Song · Yeah Yeah Yeahs
“Heads Will Roll” by Yeah Yeah Yeahs
From the album It’s Blitz! (2009)
“Heads Will Roll” by Yeah Yeah Yeahs appears on 20 radio countdowns from 15 stations between 2009 and 2025. It was first released in 2009 on the album It’s Blitz!. Its best result is #4 on the WFNX Top 101 Songs of 2010. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #52 alternative song of 2009 and #500 of the '00s.
Watch
Video from YouTube (YeahYeahYeahsVEVO). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube
"Heads Will Roll" was the second single from It's Blitz!, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs' third album, released in June 2009, and it's the moment the American band traded their garage-rock and art-punk scuzz for a strobe light. Written by the band and produced by Nick Launay and David Andrew Sitek, it's pure dance-rock, synths pumping, and the story it tells is of a night on the dancefloor that goes very wrong.
It became their best-selling single, cracking the top ten on three different Billboard charts, earning a double-platinum certification and showing up on the charts of six other countries. Richard Ayoade directed the video, which earned an MTV Video Music Award nomination, and a remix by A-Trak pushed it further still; Rolling Stone later named that version one of the 200 greatest dance songs.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 52 | WFNX Boston, MA | WFNX Top 101 Songs of 2009 | 101 |
| 2009 | 26 | CD101 Columbus, OH | CD101 Top 101 Songs of 2009 | 101 |
| 2009 | 54 | CFNY 102.1 The Edge Toronto, ON | 102.1 The Edge The Top 102 of 2009 | 102 |
| 2009 | 32 | Impact 89FM Lansing, MI | Impact 89FM Top 89 of 2009 | 89 |
| 2009 | 9 | 102.7 WEQX Southern Vermont and the Capital District of New York (Albany) | WEQX Top 102.7 of 2009 | 103 |
| 2009 | 33 | 90.5 WERG Erie, PA | WERG Top 90 of 2009 | 90 |
| 2009 | 29 | KSLG Eureka (Humboldt County), CA | KSLG Top 94 of 2009 | 94 |
| 2009 | 14 | The Current Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN | The Current Top 89 Songs of 2009 | 89 |
| 2009 | 48 | 88.3 The Sting Cleveland, OH | 88.3 The Sting WBWC Top 88 Songs of 2009 | 88 |
| 2009 | 11 | Triple J Australia (national) | Triple J Hottest 100 of 2009 | 100 |
| 2010 | 4 | WFNX Boston, MA | WFNX Top 101 Songs of 2010 | 101 |
| 2010 | 46 | CFNY 102.1 The Edge Toronto, ON | 102.1 The Edge Top 102 Songs of 2010 | 102 |
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 145 | 90.9 The Bridge | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the 2000s | 907 |
| 2022 | 451 | KEXP | KEXP Top Songs of the Last 50 Years (1972-2022) | 491 |
| 2024 | 701 | WYEP | WYEP Best Songs of the Past 50 Years | 1049 |
| 2024 | 94 | 107.7 The End | The End Sweet Summer Vibes Countdown (2024) | 100 |
| 2024 | 271 | WXPN | WXPN The 885 Greatest Songs of the 21st Century (2024) | 885 |
| 2025 | 19 | The Current | 893 Essential Songs of The Current: 2005 to Now | 893 |
| 2025 | 244 | 90.9 The Bridge | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the 21st Century | 909 |
| 2025 | 233 | WYEP | WYEP Best Songs of the 21st Century (So Far) | 714 |
Comments
Log in or create a free account to join the conversation about "Heads Will Roll" by Yeah Yeah Yeahs.
No comments yet. Be the first to share your thoughts.