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Drugs & Music - AGAIN


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Originally posted by coyote:

Paul McCartney is actually a great example. Can anyone tell me his creativity wasn't at its peak BY FAR from 1965 to 1973 or so?

Again, we'll never really know if he would've written those tunes WITHOUT drugs, will we? I know some artists who peak at certain period of time and then are much less prolific later (quality-wise)...and it has nothing to do with drugs.

 

We're all adults here, and I, for one have tried just about every drug that existed up to the 90s (and some much more than once). I'm sure many of you have also. It's convenient to talk about how they can release your inner creativity or focus your talent, but come on. Let's face it. It's a simple crutch. Sometimes in good ways, more often in neutral or really bad ways, but all drugs do is stop some functions in your brain/autonomous systems from wroking the way they are designed to.

 

And certainly, I've been known to kick back with the recreational drug du jour and lose a weekend with my synths and computer (although not in this millenium), or go to a rave and use up my limited supply of seratonin by assaulting my brain with X.

 

But the question one should be asking is not "Am I more creative when high?" Instead, the question should be "Why am I more creative (in my perception) when high?".

 

And to a point, I agree with coyote...there is little room in my world for judgemental or hypocritical people. But I would argue, as others have here, that drugs may, at best reduce some inhibition that is preventing a person from expressing their creativity. More often though, I think it's either quieting some demons that need to be worked through, or dulling one's own ability to critically evaluate one's output, be it speech, music, or a punch.

"For instance" is not proof.

 

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And to a point, I agree with coyote...there is little room in my world for judgemental or hypocritical people
And yet they are all around us (or down below actually, at the political forum) and passing laws. And enforcing some and not others ; }

 

/me hoists a quadstrength french-press 16-ouncer in celebration of diversity

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Everybody is creative to some degree in some way or another, and some are really creative and would be with or without drugs. Being an ex-pot smoker, did acid a couple times too, ok and some hash, it was the 70s, I learned that dope changes the way you listen to music and even if you give it up it has a different effect on your creativity. For instance back in '96 a fellow worker was listening to a CD I put together and said, "So just how much acid did you take Steve?". :D The truth is I hadn't done any in a couple of decades but I definitely have a taste for music that has been influenced by it and other hallucinogens. By the same token(parden the pun) I could also write music that sounds like it was written by the squarest Republican on earth.

 

Steve

You shouldn't chase after the past or pin your hopes on the future.
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But sometimes the drugs are enhancing those demons. And sometimes that fuels the creative fire... the Basie program spoke of how Kansas City was, at that time, essentially lawless and mentions how the volatile mix of transients, drugs/booze, etc spawned a number of what would become MAJOR swing bands, bands whose explorations helped define the genre.

Originally posted by zeronyne:

But I would argue, as others have here, that drugs may, at best reduce some inhibition that is preventing a person from expressing their creativity. More often though, I think it's either quieting some demons that need to be worked through, or dulling one's own ability to critically evaluate one's output, be it speech, music, or a punch.

And sometimes, dulling one's critical evaluation is essential to stoking the creative fire. My wife, for example, is enslaved by the critical voices in her head. She once had a talent for drawing & painting. A few years ago, she tried to rekindle things by drawing an apple. It came out very cool, but the hypercritical voices in her head couldn't accept the slight elongation in her drawing and she hasn't picked up a pencil since. Might she not benefit from something which might dull that self-criticism a bit? If she gets discouraged by the imperfection of a first effort, how does she ever advance to greater things?

(SIDE NOTE: No, I have NOT advocated that she imbibe and then try again. It would be inappropriate of me to suggest... but if she were to decide to try it I would not object. Meanwhile, I have tried to show her the beauty of that apple she drew in an attempt to persuade her she doesn't suck.)

I used to think I was Libertarian. Until I saw their platform; now I know I'm no more Libertarian than I am RepubliCrat or neoCON or Liberal or Socialist.

 

This ain't no track meet; this is football.

