"Helicopter" is a song by English

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band

Bloc Party Bloc Party are an English Rock music, rock band, composed of Kele Okereke (lead vocals, rhythm guitar, keyboards, sampler), Russell Lissack (lead guitar, keyboards), Justin Harris (bass guitar, keyboards, saxophones, backing vocals) and Loui ...

that was originally released as a stand-alone single in the UK in October 2004 and would later feature on the '' Little Thoughts EP'', and would then be released two years later as a single from their debut album, ''

Silent Alarm ''Silent Alarm'' is the debut studio album by English rock band Bloc Party. Recorded in Copenhagen and London in mid-2004 with Paul Epworth as producer, it was released on 2 February 2005, by Wichita Recordings. The album peaked at number three ...

'' in the US. The song was received with much acclaim, reaching number 26 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

on its first release, but failing to chart in the US. Various

remix A remix (or reorchestration) is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, video, poem, or photograph can all be remixes. The o ...

es have been recorded. The song has also been featured on the

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...

s '' Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock'', '' Guitar Hero: On Tour'', ''

FIFA 06 ''FIFA 06'', known as ''FIFA Soccer 06'' in North America, is a football simulation video game developed by EA Canada and published by Electronic Arts under the EA Sports label. It was released in the United States on 4 October 2005 for the Pl ...

'', ''

FIFA 23 ''FIFA 23'' is a football video game published by Electronic Arts. It is the 30th installment in the ''FIFA'' series that is developed by EA Sports, and the final installment under the ''FIFA'' banner, and released worldwide on 30 September 2022 ...

'', ''

Project Gotham Racing 3 ''Project Gotham Racing 3'' is a racing video game developed by Bizarre Creations and published by Microsoft Game Studios. It was released exclusively for the Xbox 360 as a launch title in November 2005. The game was rated by ''Official Xbox Mag ...

'', ''

Burnout Revenge ''Burnout Revenge'' is a racing video game developed by Criterion Games and published by Electronic Arts for PlayStation 2, Xbox and Xbox 360. Similar to its predecessor '' Burnout 3: Takedown'', ''Revenge'' focuses on a mixture of racing in th ...

'', ''

Burnout Legends ''Burnout Legends'' is a racing video game developed by Criterion Games and published by Electronic Arts for PlayStation Portable. The game features many of the tracks and gameplay modes from the first three ''Burnout'' but repackaged for the ha ...

'', ''

Colin McRae Dirt 2 ''Colin McRae: Dirt 2'' (stylised as ''Colin McRae: DiRT 2'') is a racing video game developed and published by Codemasters in 2009, first for the Nintendo DS, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, Wii and Xbox 360, and then later for PC platfo ...

'', and '' Marc Eckō's Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure''. Most of these games feature the clean version of the song that omits the word "bastard" and replaces it with "innocent". The song was also featured in the films '' Yes Man'', '' Charlie St. Cloud'' and '' Grandma's Boy'' and in the ''

Malcolm in the Middle ''Malcolm in the Middle'' is an American family television sitcom created by Linwood Boomer for Fox. The series premiered on January 9, 2000, and ended on May 14, 2006, after seven seasons and 151 episodes. The series follows a dysfunctional ...

'' episode "Morp". A remix of the song was featured in the film ''Reverb''.

Composition

"Helicopter" is an

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the mu ...

and

garage rock Garage rock (sometimes called garage punk or 60s punk) is a raw and energetic style of rock and roll that flourished in the mid-1960s, most notably in the United States and Canada, and has experienced a series of subsequent revivals. The sty ...

song, written by all band members prior to their debut studio album, ''

''. Composed in

B minor B minor is a minor scale based on B, consisting of the pitches B, C, D, E, F, G, and A. Its key signature has two sharps. Its relative major is D major and its parallel major is B major. The B natural minor scale is: : Changes neede ...

, it was written in

common time The time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, or measure signature) is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats (pulses) are contained in each measure (bar), and which note value ...

and has a quick tempo of 171

beats per minute Beat, beats or beating may refer to: Common uses * Patrol, or beat, a group of personnel assigned to monitor a specific area ** Beat (police), the territory that a police officer patrols ** Gay beat, an area frequented by gay men * Battery ( ...

.Commercial sheet music for "Helicopter". ''

Wichita Recordings Wichita Recordings is an independent record label located in London, founded in 2000 by Mark Bowen and Dick Green. Its most notable signees include Bloc Party, The Cribs, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Bright Eyes, My Morning Jacket, Yeah Yeah Ye ...

Music Publishing''. Distributed by

International Music Publications International Music Publications (better known as ''IMP'') is a British publisher of popular sheet music. History It began as the European arm of Warner Brothers Publications' sheet music business, and was one of the UK's largest sheet music publi ...

. Retrieved 10 February 2009. The main riff was adapted from "Set The House Ablaze", a song by

The Jam The Jam were an English mod revival/ punk rock band formed in 1972 at Sheerwater Secondary School in Woking, Surrey. They released 18 consecutive Top 40 singles in the United Kingdom, from their debut in 1977 to their break-up in December 198 ...

featured on the 1980 album ''

Sound Affects ''Sound Affects'' is the fifth studio album by English rock music, rock band the Jam. The album was released on 28 November 1980 by Polydor Records. It is the only Jam album to be co-produced by the band themselves, and contains the only album ...

''.

Music video

The official video is displayed in

black and white Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white in a continuous spectrum, producing a range of shades of grey. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, and as technology improved, altered to color. ...

and shows the band playing in an old, empty house, intercut with surreal imagery. It has received the most views of any of Bloc Party's songs on YouTube, gaining over 30 million views.

Track listing

;7" Wichita / WEBB070S (UK) # "Helicopter" # "Skeleton" ;CD: Wichita / WEBB070SCD (UK) # "Helicopter" # "Always New Depths" # "Tulips" (

Minotaur Shock Minotaur Shock is the stage name of David Edwards, a Bristol-based electronica musician. His 2005 album ''Maritime'' was his first album released through 4AD Records, having previously released work via Manchester based Melodic. Edwards return ...

mix Mix, mixes or mixing may refer to: Persons & places * Mix (surname) ** Tom Mix (1880-1940), American film star * nickname of Mix Diskerud (born Mikkel, 1990), Norwegian-American soccer player * Mix camp, an informal settlement in Namibia * Mix ...

) ;US CD # "Helicopter" (

Diplo Thomas Wesley Pentz (born November 10, 1978), known professionally as Diplo, is an American DJ and music producer. He is the co-creator and lead member of the electronic dancehall music project Major Lazer, a member of the supergroup LSD with ...

) # "Helicopter" (Weird Science remix featuring

Peaches The peach (''Prunus persica'') is a deciduous tree first domesticated and cultivated in Zhejiang province of Eastern China. It bears edible juicy fruits with various characteristics, most called peaches and others (the glossy-skinned, non-fuz ...

) # "Helicopter" (Whitey remix) # "Helicopter" (Original version) ;US 12" vinyl # "Helicopter" (Diplo remix) # "Helicopter" (Weird Science remix featuring Peaches)

Charts

Certifications

References

{{authority control 2006 singles Bloc Party songs 2004 songs Song recordings produced by Paul Epworth Wichita Recordings singles Songs written by Kele Okereke Songs written by Gordon Moakes Songs written by Russell Lissack Songs written by Matt Tong