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Where's Your Head At

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"Where's Your Head At"
A drawing of an ostrich surrounded by glacial ice.
Single by Basement Jaxx
from the album Rooty
Released19 November 2001 (2001-11-19)
Genre
Length
  • 4:43 (album version)
  • 3:57 (single edit)
LabelXL
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Basement Jaxx
Basement Jaxx singles chronology
"Jus 1 Kiss"
(2001) 		"Where's Your Head At"
(2001) 		"Get Me Off"
(2002)

"Where's Your Head At" is a song by English electronic music duo Basement Jaxx. It was released as the third single from their second album, Rooty, on 19 November 2001. The song is based on samples from Gary Numan's songs "M.E." and "This Wreckage". The song peaked at number nine in Canada and the United Kingdom, number 16 in Australia, and number 39 on the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart, the band's only charting single on a non-dance music chart in the United States. The song ranked at number 83 on Pitchfork Media's list of the "Top 500 Tracks of the 2000s".[4]

Music video

[edit]

The music video, directed by Traktor,[5] starts with a man (played by Damien Samuels) entering a mental hospital in Prague ("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, an unconscious guitarist is shown being wheeled away on 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. The laboratory secretary then suggests that the scientist should demonstrate the idea instead. He is then led into another room and sat behind a protective screen, with a view of a chamber containing instruments and DJing equipment. Three monkeys are brought into the chamber and start to play the instruments – it is revealed that their faces are those of humans (two of the monkeys have the faces of band members Felix Buxton and Simon Ratcliffe). After playing for a while, another monkey appears and all the monkeys suddenly start destroying the equipment, a behaviour which inexplicably carries over into the scientist observing the performance. The group of monkeys then surround 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 an experiment where musicians' brains are being transferred to monkeys, and he is 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 video won two awards at the 11th Annual Music Video Production Awards for Best Electronica Video and Best Directorial Debut.[6] Pitchfork ranked the video at number 24 in their list of The Top 50 Music Videos of the 2000s.[7]

Remixes

[edit]

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.[8]

In 2023, 100 Gecs released a remix of the song, with the title "where's my head at _".[9]

Track listing

[edit]
  1. "Where's Your Head At"
  2. "Where's Your Head At" (Stanton Warriors Mix)
  3. "Romeo" (Acoustic Mix)

Charts

[edit]

Certifications and sales

[edit]
Certifications and sales for "Where's Your Head At"
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[28] Gold 35,000^
Canada (Music Canada)[29] Gold 40,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[30] Gold 400,000‡

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

[edit]
Release dates and formats for "Where's Your Head At"
Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
United States 29 October 2001 Alternative radio Astralwerks [31]
Australia 19 November 2001 CD
[32]
United Kingdom 26 November 2001
  • 12-inch vinyl
  • CD
  • DVD
 XL [33]

Cover versions

[edit]

US noise rock band Melkbelly released a cover version of the song in 2018.[34]

References

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  1. ^ a b Pitchfork Staff (2 October 2009). "The 200 Best Albums of the 2000s". Pitchfork. Retrieved 29 April 2023. ...grotesquely snarling Gary Numan-gone-rave drones ('Where's Your Head At')...
  2. ^ a b Browne, David (29 June 2001). "Rooty (2001) by Basement Jaxx Review". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 6 July 2007. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
  3. ^ Bush, John. Basement Jaxx - Rooty (2001): Review at AllMusic. Retrieved January 6, 2024.
  4. ^ "Pitchfork: Staff Lists: The Top 500 Tracks of the 2000s: 100-51". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on 22 August 2009.
  5. ^ "Basement Jaxx - Where's Your Head At ( Official Video ) Rooty". Archived from the original on 19 December 2021. Retrieved 18 July 2015 – via YouTube.
  6. ^ "Basement Jaxx at AstralWerks". Archived from the original on 22 June 2006.
  7. ^ "Pitchfork: Staff Lists: The Top 50 Music Videos of the 2000s". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on 3 September 2009.
  8. ^ "DJ Chuckie Set at Electric Daisy Carnival". IENLIVE. Retrieved 10 September 2011.
  9. ^ Rettig, James (14 November 2023). "100 Gecs Remix Basement Jaxx's "Where's Your Head At"". Stereogum. Retrieved 14 November 2023.
  10. ^ "Basement Jaxx – Where's Your Head At". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
  11. ^ "Basement Jaxx – Where's Your Head At" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  12. ^ "Basement Jaxx – Where's Your Head At" (in French). Ultratip.
  13. ^ "Basement Jaxx Chart History (Canadian Digital Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
  14. ^ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 19, no. 51. 15 December 2001. p. 11. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
  15. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Where's Your Head At". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
  16. ^ "Top 10 Dance Singles, Week Ending 29 November 2001". GfK Chart-Track. Retrieved 2 June 2019.[dead link]
  17. ^ "Basement Jaxx – Where's Your Head At" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  18. ^ "Basement Jaxx – Where's Your Head At". Top 40 Singles.
  19. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 22 November 2018.
  20. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 22 November 2018.
  21. ^ "Official Dance Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 22 November 2018.
  22. ^ "Official Independent Singles Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 22 November 2018.
  23. ^ "Basement Jaxx Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
  24. ^ "Basement Jaxx Chart History (Dance Club Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
  25. ^ "Basement Jaxx Chart History (Dance Singles Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
  26. ^ "Canada's Top 200 Singles of 2002". Jam!. 14 January 2003. Archived from the original on 6 September 2004. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  27. ^ "The Year in Music 2002: Hot Dance Maxi-Singles Sales". Billboard. Vol. 114, no. 52. 28 December 2002. p. YE-53.
  28. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2002 Singles" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
  29. ^ "Canadian single certifications – Basement Jaxx – Where's Your Head At". Music Canada. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
  30. ^ "British single certifications – Basement Jaxx – Where's Your Head At". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
  31. ^ "Alternative: Going for Adds" (PDF). Radio & Records. No. 1425. 26 October 2001. p. 99. Retrieved 25 April 2021.
  32. ^ "The ARIA Report: New Releases Singles – Week Commencing 19 Nov 2001" (PDF). ARIA. 19 November 2001. p. 24. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 February 2002. Retrieved 25 April 2021.
  33. ^ "New Releases – For Week Starting November 26, 2001: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 24 November 2001. p. 31. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
  34. ^ "Melkbelly – 'Where's Your Head At' (Basement Jaxx Cover)". Stereogum. 24 April 2018. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
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