"High" is a song by Feeder, released as the fourth and final single from their 1997 debut album, '' Polythene''. This track was not included on the album until its re-issue in October of the same year and is seen as a fan anthem. Although the single made a low chart position for a "classic of the genre", it's regularly played at Feeder shows including festivals.

Reception

It was the first Feeder single to be playlisted on

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, reaching number 24 on the UK Singles Chart making it their first top 40 hit. It also got extensive radio play, and made the B-list. Frontman

Grant Nicholas Grantley Jonathan Nicholas (born 12 November 1967) is a Welsh musician and the lead singer and guitarist of the rock band Feeder. In 2014, Nicholas released his debut solo album '' Yorktown Heights.'' In the following year, a released a min ...

was once quoted saying that the song is about friendship and the drawbacks of relationships. It's been strongly hinted that the line "I'm going out for a while, so I can get high with my friends" is a reference to

marijuana Cannabis (), commonly known as marijuana (), weed, pot, and ganja, List of slang names for cannabis, among other names, is a non-chemically uniform psychoactive drug from the ''Cannabis'' plant. Native to Central or South Asia, cannabis has ...

. It also is regarded as the song that kept the band in the United States for 11 months during 1998, touring with Everclear. The track was featured in the film '' Can't Hardly Wait'' in 1998, and reached numbers 24 and 36 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 advertis ...

Mainstream Rock Mainstream rock (also known as heritage rock) is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations in the United States and Canada. Format background Mainstream rock stations represent a cross between classic rock, active rock and alternativ ...

and

Modern Rock Tracks Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks between 1988 and 2009, and Alternative Songs between 2009 and 2020) is a music chart published in the American magazine ''Billboard'' since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-playe ...

charts, respectively. Because of ''Billboard'' chart rules at the time, the song was ineligible to chart on the

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), o ...

due to a lack of commercial single release. The soundtrack album of "Can't Hardly Wait", was however certified Gold by the

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for 500,000 units shipped, and "High" was one of the most requested tracks on US college radio during the summer of 1998. Before the single's release, ''

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'' rated the single with three out of five stars, saying that "while Feeder probably couldn't write a duff track if their orange jumpsuits depended on it, "High" certainly isn't as shiny or effervescent as the likes of "

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" or "

Tangerine The tangerine is a type of citrus fruit that is orange in colour, that is considered either a variety of the mandarin orange (''Citrus reticulata''), or a closely related species, under the name ''Citrus tangerina'', or yet as a hybrid (''Citr ...

", although they commented that it had a "large and graceful chorus" and that the song "could be the one to finally get them some airplay." By 2005, the magazine's opinion of the song had become much more favourable, including the song in an eight-song list of the band's "Past Glories"−a list of "classic feeder moments" that would provide an alternative to '' Pushing the Senses''. They noted that the song became "their first real taste of success" and said the song was "

Today Today (archaically to-day) may refer to: * The current day and calendar date ** Today is between and , subject to the local time zone * Now, the time that is perceived directly, present * The current, present era Arts, entertainment and m ...

" "by

The Smashing Pumpkins The Smashing Pumpkins (also simply known as Smashing Pumpkins) are an American alternative rock band formed in Chicago in 1988 by frontman and guitarist Billy Corgan, guitarist James Iha, bassist D'arcy Wretzky and drummer Jimmy Chamberlin. The ...

done in Brit-style". In 2006, Sputnikmusic said the song is an "uplifting summer anthem" and "a great single with catchy chorus" which "showed early on the potential of Feeder's quieter side".

Legacy

Two days after drummer Jon Lee committed suicide at his home in

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, on 7 January 2002

Steve Lamacq Stephen Paul Lamacq (born 16 October 1964), sometimes known by his nickname Lammo (given to him by John Peel), is an English disc jockey, currently working with BBC Radio 6 Music. Lamacq was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire ( ...

broadcast a tribute show to him, as part of his then show titled ''The Evening Session''. Many fans earlier on in the day contacted Steve to play "High" as a tribute to Jon at the end of his show, which he did. When the band returned to the live stage in August of that year, all live performances of "High" saw Grant Nicholas play an

acoustic guitar An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked, its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...

instead of an

electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external electric Guitar amplifier, sound amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar. It uses one or more pickup (music technology), pickups ...

as with all performances prior to this. Touring guitarist Dean Tidey played all the electric parts of the song. This was the only year the song was performed with this arrangement. The band's appearance at the

Reading and Leeds festivals The Reading and Leeds Festivals are a pair of annual music festivals that take place in Reading and Leeds in England. The events take place simultaneously on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend. The Reading Fest ...

saw them play the second stage, to reflect the low-key profile to their shows and that Melvin Benn, the festival's organiser had invited them to play the Main Stage as first day headliner, only to turn this down as they did not want to play such a high-profile show too soon after Jon Lee's passing. The second stage to this festival was then called ''The Evening Session Stage'', the same name as Steve Lamacq's show at the time. The song is still a setlist regular, with Grant Nicholas dedicating it to Jon Lee.

Track listings and formats

* UK 7-inch single # "High" – 4:32 # "Wishing for the Sun" – 3:30 * UK CD1 # "High" – 4:32 # "Wishing for the Sun" – 3:30 # "Women in Towels" – 2:30 # "

" (video) * UK CD2 # "High" – 4:32 # "High" (acoustic) – 3:49 # "Sweet Sixteen" – 3:30 # " Crash" (video) * Japanese EP # "High" – 4:33 # "Crash" (radio mix) – 3:47 # "My Perfect Day" – 4:37 # "Change" – 3:24 # "Pictures of Pain" – 3:47 # "Sweet Sixteen" – 3:34 # "Forgive" (acoustic session) – 4:01

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Release history

References

{{Authority control 1997 singles 1997 songs The Echo Label singles Elektra Records singles Feeder songs Song recordings produced by Chris Sheldon Songs written by Grant Nicholas