Windowlicker

"Windowlicker" is a song by British electronic music artist Richard D. James (Aphex Twin), released as a single in 1999 on Warp Records. The single peaked at #16 on the UK Singles Chart, becoming his highest-charting song. The song was later voted, by fans, as Warp Records' most popular song, for its Warp20 compilation.

The artwork for the single was created by Chris Cunningham, with additional work by The Designers Republic. Cunningham also directed the song's music video.



Contents
[hide]  *1 Background  ==Background[ edit] == The spiral at the end of "Windowlicker""Windowlicker" consists of James' voice modulated on computer, mixed with his trademark breakbeat snare rushes, drum samples, and mixed choir-like singing, resulting in a smooth yet erratic song with the last minute of the track escalating into an extremely distorted wall of bass. Also included is a sample of James' Frenchthen-girlfriend speaking in her native language saying either J'aime faire des croquettes au chien (translating to "I like to make dog nuggets") or J'aime faire des cracquottes au chien (translating to "I like to make dogcracquottes [turds]"). ===Hidden images[ edit] === A spectrogram of "Windowlicker" reveals a spiral at the end of the song. This spiral is more impressive when viewed with an X-Y scatter graph, X and Y being the amplitudes of the L and R channels, which shows expanding and contracting concentric circles and spirals.
 * 1.1 Hidden images
 * 2 Single release
 * 3 Reception
 * 4 Music video
 * 5 Track listing
 * 5.1 CD1 and 12-inch vinyl
 * 5.2 CD2
 * 5.3 Japanese version
 * 6 Chart positions
 * 7 Remixes and samples
 * 7.1 Use in media
 * 8 References
 * 9 External links

The effect was achieved through use of the Mac-based program MetaSynth.[1]  This program allows the user to insert a digital image as the spectrogram. MetaSynth will then convert the spectrogram to digital sound and "play" the picture. According to an article on the website Wired News, photographs run through the program tend to produce "a kind of discordant, metallic scratching".[2]

A logarithmic spectrogram of "ΔM<sub style="line-height:1;font-size:10.9090909957886px;">i <sup style="line-height:1;font-size:10.9090909957886px;">−1  = −αΣ<sub style="line-height:1;font-size:10.9090909957886px;">n=1 <sup style="line-height:1;font-size:10.9090909957886px;">N D<sub style="line-height:1;font-size:10.9090909957886px;">i [n][Σ<sub style="line-height:1;font-size:10.9090909957886px;">j∈C[i] F<sub style="line-height:1;font-size:10.9090909957886px;">ji [n − 1] +Fext<sub style="line-height:1;font-size:10.9090909957886px;">i [n<sup style="line-height:1;font-size:10.9090909957886px;">−1 ]]" (commonly known as 'Equation') reveals a portrait of a face near the end of the track, believed to be a photograph of James himself which features his trademark grin.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-wired_3-0" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:10.9090909957886px;">[3]

