Block Rockin' Beats

"Block Rockin' Beats"
Single by The Chemical Brothers
from the album Dig Your Own Hole
Released	24 March 1997
Format	CD 12" vinyl
Recorded	1997
Genre	Big beat alternative dance
Length	5:14 (album version) 5:00 (single version)
Label	Freestyle Dust
Writer(s)	Tom Rowlands Ed Simons Jesse Weaver
Producer(s)	The Chemical Brothers
The Chemical Brothers singles chronology
"Where Do I Begin" (1997) "Block Rockin' Beats" (1997) "Elektrobank" (1997)

"Block Rockin' Beats" is a song by British big beat duo The Chemical Brothers. It was released as the second single from their second album, Dig Your Own Hole, in March 1997. The single topped the UK Singles Chart,^[1] and peaked at number forty on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart in the United States.^[2] It also received a Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance^[2]

There are two different edits of "Block Rockin' Beats" available; one is the version found on Dig Your Own Hole, which has an intro, and the other version begins with the bassline. The B-side "Morning Lemon" is also available on the second disc of the limited edition Singles 93–03.

It was used in the 2003 Ongoing History of New Music episode "Alt-Rock's Greatest Instrumentals". Also it is a soundtrack in Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle. Upon its inclusion on Now 36, released on the same day as the single, it became only one in a few songs to be included on a Now album before it had reached the UK Singles Chart, with its booklet lineup correctly anticipating it as a number one single.

Samples

The drums are sampled from "Them Changes" by Bernard Purdie. The vocals, "Back with another one of those block rockin' beats" is a sample from American rapper Schoolly D's 1989 song "Gucci Again".

One reviewer opines that the track uses (without compensation) the bassline from the track "Coup" by 23 Skidoo.^[3][4] The opening bass riff resembles the guitar intro from the Pink Floyd song "Let There Be More Light", while the bass sound has been sampled from The Crusaders’ song "The Well’s Gone Dry".^[5]

"Morning Lemon" opens with a vocal sample of a man singing "morning lemon", and ends with a sample of Ice Cube saying "take that, motherfuckers!" (from his song "What They Hittin' Foe?").

Track listing

All songs written and composed by The Chemical Brothers. 

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Block Rockin' Beats"	5:00
2.	"Prescription Beats"	5:13
3.	"Morning Lemon"	4:35

References

1. "The Chemical Brothers - The Official Charts Company". The Official Charts Company. Retrieved 16 March 2012.
2. "The Chemical Brothers | Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 2014-03-31.
3. Andrew Unterberger (10 October 2003). "The Chemical Brothers - Singles: 93 – 03". Stylus Magazine. Retrieved 8 October 2011.
4. Archived 10 November 2006 at the Wayback Machine.
5. Look for equal entries in WhoSampled’s page for Block Rockin’ Beats and the one for B-Boy Bouillabaisse, for the latter song is using apparently the same sample.

External links

• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics