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annexusquam 
Forum Senior Member
Joined: April 24 2007
Location: Greece
Status: Offline
Points: 147
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 Topic: Drugs & Music
Posted: May 18 2009 at 12:15 |
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So the full question here is: do you believe that drugs were an important factor in music evolution back in the 60s and 70s or not and why? Do you think that drugs played their role (big or not) by affecting inspiration and generally by changing the way of understanding and writing music and lyrics or not? Was their role big or small?
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https://0a0wake0.bandcamp.com/releases
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Anderson III
Forum Senior Member
Joined: October 25 2007
Location: Finland
Status: Offline
Points: 708
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Posted: May 18 2009 at 13:35 |
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Adding a bit of controversy, are we...? Don't mind if I do.
For quite some time I've thought that psychoactive drugs and music are linked. It seems that very many genres of music have a drug to go along with them! Now I seriously don't wish to offend anyone, but both New Orleans during prohibition and the island of Jamaica have plenty of pot smokers, and we have jazz and reggae partly (I believe) because of this. Ecstasy users have various sub genres of electronic dance music suitable for them. Obviously hallucinogens affected musicians in the experimental psychedelic era, and I think the musicians would tell you this. And
the rise in cocaine use pretty much explains what the hell happened in the 80's... the list goes on!
I figure if you have a change in consciousness you might perceive music differently. The way the brain processes music under the influence of drugs is different from the way normal brains do, but I'm not sure how (and can't be bothered to go into detail now).
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"Music expresses that which cannot be put into words and cannot remain silent" - Victor Hugo
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Werneflo
Forum Groupie
Joined: May 12 2009
Location: Sweden
Status: Offline
Points: 51
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Posted: May 18 2009 at 14:46 |
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Well, my favourite Black Sabbath album is Vol. 4.
Then did they do the most drugs? Vol.4.
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Negoba
Prog Reviewer
Joined: July 24 2008
Location: Big Muddy
Status: Offline
Points: 5208
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Posted: May 18 2009 at 14:56 |
mmm, well duh.....
They are absolutely not necessary to produce awesome music, but it is also absolutely silly to say they haven't massively effected the music of much of the rock era.
But this isn't the forum for that discussion which has been played out already.
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You are quite a fine person, and I am very fond of you. But you are only quite a little fellow, in a wide world, after all.
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Raff
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator
Joined: July 29 2005
Location: None
Status: Offline
Points: 24429
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Posted: May 18 2009 at 15:05 |
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I think drugs of every kind have always been present in the arts. On the extremely lively, fertile artistic scene of Paris at the turn of the 19th century, the use of alcohol and drugs was rife - check the cover of John Greaves' Verlaine album, and you'll see a silver absinthe spoon. Edgar Allan Poe was an alcoholic, as were many other writers in the 19th and early 20th century. So, the fact that rock music has been impacted by the use of psychoactive substances is really nothing new. However, it must also be said that, as Jay stated above me, using drugs or alcohol is not mandatory for producing great music (or great literature, or great visual art).
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Slartibartfast
Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator / In Memoriam
Joined: April 29 2006
Location: Atlantais
Status: Offline
Points: 29630
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Posted: May 18 2009 at 15:10 |
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I saw a Paul Krassner interview on a documentary about the Sgt. Pepper and he said that while drugs certainly influence for the music, you couldn't exactly play well while under the influence of LSD.
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Released date are often when it it impacted you but recorded dates are when it really happened... 
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Captain Capricorn
Forum Senior Member
Joined: February 21 2009
Status: Offline
Points: 1085
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Posted: May 18 2009 at 15:25 |
 Slartibartfast wrote:
I saw a Paul Krassner interview on a documentary about the Sgt. Pepper and he said that while drugs certainly influence for the music, you couldn't exactly play well while under the influence of LSD. |
No, but one can certainly allow the experiences induced by the drug to inform their writing process.
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martinprog77
Forum Senior Member
Joined: December 31 2005
Location: United States
Status: Offline
Points: 2523
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Posted: May 18 2009 at 16:25 |
the great bill hicks said
if you don't believe drugs have done good things for us, do me a favor. Go home tonight. Take all your albums, all your tapes and all your CDs and burn them. 'Cause you know what, the musicians that made all that great music that's enhanced your lives throughout the years — rrreal f**king high on drugs. The Beatles were so f**king high they let ringo sing a few tunes.
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Nothing can last
there are no second chances.
Never give a day away.
Always live for today.
