Topic: Drugs and Music (Read 22409 times)

onewheelwizzard · « **on:** 15 Mar 2006, 13:43 »

So I just recently started listening to Spacemen 3, and their album "Taking Drugs To Make Music To Take Drugs To" made me consider how much of the music I love is entwined with drugs. If there were some common strain going through most of the music I listen to, it is an influence from drug use or culture.

I was wondering if many other people find this to be true about their tastes. Actually using drugs isn't part of the equation ... many of your standard good-music standbys, like The Beatles and Pink Floyd and stuff like that, are obviously enjoyed by people who never take drugs, even though they definitely fall into the rather large cateogory of "drug music." But there's a pronounced bias in my own tastes towards this category and I was wondering if anyone else is in a similar position.

Artists who are part of my drug-music collection:
The Beatles, Black Sabbath, 13th Floor Elevators, Deep Purple, Acid Mothers Temple, Animal Collective, Dead Meadow, Bardo Pond, The Doors, Dungen, The Flaming Lips, Blue Cheer, Cream, Grateful Dead, Hawkwind, Jefferson Airplane, Pelt, Pelican, Sleep, Spacemen 3, Buffalo, Jack Rose, Isis, Hypnos 69, earthlings?, Desert Sessions, Earth, SUNN 0))), Jimi Hendrix, Kyuss, Love, QOTSA, Roky Erickson, Santana, Yawning Man, and some more. I realize that many of these are easy to consider without thinking about their drug influences (The Beatles are an obvious example), but they're all drug music in some fashion as far as I'm concerned.

I don't know how welcome a discussion about actual drugs would be in this forum, so let's keep this about the music. But I can't be the only one here with music interests along these lines, so this thread can be about recommendations between people with tastes tending towards drug-influenced music.

KharBevNor · « **Reply #1 on:** 15 Mar 2006, 14:08 »

If we included alcohol as a drug, nigh on my entire music collection would be eligible. But I suspect we mean the more illegal sorts of drugs...your list is pretty good.

Casting an eye over my last.fm top 50 reveals only about 14-15 bands that I would definitely call drug music. I have no real problem filling out whole CD's of ridiculous stoner shit for when, ahem, I feel in the most appropriate mood for such things, ahem.

Apart a lot of yours, I would highly count Acid Bath, Orange Goblin, Ewigkeit (Jim Fog claims he gave his CD collection away to Oxfam so he could make more original music. I think he just set fire to them all and inhaled the fumes through a straw), Alien Sex Fiend, Swans, Sigh, The Sisters of Mercy, Star One (even if Lucassen is clean as a whistle, he's smoked the annual drug output of Afghanistan in secondary influences), Bob Dylan, Overlord, Crowbar, Electric Wizard, Bauhaus, Moonspell (well, the song 'Opium' at least), The Meads of Asphodel, The Inbreds, Syrafex, and in a non-stoner sense, Motorhead, The Anti-Nowhere League, The Ramones, countless other speed popping and glue huffing punks, and probably most of the EBM, Acid (hmmm...) and dark trance I listen to. I'm also gonna add Skyclad to this list, because there's odd drug references in their lyrics, and I like to put them in everywhere. I've also found that the mid-period prog stuff (mainly Oui Avant-Garde A Chance and bits of The Answer Machine?) are pretty rocking when I'm, ahem. And then there's all that depressive black metal composed in a haze of weedsmoke and NyQuil fumes.

Not that I would ever endorse the taking of drugs. Ahem.

nescience · « **Reply #2 on:** 15 Mar 2006, 14:21 »

Khar, don't forget Placebo, as I know you're a fan.

Misereatur · « **Reply #3 on:** 15 Mar 2006, 14:26 »

SunnO)) is definitelly drug music.
Wait, fuck that, Anything realesed by Southern Lord is drug music.

Also, Progressive rock is a drug music of some sort.
Not to play it, because Weed (I'm talking about Marijuana right now, nothing else) will effect your technique mostly. But for a listening drug Weed would be great for Soft Machine or any other jazzy prog' rock.

Electronica is also drug music. Listening to Ulver's Pedition City on drugs would be.. interesting.
Ambient and Noise will also do.

Hell, Every music is drug music.

KharBevNor · « **Reply #4 on:** 15 Mar 2006, 14:56 »

Quote from: nescience

Khar, don't forget Placebo, as I know you're a fan.