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Originally posted by Lee Flier:

In Paul McCartney's autobiography he's very honest in his thoughts about drugs.

Paul McCartney will never be able to convince me that he didn't create "Red Rose Speedway" just for those on acid.

bbach

 

Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder.

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Ah yes, caffeine. The legal speed. I love it!!
Yeah, but comparing a Red Bull to speed is like comparing a tricycle to a Trans Am.

\m/

Erik

"To fight and conquer in all your battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists of breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting."

--Sun Tzu

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You can fit the following into all of this any way you might.

 

For 12 years I smoked pot. During that time, I branched out into speed and mesc. Sometimes "blotter acid". Eventually, I started doing coke.

 

Now, I could reason the pot smoking. There was a definite alteration of your consienceness, Same with mesc and speed( note: I got into doing speed because a friend suggested it was a good way to enjoy the effect of pot without the drowsiness.). But it seemed all coke did was enhance the desire to snort more coke! Money made the coke use end before the others, and why I quit them is manifold.

 

Did you ever see that TV spot where the woman claims her life centered around whether or not she had enough cigarettes, and matches for the smokes and so on? That's how it got with me and dope. Couldn't go to a party, movie, concert, family dinner or whatever unless I made sure I had enough dope. And had to "schedule" when I would drop a certain substance for it to hit in time and last long enough and so on and so on...but at one of the parties I fussed over, another "epiphany" of sorts happened.

 

One of the guys at the party always brought along his TEAC reel-to-reel player plugged through an old Grundig reciever(where the hell did he get THAT?). He would put on one of the 10 inch reels he made up over the years, play it on the slowest speed(which he recorded on)and just leave it run for the entire night. Well, on this particular tape, the old Lovin' Spoonful song "Summer In The City" came on, and I turned to my wife( later the ex) and asked if she remembered something funny about this song. She laughed and said she did. What was funny, was that back in the mid '60's, our mutual friend Dave would have parties at his house. His folks would encourage them. Both Dave and his younger brother Doug had as many of their friends over as could fit in their basement. And that was a lot. At one particular party, someone kept playing that song over and over, must have been about 40 times that night. But what was most effective about hearing the song at the party with the tape player, was it made me think of all those other parties at my friend's house...

 

It was in the days before any of us got into doing any dope. His folks had rules, and one was if you went outside for anything, you were gone for the night. No sneaking outside for a nip, or the toke of a joint. And his Dad, as straightlaced as he seemed, could smell it on you regardless of any "cover-up" you tried. But they were so cool about having the parties in the first place(I know MY folks wouldn't have dreamed of it!)that we respected it. So the strongest "drug" we ever did was nicotine. No booze, no dope.

 

And we all had the TIME OF OUR LIVES!! Nobody was high. NO body was drunk. And we had a BLAST! So much so that as I sat there thinking about it years later at the other party, listening to that old tune, I had to ask myself, "So, WHY is it so neccesary NOW?"

 

There are other reasons I wound up quitting dope. But that WAS the catalyst. Incidentally, my friend's parents showed up at my ex's funeral, and I did mention that to them. Along with giving my belated thanks. Without that memory, who knows where I might have wound up?

 

Whitefang

I started out with NOTHING...and I still have most of it left!
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Might she not benefit from something which might dull that self-criticism a bit?
Self-criticism is just the ego. Meditation can help. I still have problems with the critical ego when I create music but I've learned to use it to my benefit. I'll create without using the ego, then let the ego go over the (in my case) music and be the editor that way it doesn't feel left out. I'll also give it multiple chances to edit over a period of time too to get different perspectives.

 

Steve

You shouldn't chase after the past or pin your hopes on the future.
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Originally posted by Jotown:

It is my experience that most artist's who use mind altering substances to enhance their creativity are merely attempting to quiet their left brain (the logical/rational part) so that their right brain (the non-linear creative/symbolic part) can take over.

.

Bingo!

 

 

CDMN, there are others ways of injesting MJ besides smoking it. Vaporization and brownies are both "healthy", or at least non-destructive to lung tissue.

