100 Greatest Songs of the 00’s #55 Basement Jaxx – Where’s Your Head At?

Released: 2001

Pop culture history has revealed one truth way more times than any other: what goes around, comes around. Since his early 80’s peak Gary Numan‘s career had slipped into an odd twilight zone; with an army of still loyal fans, a wicked hairweave and props from the likes of Trent Reznor, he eventually found himself the uncoolest coolest veteran on the block.

Basement Jaxx – AKA Felix Buxton and Simon Ratcliffe – had been hailed by Uncut as the “Saviours of British house” in 1999 after their Brixton club nights thumbed their nose at the champagne and charlie glam of the established big club scene. On their debut album Remedy they pioneered a lairier, in-your-face strain of floor ready music they labelled “punk garage” and eventually had sufficient grease to turn down remix projects for the likes of Madonna and the Manic Street Preachers.

The duo’s second album Rooty nonchalantly mined Prince, techno, Latin rhythms, P-Funk and yes, our Gary too. Where’s Your Head At? even stripped out the leads from a couple of the groanster’s deep cuts, then injected them with fun and madness. In the days of MTV’s peak, a mind-shredding promotional video only added to the sense of electroclash chaos and, voila, Numanoids around the world had something to tell their grandkids about. Maybe an infinite number of monkeys playing an infinite number of synths could’ve written Are Friends Electric?, after all.