Red Alert (song)

"Red Alert" is a song recorded by English electronic music duo Basement Jaxx. It was released on 19 April 1999 by record label XL as the first single from their debut album, Remedy. The vocal from the track was provided by Blu James. It reached number five on the UK Singles Chart and became their first number-one hit on the US Hot Dance Music/Club Play. As of July 2019, the single has sold 400,000 copies in the United Kingdom, allowing it to receive a Gold certification from the British Phonographic Industry.

"Red Alert"
Single by Basement Jaxx featuring Blu James
from the album Remedy
B-side"Yo-Yo"
Released19 April 1999 (1999-04-19)
GenreClub[1]
Length4:17
LabelXL
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Basement Jaxx
Basement Jaxx singles chronology
"Fly Life"
(1997)		 "Red Alert"
(1999)		 "Rendez-Vu"
(1999)

Musical style

Craig Roseberry from Billboard cited Parliament and Funkadelic as inspirations for the track.[2]

Content

"Red Alert" contains a clean sample of the 1980 Locksmith single release on Arista records titled "Chinese Funk Song". This track, subtitled "Far Beyond", was the B-side of "Unlock the Funk" ID number K-8081. The intro section of the "Jaxx Club Mix" contains several electronic sound effect samples from various sources like the audible beeping sound used at pedestrian crossings for blind people in many countries including Australia.

Basement Jaxx remixed the track themselves calling it "Miracles Keep on Playin'". It appears on the "Rendez-Vu" single and samples The Jackson Sisters' track "Miracles".

Critical response

"Red Alert" received critical acclaim from music critics.Robert Christgau and AllMusic's John Bush both chose the song as one of their track picks from Remedy.[3][4] Marc Savlov from The Austin Chronicle described the track as a "club staple" with "the propulsive, feel-fucked-up joy."[1] Joshua Klein from The A.V. Club stated: "For the BPM-minded, the retro single "Red Alert" has more than enough faux funk and chic camp to keep the masses moving, proving that Buxton and Ratcliffe know well enough to think with their feet as well as their heads."[5] Larry Flick from Billboard described the song as a "zippy, ears-pricking pop/dance track" and noted further that it is loaded with "space-age lasers, bloopy bounce rhythms, an unexpected dollop of cello, and a beat meant to ignite the airwaves into a froth of summertime glory." He also added that "Red Alert" is "a gallon hat full of fun, with a female vocal that will force fingers to drum, toes to tap, and heads to nod with abandon. The message here: oh, never mind, it's just about dancing and letting the music raise your soul to the rafters."[6] Writing for Rolling Stone, Barry Walters called the song a "sharp, steady groove is subverted by a succession of P-Funk chanting, G-funk synth screeching, string-section interludes, furious bass doodles and sassy diva wails."[7] Amanda Nowinski from Salon commented that "the everywhere club anthem that almost everyone with the prefix "DJ" seems to have already remixed, continues the hesher ragga vibe with the added P-Funk bass lines and who-you-lookin'-at? vocals."[8] USA Today's Edna Gundersen said the song and "Rendez-Vu" "have personality as well as slapping bass lines and deep grooves."[9]

Bill Werde, assistant editor of CMJ New Music Monthly listed the song as one of his best tracks of 1999.[10] The Village Voice listed the track at number 27 on their annual Pazz & Jop poll.[11]

Music video

The song has two different music videos, one for the UK and the other for the US.

In the UK version, which was directed by Dawn Shadforth, Basement Jaxx work at a truck stop diner that is encounter by the group of Androids and causes a meteor that was flying above them to crash into the diner, that turns everyone into the group of Rave-attire zombies. While this happens, one chef gets a plate in his head, another is morphed wearing a Chinese Dragon head, the waitress is given an outfit in the similar style of the androids and several cafe patrons are forced to dance.

The US video takes place in a world where music is outlawed and follows cops as they find and bust musicians, similar to the plot of Fahrenheit 451 but substituting books with music. The video includes cameo appearances by other musicians being arrested, most notably Moby.