Amateur Hack
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I think no one's mentioning approach and style.

 

Back in collage and high school days I smoked the green stuff somewhat regularly. My litmus test was to hang out with folks who NEVER said the phrase; "Oh wow, the last time we were high this blah blah blah thing happened..." In other words, there were a majority of folks who would recite these lame stories over and over about some seemingly strange and/or humorous thing that happened when high.

 

I found a small monority of folks who would play musical instruments, or create stories, or go hiking or shoot basketball or whatever. It was okay then. Made things profound somehow.

 

You can't equate drug use with the unwashed masses. Most people here are musicians and different from others. With moderation and good judgement, I see much less problems with the green stuff than with fast food.

 

I only do state approved drugs now with the occational (I'm talking once or twice a year maybe. I've gone whole years without it) green stuff. One thing I like about that green stuff is I can partake a small bit and then sit with an acoustic guitar or piano and a micro cassette and come up with a million ideas. They're just chord progressions, licks or snippets of lyrics, but they can be fleshed out. Some of my best original tunes started this way IMO.

 

I guess I'm just getting to the 'guns don't kill people, people ... argument. With respect and moderation, most non addictive drugs can be enhancers to life. And then again, fast food can kill you! (Supersize Me)

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It is natural for all animals to seek intoxication. For humans it can be anything from ingesting a substance (be it food or a "drug") to jogging to rolling down a hill or spinning in circles.

 

Our governments like to clump all 'illicit narcotics' in the same category- Evil. It doesn't matter if it's Crystal Meth or cocaine or LSD or marijuana. It's all bad for you and it has no medicinal purpose.

 

But these same governments have no problem promoting and pumping 'legal narcotics' into the population...even children.

A July article in the online magazine Salon stated that 3 million American children receive amphetamines (including Ritalin) to control ADD or ADD with hyperactivity and another 600,000 take antidepressants such as Prozac (fluoxetine).
What are the long term implications (mental, physical and societal) of such drug (ab)use.

 

For thousands of years various cultures have used psychedelics to enhance the music creating process as well as the listening experience (not to mention countless other spiritual ventures). I find it fascinating that in a country where millions die annually from alcohol/tobacco (not to mention legal pharmaceuticals) that two chemists, that were creating a substance that has no known deaths attributed to toxicity (LSD), are handed two life sentences and two 30 year sentences, respectively, after being convicted in Federal Court. What is the American government afraid of?

 

Maybe music can heal humanity.

 

Myshell :)

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Yes, because it was self-inflicted. Charlie chose a powerful, destructive addiction over a positive relationship with loved ones and his art.
Considering you didn't know the man, that's an incredibly judgemental statement. Not only did he have horrible Ulcers that caused him tremendous pain, there were other factors in his life (racism, tough childhood, etc. etc.) that effected the choices he made. Unless you've lived his life you can't judge it. Yeah he made some mistakes and ended up a slave to bad stuff in the process but life's tough, shit happens. There's no doubt he was one of the most creative musicians to ever walk this earth...my own opinion is no one was was/is better.

 

Lee said:

but the vast majority of art made while stoned or tripping is only interesting to other people who are stoned or tripping, if it's interesting at all.
Not very scientific Lee, the vast majority of 'art' made period is only interesting to the lamo artist and his/her friends. This world is filled to the brim with mediocrity and this seems to be increasing 10-fold every year when it comes to music.

 

I could list a ton of artists who wrote and/or recorded songs while high that people assume were recorded sober because they're so perfectly crafted for mass consumption.

 

How many Nashville country hits were written and/or recorded high? How many powerpop records?

 

If you're talking about a specific type of music, psychedelic jams or whatever, well, just maybe, maybe you don't understand the music high or not. There is PLENTY of music made by completely sober artists that is only understood by a select audience that has experience and/or education with that specific type of music. You don't like any Prog music yet a whole lot of it is made by people who are straight-edge, though certainly not all is.

