The Incomprehensible Maze

Basement Jaxx “Where’s Your Head At?”

Whenever I hear “Where’s Your Head At” now I think of something Douglas Wolk wrote about the song in Pitchfork’s best songs of the 2000s list. He presents the song as a bad trip set to gnarly house music, and describes the vocals as “a three-dimensional array of disembodied heads screaming that something’s wrong and you’re letting everyone down.” And like… yes, I totally hear that! But at the same time, I’ve never related to the song as being particularly negative. I hear the song as a rational, empathetic message cutting through the clutter of depressed thoughts and harsh self-criticism. It’s advice on how to get out of the dark hole: “Don’t let the walls cave in on you / you get what you give, that much is true.” The screaming, accusing voices come in during the parts of the song designed to give you an adrenaline rush – it’s like you’re meant to run from those voices, like they’re chasing you down. The song is set up as an escape from the worst feelings, the music is evoking the bad vibes in order to provide catharsis. I never come out of listening to this song – usually on repeat – without feeling better than I was coming into it.

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