Where's Your Head At
| "Where's Your Head At" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Single by Basement Jaxx | ||||
| from the album Rooty | ||||
| Released | 26 November 2001 | |||
| Format | CD single | |||
| Recorded | 2001 | |||
| Genre | House, dance-rock, electronic rock | |||
| Length | 3:57 | |||
| Label | XL | |||
| Writer(s) | Felix Burton, Simon Radcliffe, Gary Numan | |||
| Producer(s) | Basement Jaxx | |||
| Basement Jaxx singles chronology | ||||
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"Where's Your Head At" is a song by British electronic music duo Basement Jaxx. It was released as a single from their second album, Rooty, in 2001. The song was recorded in early 2001 and is based on samples from Gary Numan's songs "M.E." and "This Wreckage". The song peaked at number 39 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart,[1] the band's only charting single on a non-dance music chart in the United States. The song gained popularity internationally when it was featured over the closing credits of the Lara Croft: Tomb Raider movie. The song is a featured track in the video game Disney's Extreme Skate Adventure.
The song ranked at number 83 in Pitchfork Media's list of the Top 500 Tracks of the 2000s.[2]
Music video
The infamous music video, directed by Traktor,[3] is almost as well known as the song. The video starts out with a man (played by Damian Samuels) entering an undisclosed location ("the armpit of nowhere" as he calls it) to meet up with a man who claims to have "the latest thing in pop music". Meanwhile, a guitarist is shown being wheeled away in a hospital gurney, with the song starting when he lifts his head.
The man then meets up with a scientist (played by Czech actor Petr Janiš), who then shows him his idea – monkeys playing music – with the help of several props. The protagonist seems unconvinced by the presentation. He is then led into another room and sat behind a protective screen, with a view of a chamber containing instruments and DJ'ing equipment. Some monkeys are brought into the chamber and start to play the instruments – It's revealed that their faces are actually those of humans (among them are the superimposed faces of band members Felix Buxton and Simon Ratcliffe). After playing for a while, the monkeys suddenly start tearing up the equipment and causing general havoc, a behaviour which inexplicably carries over into the scientist in a nearby room as well. They then attack the main character, who promptly flees.
During his escape, the protagonist stumbles upon a room containing a monkey and an unconscious human both hooked up to a machine. The monkey's face then becomes more human in appearance. The protagonist, now horrified, sees a diagram on the wall showcasing pictures of a human brain pointing towards several monkey brains. It turns out the "latest thing in pop music" is actually an experiment where musicians' brains are being transferred to monkeys, and he's planned to be the next victim. The video ends with him escaping down a laundry chute to a room with men who have monkey-like faces, only to be cornered by the scientist and a dog, who also has the face of the scientist.
The clip went on to win two awards at the 11th Annual Music Video Production Awards for Best Electronica Video and Best Directorial Debut.[4] Pitchfork Media ranked the video at number 23 in their list of The Top 50 Music Videos of the 2000s.[5]
Tracklisting
- "Wheres Your Head At"
- "Wheres Your Head At (Stanton Warriors Mix)"
- "Romeo (Acoustic Mix)"
Remixes
The song was remixed by a number of DJs including Stanton Warriors, Robbie Rivera, John Ciafone, and Basement Jaxx themselves. The Stanton Warriors mix was included on a Japan-only unreleased songs/remixes EP in 2002.[citation needed]
Klaas also published a version of this song in 2008. However, the artist for this remix is listed as Jean Elan instead of Basement Jaxx. Cut Up Boys remixed it along with Far Out and Make the World Go Round for the Mash Up Mix Old Skool released in August 2008.[citation needed]
In 2011, DJ Chuckie created a mashup of the song with Cold Blank's remix of "Cal State Anthem" and played it at the Electric Daisy Carnival in Las Vegas, as well as several other festivals and events around the world.[6]
Charts
| Chart (2001-2002) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[7] | 16 |
| Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[8] | 44 |
| Belgium (Ultratip Wallonia)[9] | 8 |
| Canada (Nielsen SoundScan)[1] | 9 |
| Ireland (IRMA)[10] | 19 |
| Netherlands (Single Top 100)[11] | 63 |
| New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[12] | 38 |
| Portugal (Portuguese Singles Chart)[13] | 14 |
| UK Singles (The Official Chart Company) | 9 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play[1] | 3 |
| U.S. Billboard Modern Rock Tracks[1] | 39 |
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ http://pitchfork.com/features/staff-lists/7691-the-top-500-tracks-of-the-2000s-100-51/2/
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Basement Jaxx at AstralWerks[dead link]
- ↑ http://pitchfork.com/features/staff-lists/7695-the-top-50-music-videos-of-the-2000s/3/
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ "Australian-charts.com – Basement Jaxx – Where's Your Head At". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
- ↑ "Ultratop.be – Basement Jaxx – Where's Your Head At" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
- ↑ "Ultratop.be – Basement Jaxx – Where's Your Head At" (in French). Ultratip.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Basement Jaxx – Where's Your Head At" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
- ↑ "Charts.org.nz – Basement Jaxx – Where's Your Head At". Top 40 Singles.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
