"Stem" is a song by DJ Shadow from his 1996 debut studio album, Endtroducing...... The song reached number 9 on the Irish Singles Chart, DJ Shadow's only top 10 hit to date.

"Stem"
Single by DJ Shadow
from the album Endtroducing.....
Released1996
Recorded1996
StudioThe Glue Factory (San Francisco)
Genre
Length
  • 3:24 ("Stem")
  • 4:26 ("Long Stem")
LabelMo' Wax
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)DJ Shadow
DJ Shadow singles chronology
"Midnight in a Perfect World"
(1996)
"Stem"
(1996)
"The Number Song" / "Painkiller"
(1998)

The album version of the song combines "Stem" with "Long Stem".

Samples used

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Like all other tracks on the album, "Stem"/"Long Stem" makes heavy use of sampling. Below are among the samples used for the track:

  • The first sample used in the track is sampled from the beginning of the 1969 song "Love Suite" by English rock band Nirvana.
  • The "...uicide...uicide..." vocal sample is taken from "Moshitup" by American hip-hop artist Just-Ice featuring fellow American hip-hop artist KRS-One.
  • The high-pitched string samples are sampled from "Variazione III" by Italian progressive rock band Osanna.
  • The recurring guitar and violin parts are sampled from "Linde Manor" by American singer-songwriter Dennis Linde.
  • The organ sample that starts "Long Stem" is taken from "Tears" by Italian musician Giorgio Moroder; the same sample is used on another track on Endtroducing...., "Organ Donor".
  • The "I could just lay right down..." vocal sample is taken from "Blues So Bad" by American funk/soul group The Mystic Number National Bank.
  • The "parking tickets" monologue which appears midway in the song is sampled from "Freedom" by American comedian Murray Roman.
  • The synths that appear in the "Long Stem" section of the song are sampled from "Oleo Strut" by American electronic group Mother Mallard's Portable Masterpiece Company.

CD Track listing

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  1. "Stem" – 3:24
  2. "Long Stem" – 4:26
  3. "Red Bus Needs to Leave!" – 2:41
  4. "Soup" – 0:43

7" Track listing

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  1. "Stem (Cops 'N' Robbers) - 3:38
  2. "Red Bus Needs to Leave!" - 2:41

The version of 'Stem' on the 7" version contains dialogue samples from the Michael Mann film 'Heat' (1995).

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It has been featured in several films and on television, including:

  • The 1997 film, Twin Town.
  • The 1997 film, One Eight Seven.
  • The 1999 film, Wisconsin Death Trip, originally broadcast in the UK as part of the BBC's Arena series.
  • In Chris Morris' TV series, Jam, and in its radio predecessor, Blue Jam which aired on Channel 4 in 2000 and BBC Radio 1 from 1997-99 respectively.
  • An advert for a BBC television programme that aired in November 2006 called, Lock Them Up or Let Them Out.
  • Used in the background of the ITV programme, The X Factor in series 3.
  • A BBC World War II documentary about Saint-Nazaire that aired on 18 March 2007 called, Jeremy Clarkson: Greatest Raid of All Time. The show was repeated on the BBC on 29 June 2008.
  • UK TV adverts for O2 and Guinness.
  • The 2007 UK Bravo TV series, Brits Behind Bars: America's Toughest Jail.
  • A BBC Panorama programme in June 2007.
  • Football's Hardest Away Days on Bravo.
  • An episode of the BBC One TV series, Britain's Lost World that aired on June 26, 2008.
  • The trailer for 2003 film, Gothika.
  • First semi-final of season 1 of British TV series, Britain's Got Talent, during the flashback introduction for MD Productions.
  • A 2009 French anti-drugs campaign.
  • As background music in many shows of the BBC program, Horizon.
  • As background music for Ex Machina trailer.