Song · Aphex Twin
“Windowlicker” by Aphex Twin
Released 1999
“Windowlicker” by Aphex Twin appears on 2 radio countdowns from 2 stations between 1999 and 2021. It was first released in 1999. Its best result is #42 on the John Peel's Festive Fifty of 1999. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #370 alternative song of 1999.
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Aphex Twin's "Windowlicker" came out on Warp Records on 22 March 1999, written and produced by Richard D. James, and it's electronic music with a leer on its face: warped, woozy and slyly funny, a dance record that seems to be laughing at the dance floor.
The package mattered as much as the sound. Chris Cunningham made the artwork, with extra work from The Designers Republic, and directed the video, which drew a Brit Award nomination for Best British Video. The single reached 16 on the UK Singles Chart, and its reputation has only grown: Warp's fans voted it the label's most popular song for the Warp20 compilation in 2009, Pitchfork slotted it at 12 among the 200 best tracks of the '90s in 2010, and in 2025 Billboard put it on its all-time list of the 100 greatest dance songs.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
Indie & Adult Alternative
All Rock Formats
Year-end countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 42 | John Peel (BBC Radio 1) | John Peel's Festive Fifty of 1999 | 50 |
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 708 | 90.9 The Bridge | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '90s | 908 |
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