Oh damn no. I've left out loads, don't worry.

devils_daughter · « **Reply #5 on:** 15 Mar 2006, 15:08 »

Alcohol is the reason I know most of the lyrics from a Reel Big Fish album.

mberan42 · « **Reply #6 on:** 15 Mar 2006, 15:13 »

Quote from: devils_daughter

Alcohol is the reason I know most of the lyrics from a Reel Big Fish album.

I pity you.

Scandanavian War Machine · « **Reply #7 on:** 15 Mar 2006, 15:30 »

i don't claim to have read every word in every post thus far, but it seems to me that no one has said Modest Mouse yet.

Skibas_clavicle · « **Reply #8 on:** 15 Mar 2006, 19:14 »

Pretty much ANYTHING electronic. (Eg. The Crystal Method, Chemical Brothers, Squarepusher, etc.)

InterstateEight · « **Reply #9 on:** 15 Mar 2006, 19:33 »

Quote from: Scandanavian War Machine

i don't claim to have read every word in every post thus far, but it seems to me that no one has said Modest Mouse yet.

You beat me to it.

The Moon and Antarctica, anyone?

Houdinimachine · « **Reply #10 on:** 15 Mar 2006, 19:46 »

Marcy Playground has a song called Poppies that's about the wonders of opium.

Kai · « **Reply #11 on:** 15 Mar 2006, 20:09 »

I do so love my stoner/sludge rock.

The Thrill · « **Reply #12 on:** 15 Mar 2006, 20:25 »

Personally I wouldn't say that Deep Purple is drug music. I don't really get that vibe from them, despite their jamminess at times. Also, Deep Purple with Blackmore, Gillan, Lord, Glover and Paice (Mk II lineup) was the greatest band ever in my books.

I didn't notice Led Zepplin on anyones list and they are definately a "drug band" if there ever was one

I think Jimmy Page has gotta be one of the most whacked out musicians ever, had so many drugs in him he could barely play half the time.

Other bands I would include would be the Allman Brother's Band, Iron Maiden, Aerosmith, Guns 'n' Roses, even some ZZ Top fits the category. Alot of shred would fit into it as well, Joe Satriani, Eric Johnson (more blues than shred, but he still shreds), Steve Vai, Yngwie Malmsteen, and all of the lesser known guys have their moments where they are pretty out there. Stevie Ray Vaughan was a big fan of his Leslie which gave alot of his songs a spacey sort of sound that would probably be pretty trippy if you were high.

pat101 · « **Reply #13 on:** 15 Mar 2006, 20:43 »

for some reason whenever I become intoxicated I go for the Wolf Parade, I don't know what it is but if I'm drunk Wolf Parade is my friend.

Kid Modernist · « **Reply #14 on:** 15 Mar 2006, 20:47 »

Quote from: Houdinimachine

Marcy Playground has a song called Poppies that's about the wonders of opium.

Also a song on the same album called "Opium."

onewheelwizzard · « **Reply #15 on:** 16 Mar 2006, 01:39 »

Quote from: The Thrill

Personally I wouldn't say that Deep Purple is drug music. I don't really get that vibe from them, despite their jamminess at times. Also, Deep Purple with Blackmore, Gillan, Lord, Glover and Paice (Mk II lineup) was the greatest band ever in my books.

I didn't notice Led Zepplin on anyones list and they are definately a "drug band" if there ever was one I think Jimmy Page has gotta be one of the most whacked out musicians ever, had so many drugs in him he could barely play half the time.

Other bands I would include would be the Allman Brother's Band, Iron Maiden, Aerosmith, Guns 'n' Roses, even some ZZ Top fits the category. Alot of shred would fit into it as well, Joe Satriani, Eric Johnson (more blues than shred, but he still shreds), Steve Vai, Yngwie Malmsteen, and all of the lesser known guys have their moments where they are pretty out there. Stevie Ray Vaughan was a big fan of his Leslie which gave alot of his songs a spacey sort of sound that would probably be pretty trippy if you were high.

I mention Deep Purple because they were one of the first heavy psychedelic bands, and with Blue Cheer they paved the way for Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath. They might not have been as fixated on drug use as some of the other groups of the time (then again they might've ... one of their guitarists died of a drug overdose) but the sound is definitely a drug-influenced one.

