B-side "Yo-Yo" Length 4:17 | Genre House Label XL | |
Released 19 April 1999 (1999-04-19) Writer(s) Simon Ratcliffe
Felix Buxton
Harvey Mason
Tyrone Brown
John Blake Jr.
Leonard Gibbs
James Simmons
Richard Steacker
Millard Vinson | ||
"Red Alert" is a song 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 Blue James.
Contents
It reached number 5 in the UK Singles Chart and became their first number 1 hit on the U.S. Hot Dance Music/Club Play.
Musical style
Craig Roseberry from Billboard cited Parliament and Funkadelic as inspirations for the track.
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. 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." Robert Christgau and AllMusic's John Bush both chose the song as one of their track picks from Remedy. 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." Marc Savlov from The Austin Chronicle described the track as a "club staple" with "the propulsive, feel-fucked-up joy." USA Today's Edna Gundersen said the song along with "Rendez-Vu", "have personality as well as slapping bass lines and deep grooves." The Village Voice listed the track at number 27 on their annual Pazz & Jop poll.
Bill Werde, assistant editor of CMJ New Music Monthly listed the song as one of his best tracks of 1999.
Commercial performance
As April 2014, the single has sold 270,000 copies in the UK.
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 diner that is hit by a meteor that turns everyone into robot-like people. 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 U.S. 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.
Legacy
Pitchfork ranked the song at number 69 in their list of the "Top 200 Songs of the 1990s".
Dutch author Ray Kluun's first and well-known novel Komt een vrouw bij de dokter (Love Life) quoted the lyrics from the song.
Track listing
- "Red Alert (Jaxx Radio Mix)" – 4:17
- "Red Alert (Razocaine)" – 8:25
- "Red Alert (Jaxx Nite Dub)" – 6:19
- "Red Alert (Jaxx Club Mix)" – 6:19
- "Red Alert (Eric Morrillo + Harry Romero Dub)" – 6:33
- "Red Alert (Steve Gurley Mix)" – 5:29
- "Red Alert (Jaxx Radio Mix)" – 3:38
- "Razocaine" – 8:27