hook that sticks on first listen.

Alan Moulder engineered and mixed it, with additional engineering from Lee Curle and Jamie Harley and an extra mix by Dick Meaney, and the sound is all sleek menace and forward motion. Blanco y Negro put it out between "Blues from a Gun" and "Reverence", and it stands as one of the most straightforwardly catchy things the brothers ever wrote.

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
1990 21 KROQ Los Angeles, CA KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1990 107
1990 67 91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana 91X Top 91 Songs of 1990 91
1990 37 Live 105 San Francisco, CA Live 105 Top 105.3 Songs of 1990 105
1990 73 CFNY 102.1 The Edge Toronto, ON CFNY Top 90 Songs of 1990 90

All-time and decade countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1991 268 Live 105 Live 105 Top 300 Songs of All-Time (Memorial Day 1991) 302
1991 260 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1991) 500
1992 159 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1992) 500
1994 266 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1994) 497
1994 321 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1994) 500
1995 389 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1995) 500
1996 294 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1996) 500
1996 244 Q101 Q101 Top 500 Songs of All-Time (1996) 500
1996 269 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1996) 498
1998 380 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1998) 488
1999 297 Q101 Q101 Top 1,011 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 1017
1999 237 WFNX WFNX Top 500 Songs of All-Time (June 1999) 500
1999 725 107.7 The End The End Top 1077 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 1077
1999 133 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1999) 500
1999 646 CFNY 102.1 The Edge CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (November 1999) 1002
2000 68 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2000) 500
2001 70 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2001) 498
2002 66 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2002) 500
2002 28 Fred (XM 44) Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002) 2002
2003 114 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2003) 500
2003 341 Fred (XM 44) Fred XM Top 2044 Songs of All-Time (July 2003) 2044
2003 1280 Fred (XM 44) Fred XM Top 2044 Songs of All-Time (July 2003) 2044
2005 120 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2005) 500
2006 117 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2006) 499
2008 454 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 2008) 500
2019 611 KEXP KEXP Listeners' Favorite Songs of All Time 627
2021 349 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '90s 908
2025 363 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 800 Mood Booster Songs 800

Also listed as: Head on; Head.

Charting alongside it in 1990

Best songs of 1990 →
  1. 1Nothing Compares 2 USinéad O'Connor
  2. 2The Only One I KnowThe Charlatans
  3. 3Blue Sky MineMidnight Oil
  4. 4Enjoy the SilenceDepeche Mode
  5. 5Here's Where The Story EndsThe Sundays
  6. 6The Emperor's New ClothesSinéad O'Connor

Comments

Log in or create a free account to join the conversation about "Head On" by The Jesus and Mary Chain.

Be kind and stay on topic. Guidelines

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