 

There were times where people thought Hendrix was tripping on acid when he was actually sober...they just didn't understand what he was going for.

 

In short, there's no rule in this discussion, there are way too many factors involved...the 'judgmentalism cast at those who DO use pot or alcohol or whatever' is mostly bogus.

 

 

Duddits said:

If the reality were that inner cities saturated with drug use were bastions of creative production, I think there'd be a lot more proponents of the drug-creativity connection. However, the reality is that the visible by-product of drugs is not creativity but misery, hence the understandable "judgmentalism."
I know there is some truth in this but you're painting with way too wide a brush for it to have much impact on this particular topic. Crack/Meth/Speed/Heroin/etc. are a whole different animal, most all (except H maybe) don't enhance creativity at all. Also, in innercities, bad diet, bad education and many other factors contribute to problems as well.

If I'm misunderstanding your point or reading too much into what you said, let me know.

 

:wave:

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Originally posted by Steve LeBlanc:

Duddits said:

"If the reality were that inner cities saturated with drug use were bastions of creative production, I think there'd be a lot more proponents of the drug-creativity connection. However, the reality is that the visible by-product of drugs is not creativity but misery, hence the understandable 'judgmentalism.'"

I know there is some truth in this but you're painting with way too wide a brush for it to have much impact on this particular topic. Crack/Meth/Speed/Heroin/etc. are a whole different animal, most all (except H maybe) don't enhance creativity at all. Also, in innercities, bad diet, bad education and many other factors contribute to problems as well.

If I'm misunderstanding your point or reading too much into what you said, let me know.

 

:wave:

I think that's exactly right. The answer is what you, yourself said: "painting with way too wide a brush."

 

The thing is, we're talking about two different but related issues:

 

1) the "judgmentalism" against the use of drugs for creative purposes, and

 

2) the use of drugs for creative purposes.

 

Issue #2 -- whether drugs help or hurt the creative process -- is a discussion in and of itself, and I'm sure there's intelligent things that can be said on both sides of the issue. (For what it's worth, I agree with Lee that the bads outweigh the goods.)

 

Issue #1 (which began the thread) -- the judgmentalism -- is easilly answered because of the "wide brush" effect and is not all that controversial. Because the visible effects of illegal drugs on society are largely and obviously bad, that effects the overall impression people have of these drugs even for possible exceptions. For example, the medical use of marijuana while an arguably good exception to the "drugs are bad" judgment, is nonetheless subject to (and must fight against) the same judgment. The medical use for marijuana lobby must therefore make the argument that although "you, the general public regularly views the ravages of illicit drug use in society, in certain limited cases, these same drugs may help rather than hurt people's lives." It's a good argument, but must fight against the understandable popular anti-drug judgment based on the broad brush of the wider experience. Similarly, if you want to make an argument that drugs enhance the creative process (issue #1), you nonetheless face the same broad brush of popular disaproval based on the wider and clearly negative experience with drugs.

Dooby Dooby Doo
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Being an ex-pot smoker, did acid a couple times too, ok and some hash, it was the 70s, I learned that dope changes the way you listen to music and even if you give it up it has a different effect on your creativity.

 

If there is but one thing that i would say i might miss about the days of smoking pot and hash and whatnot, it's the time spent higher than a kite with my headphones on, rockin' out to Iron Maiden or somesuch.

 

I used to love that.

Dr. Seuss: The Original White Rapper

.

WWND?

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Originally posted by Steve LeBlanc:

Yes, because it was self-inflicted. Charlie chose a powerful, destructive addiction over a positive relationship with loved ones and his art.
Considering you didn't know the man, that's an incredibly judgemental statement. Not only did he have horrible Ulcers that caused him tremendous pain, there were other factors in his life (racism, tough childhood, etc. etc.) that effected the choices he made. Unless you've lived his life you can't judge it. Yeah he made some mistakes and ended up a slave to bad stuff in the process but life's tough, shit happens. There's no doubt he was one of the most creative musicians to ever walk this earth...my own opinion is no one was was/is better.