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:20.3636360168457px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13.63636302948px;">It is one of a few instances of musicians "embedding" images into their music. British band Plaid embedded a series of interlocked 3's into their song "3 Recurring" from their album Rest Proof Clockwork;<sup class="noprint Inline-Template Template-Fact" style="line-height:1;font-size:10.9090909957886px;white-space:nowrap;">[citation needed]  Canadian breakcore producer Venetian Snares embedded several images of his cats into his song "Look" from Songs About My Cats;<sup class="noprint Inline-Template Template-Fact" style="line-height:1;font-size:10.9090909957886px;white-space:nowrap;">[citation needed]  industrial rock bandNine Inch Nails embedded an image of "The Presence" into two songs from their album Year Zero, "The Warning" and "My Violent Heart."<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-4" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:10.9090909957886px;">[4] ==Single release<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:20.3636360168457px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13.63636302948px;">The "Windowlicker" single contains its titular track and two B-sides. Track two, commonly known as "[Formula]"<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Warp_discography_5-0" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:10.9090909957886px;">[5]  or "[Equation]" due to its actual title being a complex mathematical formula ("ΔM<sub style="line-height:1;font-size:10.9090909957886px;">i <sup style="line-height:1;font-size:10.9090909957886px;">−1 = −αΣ<sub style="line-height:1;font-size:10.9090909957886px;">n=1 <sup style="line-height:1;font-size:10.9090909957886px;">N D<sub style="line-height:1;font-size:10.9090909957886px;">i [n][Σ<sub style="line-height:1;font-size:10.9090909957886px;">j∈C[i] F<sub style="line-height:1;font-size:10.9090909957886px;">ji [n − 1] + Fext<sub style="line-height:1;font-size:10.9090909957886px;">i [n<sup style="line-height:1;font-size:10.9090909957886px;">−1 ]]"), has a very experimental sound. Track three, "Nannou", dedicated to his then-girlfriend, is made up of wind-up music box samples. ==Reception<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:20.3636360168457px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13.63636302948px;">"Windowlicker" received positive reviews from critics. Allmusic gave the single 4 out of a maximum 5 stars.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-7" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:10.9090909957886px;">[7]  The single was named NME's Single of the Year 1999 in its year-end charts. James sent NME the following missive in acceptance: <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:inherit;">Smart! Thank you very much for voting for my track/s. I've had a very good year as usual, although it was very intense, getting on a really big roll, writing new stuff constantly, really looking forward to isolating myself next year even more! Hope everyone has a totally boring New Year's party, overdoses on everything and chokes on their own vomit on the bathroom floor, make sure you lie face down just before you pass out! Signed, Pritchad.g.kraymes. <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:20.3636360168457px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13.63636302948px;">In September 2010, Pitchfork Media included the song at number 12 on their list Top 200 Tracks of the 90s.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-8" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:10.9090909957886px;">[8] ==Music video<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:inherit;">I don't really like it very much because it's me working in a slightly different area. It was fun though because it was just done in the spirit of trying to have a crack, I'm too much of a hip-hop fan to want to take the piss out of hip-hop.

Chris Cunningham, director<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-9" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:10px;">[9] <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:20.3636360168457px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13.63636302948px;">The music video for "Windowlicker" was directed by Chris Cunningham, who had also directed Aphex Twin's previous music video, "Come to Daddy". It is a ten-minute long parody of contemporary American gangsta hip-hop music videos. In the video, two foul-mouthed young men (a Latino and an African American) in Los Angeles are window shopping for women (referred to in the end credits as "hoochies"); the French term for window shopping is faire du lèche-vitrine, which literally translates to "licking the windows". Suddenly, a ridiculously long white limousine (38 windows in length, including driver's window, which takes 20 seconds to fully display) crashes into the two men's black Mazda Miata NA (MX5) convertible, and a "pimped-out" Richard D. James, displaying a surreal amount of wealth and power, emerges with his signature fixed grin. The two women, among others, accompany James in his limousine while their faces morph into James' own likeness, and are later joined by a woman with a horrifically ugly, buck-toothed, deformed face, which was later illustrated in a sketch by Swiss artist H. R. Giger titled "The Windowlickers".<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-The_windowlickers_1_10-0" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:10.9090909957886px;">[10]

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:20.3636360168457px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13.63636302948px;">The cast for the dialogue intro of the clip are Marcus Morris, Gary Cruz, Marcy Turner and Chiquita Martin.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Windowlicker_Credits_11-0" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:10.9090909957886px;">[11]  Filming was done in the Los Angeles area. The locations are as follows:

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:20.3636360168457px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13.63636302948px;">There are 127 uses of profanity in the dialogue segment of the video (which is under 4 minutes), including 44 uses of the word fuck. This averages to more than one use of profanity every two seconds. The video was released as a VHS single, containing both uncut and censored versions (the latter being referred to as the "Bleep Version").<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Warp_discography_5-1" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:10.9090909957886px;">[5]  It was also nominated for the Best Video award at the BRIT Awards 2000, alongside videos by Supergrass, The Chemical Brothers, Fatboy Slim, and eventual winner Robbie Williams.
 * Intro sequence – East 1st Street (bridge over railroad tracks)
 * Aphex Twin dance sequence – Corner of Ducommun Street and North Vignes Street
 * Limo ride externals – Beverly Boulevard
 * Final dance sequence – Santa Monica Beach (Barnard Way and Ocean Park Boulevard)

