"Looking Down" is the second and final single from the debut and only major

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...

album, ''

Dirty Sexy Knights in Paris ''Dirty Sexy Knights in Paris'' is the only major label album by alternative rock band Audiovent. It was released in 2002 on Atlantic Records. The album had two singles, "The Energy" and "Looking Down". Audiovent toured with Saliva and Theory of ...

'', by the

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

band

Audiovent Audiovent is an American alternative rock band from Calabasas, California. Initially forming as "Vent" in the early 1990s, the band changed their name to Audiovent upon signing with Atlantic Records in 2001. The band released their one and only a ...

. The song appeared on the

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks Mainstream Rock is a music chart in ''Billboard'' magazine that ranks the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations in the United States, a category that combines the formats of active rock and heritage rock. The chart was launched in Ma ...

chart in 2002, peaking at no. 29, but was unable to match the top 10 performance of its predecessor, "

The Energy "The Energy" is the lead single from the debut and only major record label album ''Dirty Sexy Knights in Paris'' by alternative rock band Audiovent. The song was a top ten hit on the Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart in 2002, and brok ...

", released earlier in the year.

Background

The song originated from the 1999 album ''Papa's Dojo'', released independently while the band was still performing under their original name, Vent. For the band's

major label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produc ...

debut, ''

'', the band decided to rework much of ''Papa's Dojo'' once they had the funding to use a professional studio and

music producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure.Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...

, Gavin Mackillop. The band chose "Looking Down" as the album's second single, after "The Energy", and released an accompanying music video in October 2002.

Themes and composition

Vocalist Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

Jason Boyd stated that the song was self-referential in relation to the band's ties to the band

Incubus An incubus is a demon in male form in folklore that seeks to have sexual intercourse with sleeping women; the corresponding spirit in female form is called a succubus. In medieval Europe, union with an incubus was supposed by some to result in t ...

. He stated " tkind of has to do with the whole Incubus thing... It's about how we are gonna set ourselves apart in time and we’re gonna make it. We’re gonna do what we set out to do from the very beginning. It’s kind of our inspiration song as a band."

Reception

Margo Whitmire of ''

'' described the track as a "lyrically haunting" look at "the unfettered freedoms that true independence can bring".

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

described the song's sound as "a triumphant cut" due to it combining of "echoey guitars", "restrained vocals with more agitated tones", and featuring the chorus, "We’ll stand on top of the world looking down." Many critics compared Jason Boyd's vocals to his brother's vocals,

Brandon Boyd Brandon Charles Boyd (born February 15, 1976) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, author and visual artist. He is best known as the lead vocalist of the American rock band Incubus, with whom he has recorded eight studio albums. In a ...

, with "Looking Down" commonly cited the track as being the most clear-cut example of this.

Personnel

;Band *Jason Boyd - lead vocals *Benjamin Einziger -

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

, backing vocals *Paul Fried -

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

*Jamin Wilcox -

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

Chart performance

References

{{authority control 2002 singles 2002 songs Atlantic Records singles