 

:wave:

Steve, I don't feel it'sincredibly judgmental, only garden variety judgmental :D

 

I'm certainly not a black man living the early and middle part of the 20th century, so I'm not going to walk in his shoes. But I'm going to look at a guy like Miles Davis who stood next to Bird on the bandstand, overcame his drug addiction, and who also lived in the era of Jim Crow and all that evil bullshit. In his autobiography, Miles referred to Bird's funeral as "sad and unfortunate". It didn't have to be that way.

 

:wave:

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CMDN, there are others ways of injesting MJ besides smoking it. Vaporization and brownies are both "healthy", or at least non-destructive to lung tissue.
Yeah, I know about that stuff, too.

I messed with drugs of many flavors when I was in my teens, and I have eaten "special" brownies before. The last time I screwed around with anything like that was about 15 years ago. These days, I'm just not interested in any substance that will effect my judgement or make me act stupider than usual. I'm stupid enough already.

\m/

Erik

"To fight and conquer in all your battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists of breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting."

--Sun Tzu

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Originally posted by billster:

Originally posted by Steve LeBlanc:

Yes, because it was self-inflicted. Charlie chose a powerful, destructive addiction over a positive relationship with loved ones and his art.
Considering you didn't know the man, that's an incredibly judgemental statement. Not only did he have horrible Ulcers that caused him tremendous pain, there were other factors in his life (racism, tough childhood, etc. etc.) that effected the choices he made. Unless you've lived his life you can't judge it. Yeah he made some mistakes and ended up a slave to bad stuff in the process but life's tough, shit happens. There's no doubt he was one of the most creative musicians to ever walk this earth...my own opinion is no one was was/is better.

 

:wave:

Steve, I don't feel it'sincredibly judgmental, only garden variety judgmental :D

 

I'm certainly not a black man living the early and middle part of the 20th century, so I'm not going to walk in his shoes. But I'm going to look at a guy like Miles Davis who stood next to Bird on the bandstand, overcame his drug addiction, and who also lived in the era of Jim Crow and all that evil bullshit. In his autobiography, Miles referred to Bird's funeral as "sad and unfortunate". It didn't have to be that way.

 

:wave:

right on...I'm just saying there were other factors involved in Bird's drug addiction than just weakness...it's not an excuse but his ulcers were very painful, H relieved physical pain and got him through some rough times. No doubt his death was sad and unfortunate, unnecessary even, I just think it's unfair for him to be classified as the typical junkie.
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This is a really good thread... lots of thoughtful responses.

 

Like so many, my opinions on this matter have changed over the years. Like Whitefang, I went through a period of time (for me in my teens and early 20s) where I would schedule everything around drugs. My friends and I would literally take vacations in order to experience different drugs in different environments, making literal the idea of a "trip". And as far as music was concerned, no one in my band would think about rehearsing or gigging without drugs and alcohol. It was the integral part of the experience for us, back then.

 

I'm not going to make the argument that weed is the "gateway" drug. I will say that after I started getting high all the time, my next move as an inquisitive youth was to try other drugs, which I very well may have done regardless of marijuana.

 

But the results weren't good. Long story short, the best thing that ever happened to me (in retrospect) was getting dragged into a hospital, having had a bad reaction to some bad drugs. It scared me just enough without killing me in the process, fortunately. It was June 25, 1989, I was 21, and I never, ever did those drugs again.

 

Today, I would never cripple myself at a gig by being seriously impaired. Whereas 17 years ago, we'd often start our gig late because the drummer and I were out back smoking a joint, I know I would be ridiculously self-conscious if I was stoned onstage now. And I know (from having heard the recordings) that I do NOT play better in any state than I do sober.

 

Anyway, to end this novel, my belief is that brain chemistry changes as we grow older, and that drugs have a different effect on a 40 year old than they do a 20 year old. But speaking ONLY for me, I know for a fact that I now enjoy playing more and perform better without being intoxicated. Your mileage, as always, may vary.