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:20.3636360168457px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13.63636302948px;">The full "Windowlicker" video is restricted to being broadcast only during the nighttime on most music television channels. A bleeped-out version of the video exists, and MTV Two even made a daytime version, with all the opening dialogue removed (the censored version starts with the arrival of the limousine) and some of the video's more shocking images are also removed. In 2008,MTV Networks Europe was fined by media regulator Ofcom for several breaches of its broadcasting code, including airing the uncensored version of the "Windowlicker" video before the 9pmwatershed.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-12" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:10.9090909957886px;">[12] ==Track listing<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:20.3636360168457px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13.63636302948px;">All tracks written, produced and engineered by Richard D. James. The original single was released on 12-inch, two separate CDs, a special edition Japanese CD and VHS. ===CD1 and 12-inch vinyl<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === ===CD2<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === ===Japanese version<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === ==Chart positions<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == ==Remixes and samples<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:20.3636360168457px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13.63636302948px;">A remix of "Windowlicker" in the acid techno style, entitled "Windowlicker, Acid Edit", is available on the remix compilation 26 Mixes for Cash. Another remix of "Windowlicker", entitled "WINDuckyQuaCKer", appears on V/VM's HelpAphexTwin/1.0 (2001)<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-18" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:10.9090909957886px;">[18]  and HelpAphexTwin 4.0 (2003).<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-V.2FVM_-_helpaphextwin_v4.0_19-0" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:10.9090909957886px;">[19]  A remix entitled "it's a richJAMs World" appears on V/VM's HelpAphexTwin 4.0(2003).<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-V.2FVM_-_helpaphextwin_v4.0_19-1" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:10.9090909957886px;">[19]  Run Jeremy (an alias of Danish producer Anders Trentemøller) also made his own remix of "Windowlicker". Beardyman performed a live version of "Windowlicker" as part of his Edinburgh show in 2009<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-20" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:10.9090909957886px;">[20]
 * The "Windowlicker" video is also included in QuickTime format.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:20.3636360168457px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13.63636302948px;">Miss Kittin performed Run Jeremy's remix of "Windowlicker live" at the Sónar festival and included it on her album Live at Sónar.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-21" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:10.9090909957886px;">[21]  Elements of "Windowlicker", including its heavily distorted outro, were sampled by American musician Girl Talk on his track "Get It Get It", from his 2010 album All Day.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-22" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:10.9090909957886px;">[22]

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:20.3636360168457px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13.63636302948px;">Samples of "ΔM<sub style="line-height:1;font-size:10.9090909957886px;">i ⁻¹ = −αΣ<sub style="line-height:1;font-size:10.9090909957886px;">n=1 <sup style="line-height:1;font-size:10.9090909957886px;">N D<sub style="line-height:1;font-size:10.9090909957886px;">i [n][Σ<sub style="line-height:1;font-size:10.9090909957886px;">j∈C[i] F<sub style="line-height:1;font-size:10.9090909957886px;">ji [n − 1] + Fext<sub style="line-height:1;font-size:10.9090909957886px;">i [n⁻¹]]" can be heard on the song "54 Cymru Beats" from Aphex Twin's 2001 album Drukqs. ===Use in media<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:20.3636360168457px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13.63636302948px;">"Windowlicker" was featured in the 2006 film Grandma's Boy and in several episodes of the BBC motoring series Top Gear. A version of "Windowlicker" is used in the Voyage mode of Lumines Electronic Symphony, and another is used in the Dior Haute Couture A/W 2012 runway show.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:20.3636360168457px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13.63636302948px;">The "Windowlicker"-cover was featured in the 1999 movie High Fidelity.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-23" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:10.9090909957886px;">[23]

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:20.3636360168457px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13.63636302948px;">Windowlicker also is part of the Grand Theft Auto V soundtrack, and appears on FlyLo FM.