I think the main reason why shredding and stuff like Aerosmith aren't on my list is my specific preference towards music influenecd by hallucinogens. Shredding is too play-by-numbers for that. I think the reason my personal drug-music choices are what they are is that players like David Gilmour or Jason Simon (Dead Meadow) can really take their music to some very strange places that shredding can't reach. Jason Simon can make incredibly trippy music with just an acoustic guitar and his voice (and don't even get me started on Jack Rose's acoustic guitar playing ... that stuff is WAY out there). Sure, you can space out or distort your sound as much as you like, but only some artists can actually take their music to the kind of places that drugs can bring musicians to. Sometimes it is about the instrumental sound, but more often it's the way you play it. The weird power to actually take their music to unfamiliar places isn't something I find in very many artists (certainly not everyone on my list can do it), and it requires more than just technical expertise and some distortion pedals (though those certainly help). This is all dependent on my personal way of percieving music, though, which I'm willing to bet is very different from most peoples'.

Nemba · « **Reply #16 on:** 16 Mar 2006, 02:34 »

Don't forget FRANK ZAPPA!

normz · « **Reply #17 on:** 16 Mar 2006, 03:06 »

Quote from: KharBevNor

Quote from: nescience
Khar, don't forget Placebo, as I know you're a fan.

Oh damn no. I've left out loads, don't worry.

why is it that all my english friends count placebo and weed as going hand in hand in their formative teenage years.... seriously is there some english law where all teenagers have to hide in attics, get high and suddenly feel that they can really 'relate' to what brian molko is trying to say

Rizzo · « **Reply #18 on:** 16 Mar 2006, 03:15 »

Pretty much my entire collection is driven by heroin, speed or acid. I mean, industrial, middle years punk and experimental... fuck.
And lots of Type O Negative. Those dudes'll take anything.
And of those 30% of bands in my collection that aren't on something illegal are definately boozed out of their minds pretty regularly.
Pretty much the two exceptions are AFI and Minor Threat cause they're both straight edge.

Kai · « **Reply #19 on:** 16 Mar 2006, 05:58 »

Quote from: Nemba

Don't forget FRANK ZAPPA!

Aside from the fact that... you know, he never did drugs in his life.

E. Spaceman · « **Reply #20 on:** 16 Mar 2006, 07:25 »

onwheelwizard: If you liked Spacemen 3 you may want to give their offshoot bands a chance. Pete Kember (Sonic Boom) formed Spectrum and Experimental Audio Research while Jason Pierce (J Spaceman) formed Spiritualized.

KharBevNor · « **Reply #21 on:** 16 Mar 2006, 07:52 »

Quote from: normz

Quote from: KharBevNor

why is it that all my english friends count placebo and weed as going hand in hand in their formative teenage years.... seriously is there some english law where all teenagers have to hide in attics, get high and suddenly feel that they can really 'relate' to what brian molko is trying to say

"A friend in need's a friend indeed,
A friend with weed is better..."

Molko is actually, despite what the quote may indicate, a pretty damn good lyricist and singer. The placebo requirement I think is more a thing of people slightly older than myself, though it does seem pretty common.

Kirbo · « **Reply #22 on:** 16 Mar 2006, 08:09 »

Quote from: Kai

Quote from: Nemba
Don't forget FRANK ZAPPA!

Aside from the fact that... you know, he never did drugs in his life.

Really?

Kai · « **Reply #23 on:** 16 Mar 2006, 08:15 »

Yeah. Pretty ultra mega anti-drug. Can't say the same for some of his band members, but they didn't really write the music anyways.

Kirbo · « **Reply #24 on:** 16 Mar 2006, 08:35 »

But...he named his kids Moonunit and Dweesel (SP?)

Ah whatever, he fucking rules either way.

Thrillho · « **Reply #25 on:** 16 Mar 2006, 08:41 »

I hate drugs. And more often than not, hate associations with my favourite bands and drugs. It's pretty stupid, probably, but I do often appreciate when a band I like is teetotal.

But NOT straight edge. There's a difference between straight edge and sober which most people seem to miss.

E. Spaceman · « **Reply #26 on:** 16 Mar 2006, 09:49 »

Quote from: Kirbo

Quote from: Kai
Quote from: Nemba
Don't forget FRANK ZAPPA!

Aside from the fact that... you know, he never did drugs in his life.

Really?

Zappa fired musicians on the spot if he found them doing drugs.

nihilist · « **Reply #27 on:** 16 Mar 2006, 09:56 »

Ah, the days of running away from Waterloo at 4am to come to TO to party at the clubs. Or the days of taking the bus down, partying all night long, crashing on a bench, catching the first bus up the next morning. *sighs* Those were the days.

