Baby's Got a Temper

Recording and composition

The song was written by Keith Flint when he was in Flint, a side project of The Prodigy who co-wrote the song. The band performed several gigs, with their first being a brief set at the Download Festival on 1 June 2003. Having thought that the band were in the industrial metal genre, Flint decided that the song would largely contrast with the band's style, and invited Jim Davies to be featured in the song. Liam Howlett, the song's producer, would later argue he disowned the single.

"Baby's Got a Temper" briefly samples The Prodigy's earlier hit "Firestarter," while its tempo is set in 100 BPM. The band generated controversy by including references to the so-called "date rape" drug rohypnol in the lyrics; however, they explained that the song mentions only personal use and makes no statements on drugging others. Howlett later described the song as "too introverted", as it focuses on Flint's personal experiences with the drug.

Release and reception

The single was initially intended to support their then-upcoming album, Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned. However, the album got reworked and the song was removed from its track listing. Because of the song's release as a non-album single, in 2008, the band's official website's discography classified it as an EP.

Many critics disliked "Baby's Got a Temper" when released. PopMatters commented that the song "doesn’t sound like a great leap forward from the last Flint-fronted tracks, and that's a big disappointment considering that we've been waiting five years for it." In addition, NME panned the song, and called The Prodigy "just total fucking idiots" while unfavorably comparing it to glue. Despite negative reviews, it was a commercial success, with the single being a top five hit on the Canadian Singles Chart.

Music video

A Traktor-directed music video for the song was released as a DVD single that included a short "making of" film. It featured three ordinary men, dressed in suits, who walk into a disused funfair. They enter a makeup trailer, dress up and apply makeup, turning out to be the band members, Howlett, Flint, and Maxim. The group go onstage where they perform before a crowd consisting of cattle, which are milked by women dressed like strippers. The milk is then passed to a booth and sold to the public waiting outside who is desperate to get some in an addict manner. The video was apparently based upon one of Howlett's dreams. The video was shot in June 2002 at Kladno in Czech Republic (around 50.151°N 14.124°E / 50.151; 14.124). There are many Czechoslovak communist era properties - the car in the opening scene is the last model Škoda 120 L, the time clock is classical Elektročas model and the carousels include flying (hydraulic arm) swans made in Bílovice.

12" vinyl record

A1. "Baby's Got a Temper" (Main mix) (4:24) A2. "Baby's Got a Temper" (Dub mix) (5:28) B1. "Baby's Got a Temper" (Instrumental) (4:24) B2. "Baby's Got a Temper" (Acapella) (3:25)

CD single

1. "Baby's Got a Temper" (Main mix) (4:24)
2. "Baby's Got a Temper" (Dub) (5:58)
3. "Baby's Got a Temper" (Instrumental) (4:24)

DVD single

1. "Baby's Got a Temper" (Main mix) (4:24)
2. "A Day At Work" (1:56)

Maverick Records CD single

1. "Baby's Got a Temper" (Main mix) (4:24)
2. "Baby's Got a Temper" (Dub mix) (5:28)
3. "Baby's Got a Temper" (Instrumental) (4:23)
4. "Baby's Got a Temper" (Acapella) (3:25)