 

- Jeff

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Yes, because it was self-inflicted. Charlie chose a powerful, destructive addiction over a positive relationship with loved ones and his art.
Actually, from what I've read, he was BORN addicted because his mother was a junkie while pregnant with him - and many who are born like this apparently say they never feel right unless they're under the influence.

 

That's a bad drug. bad drug.

Just a pinch between the geek and chum

 

 

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Originally posted by Bejeeber:

Yes, because it was self-inflicted. Charlie chose a powerful, destructive addiction over a positive relationship with loved ones and his art.
Actually, from what I've read, he was BORN addicted because his mother was a junkie while pregnant with him - and many who are born like this apparently say they never feel right unless they're under the influence.

 

That's a bad drug. bad drug.

Interesting. Most folks think "crack babies" are a newer thing.
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Two things that I never thought would come back from the 70's were platform shoes and heroin. Sad to say, they are back and bigger than ever.

 

Some folks just never learn.

Jotown:)

 

"It's all good: Except when it's Great"

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Did someone up there mention dope and LISTENING to music?

 

BAD idea!

 

To illustrate, back in the mid-'70's, I was over my brother-in-laws house, and we smoked some of that gold "two-toke" weed. He then put on an LP that knocked me out! "WOW!" I said, "What's the name of that album?" After telling me, I rushed out to buy it the next day, and when I got home, I put it on my turntable and listened to it while straight.

 

The LP was by Uriah Heep, and it blew chunks!

 

Gotta be careful when listening while stoned...

 

Whitefang

I started out with NOTHING...and I still have most of it left!
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Originally posted by Steve LeBlanc:

I could list a ton of artists who wrote and/or recorded songs while high that people assume were recorded sober because they're so perfectly crafted for mass consumption.

So could I, and that includes a lot of my favorite music. However, the context of my argument was that we don't know that those same songs wouldn't have been written without being high. I was referring specifically to music that the artist directly attributes to drug use.

 

If you're talking about a specific type of music, psychedelic jams or whatever, well, just maybe, maybe you don't understand the music high or not.

There is PLENTY of music made by completely sober artists that is only understood by a select audience that has experience and/or education with that specific type of music.

Sure, but I think education is a positive pursuit, and gaining deep experience with a specific type of music is a positive pursuit. I don't think either of those can be compared to getting stoned. ;)

 

I do acknowledge that I'm using broad brush strokes here... there are always exceptions, and there is psychedelic music that I like, too. :D I also think that, in a healthy society, drug use has a valuable place. But we are not a healthy society and most people can't deal with it, plus as my point was, I DON'T think it really enhances creativity - if you are really talented you can make great music whether high or not, and if you're not, getting stoned sure isn't going to make you great. :D Also, IMO there are other ways to lose creative inhibitions that are a lot more beneficial, if often more difficult than smoking a joint or taking a pill.

 

Thanks 'fang and Jeff and others who've shared their stories.

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Interesting there are so many stories about Bird and how he got hooked- I read in Ken Burns (who SUCKS- all of his material is recycled, not a bit of original research, plus his primary agenda is his own racism) that Bird had a bad car accident, and he got hooked on opiates trying to get through that, and his back was fucked his whole life.

 

Lots of people trying to explain away Bird's doin' dope!

 

I read where someone said about Jerry Garcia, that long before he was addicted to dope he was addicted to playing the guitar- he played it obsessively, to the exclusion of any kind of balance in life, wore it to the dinner table I've heard. Bird was like that too- some kinds of gruelling innovations only happen as a result of extreme excesses.

 

I'm personally very, very sure that much of the best American music of this century wouldn't have come out the same way, without reefer, acid, and drinkin'. In a good way, or a not so good way. Sidney Bechet tearing up the Maple Leaf Rag in the 20's, that's evidence that he had really good whiskey and really, really good reefer. Jimi Hendrix skinny as a rail spacing the changes at the Isle of Wight, that's 'cause of way too much speed for way too long.