Scandanavian War Machine · « **Reply #28 on:** 16 Mar 2006, 11:04 »

certain Flipper songs seem to be very drug friendly

KharBevNor · « **Reply #29 on:** 16 Mar 2006, 11:57 »

The RASCAL!

amok · « **Reply #30 on:** 17 Mar 2006, 01:11 »

1200 Mics.

And uh, every psytrance DJ & artist ever I guess.

Nemba · « **Reply #31 on:** 17 Mar 2006, 01:16 »

Quote from: Kai

Quote from: Nemba
Don't forget FRANK ZAPPA!

Aside from the fact that... you know, he never did drugs in his life.

it is called irony. It is meant to illustrate the fact that you don't need to be high to write fucked-up music.

Hat · « **Reply #32 on:** 17 Mar 2006, 07:08 »

While we're on the subject, I was reading up on Hawkwind the other day, and apparently they kicked Lemmy out because of his drug use. This is a little confusing for me. Was it just they were taking shitloads of acid and Lemmy was just going buck-wild on amphetamines?

Insane.

Kai · « **Reply #33 on:** 17 Mar 2006, 07:21 »

Quote from: Nemba

Quote from: Kai
Quote from: Nemba
Don't forget FRANK ZAPPA!

Aside from the fact that... you know, he never did drugs in his life.
it is called irony. It is meant to illustrate the fact that you don't need to be high to write fucked-up music.

Irony is a very hard thing to display over the intra-webs. Cause looking at your post, you could totally get the idea you were saying it's totally drugtastic.

And yeah, Lemmy was "using hte wrong type of drugs". Tee hee.

Misereatur · « **Reply #34 on:** 17 Mar 2006, 07:45 »

Coil.

They even recorded albums on LSD (Love's Secret Domain to name one)

KharBevNor · « **Reply #35 on:** 17 Mar 2006, 09:05 »

Quote from: Kai

And yeah, Lemmy was "using hte wrong type of drugs". Tee hee.

Yeah, compare one of the songs Lemmy wrote or mostly wrote, like, say, Motorhead, to, for example, 'The Golden Void'. The main reason he got kicked out was the level of his addiction, however. He was high almost all the time, and the catalyst was getting busted by the cops when they were on tour in Canada.

Iwan · « **Reply #36 on:** 17 Mar 2006, 12:36 »

I can't believe nobody quoted Bill Hicks...

Quote

See I think drugs have done some good things for us. If you don't think drugs have done good things for us then do me a favor. Go home tonight and take all of your records,tapes and all your CD's and burn them. Because, you know all those musicians who made all that great music that's enhanced your lives throughout the years? Rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrreal fucking high on drugs, man.

Thank you, Bill.

For me, it doesn't really matter about the amount of drugs the artists take.

Some of the bands I adore, are anti-drugs, others are pro-drugs. All fine by me, just let me do the amount that I want of what I want when I want it.
I don't base my opinion on the those of musicians, no matter how much I admire and respect them.

Besides, I really shouldn't say this but I know this guy who is a pretty decent guitar player. I mean, he can play, he's not exactly a master but he can play a decent riff or two.
But I've witnessed this guy on XTC... It was a real surprise. First of all, normally he's pretty shy and silent, especially when there is a human adult femine specimen nearby. On E he is very confident, very charming and funny as hell.
Second his guitarskills... I swear to God, he took his acoustic guitar and he just started playing, out of the blue. It was as if the late Johnny Cash dropped a drop of sperm somewhere in a fertile Belgian uterus 25 years ago. I mean, he played with so much soul, his chord progressions were not original but it was just so amazing. Anyways he played for more then 1/2 hour and then he just glared at his guitar and he said "where the fuck did that tune come from?"
So, yeah, drugs can influence your playing. I've seen it.

Ravenbomb · « **Reply #37 on:** 17 Mar 2006, 12:47 »

Aerosmith

BeoPuppy · « **Reply #38 on:** 17 Mar 2006, 12:50 »

Quote from: KharBevNor

I'm also gonna add Skyclad to this list, because there's odd drug references in their lyrics, and I like to put them in everywhere.

Martin during the one concert of Skyclad I saw: "Vote green ladies and gentleman. If any of you have some weed to share, see me after the show."

This being in Holland and all I'm sure he got what he wanted.

MilkmanDan · « **Reply #39 on:** 17 Mar 2006, 13:21 »

All Dub.
You can't begin to comprehend how high Lee Scratch Perry was when he was at Black Ark. And before Black Ark. And after.

