Lights and Sounds (song)
Encyclopedia
"Lights and Sounds" is a song by the American pop punk
band Yellowcard
. The song was written collaboratively by all the band members for their fifth album, Lights and Sounds
(2006). The track is built around an instrumental guitar riff, which is then followed with a repetitive drumming beat, then it is followed by a roaring guitar sound.
The song's lyrics are based on the band coping with the success they were enduring when writing songs for their second album. It is also based on how they have aged in the process. "Lights and Sounds" also goes with what vocalist Ryan Key
described as when he was preoccupied with making the album.
The song was released on November 15, 2005, and peaked at number four on Billboard
s Modern Rock Tracks chart. It also appeared at number twenty-six on the Hot Digital
chart. The song peaked at number 50 on Billboards Hot 100
and Pop 100
in the 42 spot. Internationally, the track appeared for one week in the UK Singles Chart at number 56. It also appeared in the Australian and New Zealand charts, respectively.
"Lights and Sounds" was well-received by music critics, who noted the track's general sound. The song won the 2006 Spike Video Game Award in the category for Best Song, after it was featured in the video game, Burnout Revenge
. During promotion for the band's album, the music video for "Lights and Sounds" was featured in a Verizon Wireless
V-cast commercial. The music video was shot in October 2005 and the video is a performance-only video, in which the band play in a dark room with thin lights, a homage to the song's title.
revealed that the song was written "really late in the process" when development of the album began. Key also talked about the sound featured in the song, saying: "...it's got such an amazing, driving, rock-&-roll vibe to it, with none of that frickin' pop-punk and alternative rock stigma. Secondly, i hate yellowcard being tagged as an alternative rock band. It's just a great rock song. That's something we've been striving to write for a long time, so when we were done, it was a relief".
In another Rolling Stone interview, the band explained the meaning of the title track, saying that is based on a "whirlwind rocker about the pressures on the band members" and how they have changed as they have aged. Bassist Peter Mosely
, in discussion of this, said: "We're older than people think we are. [...] We go through months of serenity, and then there'll be this one night where there will be evil." In another interview discussion about "Lights and Sounds", Key noted that its "about a band like us coming into a career that we didn't think we'd have. You find yourself surrounded by a lot of false people, a lot of people who are not doing it for the same reasons you are. That song is about the struggle of not giving in to that." The band explained that the lyrics, "Make it new but stay in the lines / Just let go but keep it inside / Smile big for everyone / Even when you know what they've done / They gave you the end but not where to start / Not how to build, how to tear it apart", were written because of that particular reason. Key also revealed that the lyrics, "They gave you the end / But not where to start / Not how to build / But how to tear it apart", were references to bands Nofx
and Bad Religion
. Key also explained that when he was preoccupied by distractions, in which he referred to them as "lights and sounds", which ultimately resulted in the band naming the album and track title just that. Key also revealed that it was because that is how it surrounded the band, when working on the album.
The song begins with an upbeat instrumental guitar riff, which is then followed with a repetitive drumming beat in the snare drum
; then it is followed by a roaring guitar sound and features singsong melodies. Violinist Sean Mackin plays the violin in the song. Longineu Parsons
plays a nonstop drumming rhythm, and the song incorporates a guitar roar, before hitting into a massively infectious chorus, with the lyrics: "Stop, turn, take a look around / At all the lights and sounds / Let 'em bring you in / Slow burn, let it all fade out / And pull the curtain down / Wonder where you’ve been."
of their fifth album. The song peaked at number four on Billboard
's Hot Modern Rock Tracks chart. The song also appeared on the Hot Digital Songs
chart on the number twenty-six position. It also charted in Billboard's Hot 100
and Pop 100
, respectively. Internationally, the song appeared in the UK Singles Chart on March 18, 2006, in the number 56 position, for one week. "Lights and Sounds" also appeared in the Australian chart, in the number twenty-four spot. The track peaked on the New Zealand charts at number twenty-three. Afterward, the song spent 11 weeks on the chart, before retiring on April 19.
