White Light

White Light
White Light (Demon Days Live)

"Oh when I'm drunk, I'm spirited back. I fall in a fire and I save myself. Then I get advantage cause the feeling's so raw, in these times of sedition, well, nothing is dull. Then I'm moving into stillness and recalling it all. I'm a lover, just a lover, just a lover, just a lover..."
- Damon Albarn, "Ascension"

"White Light" is the short and fast paced punk rock song that is a guarantee on every Gorillaz album, following in the footsteps of "Punk" on the first record. It is a song that deals with the highs and lows of substance abuse, only this time it's not about a drug like heroin, painkillers or marijuana, which have been heavily involved in past Gorillaz songs. No, this one's about alcohol.

Now although not commonly thought of as one, alcohol is definitely a drug which can lead to damaging (if not deadly) results. Alcoholism was a common problem Damon encountered with his old bandmates from Blur. They all drank too much alcohol in their day, but one member in particular almost suffered many fatal consequences, guitarist Graham Coxon. He has stated in interviews that he almost committed suicide by jumping out of a window in a drunken haze when he was upset over Blur's new found popularity for their more mainstream sound (particularly with the song "Country House" getting to number one in the UK). He ended up going in and out of rehab a lot, one time it even somehow lead to a confusion which ended up with him not being on Blur's 2003 comeback album, "Think Tank". So Damon wrote this song about the good and bad alcoholism can do. He sung it in the character of the band's bassist, Murdoc Niccals. Now we will get more into Murdoc's character later, but the one important thing to know for this song is that he is a huge alcoholic, which is part of the reason he beats and torments lead singer 2D. These torments lead the singer into a massive painkiller addiction as well as numerous paranoid and schizophrenic outbursts. Long story short, alcohol plays a huge part in how dysfunctional Damon's "real" band and "fake" band are. Art imitates life (or is it the other way around)...

So the song starts out with Murdoc walking out of the chaos the world is in, humming the song to himself. The vocals are heavily distorted that way it accentuates the fact that the singer is drunk and singing the entire song to himself, including mouthed instrumental breaks (listen between every "white light") As is the case for many rock 'n' roll songs about drugs such as The Velvet Underground's "White Light/White Heat", Damon compares the experience to that of seeing a white light. So the song is self aware in a way, Murdoc is waiting for that buzz but the aggressive punk beat (played ferociously by Damon's machine gun guitars, Jason Cox's smooth bass guitar and James Dring's pounding drums) seems to communicate that he's just experiencing the part of alcohol's high that makes one angry. But for a brief second the song changes...

All of a sudden atmospheric synthesizers and gentle acoustic guitars (all played by Damon) enter while all the other instruments drop out. The London Community Gospel Choir hits choral notes that indicate (along with Jamie's visual) that Murdoc has reached the high. Only this time, the seeing of the "white light" is literal, the kind of "white light" one supposedly sees before one dies, the "white light" that signals the dead soul going up to heaven to meet god. Now I don't think Murdoc is dying (if he was he wouldn't go to heaven as a Satanist), but I do think Damon is communicating that yes, the "high" can be reached with alcohol, but it doesn't last long. Soon whining guitar feedback breaks the mood and we are back to the angry beat, Murdoc is back in the apocalypse he is trapped in, wishing the high would come back again by repeating his chant of "white light". Soon his chant stops, and synthesizers play countermelodies while a simple yet brilliant guitar solo takes centerstage. After that, the song suddenly ends, leaving Murdoc alone in the fear ridden world he tried to escape.

Live, this song takes no prisoners. All the instruments from guitars to synths to bass to drums, gets more vicious and noisy, Damon even screams at the end on occasion. The euphoric "high" interlude is just as gentle if not more amazing with the choirs Damon brings on tour with him. Although only played at the "Demon Days Live" showcases, the song has become a fan favorite. Many fans often chant "White Light" between songs at their shows in hopes that the band will play it again. "White Light" is a great hard tune which perfectly communicates the feeling of being under the influence of alcohol through the use of dynamics and melodic changes.