Rizzo · « **Reply #40 on:** 17 Mar 2006, 16:37 »

Quote from: Misereatur

Coil.

They even recorded albums on LSD (Love's Secret Domain to name one)

I believe they mixed it in 48 hours under the influence of LSD. I think creating such an amazing album in 48 hours is pretty impressive.

Azathoth · « **Reply #41 on:** 17 Mar 2006, 17:38 »

See also:

Loop
The Psychic Ills
Skywave - Echodrone is my favorite album to smoke (weed) to. It's also my favorite album anyway.
Disco Infero

Misereatur · « **Reply #42 on:** 17 Mar 2006, 18:05 »

Quote from: Rizzo

Quote from: Misereatur
Coil.

They even recorded albums on LSD (Love's Secret Domain to name one)

I believe they mixed it in 48 hours under the influence of LSD. I think creating such an amazing album in 48 hours is pretty impressive.

That album sounds like an LSD trip. I'd love to listen to it drunk or on drugs.
Its an amazing album even without any drugs involved.

Also I'd like to add to our little list of drug related artists a band called Kali Live Dub.
Groovy Jam Dub from france, great stuff, havent listened to it in years though.

Oh, wait a second, Did anyone mention Bob Marly?

Zaarin · « **Reply #43 on:** 17 Mar 2006, 18:44 »

Quote from: onewheelwizzard

Acid Mothers Temple

One of my friends said the most expansive, enlightening moment of his life was when he listened to AMT high.

I think Kawabata Makoto and his merry/slightly frightening collective of friends truly live up to the Spaceman 3 creed of taking drugs to make music to take drugs to.

KharBevNor · « **Reply #44 on:** 18 Mar 2006, 05:25 »

Quote from: BeoPuppy

Martin during the one concert of Skyclad I saw: "Vote green ladies and gentleman. If any of you have some weed to share, see me after the show."

This being in Holland and all I'm sure he got what he wanted.

Oh, that crazy doped up hippy. ^_^

BeoPuppy · « **Reply #45 on:** 18 Mar 2006, 11:36 »

Quote from: KharBevNor

Quote from: BeoPuppy

Martin during the one concert of Skyclad I saw: "Vote green ladies and gentleman. If any of you have some weed to share, see me after the show."

This being in Holland and all I'm sure he got what he wanted.

Oh, that crazy doped up hippy. ^_^

Wasn't the only reference either. So, now we know how he arrives at those brilliant if slightly weird lyrics.

Hat · « **Reply #46 on:** 19 Mar 2006, 10:55 »

Quote

See I think drugs have done some good things for us. If you don't think drugs have done good things for us then do me a favor. Go home tonight and take all of your records,tapes and all your CD's and burn them. Because, you know all those musicians who made all that great music that's enhanced your lives throughout the years? Rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrreal fucking high on drugs, man.

Man, the beatles were so high, they let Ringo sing a few songs. We all live in a Yellow Submarine? Fuck!!!

That routine always cracks me up when I hear it

Thrillho · « **Reply #47 on:** 19 Mar 2006, 13:07 »

Wait a damn minute, I just noticed something in the original post.

Pink Floyd is NOT fucking drug music. They smoked a bit of dope, I don't think it was even all of them that did that, but it wasn't music created from drugs. They were not a drug band.

A lot of people take drugs and listen to Floyd, but they'd pretty much stopped it by WYWH except for a bit of booze, and that was limited too.

nescience · « **Reply #48 on:** 19 Mar 2006, 13:28 »

Uh, Syd Barrett took a boatload of LSD. Early Floyd (especially Piper) is definitely drug music.

Misereatur · « **Reply #49 on:** 19 Mar 2006, 13:43 »

LSD is why Syd Barrett got kicked out of Pink Floyd. He got high once and locked his gf in a closet for three days, feeding her nothing but crackers.
They did loads of LSD in their early days, but Barrett took it one step too far.

P.S.
You should find a copy of a CD called The Dub Side Of The Moon. A tripped out dub version of the classic, totally owsome stuff.
If I remmember correctly, they recorded a bong and placed it at the beginning of Brain Damage.. or was it Money?

THESE FORUMS NOW CLOSED (read only)

Author Topic: Drugs and Music (Read 22409 times)

nescience

devils_daughter

InterstateEight

The Thrill

Kid Modernist

Nemba

normz

nihilist

Nemba

Iwan

Ravenbomb

MilkmanDan

Azathoth

Zaarin

nescience