Breezeblocks (song)

"Breezeblocks" is a song by British indie rock band alt-J from their debut studio album An Awesome Wave (2012). The song was released on 18 May 2012 as the album's second single. The song was written by Joe Newman, Gus Unger-Hamilton, Gwilym Sainsbury, Thom Green and produced by Charlie Andrew. It reached the top ten in the UK Indie and US Alternative charts, and was voted into third place in Australian radio station Triple J's Hottest 100 of 2012, behind "Thrift Shop" and "Little Talks".

This article is about the song by alt-J. For the building material, see Concrete masonry unit.
"Breezeblocks"
Single by alt-J
from the album An Awesome Wave
Released18 May 2012
Recorded2011
Genre
Length3:47
LabelInfectious
Songwriter(s)
  • Joe Newman
  • Gus Unger-Hamilton
  • Gwilym Sainsbury
  • Thom Green
Producer(s)Charlie Andrew
Alt-J singles chronology
"Matilda"
(2012)		 "Breezeblocks"
(2012)		 "Tessellate"
(2012)

Songwriting

The song contains multiple references to the children's book Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak. Newman sings, "Do you know where the wild things go?" In addition, the repeated refrain at the end of the song is a modified version of a portion of the book. Breezeblocks' lyrics are "Please don’t go, I'll eat you whole / I love you so". Sendak's words are "Oh, please don't go — we'll eat you up — we love you so!".[1]

Music video

A music video was created to accompany the release of the song. Directed by Ellis Bahl and starring actors Jonathan Dwyer, Jessica DiGiovanni, and Eleanor Pienta, it is the band's first official music video.

The video features a violent fight in an apartment between a male and a female character shown in reverse, beginning with the death of the female character at the hands of the male character, who bludgeons her with a breeze block. As the fight progresses backwards, it is revealed that the female character is the aggressor in the fight, having ambushed the male character as he returned home to discover his presumptive wife bound and gagged.

The video aired for the first time on YouTube on 23 March 2012. As of June 2020, it has over 213 million views.[2] The video won at the UK Music Video Awards for "Best Alternative Video" on 8 November 2012.

Track listing

7" single

  1. "Breezeblocks" – 3:47
  2. Tom Vek's Remix – 3:59

Digital download – single[3]

  1. "Breezeblocks" – 3:47

Digital download – remixes[4]

  1. "Breezeblocks" – 3:47
  2. Tom Vek's Remix – 5:18
  3. B-Ju Remix – 3:59
  4. Rockdaworld Remix – 4:41

Credits and personnel
  • Lead vocals – Alt-J (∆)
  • Producers – Charlie Andrew
  • Lyrics – Joe Newman, Gus Unger-Hamilton, Gwilym Sainsbury, Thom Green

Chart performance

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[15] 2× Platinum 140,000
Italy (FIMI)[16] Gold 25,000
United Kingdom (BPI)[17] Platinum 600,000
United States (RIAA)[18] Platinum 1,000,000

Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Radio and release history
Region Date Format Label
United Kingdom 18 May 2012 Digital download – single[3] Infectious
Digital download – remixes[4]

References
  1. https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/4489.Maurice_Sendak
  2. alt-J (∆) Breezeblocks. YouTube
  3. iTunes - Music - Breezeblocks - Single by Alt-J (∆)
  4. iTunes - Music - Breezeblocks (Remixes) - EP by Alt-J (∆)
  5. "Australian-charts.com – Alt-J – Breezeblocks". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 22 December 2014.
  6. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
  7. "Official Independent Singles Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 22 December 2014.
  8. "Alt-J Chart History (Bubbling Under Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 22 December 2014.
  9. "Alt-J Chart History (Hot Rock & Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 22 December 2014.
  10. "Alt-J Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved 22 December 2014.
  11. "Alt-J Chart History (Rock Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved 22 December 2014.
  12. "Hot Rock Songs: Year End 2013". Billboard. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  13. "Alternative Songs: Year End 2013". Billboard. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  14. "Top AFP - Audiogest - Top 3000 Singles + EPs Digitais" (PDF) (in Portuguese). Associação Fonográfica Portuguesa. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
  15. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2019 Singles". Australian Recording Industry Association. Archived from the original on 10 August 2020. Retrieved 20 February 2019.
  16. "Italian single certifications – Alt-J – Breezeblocks" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved 12 June 2017. Select "2017" in the "Anno" drop-down menu. Select "Breezeblocks" in the "Filtra" field. Select "Singoli online" under "Sezione".
  17. "British single certifications – Alt-J – Breezeblocks". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved January 9, 2021. Select singles in the Format field. Select Platinum in the Certification field. Type Breezeblocks in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  18. "American single certifications – Alt-J – Breezeblocks". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 2 March 2017. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH. 
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.