"High Times" is the fourth and final single from British Acid Jazz

Acid jazz

Acid jazz is a musical genre that combines elements of jazz, funk and hip-hop, particularly looped beats. It developed in the UK over the 1980s and 1990s and could be seen as tacking the sound of jazz-funk onto electronic dance: jazz-funk musicians such as Roy Ayers, Donald Byrd and Grant Green are...

 band Jamiroquai

Jamiroquai

Jamiroquai is a British jazz funk and acid jazz band formed in 1992. Jamiroquai were initially the most prominent component in the early-1990s London-based acid jazz movement, alongside groups such as Incognito, the James Taylor Quartet, and the Brand New Heavies. Other Acid Jazz artists such as...

's third studio album, Travelling Without Moving

Travelling Without Moving

Travelling Without Moving is the third studio album released by British Acid Jazz band Jamiroquai. Released in 1996, the album features the international hit single "Virtual Insanity"...

. The song peaked at #20 on the UK Singles Chart

UK Singles Chart

The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...

.

Background

The song was written by Jason Kay

Jason Kay

Jason "Jay Kay" Luís Cheetham , is a Grammy Award-winning English musician, best known as the lead singer of the band Jamiroquai...

. 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

Cocaine

Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...

. Both cocaine, and many other drugs are referenced in the song, all in a negative light, but it is jet lag

Jet lag

Jet lag, medically referred to as desynchronosis, is a physiological condition which results from alterations to the body's circadian rhythms; it is classified as one of the circadian rhythm sleep disorders...

 the main reference during the chorus, "Last night, turned to daylight and a minute became a day", a desynchronosis that is often caused when travelling around the world during the tours. The radio edit of the song 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. The Radio Edit was featured on the group's greatest hits compilation, High Times: Singles 1992-2006

High Times: Singles 1992-2006

High Times: Singles 1992–2006 is the fifth compilation album released by British acid jazz band Jamiroquai. The album was intended to be a collection of the group's singles, however, is more widely known as is a collection of the band's best-known hits, as it does not include the singles "Stillness...

. Some releases of Travelling Without Moving include a version of the song without the sample "Last Night Changed It All" as sung by Esther Williams and written by Joe Wheeler.

Tracklisting

UK CD1 (665370 2)

1. "High Times" (Radio Edit) – 4:08
2. "High Times" (Bionic Supachronic Mix) – 8:38
3. "High Times" (Doobie Dub) – 6:46
4. "High Times" (Album Version) – 5:57

UK CD2 (665370 5)

1. "High Times (Radio Edit) – 4:08
2. "High Times (Jamiroquai Mix) – 4:00
3. "High Times (Jamiroquai Dub) – 5:30
4. "High Times (Sanchez Radio Edit) – 4:02

UK 12" (665370 6)

1. "High Times" (Bionic Supachronic Mix) – 8:38
2. "High Times" (Jamiroquai Mix) – 4:00
3. "High Times" (Doobie Dub) – 6:46
4. "High Times" (Jamiroquai Dub) – 5:30

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

Virtual Insanity

"Virtual Insanity" is the lead single from British Acid Jazz band Jamiroquai's third studio album, Travelling Without Moving. The song reached #3 on the UK Singles Chart. The song also charted at #38 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart upon the single's release in America in 1997...

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

Travelling Without Moving

Travelling Without Moving is the third studio album released by British Acid Jazz band Jamiroquai. Released in 1996, the album features the international hit single "Virtual Insanity"...

most successful single, and its respective video was shot professionally, in contrast to "High Times", which was the album's least successful single, accompanied by an amateur video.