The song received positive reception from critics. In the Blender
magazine review of the album, critic Andy Greenwald, wrote: "The title track [Lights and Sounds], bursting with buzzing distortion, builds into a satisfying anti-glitz rant." Tom Beajour of Entertainment Weekly
reported that the song "crams all of the genre's essential tropes — distorted power chords, abrupt dynamic shifts, and singsong melodies — into three and a half minutes of radio-friendly fire." Chris Saunders of MusicOMH noted that the song is laden with "memorable hooks, quiet/loud dynamics and emotive lyrics which will no doubt cut through to many a disenchanted youth: 'They gave you the end but not the where to start / not how to build, how to tear it apart.'" Saunders concluded that the song "is as lively and rousing as most of their best tracks." Sputnikmusic
wrote: "The adventure is only on the second track [Lights and Sounds] and the guys of Yellowcard are just getting started. This is by far the best tune on the album." Bart Gottula of The Clarion
wrote: "The album's single and title cut, 'Light's and Sounds', follows with an amazing performance by every band member. The song provides a quick, hard-hitting beat that brings back Yellowcard's hybrid punk and emo music that the band explored in its previous single, 'Way Away
'."
"Lights and Sounds" was featured on a Verizon Wireless
Vcast commercial around the time of the album's release. The song was also featured in the video game Burnout Revenge
and won the 2006 Spike Video Game Award for Best Song.
sound stage in October 2005. Originally, the video was supposed to be directed by Ryan Key, when the time came to start production, it was instead directed by Marc Webb
, who had previously worked with Yellowcard on their 2004 video for "Ocean Avenue
". The video premiered on November 7, 2005, on MTV2
.
In an interview with MTV News
, Webb revealed that the band wanted a "performance video" and that they wanted to go back to their "rock roots". When asked the concept behind the video, Webb said: "They provided the sound and I provided the lights. A whole lot of lights. We used the same guy who did the lighting setup for Lenny Kravitz
's 'Are You Gonna Go My Way?
' and Coldplay
's 'Speed of Sound
.' But it's also rough around the edges — we used a bunch of different processes when developing the film." He also concluded with, "...it's a big performance video. But it's them performing inside of this wind-tunnel of light. It's a lot of smoke and mirrors, and a lot of camera tricks. There's a big light wall, streaks of light, xenon lighting effects and strobe lights. [...] But it's all wrapped around this very simple performance environment".
The video opens with a scene of the band in a stage room with a tunnel light, which is accompanied by the song playing in the background. The scene moves to the band grabbing their instruments, respectively. The band proceeds in performing the song. The scene then shifts to Key when he begins to sing. The camera shifts all around the room with different color lights, including a bullet hole scenery, as it then shifts to the band, as they continue performing. When Key sings "'Cause nobody's there" the light wall changes into a bright purple background. As the video shows the band continuing the song still at a fast pace, the effect is followed by a slow motion sequence. In the middle of the song, the lights are turned off, leaving the room pitch black. This is followed with the camera switching to the band members as they begin to play, once more, only with a bright yellow light on the tip of their instruments; the tips of the drum sticks that Parsons is holding also have yellow lights. As Key sings "I've got a way to work this out" blue lights emerge in the wall behind the group. The video ends with a focus on Key's microphone.
Maxi:
Pop punk
Pop punk is a fusion music genre that combines elements of punk rock with pop music, to varying degrees. Allmusic describes the genre as a strand of alternative rock, which typically merges pop melodies with speedy punk tempos, chord changes and loud guitars...
band Yellowcard
Yellowcard
Yellowcard is an American pop punk/alternative rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida in 1997, and based in Los Angeles, California since 2000. Their music features the use of a violin, unusual for the genre...
. The song was written collaboratively by all the band members for their fifth album, Lights and Sounds
Lights and Sounds
Lights and Sounds is the fifth studio album by American pop punk band Yellowcard, released on January 24, 2006 in the United States through Capitol Records. Lights and Sounds is Yellowcard's first concept album, which was inspired to reflect what the band was feeling at the time of production and...
(2006). The track is built around an instrumental guitar riff, which is then followed with a repetitive drumming beat, then it is followed by a roaring guitar sound.
The song's lyrics are based on the band coping with the success they were enduring when writing songs for their second album. It is also based on how they have aged in the process. "Lights and Sounds" also goes with what vocalist Ryan Key
Ryan Key
Ryan Key is an American rock musician. He is best known for being the lead singer and rhythm guitarist of the American pop punk band Yellowcard, and one of the two lead singers in his side project Big If.-Early life:...
described as when he was preoccupied with making the album.
The song was released on November 15, 2005, and peaked at number four on Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
s Modern Rock Tracks chart. It also appeared at number twenty-six on the Hot Digital
Hot Digital Songs
The Hot Digital Songs chart ranks the best-selling digital singles in the United States, according to Billboard.Beginning in February 2005, digital sales have been incorporated into many of Billboards music single charts. It was decided to do so mainly because of the dramatic rise in popularity of...
chart. The song peaked at number 50 on Billboards Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
and Pop 100
Pop 100
The Pop 100 was a songs chart that debuted in February 2005 and was released weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States until its discontinuation in 2009...
in the 42 spot. Internationally, the track appeared for one week in the UK Singles Chart at number 56. It also appeared in the Australian and New Zealand charts, respectively.
