"Bodyrock" is a song by American

electronica Electronica is both a broad group of electronic-based music styles intended for listening rather than strictly for dancing and a music scene that started in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mostly used to r ...

musician

Moby Richard Melville Hall (born September 11, 1965), known professionally as Moby, is an American musician, songwriter, singer, producer, and animal rights activist. He has sold 20 million records worldwide. AllMusic considers him to be "among the ...

. It was released as the third single from his fifth

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

Play Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * Pla ...

'' on July 12, 1999. Heavily inspired by hip hop music, the song incorporates vocal samples from "Love Rap" by

Spoonie Gee Gabriel Jackson (born May 27, 1963), better known by his stage name Spoonie Gee, is one of the earliest rap artists, and one of the few to have released rap records in the 1970s. He has been credited with originating the term hip hop and some o ...

and the

Treacherous Three The Treacherous Three was a pioneering American hip hop group that was formed in 1978 and consisted of DJ Easy Lee, Kool Moe Dee, L.A. Sunshine, Special K and Spoonie Gee (who left in the late 1970s), with occasional contributions from DJ Da ...

. The single peaked at number 38 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 ...

Background and composition

"Bodyrock" incorporates vocal samples from "Love Rap" by American hip hop artists

and the

. Moby sampled the song from his first

mixtape A mixtape (alternatively mix-tape, mix tape or mixed tape) is a compilation of music, typically from multiple sources, recorded onto a medium. With origins in the 1980s, the term normally describes a homemade compilation of music onto a cassette ...

, "maybe in 1981, off of the

Mr. Magic John "Mr. Magic" Rivas, (March 15, 1956 – October 2, 2009) was a prominent hip hop radio DJ. Career Mr. Magic debuted in 1979 on WHBI in New York City with “Disco Showcase” on the pay-for-time FM station. It was a far cry from the prime ...

Show on

WBLS WBLS (107.5 MHz) is an urban adult contemporary formatted FM radio station, licensed to New York City. It is currently owned by Mediaco Holding and operated by Emmis Communications under a shared services agreement, along with sister stations ...

." The main guitar line on "Bodyrock" was inspired by that of "What We All Want" by British

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde sensibilities and non-roc ...

band

Gang of Four The Gang of Four () was a Maoist political faction composed of four Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials. They came to prominence during the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976) and were later charged with a series of treasonous crimes. The gang ...

. Moby's production also incorporates orchestral elements, and he found it "kind of funny to have an orchestral chorus on what is essentially a hip-hop song." American rapper

Nikki D Nichelle Strong (born September 10, 1968), known by her stage name Nikki D is an American rapper. Career Strong signed with Def Jam in 1989 and released her debut single "Lettin' Off Steam" the following year. It was produced by Sam Sever. The ...

performs additional vocals on the song. In a review of ''Play'', John Bush of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

notes "Bodyrock"s

big beat Big beat is an electronic music genre that usually uses heavy breakbeats and synthesizer-generated loops and patterns – common to acid house/techno. The term has been used by the British music industry to describe music by artists such as ...

elements and writes that its "similarities to contemporary dance superstars like

Fatboy Slim Norman Quentin Cook (born Quentin Leo Cook, 31 July 1963), also known by his stage name Fatboy Slim, is an English musician, DJ, and record producer who helped to popularise the big beat genre in the 1990s. In the 1980s, Cook was the bassist f ...

and

Chemical Brothers The Chemical Brothers are an English electronic music duo formed by Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons in Manchester in 1989. They were pioneers (along with the Prodigy, Fatboy Slim, the Crystal Method, and other acts) in bringing the big beat genre ...

are just a bit too close for comfort." Moby later recounted that both of his managers tried to convince him not to include the song on the album, as they found it "really tacky" and "thought it sounded like a Fatboy Slim ripoff — which I guess it kind of did," but that he himself liked the song due to the personal significance of the "Love Rap" sample to him.

Music videos

Three music videos were produced for "Bodyrock". The version released in the United Kingdom, directed by Fredrik Bond, features a man frenetically dancing in an urban setting while Moby looks on. During the video, Moby acts as an effects man, turning on a wind machine and later a flame bar, accidentally blowing up a nearby car. An alternate second cut was later released, featuring audition footage of dancers supposedly auditioning for the video; the video can be seen two ways: one with only the dancers, and one intercutting to Moby. The third version, directed by

Steve Carr ''yes'Steve is a masculine given name, usually a short form (hypocorism) of Steven or Stephen Notable people with the name include: steve jops * Steve Abbott (disambiguation), several people * Steve Adams (disambiguation), several people * Steve ...

and released in the United States, features Moby wearing a special pair of

sunglasses Sunglasses or sun glasses (informally called shades or sunnies; more names below) are a form of protective eyewear designed primarily to prevent bright sunlight and high-energy visible light from damaging or discomforting the eyes. They can s ...

that allows him to see dancers wherever he goes. Hip hop group

Run-DMC Run-DMC (also spelled Run-D.M.C.) was an American hip hop group from Hollis, Queens, New York City, founded in 1983 by Joseph Simmons, Darryl McDaniels, and Jason Mizell. Run-DMC is regarded as one of the most influential acts in the history of ...

make a cameo appearance in the Carr-directed version.

Track listing

* CD single # "Bodyrock" – 3:22 # "Sunspot" – 6:46 # "Arp" – 6:30 * CD single – remixes # "Bodyrock" – 6:24 # "Bodyrock" – 7:44 # "Bodyrock" – 5:33 * 12-inch single # "Bodyrock" – 6:24 # "Bodyrock" – 4:42 # "Bodyrock" – 8:36 * CD single # "Bodyrock" – 3:21 # "Bodyrock" – 6:24 # "Bodyrock" – 5:33 # "Bodyrock" – 4:42 # "Bodyrock" – 8:13 # "Bodyrock" – 3:34 # "Sunday" – 5:01 # "Sunspot" – 6:46 * 12-inch single # "Bodyrock" – 6:24 # "Bodyrock" – 5:33 # "Bodyrock" – 8:13 # "Bodyrock" – 3:21

Usage in other media

"Bodyrock" was licensed for use as the opening theme songs for two American television comedy series. The song was first repurposed as the theme for ''

Veronica's Closet ''Veronica's Closet'' is an American sitcom television series created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, that aired on NBC for three seasons, from September 25, 1997, to December 7, 2000. The show stars Kirstie Alley as Veronica "Ronnie" Chase, ...

'' during the sitcom's third and final season (1999-2000). It was also repurposed as the theme for the 2000-01 WB sketch comedy series '' Hype''. The song was featured on the soundtrack of ''

FIFA 2001 ''FIFA 2001'' (known as ''FIFA 2001: Major League Soccer'' in North America and ''FIFA 2001: World Championship'' in Japan) is a football simulation video game and the sequel to ''FIFA 2000''. It was succeeded by '' FIFA Football 2002''. It featur ...

'' and ''

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 20 ...

''. The song was also used to promote

Rolling Rock Rolling Rock is a 4.4% abv American lager launched in 1939 by the Latrobe Brewing Company. Although founded as a local beer in Western Pennsylvania, it was marketed aggressively and eventually became a national product. The brand was sold to Anheu ...

beer, circa 2000.

Charts

References

External links

* {{authority control 1999 singles Moby songs Music videos directed by Steve Carr Mute Records singles Song recordings produced by Moby Songs written by Moby 1999 songs Big beat songs Songs about dancing