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Breezeblocks (song)

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"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)

"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, Gwil 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".

The band was formed at Leeds University in 2007. Newman (vocalist) and Sainsbury (guitarist) started recording their songs on Garage Band and were soon joined by Unger-Hamilton and Green. They later coined the band name, alt-j.

The sinister love song is about liking someone that you want so much to love you that you want to hurt yourself and them. alt-j stated in an interview that Breezeblocks, as well as the rest of the album An Awesome Wave, was related to the idea of the children's book, Where the Wild Things Are.[1]

Songwriting

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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!".[2]

The song is about a man who's in love with a partner that wishes to leave him, and in response, the man resorts to violent outbursts and threats to force the two to remain together, with implications that the ending lyrics of "please don't go, I'll eat you whole, I love you so" is supposed to mean said partner is murdered, as per the cannibalism metaphor from Where the Wild Things Are.[3][4] Writing for the song started when Joe Newman read a warning label on an aerosol can, which said it "may contain traces of something that may be flammable", to which Newman translated into the repeated leitmotif of "she may contain the urge to run away."[3]

Music video

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

The song and its music video seem to convey very different messages, with the song being about a deranged, obsessive man, whilst the music video shows a murderous and presumably vengeful ex-girlfriend. In an interview with Interview magazine, Joe Newman states, "Our video for this track has a really different message, and yet it worked really well with the song. It's quite a weird one; people aren't sure what's going on. We liked that you might have to go back and watch it a second time to figure out what is happening" [4]

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 wife [5] bound and gagged.

The video aired for the first time on YouTube on 23 March 2012. As of January 2024, it has over 271 million views.[6] The video won at the UK Music Video Awards for "Best Alternative Video" on 8 November 2012.[7]

Track listing

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7" single

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

Digital download – single[8]

  1. "Breezeblocks" – 3:47

Digital download – remixes[9]

  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

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

Chart performance

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Certifications

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[19] 4× Platinum 280,000‡
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[20] Gold 45,000‡
Italy (FIMI)[21] Gold 25,000‡
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[22] Gold 30,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[23] Platinum 600,000‡
United States (RIAA)[24] 3× Platinum 3,000,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Radio and release history

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Region Date Format Label
United Kingdom 18 May 2012 Digital download – single[8] Infectious
Digital download – remixes[9]

References

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  1. ^ Songfacts. "Breezeblocks by Alt-J - Songfacts". www.songfacts.com. Retrieved 2022-12-28.
  2. ^ "Maurice Sendak Quotes (Author of Where the Wild Things Are)". Goodreads.com. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
  3. ^ a b Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: 3voor12 Song Stories: Alt-J - Breezeblocks. YouTube.
  4. ^ a b "Discovery: Alt-J". Interview Magazine. 1 June 2012. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
  5. ^ The bound woman in the video is heavily implied to be the man's wife, considering the fact that both she and the man have wedding rings while the aggressor does not.
  6. ^ alt-J (∆) Breezeblocks. YouTube
  7. ^ Barclay, Katie (2018-10-20). "Love and Violence in the Music of Late Modernity". Popular Music and Society. 41 (5): 539–555. doi:10.1080/03007766.2017.1378526. hdl:2440/114169. ISSN 0300-7766.
  8. ^ a b "Breezeblocks - Single by alt-J". 18 May 2012. Retrieved 17 December 2021 – via Apple Music.
  9. ^ a b "Breezeblocks (Remixes) - EP by alt-J". 21 May 2012. Retrieved 17 December 2021 – via Apple Music.
  10. ^ "Alt-J – Breezeblocks". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 22 December 2014.
  11. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
  12. ^ "Official Independent Singles Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 22 December 2014.
  13. ^ "Alt-J Chart History (Bubbling Under Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 22 December 2014.
  14. ^ "Alt-J Chart History (Hot Rock & Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 22 December 2014.
  15. ^ "Alt-J Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved 22 December 2014.
  16. ^ "Alt-J Chart History (Rock Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved 22 December 2014.
  17. ^ "Hot Rock Songs: Year End 2013". Billboard. Retrieved 4 March 2021.
  18. ^ "Alternative Songs: Year End 2013". Billboard. Retrieved 4 March 2021.
  19. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2023 Singles" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
  20. ^ "Danish single certifications – Alt-J – Breezeblocks". IFPI Danmark. Retrieved 31 December 2022.
  21. ^ "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" under "Sezione".
  22. ^ "Spanish single certifications – Alt-J (? ) – Breezeblocks". El portal de Música. Productores de Música de España. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
  23. ^ "British single certifications – Alt-J – Breezeblocks". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
  24. ^ "American single certifications – Alt-J – Breezeblocks". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
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