Not If You Were the Last Junkie on Earth
1997 single by the Dandy Warhols
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"Not If You Were the Last Junkie on Earth" is a song by American rock band the Dandy Warhols. It was released on June 16, 1997, as the first single from their second studio album, ...The Dandy Warhols Come Down, and charted in four countries.
| "Not If You Were the Last Junkie on Earth" | ||||
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| Single by the Dandy Warhols | ||||
| from the album ...The Dandy Warhols Come Down | ||||
| Released | June 16, 1997 | |||
| Genre | Alternative rock[1] | |||
| Length | 3:11 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Songwriter | Courtney Taylor-Taylor | |||
| Producers |
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| The Dandy Warhols singles chronology | ||||
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Background and content
As documented in the film Dig!, the song is dedicated to the band the Brian Jonestown Massacre, friends and rivals of the Dandy Warhols, who in turn dedicated their own track "Not If You Were the Last Dandy on Earth" to them. Frontman Courtney Taylor-Taylor revealed in an interview that the song is also about his girlfriend. He said, "There is nothing fucking playful about coming home from your first tour ever, and discovering that your girlfriend of four years has become – in one week – a fucking heroin addict."[2]
The song is known for its refrain "I never thought you'd be a junkie because heroin is so passé".[3] Because of this, the song has often been erroneously titled "Heroin Is So Passé", and the song was later subtitled with this in some markets.
Release
"Not If You Were the Last Junkie on Earth" was released in 1997 as the first single from ...The Dandy Warhols Come Down. It peaked at number 13 on the UK Singles Chart and number 31 on the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart.[4][5]
Music video
The music video for the song, directed by David LaChapelle,[6] features the group "playing among a troupe of dancing syringes" and was called an "arch, playful, taboo-shredding hoot" by Mojo.[2]
Track listings
All tracks were written and composed by Courtney Taylor-Taylor except where indicated.
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UK CD1[7]
UK CD2[8]
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UK 7-inch single[9]
Australian CD single[10]
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Charts
| Chart (1997–1998) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[11] | 47 |
| Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[12] | 73 |
| Netherlands (Single Top 100)[13] | 98 |
| Scotland Singles (OCC)[14] | 12 |
| UK Singles (OCC)[4] | 13 |
| US Modern Rock Tracks (Billboard)[5] | 31 |