 

Of course it's not so simple, ever, that any formula or situation yields great memorable art. It's a tricky logistical and mystical enterprise. Very hard to predict, very hard to recreate. It has to do with the spirit, and that is hard to quantify.

A WOP BOP A LU BOP, A LOP BAM BOOM!

 

"There is nothing I regret so much as my good behavior. What demon possessed me that I behaved so well?" -Henry David Thoreau

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There is a really good book on the subject of musicians and creativity called Musicians In Tune that was written (as part of her psychology doctoral thesis) by Jenny Boyd (sister of Patty Boyd). She interviews a wide variety of famous musicians, and one of the topics she covers extensively is drug use and the effects it has on creativity. A large number of these musicians had responses similar to Joni Mitchell's:

 

Chemicals and Creativity

 

A Change in Consciousness

 

Joni Mitchell described the importance of "screwing on a different consciousness" while creating. Though she acknowledged that certain drugs can initially help in the process, she stressed the disastrous results of dependence: "Writing is a more neurotic, a more dangerous art form, psychologically speaking [than performing music], because there you have to make the mind crazy. It's the opposite of Zen mind. That's why a lot of the great writers used stimulantsAlice in Wonderland was written on opium, all the great Welsh alcoholicsbecause writers need to screw on a different head. Sometimes they get lost in the different head, but with writing, you need to create the chaotic mind, insanity almost, overlapping thoughts. You have to plumb down if you want any depth to your writing.

 

"During the introductory period to a new drug, it can screw on a different consciousness. Any change of consciousness is refreshing, so is the contrast between going straight to whatever elixir, say pot, it tends to make you tactile, sensual. It warms the heart, for about the first fifteen minutes. Then it starts to fog you over. You've got about fifteen minutes of really concentrated creative thought and then it can flatten you. If you smoke that on a regular basis, you'd lust be flattened, and it's anti-creative. But if you do it knowing, 'I'm stuck here,' take some pot and you'll swing into the opposite of where you are and ideas will open up. Cocaine can give you an intellectual, linear delusion of grandeurmakes you feel real smart. It can create great insanity very quickly. My definition of insanity is chaotic mindtoo many thoughts in it, overlapping. For a writer, that's a lot of choices; epic thought can be very good, but if you do [too much], then it takes over and then it's anti-creative, almost immediately. For me, saki is a very warming elixir, but [with] all these things, you can't even do them two days in a row before they [begin to have] a deteriorating effect. I think they almost have to be done with a spiritual, ritualistic [feel], like a prayer."

 

The False Promise

 

Joni Mitchell has also experienced this trap: "Out of desperation, when you have no inspiration [you may try] to stimulate it with the addition of something artificial. But with the straight mind, the little shocks of daily existence can be enough. You go out the door of your house in one mood and you run into something that either elevates or depresses that mood; that change of mind could be the stimulation needed for the creative process. The straight mind is ultimately the best because it's the long-distance runner of them all. With the others, the road is too dangerous, it can burn you out, and kill your talent."

 

Quote source.

 

FWIW, and YMMV and all that good stuff. :) FWIW, I thought it was an excellent book and well worth reading.

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Similarly one might draw insight and inspiration from:

 

DRAWING ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE BRAIN

Betty Edwards

 

DRAWING ON THE ARTISTS WITHIN - an inspirational guide to increasing your creative powers

Betty Edwards

 

THE CREATIVE SPIRIT - companion to the PBS television series

Daniel Goleman, Paul Kaufman, and Michael Ray

 

FREE PLAY - improvisation in life and art

Stephen Nachmanovitch

 

WRITING ON BOTH SIDES OF THE BRAIN - breakthrough techniques for people who write

Henriette Anne Klauser

 

...and many others, from art to metaphysics to hard sciences to fantasy and science fiction.

 

Castenada's Don Juan pretty much said drugs were for dummies who couldn't get it any other way - who were so fixated and anal they needed to be jarred - and that drugs for an aid to fuller conciousness were a danger and something to be grown past.

 

I think he had it right. People that live there continually of course, will disagree.

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