The US version was shot in New York City, directed by Brian Beletic with creative direction by David Levinel, features the Giuliani-era NYPD busting musical instrument owners.[12][13][14][15]

Legacy

Pitchfork ranked the song at number 69 in their list of the "Top 200 Songs of the 1990s".[16][17][18]

Dutch author Ray Kluun's first and well-known novel Komt een vrouw bij de dokter (Love Life) quoted the lyrics from the song.[19]

Mixmag included the Steve Gurley mix of "Red Alert" in their list of "16 of the Best Uplifting Vocal Garage Tracks".[20]

Track listing

CD 1

  1. "Red Alert (Jaxx Radio Mix)" – 4:17
  2. "Razocaine" – 8:25
  3. "Red Alert (Jaxx Nite Dub)" – 6:19

CD 2

  1. "Red Alert (Jaxx Club Mix)" – 6:19
  2. "Red Alert (Eric Morrillo + Harry Romero Dub)" – 6:33
  3. "Red Alert (Steve Gurley Mix)" – 5:29

US/Australian maxi-single

  1. "Red Alert (Jaxx Radio Mix)" – 3:38
  2. "Razocaine" – 8:27

Charts
Chart (1999) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[21] 84
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[22] 36
Canada Dance/Urban (RPM)[23] 9
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[24] 25
France (SNEP)[25] 70
Iceland (Íslenski Listinn Topp 40)[26] 28
Ireland (IRMA)[27] 22
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[28] 31
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[29] 41
Scotland (Official Charts Company)[30] 6
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[31] 5
UK Dance (Official Charts Company)[32] 1
UK Indie (Official Charts Company)[33] 1
US Dance Club Songs (Billboard)[34] 1
US Hot Dance Singles Sales (Billboard)[35] 29

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[36] Gold 400,000

sales+streaming figures based on certification alone

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References
  1. Savlov, Marc (10 September 1999). "Record Reviews (Basement Jaxx: Remedy)". The Austin Chronicle. Archived from the original on 27 December 2002. Retrieved 11 August 2012.
  2. "Billboard".
  3. Christgau, Robert. "Robert Christgau: CG: Basement Jaxx". robertchristgau.com. Retrieved 17 September 2011.
  4. Bush, John. "Remedy – Basement Jaxx | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 17 September 2011.
  5. Klein, Joshua (19 April 2002). "Basement Jaxx: Remedy". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on 15 November 2014. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
  6. "Single Reviews" (PDF). Billboard magazine. 24 July 1999. p. 32. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  7. Walters, Barry (19 August 1999). "Album Reviews: Basement Jaxx — Remedy". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 12 November 2007. Retrieved 11 August 2012.
  8. Nowinski, Amanda (13 August 1999). "BASEMENT JAXX". Salon. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
  9. Gundersen, Edna (31 August 1999). "Basement Jaxx, Remedy". USA Today. Retrieved 30 August 2013.
  10. "CMJ New Music Report".
  11. "Robert Christgau: Pazz & Jop 1999: Critics Poll".
  12. "Billboard".
  13. "Basement Jaxx - david levine".
  14. "DMA: Rockefeller's Proposed Data Law Would Make Info Less Secure". adage.com. February 13, 2014.
  15. "BUG XL Recordings Special – Review".
  16. "Staff Lists: The Top 200 Tracks of the 1990s: 100–51 | Features | Pitchfork". Pitchfork. 1 September 2010. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
  17. NME.COM. "NME Reviews - Basement Jaxx : Red Alert - NME.COM". NME.COM.
  18. Daniel Montesinos-Donaghy. "We Looked Back on All 27 of Basement Jaxx's Singles - and They're Fucking Brilliant". Thump.
  19. "Love Life".
  20. "16 of the best uplifting vocal garage tracks". Mixmag.
  21. Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
  22. "Ultratop.be – Basement Jaxx – Red Alert" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 15 September 2014.
  23. "Top RPM Dance/Urban: Issue 8354." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 9 November 2018.
  24. "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 16 no. 19. 8 May 1999. p. 8. Retrieved 26 June 2018.
  25. "Lescharts.com – Basement Jaxx – Red Alert" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved 15 September 2014.
  26. "Íslenski Listinn Topp 40 (NR. 328 Vikuna 17.6. – 24.6. 1999)" (PDF) (in Icelandic). Dagblaðið Vísir. Retrieved 14 July 2018. Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
  27. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Red Alert". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 9 November 2018.
  28. "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 21, 1999" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40 Retrieved 9 November 2018.
  29. "Dutchcharts.nl – Basement Jaxx – Red Alert" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 15 September 2014.
  30. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 9 November 2018.
  31. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 9 November 2018.
  32. "Official Dance Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 9 November 2018.
  33. "Official Independent Singles Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 9 November 2018.
  34. "Basement Jaxx Chart History (Dance Club Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
  35. "Basement Jaxx Chart History (Dance Singles Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
  36. "British single certifications – Basement Jaxx – Red Alert". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 9 November 2018. Select singles in the Format field. Select Gold in the Certification field. Type Red Alert in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
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