Coming Down

Album: Only In Dreams (2011)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This track from Los Angeles indie noise pop band Dum Dum Girls second album Only In Dreams features frontwoman Dee-Dee singing about fraught desires. She told CMU: "I won't lie; it's heart on sleeve. Things can be so awful but at least they can also be bliss. Hope you listen to the song and feel something."
  • This was released as the first song from the album. Dee Dee explained why they chose to lead with this track to Spinner: It's a really long song, and because it was quite a big shift for us, I think Sub Pop just wanted to highlight this song. I was happy that they did, and I think the response has been pretty positive. I wouldn't say it's not indicative of the record as a whole. I think it has a good place on it and makes sense on it, but it's definitely a standout, stylistically and sonically, from the others."
  • Dee Dee's mother died during the course of a year during the writing and recording of Only in Dreams. This song was written about her mom's final few days and the way Dee Dee disengaged emotionally. She explained to Spinner: "I think it's a common reaction that people, myself included, want to disengage when something's that overwhelming. It's why people go out and get wasted when they have bad news. I was on a serious attempt to not deal with what was going on and trying to stay as out of it as possible, because it was just an overwhelming situation, coming in and out of being forced to realize what was going on. That's basically what 'coming down' is in reference to."
  • The staff of Spinner selected this as their best song of 2011. They said: "While singing about being lost in a self-medicated haze after the death of her mother, frontwoman Dee Dee summoned the courage to show off her vocal power and ravaged heart. That stunning vulnerability let Dum Dum Girls transcend the confines of the garage-pop genre and lay claim to being one of the best rock acts around, as well as our pick for best track of the year."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Amy Grant

Amy GrantSongwriter Interviews

The top Contemporary Christian artist of all time on song inspirations and what she learned from Johnny Carson.

Songs Discussed in Movies

Songs Discussed in MoviesSong Writing

Bridesmaids, Reservoir Dogs, Willy Wonka - just a few of the flicks where characters discuss specific songs, sometimes as a prelude to murder.

Jethro Tull

Jethro TullFact or Fiction

Stage urinals, flute devices, and the real Aqualung in this Fact or Fiction.

Bill Medley of The Righteous Brothers

Bill Medley of The Righteous BrothersSongwriter Interviews

Medley looks back on "Unchained Melody" and "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" - his huge hits from the '60s that were later revived in movies.

Jason Newsted (ex-Metallica)

Jason Newsted (ex-Metallica)Songwriter Interviews

The former Metallica bassist talks about his first time writing a song with James Hetfield, and how a hand-me-down iPad has changed his songwriting.

Randy Newman

Randy NewmanSongwriting Legends

Newman makes it look easy these days, but in this 1974 interview, he reveals the paranoia and pressures that made him yearn for his old 9-5 job.