The riff that carries this song is clearly lifted from a 1977 song called "Three Girl Rhumba" by the British punk band Wire. That band was a huge influence on Elastica, whose song "Line Up" also borrowed their sound. An out-of-court settlement resolved the matter; Wire didn't get songwriting credits on "Connection," but the publicity garnered interest in the band, whose first two albums were re-released amid the dustup.

This song was written by Elastica lead singer Justine Frischmann, who was formerly a guitarist in the UK band Suede and dated their lead singer, Brett Anderson. She hasn't discussed the meaning of this song, and the mere mention of it is hostile territory as she has been asked so often about copping the Wire track. The song has a theme of giving something up ("Who wants a life anyway?") in order to form a connection. This can be an interpersonal relationship, or possible a professional one, making sacrifices in terms of music.

The video to the song consists in parts of the band performing in a white setting surrounded by a group of sitting naked men. This is a direct reference or parody to The Beloved's "Sweet Harmony" video.

Drummer Justin Welch told NME May 11, 2013: "That song was all about the riff. It was a Britpop song but to me it felt almost like a Nirvana track, the way everything followed the same melody. In the beginning of the band we had this little Yamaha drum machine which also had guitar sounds, and being big fans of Wire, we just stuck it on top of an amp and experimented around it. For a long time I didn't think it stood up alongside some of our other songs, but when we got in the studio it came back sounding massive."

The video to Elastica's song "Waking Up" was filmed in the same session and is thus nearly identical to this one. >>

The dirty guitar riff on this song was actually created with a keyboard.

In America, this is the best-known Elastica song, and one of the few female-fronted tracks to make an impact that could be classified as Britpop. The song did share space on playlists with the likes of Oasis and Blur, but was more associated with alternative music and grouped with tracks by Veruca Salt, Letters To Letters To Cleo, and other acts with women out front.

This was the third Elastica single, following "Stutter" and "Line Up." A fourth single, "Waking Up," was the biggest UK hit for the band, reaching #13. All of these tracks were part of their debut album, which picked up speed as the band made high-profile appearances at the first Lollapalooza tour and other festivals, including Glastonbury. Over the next few years, the group suffered a series of setbacks, including the death of their touring keyboard player Craig Scott in 1997, who succumbed to a heroin overdose. Their next album, The Menace, wasn't released until 2000, and the following year, the band called it quits.

This appears in the 2019 movie Captain Marvel, which takes place largely in 1995. It was also used in the 1997 film Ashes of Paradise and the 2005 episode of American Dad!, "Not Particularly Desperate Housewife."