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RoyFairbank
Forum Senior Member
Joined: January 07 2008
Location: Somewhere
Status: Offline
Points: 1072
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Posted: May 18 2009 at 16:45 |
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Big but more from reflections on the lifestyle than the actual chemical effects
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moe_blunts
Forum Senior Member
Joined: February 18 2008
Location: Austin, TX
Status: Offline
Points: 617
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Posted: May 18 2009 at 16:50 |
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^RIP (edit: to martin)
that was an easy poll
Edited by moe_blunts - May 18 2009 at 16:51
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The Pessimist
Prog Reviewer
Joined: June 13 2007
Location: United Kingdom
Status: Offline
Points: 3834
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Posted: May 18 2009 at 16:52 |
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Drugs have a massive impact on music nowadays if I'm honest. The song Pineal Gland Optics - Meshuggah is actually based on experiences with the drug DMT. They always have been a part of musical creation.
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"Market value is irrelevant to intrinsic value."
Arnold Schoenberg
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Captain Capricorn
Forum Senior Member
Joined: February 21 2009
Status: Offline
Points: 1085
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Posted: May 18 2009 at 17:01 |
The Pessimist wrote:
Drugs have a massive impact on music nowadays if I'm honest. The song Pineal Gland Optics - Meshuggah is actually based on experiences with the drug DMT. They always have been a part of musical creation.
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...as are their songs Ayahuasca (named after an Amazonian hallucinogenic brew of which DMT is the active constituent) & Closed-Eye Visuals 
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BaldFriede
Prog Reviewer
Joined: June 02 2005
Location: Germany
Status: Offline
Points: 10266
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Posted: May 18 2009 at 20:28 |
Raff wrote:
I think drugs of every kind have always been present in the arts. On the extremely lively, fertile artistic scene of Paris at the turn of the 19th century, the use of alcohol and drugs was rife - check the cover of John Greaves' Verlaine album, and you'll see a silver absinthe spoon. Edgar Allan Poe was an alcoholic, as were many other writers in the 19th and early 20th century. So, the fact that rock music has been impacted by the use of psychoactive substances is really nothing new. However, it must also be said that, as Jay stated above me, using drugs or alcohol is not mandatory for producing great music (or great literature, or great visual art).
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It is very dubious that Poe was an alcoholic; those allegations were instigated by his archenemy Rufus Wilmot Griswold, who did everything to destroy his reputation. It is true though that Poe experimented with Laudanum.
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 BaldJean and I; I am the one in blue.
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Petrovsk Mizinski
Prog Reviewer
Joined: December 24 2007
Location: Ukraine
Status: Offline
Points: 25210
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Posted: May 18 2009 at 20:34 |
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You can bet your ass drugs had a fairly big role to play in music evolution. There is plenty of crazy experiences to be had on hallucinations that you'll never get in the clean, straight world that can inspire song writing.
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mrcozdude
Forum Senior Member
Joined: July 25 2007
Location: Devon,UK.
Status: Offline
Points: 2078
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Posted: May 18 2009 at 21:11 |
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To all of the above^ and below
Not that we advocate drugs in any shape or form.
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moe_blunts
Forum Senior Member
Joined: February 18 2008
Location: Austin, TX
Status: Offline
Points: 617
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Posted: May 18 2009 at 21:36 |
mrcozdude wrote:
Not that we advocate drugs in any shape or form.
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i do 
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Easy Money
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator / Retired Admin
Joined: August 11 2007
Location: Memphis
Status: Offline
Points: 10652
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Posted: May 18 2009 at 21:45 |
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^ you do what?
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moe_blunts
Forum Senior Member
Joined: February 18 2008
Location: Austin, TX
Status: Offline
Points: 617
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Posted: May 18 2009 at 22:15 |
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advocate drug use in several forms
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Easy Money
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator / Retired Admin
Joined: August 11 2007
Location: Memphis
Status: Offline
Points: 10652
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Posted: May 18 2009 at 22:41 |
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Well yeah, you're in Austin, they're probably legal. Legal drugs are totally cool on the PA forum dude
Otherwise, we're not allowed to encourage any illegal 'stuff' including, but not limited to, seal clubbing, crack pipes shaped like hand guns and fake CDs of Hendrix bootleg outakes of other bootlegs.
All that sort of encouragment of illegal activity type 'chatter' can get your ass banned from this site ... straight up!
Edited by Easy Money - May 18 2009 at 22:46
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Alitare
Forum Senior Member
Joined: March 08 2008
Location: New York
Status: Offline
Points: 3595
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Posted: May 18 2009 at 23:23 |
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But you now, I have a cool copy of a bootleg of "Fun with Hendrix Onstage" the psychedelic sequel to the Elvis favorite.
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Drugs & Music
