Not If You Were the Last Junkie on Earth

Background and content

As documented in the film Dig!, the song is dedicated to the band The Brian Jonestown Massacre, friends/rivals of The Dandy Warhols at the time, 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 at the time who, according to him, had become a heroin addict while he was on tour.

The song is known for its refrain "I never thought you'd be a junkie because heroin is so passé". Because of this, the song has often been erroneously titled "Heroin Is So Passe" (most commonly without the accented e), although the song was later subtitled with this in some markets around the world.

Music video

The music video for the song, directed by David LaChapelle, features the group "playing among a troupe of dancing syringes" and was called an "arch, playful, taboo-shredding hoot" by Mojo.

Release

"Not If You Were the Last Junkie on Earth" was released in 1997 as the second single from ...The Dandy Warhols Come Down. It peaked at No. 13 on the UK Singles Chart.

Track listing

All tracks written and composed by Courtney Taylor-Taylor, except where indicated.

1. "Not If You Were the Last Junkie on Earth" – 3:11
2. "Genius (Live)" – 7:05

1. "Not If You Were the Last Junkie on Earth" – 3:11
2. "Not If You Were the Last Junkie on Earth (Live)" – 3:05
3. "It's a Fast Drivin' Rave Up with The Dandy Warhols Sixteen Minutes (Live)" (Courtney Taylor-Taylor, Eric Hedford, Peter Holmström) – 7:17

1. "Not If You Were the Last Junkie on Earth" – 3:11
2. "Genius (Live)" – 7:05
3. "Ride (Live)" – 4:42