"Lights and Sounds" was well-received by music critics, who noted the track's general sound. The song won the 2006 Spike Video Game Award in the category for Best Song, after it was featured in the video game, Burnout Revenge
Burnout Revenge
Burnout Revenge is the fourth video game in the Burnout series of racing games, released for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox on September 13, 2005 and Xbox 360 on March 7, 2006, alongside the PlayStation Portable and Nintendo DS title Burnout Legends....
. During promotion for the band's album, the music video for "Lights and Sounds" was featured in a Verizon Wireless
Verizon Wireless
Cellco Partnership, doing business as Verizon Wireless, is one of the largest mobile network operators in the United States. The network has 107.7 million subscribers as of 2011, making it the largest wireless service provider in America....
V-cast commercial. The music video was shot in October 2005 and the video is a performance-only video, in which the band play in a dark room with thin lights, a homage to the song's title.
Background
In an interview with Rolling Stone magazine in June 2005, Yellowcard vocalist Ryan KeyRyan Key
Ryan Key is an American rock musician. He is best known for being the lead singer and rhythm guitarist of the American pop punk band Yellowcard, and one of the two lead singers in his side project Big If.-Early life:...
revealed that the song was written "really late in the process" when development of the album began. Key also talked about the sound featured in the song, saying: "...it's got such an amazing, driving, rock-&-roll vibe to it, with none of that frickin' pop-punk and alternative rock stigma. Secondly, i hate yellowcard being tagged as an alternative rock band. It's just a great rock song. That's something we've been striving to write for a long time, so when we were done, it was a relief".
In another Rolling Stone interview, the band explained the meaning of the title track, saying that is based on a "whirlwind rocker about the pressures on the band members" and how they have changed as they have aged. Bassist Peter Mosely
Peter Mosely
Peter Michael Mosely is an American rock musician. He is one of the two guitarist, vocalist and pianist for the American punk rock band Inspection 12 as well as the former bassist for the American pop punk band Yellowcard. He joined Inspection 12 in 1996 but left in 2004 to be the bassist for...
, in discussion of this, said: "We're older than people think we are. [...] We go through months of serenity, and then there'll be this one night where there will be evil." In another interview discussion about "Lights and Sounds", Key noted that its "about a band like us coming into a career that we didn't think we'd have. You find yourself surrounded by a lot of false people, a lot of people who are not doing it for the same reasons you are. That song is about the struggle of not giving in to that." The band explained that the lyrics, "Make it new but stay in the lines / Just let go but keep it inside / Smile big for everyone / Even when you know what they've done / They gave you the end but not where to start / Not how to build, how to tear it apart", were written because of that particular reason. Key also revealed that the lyrics, "They gave you the end / But not where to start / Not how to build / But how to tear it apart", were references to bands Nofx
NOFX
NOFX is an American punk rock band from Los Angeles, California .The band was formed in 1983 by vocalist/bassist Fat Mike and guitarist Eric Melvin. Drummer Erik Sandin joined NOFX shortly after. In 1991 El Hefe joined to play lead guitar and trumpet, rounding out the current line-up...
and Bad Religion
Bad Religion
Bad Religion is a punk rock band that formed in Los Angeles in 1979. Their current line-up consists of Greg Graffin , Brett Gurewitz , Jay Bentley , Greg Hetson , Brian Baker and Brooks Wackerman . Gurewitz is also the founder of the label Epitaph Records, which has released almost all of the...
. Key also explained that when he was preoccupied by distractions, in which he referred to them as "lights and sounds", which ultimately resulted in the band naming the album and track title just that. Key also revealed that it was because that is how it surrounded the band, when working on the album.
The song begins with an upbeat instrumental guitar riff, which is then followed with a repetitive drumming beat in the snare drum
Snare drum
The snare drum or side drum is a melodic percussion instrument with strands of snares made of curled metal wire, metal cable, plastic cable, or gut cords stretched across the drumhead, typically the bottom. Pipe and tabor and some military snare drums often have a second set of snares on the bottom...
; then it is followed by a roaring guitar sound and features singsong melodies. Violinist Sean Mackin plays the violin in the song. Longineu Parsons
Longineu W. Parsons III
Longineu W. "LP" Parsons III is a French-born American rock musician. He is best known for being the drummer for the American pop punk band Yellowcard and is now one of the two remaining full-time members of the band from its original line-up along with bandmate Sean Mackin.-Early life:Longineu...
plays a nonstop drumming rhythm, and the song incorporates a guitar roar, before hitting into a massively infectious chorus, with the lyrics: "Stop, turn, take a look around / At all the lights and sounds / Let 'em bring you in / Slow burn, let it all fade out / And pull the curtain down / Wonder where you’ve been."
