RockLists.com
Cover of Dig Your Own Hole by The Chemical Brothers
Cover: Dig Your Own Hole

Song · The Chemical Brothers

“Block Rockin' Beats” by The Chemical Brothers

From the album Dig Your Own Hole (1997)

“Block Rockin' Beats” by The Chemical Brothers appears on 53 radio countdowns from 21 stations between 1997 and 2025. It was first released in 1997 on the album Dig Your Own Hole. Its best result is #19 on the Live 105 Top 105.3 Songs of 1997. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #54 alternative song of 1997, #826 alternative song of all time and #228 of the '90s.

53countdowns
21stations
#19best position
0#1 finishes
0top 10 finishes
1997–2025years charted

Watch

The Chemical Brothers - Block Rockin' Beats (Official Music Video)

Video from YouTube (ChemicalBrothersVEVO). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube

"Block Rockin' Beats" throws open Dig Your Own Hole, the Chemical Brothers' second album, and in March 1997 it went out as the record's second single: a big beat battering ram built by Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons, with Schoolly D sharing the writing credit. The duo produced it themselves with Steve Dub engineering, and it sounds like a breakbeat pile-up in a warehouse, a fat, rubbery bass line and drums that hit like a wrecking ball, with noise swooping in from every corner until the whole contraption feels ready to tip over.

There are two cuts of it. The album version eases in with an intro, while the single skips the pleasantries and starts straight on the bass line, with "Morning Lemon" on the flip. Nic Goffey and Dominic Hawley directed the video.

It went to number one on the UK Singles Chart and crept to 40 on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks, and for a dance record it did a sly bit of genre-jumping by winning the Grammy for Best Rock Instrumental Performance. The honours kept coming: Blender put it on its 2005 list of the "Greatest Songs Since You Were Born", and LA Weekly ranked it 14th among the best dance tracks ever in 2015.

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#StationCountdownof
1997 51 KROQ Los Angeles, CA KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1997 107
1997 60 91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana 91X Top 91 Songs of 1997 91
1997 19 Live 105 San Francisco, CA Live 105 Top 105.3 Songs of 1997 105
1997 85 Q101 Chicago, IL Q101 Top 101 Songs of 1997 101
1997 36 WHFS Washington, DC / Baltimore, MD WHFS Top 99.1 Songs of 1997 100
1997 44 107.7 The End Seattle, WA The End Top 107 Songs of 1997 107
1997 47 (tie) WBER Rochester, NY WBER Listener Countdown 1997 99
1997 96 102.7 WEQX Southern Vermont and the Capital District of New York (Albany) WEQX Top 102.7 of 1997 103
1997 61 Triple J Australia (national) Triple J Hottest 100 of 1997 100

All-time and decade countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1999 223 KROQ KROQ Top 300 Most Requested Songs of the '90s (Labor Day 1999) 300
1999 31 WHFS WHFS Top 500 Songs of the '90s (December 1999) 500
1999 186 Q101 Q101 Top 1,011 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 1017
1999 182 WFNX WFNX Top 500 Songs of All-Time (June 1999) 500
1999 156 107.7 The End The End Top 1077 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 1077
1999 561 CFNY 102.1 The Edge CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (November 1999) 1002
1999 87 The Buzz The Buzz Top 99 Songs of All-Time (1999) 99
2000 253 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2000) 500
2001 254 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2001) 498
2001 377 WBRU WBRU Modern Rock Top 500 (2001) 500
2002 258 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2002) 500
2002 84 The Buzz The Buzz Top Songs of All-Time (Labor Day 2002, partial) 144
2003 219 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2003) 500
2004 65 Q101 Q101 Top 300 Party Songs of All-Time (July 2004) 300
2004 457 107.7 The End The End Original Alternative 500 (May 2004) 500
2005 84 Live 105 Live 105 Top 105.3 Songs of the '90s (August 2005) 106
2005 212 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2005) 500
2005 458 99X 99X Freedom of Choice 1000 (2005) 1000
2006 87 107.7 The End The End Top 107 Songs of the '90s (December 2006) 107
2006 314 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 2006) 500
2006 232 Live 105 Live 105 500 Co-Op Countdown (Memorial Day 2006) 500
2006 173 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2006) 499
2007 276 KROQ KROQ Top 500 Most Requested Songs of the '90s (Labor Day 2007) 500
2007 1863 CD101 CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007) 2008
2008 378 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 2008) 500
2008 1787 CD101 CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008) 2009
2009 250 Live 105 Live 105 Memorial 500 Song List (2009) 500
2009 1733 CD101 CD101 Top 2010 Songs of All-Time (December 2009) 2010
2010 50 CFNY 102.1 The Edge 102.1 The Edge Top 200 Songs of the 90's (September 2010) 200
2010 1665 CD101 CD101 Top 2011 Songs of All-Time (December 2010) 2011
2011 1581 CD101 CD101 Top 2012 Songs of All-Time (December 2011) 2011
2013 1490 CD101 CD101 Top 2013 Songs of All-Time (December 2013) 2012
2014 1424 CD101 CD101 Top 2014 Songs of All-Time (2014) 2013
2020 320 105.9 The X 105.9 The X July 420 (2020) 420
2021 400 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '90s 908
2021 286 105.9 The X 105.9 The X July 420 (2021) 420
2022 261 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 900 Songs of the '90s 900
2022 299 105.9 The X 105.9 The X July 420 (2022) 420
2023 570 The Current The Current's 893 Essential Songs of the '90s 893
2023 300 105.9 The X 105.9 The X July 420 (2023) 420
2023 904 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of All Time 909
2024 42 107.7 The End The End Sweet Summer Vibes Countdown (2024) 100
2024 221 KEXP The Best Opening Tracks of All Time 738
2025 515 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 800 Mood Booster Songs 800

Also listed as: Block Rockin Beats.

Charting alongside it in 1997

Best songs of 1997 →
  1. 1Song 2Blur
  2. 2Walkin' On The SunSmash Mouth
  3. 3TubthumpingChumbawamba
  4. 4FlySugar Ray
  5. 5The Impression That I GetThe Mighty Mighty Bosstones
  6. 6Semi-Charmed LifeThird Eye Blind

Comments

Log in or create a free account to join the conversation about "Block Rockin' Beats" by The Chemical Brothers.

Be kind and stay on topic. Guidelines

No comments yet. Be the first to share your thoughts.