"Connection" is a song by

Britpop Britpop was a mid-1990s British-based music culture movement that emphasised Britishness. It produced brighter, catchier alternative rock, partly in reaction to the popularity of the darker lyrical themes of the US-led grunge music and to the ...

group

Elastica Elastica were an English rock band formed in London in 1992 by ex- Suede members Justine Frischmann and Justin Welch. The band was stylistically influenced by punk rock, post-punk and new wave music. The band's members changed several times ...

. It was originally released on 10 October 1994 as a single and included on their self-titled debut album in 1995. The song debuted and peaked at number 17 on the

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and became one of the few

songs to gain popularity in North America, reaching number 53 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, number two on the ''Billboard''

Modern Rock Tracks Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks (1988–2009) and Alternative Songs (2009–2020)) is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in ''Billboard'' magazine since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-played ...

chart, and number nine on the Canadian ''RPM'' Top Singles chart. The song was the subject of controversy due to its overt similarity to another band's work. The intro

synthesizer A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...

part (later repeated as a guitar figure) is lifted from the guitar riff in

Wire Overhead power cabling. The conductor consists of seven strands of steel (centre, high tensile strength), surrounded by four outer layers of aluminium (high conductivity). Sample diameter 40 mm A wire is a flexible strand of metal. Wire is c ...

's " Three Girl Rhumba" and transposed down a

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. A judgment resulted in an

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and the credits were rewritten. Jonathan Perry writing for '' The Phoenix'' noted the similarities to Wire. He included the song in a list of the 90 best songs of the 90s, writing: Connection', Elastica's obsessively catchy stateside breakthrough, nicked its signature opening riff from Wire's 'Three Girl Rhumba' – an overzealous (and uncredited) 'homage' that proved that though imitation may indeed be the highest form of flattery, it can also cost in publishing royalties. Great song, though." The song is the theme to the UK television programme ''

Trigger Happy TV ''Trigger Happy TV'' is a hidden camera/ practical joke comedy television series. The original British edition of the show, produced by Absolutely Productions, starred Dom Joly and ran for three series on the British television channel Channel 4 ...

''. A live version of the song was featured on the

MuchMusic Much (an abbreviation for its full name MuchMusic) is a Canadian English language specialty channel owned by BCE Inc. through its Bell Media subsidiary that airs programming aimed at teenagers and young adults. MuchMusic launched on August 31 ...

live compilation album, ''

Much at Edgefest '99 "Much @ Edgefest '99" is a compilation album distributed by MuchMusic, promoting the 1999 Edgefest touring rock festival. The album consists primarily of previously unreleased recordings (remixes, live versions, B-sides, etc.) by the bands that to ...

''. The song also appears in the 2019 film, '' Captain Marvel'', which is set in 1995; in episode 8 of the 2018

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

series ''

Everything Sucks! ''Everything Sucks!'' is an American comedy-drama streaming television series created by Ben York Jones and Michael Mohan that parodies teen culture of the mid-1990s. Ten half-hour episodes were ordered by Netflix and the series was released on ...

'', the 2022

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movie '' Kimi'' and the Season 3 finale of the Apple TV Plus series '' For All Mankind''.

Reception

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'' said, "Elastica crafted one of the marvels of the Britpop era: art-rock reconfigured as a carnal rallying cry. All leftward hooks and innuendo, "Connection" never hits its target squarely. The single sounds simple, even primal, as Elastica bashes their dive-bomb riff with enthusiasm."

Track listings

UK CD and 12-inch single # "Connection" # "See That Animal" # "Blue" (Donna's 4-track demo) # "Spastica" UK cassette and limited-edition 7-inch single # "Connection" # "See That Animal" European and Australian CD single # "Connection" # "Rockunroll" (John Peel Session) # "Annie" (John Peel Session) # "See That Animal"

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Release history

References

1994 singles 1994 songs Elastica songs Geffen Records singles Songs written by Justine Frischmann {{1990s-rock-song-stub