Release and reception
Yellowcard released "Lights and Sounds" in the United States on November 15, 2005, as the lead singleLead single
A lead single is usually the first single released by a musician or a band before the release of its home album.During the era of the grammophone record, all music arrived in the marketplace as what is now termed a single, one potential hit song backed by an additional song of generally less...
of their fifth album. The song peaked at number four on Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
's Hot Modern Rock Tracks chart. The song also appeared on the Hot Digital Songs
Hot Digital Songs
The Hot Digital Songs chart ranks the best-selling digital singles in the United States, according to Billboard.Beginning in February 2005, digital sales have been incorporated into many of Billboards music single charts. It was decided to do so mainly because of the dramatic rise in popularity of...
chart on the number twenty-six position. It also charted in Billboard's Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
and Pop 100
Pop 100
The Pop 100 was a songs chart that debuted in February 2005 and was released weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States until its discontinuation in 2009...
, respectively. Internationally, the song appeared in the UK Singles Chart on March 18, 2006, in the number 56 position, for one week. "Lights and Sounds" also appeared in the Australian chart, in the number twenty-four spot. The track peaked on the New Zealand charts at number twenty-three. Afterward, the song spent 11 weeks on the chart, before retiring on April 19.
The song received positive reception from critics. In the Blender
Blender (magazine)
Blender was an American music magazine that billed itself as "the ultimate guide to music and more". It was also known for sometimes steamy pictorials of celebrities....
magazine review of the album, critic Andy Greenwald, wrote: "The title track [Lights and Sounds], bursting with buzzing distortion, builds into a satisfying anti-glitz rant." Tom Beajour of Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
reported that the song "crams all of the genre's essential tropes — distorted power chords, abrupt dynamic shifts, and singsong melodies — into three and a half minutes of radio-friendly fire." Chris Saunders of MusicOMH noted that the song is laden with "memorable hooks, quiet/loud dynamics and emotive lyrics which will no doubt cut through to many a disenchanted youth: 'They gave you the end but not the where to start / not how to build, how to tear it apart.'" Saunders concluded that the song "is as lively and rousing as most of their best tracks." Sputnikmusic
Sputnikmusic
Sputnikmusic, or simply Sputnik, is a music website offering music criticism and music news alongside features commonly associated with wiki-style websites...
wrote: "The adventure is only on the second track [Lights and Sounds] and the guys of Yellowcard are just getting started. This is by far the best tune on the album." Bart Gottula of The Clarion
The Clarion
The Clarion was a weekly newspaper published by Robert Blatchford, based in the United Kingdom. It was a socialist publication though adopting a British-focused rather than internationalist perspective on political affairs, as seen in its support of the British involvement in the Anglo-Boer Wars...
wrote: "The album's single and title cut, 'Light's and Sounds', follows with an amazing performance by every band member. The song provides a quick, hard-hitting beat that brings back Yellowcard's hybrid punk and emo music that the band explored in its previous single, 'Way Away
Way Away
"Way Away" is the first single and opening track of Yellowcard's album Ocean Avenue. The song and music video both reflect the band's choice about leaving their hometown of Jacksonville, Florida to California in hopes of making a name for themselves in the Southern California music scene."Way Away"...
'."
"Lights and Sounds" was featured on a Verizon Wireless
Verizon Wireless
Cellco Partnership, doing business as Verizon Wireless, is one of the largest mobile network operators in the United States. The network has 107.7 million subscribers as of 2011, making it the largest wireless service provider in America....
Vcast commercial around the time of the album's release. The song was also featured in the video game Burnout Revenge
Burnout Revenge
Burnout Revenge is the fourth video game in the Burnout series of racing games, released for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox on September 13, 2005 and Xbox 360 on March 7, 2006, alongside the PlayStation Portable and Nintendo DS title Burnout Legends....
and won the 2006 Spike Video Game Award for Best Song.
Music video
The video for "Lights and Sounds" was shot on a Van Nuys, CaliforniaVan Nuys, Los Angeles, California
Van Nuys is a neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California.-History:Look at the two photos of Van Nuys' first year—and then listen to what the Los Angeles Times wrote on February 23, 1911, the day after the Van Nuys town lot auction--"Between dawn and dusk, in the...
sound stage in October 2005. Originally, the video was supposed to be directed by Ryan Key, when the time came to start production, it was instead directed by Marc Webb
Marc Webb
Marc Preston Webb is an American music video, short film and major motion picture director. He directed the 2009 romantic comedy-drama Days of Summer and is currently directing the 2012 Spider-Man reboot The Amazing Spider-Man.-Life and career:Webb was born in Bloomington, Indiana, the son of...
