Song · The Strokes
“You Only Live Once” by The Strokes
From the album First Impressions of Earth (2005)
“You Only Live Once” by The Strokes appears on 16 radio countdowns from 9 stations between 2006 and 2024. It was first released in 2005 on the album First Impressions of Earth. Its best result is #14 on the CD101 Top 101 Songs of 2006. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #61 alternative song of 2006 and #1,511 alternative song of all time.
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"You Only Live Once" throws open First Impressions of Earth, the Strokes' third album, and it's the band at its most buoyant: Julian Casablancas's song bounces on springy, interlocking guitars and a disco-tight beat, with Casablancas crooning more than sneering. David Kahne produced, Gordon Raphael also had a hand, and Andy Wallace mixed.
It went out in 2006 as the album's third and last single on RCA and Rough Trade, and the band pushed it hard, playing it for Jay Leno and Conan O'Brien and launching Operation You Only Live Once, which asked fans to phone radio stations with requests and post the song on their Myspace pages. The B-side was a cover of Marvin Gaye's "Mercy Mercy Me" with Eddie Vedder trading vocals with Casablancas and Josh Homme drumming alongside Fabrizio Moretti.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
All Rock Formats
Year-end countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | 70 | Live 105 San Francisco, CA | Live 105 Top 105.3 Songs of 2006 | 106 |
| 2006 | 46 | WFNX Boston, MA | WFNX Top 100 Songs of 2006 | 100 |
| 2006 | 67 | 89X Detroit, MI / Windsor, ON | 89X Top 89 Songs of 2006 | 89 |
| 2006 | 14 | CD101 Columbus, OH | CD101 Top 101 Songs of 2006 | 101 |
| 2006 | 55 | Y100 Philadelphia, PA | Y100 Top 88.5 Songs of 2006 | 89 |
| 2006 | 30 | 88.3 The Sting Cleveland, OH | 88.3 The Sting WBWC Top 88 Songs of 2006 | 88 |
| 2006 | 61 | 102.7 WEQX Southern Vermont and the Capital District of New York (Albany) | WEQX Top 102.7 of 2006 | 103 |
| 2006 | 27 | Triple J Australia (national) | Triple J Hottest 100 of 2006 | 100 |
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | 122 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007) | 2008 |
| 2008 | 219 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008) | 2009 |
| 2009 | 237 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2010 Songs of All-Time (December 2009) | 2010 |
| 2010 | 255 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2011 Songs of All-Time (December 2010) | 2011 |
| 2011 | 272 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2012 Songs of All-Time (December 2011) | 2011 |
| 2013 | 278 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2013 Songs of All-Time (December 2013) | 2012 |
| 2014 | 281 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2014 Songs of All-Time (2014) | 2013 |
| 2024 | 366 | KEXP | The Best Opening Tracks of All Time | 738 |
Also listed as: You Only Live ONce.
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