Lights Go Down

There’s a song you probably have never heard by Basement Jaxx called Lights Go Down that just has to be heard with the world around you just so – possibly the most ideal would be at sunset, as I’ve experienced it a couple of times while walking home with the lights of the world dimming slowly.

The song doesn’t spend long building – the complexity of the song is there from nigh on the first note, and it remains a beautifully complex song throughout. Were you to seperate out the components, I could easily imagine four, maybe five distinct tracks coming out in the simplest parts of the song, and it is without a doubt one of the finest demonstrations of stereo equipment.

Add to this mix the mysterious voice, slight choral echo and the plain and repeated but haunting lyrics layered on top, this song takes on new dimensions. The lyrics are as simple as the following:

And when the lights go down
That’s when it bites just a little
Bites just a little more
And when the lights go down, down
That’s when I die just a little
Wanna get high just a little more

When the curtain falls
And there’s no more applause
When the party’s over
And there’s no one to hold ya
Look inside yourself and find
Your own light to ease your mind

… and that’s it, just repeated – but not so as you’d notice.

I’ve yet to find a song that can change my mood so drastically. It’s not necessarily change-for-worse, either – there’s almost a happy melancholia to it that means you can take out whatever you want from it. And ultimately, the message is a positive one.

Just thought I’d share :)