High Times (song)

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“"High Times"”
“"High Times"” cover
Single by Jamiroquai
from the album Travelling Without Moving
Released 1996
Format CD
Recorded 1996
Genre Acid Jazz
Label Sony
Writer(s) Jay Kay
Producer Rick Pope
Jamiroquai singles chronology
"Alright"
(1996)
"High Times"
(1996)
"Deeper Underground"
(2001)

"High Times" is a song by Jamiroquai, taken from their 1996 album Travelling Without Moving. The song was written by Jason. The song begins with the quote "You don't need a name in bright lights, you're a rock star. In some tinfoil, with a glass pipe, is your guitar." This refers to cocaine. Both cocaine, and many other drugs are referenced in the song, all in a negative light.

[edit] Music Video

The music video for this song is filmed like a documentary with an inexpensive digital camera by the band manager of the band during the Latin American tour. In the video, the group is shown landing in a city airport, happy and excited. The remainder of the video shows candid scenes of Jamiroquai laughing at jokes, television, and having general fun. Chilean fans appreciated this music video for lead singer Jay Kay's cultural jacket throughout the video. However, the last few seconds were censored in some countries due to the usage of marijuana. An interesting fact about the video is that it can be seen as a polar opposite to Virtual Insanity in several ways - "Virtual Insanity" was the first single to be released from the album. This song was the last. Virtual Insanity was Travelling's most sueccessful single, and its respective video was shot professionally, in contrast to "High Times", which was the album's least sueccessful record, accompanied by an amateur video.

[edit] Radio edit

The radio edit to the single is widely ridiculed among fan circles for its poor editing. There are some abrupt cuts in the song, and some words are cut out in an odd manner, such as the word "this" from the "This twisted, crystal kingdom" line. That very radio edit was featured on High Times: Singles 1992-2006.