Beck wrote the song in 1995 with its co-producers John King and Michael Simpson, and premiered it at Lollapalooza the same year,[citation needed] in a version very similar to its incarnation on Odelay.

Other vocal samples incorporated into "Where It's At" come from "Needle to the Groove" by old-school hip hop group Mantronix ("we've got two turntables and a microphone..."), as well as The Frogs ("that was a good drum break").

I’ve got two turntables and a microphone”, with a robotic echo lifted from Mantronix’s 1985 single “Needle to the Groove”, Beck gives you little choice but to wholeheartedly accept his invitation to the “destination a little up the road”.

She wrote, "Jazzy, loopy keyboards, hip hop rhythms, psychedelic swirls of sixties-ish sound, and a happy, party-hearty groove make this a possible add for urban as well as modern rock stations.

It features Beck doing a variety of things, such as cleaning up a highway for community service as a convict, singing at a car dealership, dressed as the Candyman, and line dancing.