, who had previously worked with Yellowcard on their 2004 video for "Ocean Avenue
Ocean Avenue (song)
"Ocean Avenue" is the title of a song recorded by American pop punk group Yellowcard. It was released in September 2004 as the second single from Ocean Avenue and the third track. It is known for bringing them into the mainstream, as it received numerous spins on MTV and increasing radio airplay...
". The video premiered on November 7, 2005, on MTV2
MTV2
MTV2 is a cable network that is widely available in the United States on digital cable and satellite television, and is progressively being added to analogue cable lineups across the nation...
.
In an interview with MTV News
MTV News
MTV News is the news division of MTV, one of the first and most popular music television network in the U.S., as well as some of MTV's related channels around the world. MTV News began in the late 1980s with the program The Week In Rock, hosted by Kurt Loder, the first official MTV News correspondent...
, Webb revealed that the band wanted a "performance video" and that they wanted to go back to their "rock roots". When asked the concept behind the video, Webb said: "They provided the sound and I provided the lights. A whole lot of lights. We used the same guy who did the lighting setup for Lenny Kravitz
Lenny Kravitz
Leonard Albert "Lenny" Kravitz is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and arranger, whose "retro" style incorporates elements of rock, soul, R&B, funk, reggae, hard rock, psychedelic, folk and ballads...
's 'Are You Gonna Go My Way?
Are You Gonna Go My Way (song)
"Are You Gonna Go My Way" is the first single to be released by Lenny Kravitz from the album of the same name. It was released in March 1993. It was written by Lenny Kravitz and Craig Ross...
' and Coldplay
Coldplay
Coldplay are a British alternative rock band formed in 1996 by lead vocalist Chris Martin and lead guitarist Jonny Buckland at University College London. After they formed Pectoralz, Guy Berryman joined the group as a bassist and they changed their name to Starfish. Will Champion joined as a...
's 'Speed of Sound
Speed of Sound (song)
"Speed of Sound" is a song by English alternative rock band Coldplay. It was written by all members of the band for their third album, X&Y. Built around a piano riff, the song builds into a huge, synthesizer-heavy chorus...
.' But it's also rough around the edges — we used a bunch of different processes when developing the film." He also concluded with, "...it's a big performance video. But it's them performing inside of this wind-tunnel of light. It's a lot of smoke and mirrors, and a lot of camera tricks. There's a big light wall, streaks of light, xenon lighting effects and strobe lights. [...] But it's all wrapped around this very simple performance environment".
The video opens with a scene of the band in a stage room with a tunnel light, which is accompanied by the song playing in the background. The scene moves to the band grabbing their instruments, respectively. The band proceeds in performing the song. The scene then shifts to Key when he begins to sing. The camera shifts all around the room with different color lights, including a bullet hole scenery, as it then shifts to the band, as they continue performing. When Key sings "'Cause nobody's there" the light wall changes into a bright purple background. As the video shows the band continuing the song still at a fast pace, the effect is followed by a slow motion sequence. In the middle of the song, the lights are turned off, leaving the room pitch black. This is followed with the camera switching to the band members as they begin to play, once more, only with a bright yellow light on the tip of their instruments; the tips of the drum sticks that Parsons is holding also have yellow lights. As Key sings "I've got a way to work this out" blue lights emerge in the wall behind the group. The video ends with a focus on Key's microphone.
Track listing
AU Single:- "Lights and Sounds" – 3:28
- "Three Flights Down" – 4:44
- "When We're Old Men" – 3:32
- "Lights and Sounds" (Live) – 3:38
Maxi:
- "Lights and Sounds" – 3:30
- "When We're Old Men" – 3:32
- "Lights and Sounds" (Live) – 6:08
- "Lights and Sounds" (Multimedia Track)
Charts
| Chart (2005) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Modern Rock Tracks Modern Rock Tracks Alternative Songs is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in Billboard magazine since September 10, 1988. It lists the 40 most-played songs on modern rock radio stations, most of which are alternative rock songs... |
4 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
50 |
| Australian Singles Chart | 24 |
| New Zealand Singles Chart Recording Industry Association of New Zealand The Recording Industry Association of New Zealand is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell music in New Zealand... |
23 |
| 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 ... |
56 |