"One Armed Scissor"
Single by At the Drive-In
from the album Relationship of Command
B-side
  • "Pattern Against User"
  • "Incetardis"
Released2000
GenrePost-hardcore, emo
Length3:45
LabelGrand Royal
Songwriter(s)
[1]
Producer(s)Ross Robinson
At the Drive-In singles chronology
"One Armed Scissor"
(2000)		 "Rolodex Propaganda"
(2000)

"One Armed Scissor" is the debut single by American post-hardcore band At the Drive-In, released in 2000 from their album Relationship of Command. It was the first At the Drive-In song to be played regularly on a number of radio stations, and is considered to be one of the first emo songs to have achieved mainstream success.[2] The song reached No. 26 on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart and No. 64 on the UK Singles Chart. It was also the encore song of their 2016 reunion tour.

Background

According to a Channel V interview, a one-armed scissor is a mixture of "red bull and vodka", and that the song is about their tours told from the omniscient character named the one-armed scissor who sees their hardships they deal with while on tour.[3]

This song, along with the B-side "Incetardis", was selected to be put on the compilation This Station Is Non-Operational, which itself was named after one of "One Armed Scissor"'s lyrics.

Videos

The music video for this song contains all footage from live shows and the road in general. A second version of the video was also released with the Fearless Records compilation This Station Is Non-Operational containing more live footage, as well as studio footage.

Track listing

  1. "One Armed Scissor" – 3:45
  2. "Pattern Against User" – 3:18
  3. "Incetardis" – 3:26
  • The song was listed at No. 255 on Pitchfork's "Top 500 Songs of the 2000s".[4] A BBC Music review hailed "One Armed Scissor" as one of the "most invigorating rock songs released in the last 20 or 30 years, let alone the past 10."[5] In October 2011, NME placed it at number 113 on its list "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years".[6]
  • "One Armed Scissor" is featured in the music video games Guitar Hero World Tour and Rock Band 3 as a playable track.
  • Alternative Press listed "One Armed Scissor" as the decade's "contemporary punk/emo scene's best single" out of one hundred others.[7][8]

Charts

Chart (2000–01) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA Charts)[9] 85
UK Singles (OCC)[10] 64
US Alternative Airplay (Billboard)[11] 26

References

  1. ↑ "ASCAP Songview repertory entry for this song". Retrieved January 3, 2024.
  2. ↑ Deiterman, Corey. "Put On A Happy Face: 6 Ex-Emos Who Found More Success By Being Happy". Houston Press. Retrieved 2023-08-20.
  3. ↑ "- YouTube". YouTube.
  4. ↑ "Pitchfork: Staff Lists: The Top 500 Tracks of the 2000s: 500-201". Pitchfork. 2009-10-21. Archived from the original on 2009-10-21. Retrieved 2023-08-20.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  5. ↑ Diver, Mike. "BBC - Music - Review of At the Drive-In - Relationship of Command". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2023-08-20.
  6. ↑ Schiller, Rebecca (October 6, 2011). "150 Best Tracks Of The Past 15 Years". NME. Retrieved November 15, 2019.
  7. ↑ Punknews.org. "At The Drive-In's "One Armed Scissor" tops AP's "Haircut 100" singles countdown". www.punknews.org. Retrieved 2020-07-23.
  8. ↑ AltPress (2009-10-20). "Haircut 100: Top 10 Lists From Select Ballots". Alternative Press Magazine. Retrieved 2023-08-20.
  9. ↑ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (pdf ed.). Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 19.
  10. ↑ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
  11. ↑ "At the Drive-In Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved September 25, 2015.
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