Coursework: The Prevalence and Influence of Drugs in Rock and Metal Music
Coursework: The Prevalence and Influence of Drugs in Rock and Metal Music. I don't think anyone will disagree with me on the fact that drugs are a controversial subject. It's really no surprise, considering they have led to numerous deaths, directly or indirectly. Not to mention other problems they can create, including but not limited to addiction and even insanity. Many people have strong convictions against then, many people strongly support them, but whatever your say on the subject, one thing that can't be denied is that they have had quite an influence on media. This includes literature, motion pictures, and music, the latter of which will be the subject of this thread.At the mention of music influenced by drugs, most people would think of obvious acts like The Doors, Jimi Hendrix Experience, The Beatles and Pink Floyd, whose atmospheric landscapes would influence some people to make humorous comments like, “Whoa, pass me the joint, man.” Others would think of metal bands with unintelligible lyrics, whose songs must be about sex, drugs, and violence. Some people would think of the eighties hair metal movement, which included many musicians who lived by excess. This thread will address most of these beliefs. Psychedelic MusicMusic heavily inspired by drugs is often referred to as “psychedelic,” which means of, characterized by, or generating hallucinations, distortions of perception, altered states of awareness, and occasionally states resembling psychosis. For music to create an atmosphere resembling any of these sensations, common techniques include outlandish melodies, lyrics describing dream-like or hallucinatory states, and bizarre sound effects.
Much psychedelic music was written to replicate or coincide with “trips” on hallucinatory drugs, most notably acid. Others include marijuana, mescaline, and psilocybin.The earliest musicians reported to have been inspired by psychedelic drugs were jazz, blues and folk artists. They often performed while high, some to stay in time. Blues- and folk-inspired musicians from the United Kingdom started to experiment with drugs, and soon carried this tradition to America during the British Invasion.Psychedelic music soon became a rapidly growing trend, churning out now infamous artists such as The Doors, The Grateful Dead and Pink Floyd. Other bands that were already ...
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Much psychedelic music was written to replicate or coincide with “trips” on hallucinatory drugs, most notably acid. Others include marijuana, mescaline, and psilocybin.The earliest musicians reported to have been inspired by psychedelic drugs were jazz, blues and folk artists. They often performed while high, some to stay in time. Blues- and folk-inspired musicians from the United Kingdom started to experiment with drugs, and soon carried this tradition to America during the British Invasion.Psychedelic music soon became a rapidly growing trend, churning out now infamous artists such as The Doors, The Grateful Dead and Pink Floyd. Other bands that were already well-established, such as The Beatles, The Beach Boys and Bob Dylan, eventually became a part of the movement. Psychedelic rock is now a very popular section of rock and roll history.Music written under the influence of drugsAlternative rock icon and Grammy-winning artist Beck has confessed that his quirky music was inspired by use of Marijuana. "Sure, I smoked dope when I was in the studio making Odelay. My career was at stake. I was stone sober when I recorded Mellow Gold, and the record didn't sell. At the time, I would say probably one in five rock stars were using weed. I didn't want to smoke Marijuana, but I knew I just couldn't compete without it."Massively popular Industrial Metal composer Trent Reznor admits that drug abuse once played a large role in his creative process. "I was wary of creating in sobriety. I didn't know how that was gonna work or if it could work or if I was one of those tragic figures that has to rely on whatever to get to whatever state. Much like every other role that drugs or alcohol played in my life, I realized that it was more hindering than it was freeing. A lot of that was a lie and a cheap way to get to someplace. It wasn't real anyway. I can function much better creatively, as well as in life, sober." Also, many Nine Inch Nails songs reference to themes related to drug use. Songs include Mr. Self Destruct, Down in It, and With Teeth.Psychedelic jam-band Grateful Dead would perform shows while under the influence of LSD, resulting in long, improvised renditions of songs, including unusual effects. Former Pink Floyd front man Syd Barrett abused LSD, and the influence came out in the songs he wrote. Musicians who used drugsInfluential rock and metal bassist Lemmy Kilmister was notorious for his use of amphetamines. He was asked to leave his former band Hawkwind after being arrested for possession of speed while on tour with Canada. He then started his own band, Motorhead, whose fast-paced stylings could have been inspired by the drug, and the band name is slang for someone who abuses amphetamine. Front man of the successful funk rock group Red Hot Chili Peppers, Anthony Kiedis was introduced to drugs at an early age by his father. He used cocaine and heroin, and struggled with drug addiction, until decided to go clean after band-mate Hillel Slovak overdosed on heroin. After several relapses, he has been clean for over six years.Dave Mustaine and members of Megadeth were known to use drugs, and they spent all of the $10,000 advance they received for their first album on narcotics. *Also, lyrics to several Megadeth songs were written while Dave was driving around trying to buy drugs. Grunge icon and Nirvana front-man Kurt Cobain habitually smoked cannabis through high school, and eventually admitted to having tried nearly every drug he could, with the exception of PCP. He later became addicted to a pain killer called Percodan, and in 1986 he tried heroin for the first time. Sporadic usage gradually developed into addiction, which interfered with his career and family life. Touring and publicity became very difficult, and Los Angeles Child Services tried to revoke his custody of his daughter, claiming that his and Courtney Love’s drug addiction deemed them unfit parents. He overdosed several times, and entered rehab unsuccessfully. By the time he died, he was still using drugs. While the rest of Motley Crue were content abusing alcohol, Nikki Sixx was using cocaine and heroin. Known as one of the most excessive living rock stars, he overdosed on heroin at his dealer’s house, but survived. Later, in 1987, he overdosed and died. He was revived by paramedics who shot him up with epinephrine. In 2004, he declared himself clean.Pantera singer Phil Anselmo abused heroin. He claimed to use it as an anesthetic to relieve his back pain, he also used it recreationally. He died of an overdose, but was revived by paramedics. He now claims to have kicked his drug habbits.Stephan Jenkins of Third-Eye-Blind was a crystal methamphetamine user, and one of the most successful songs he wrote, “Semi-Charmed Life,” was about the drug and the culture around it. He said in an interview that the drug makes you feel “bright and shiny,” and that once that feeling goes away, “you’ll do unconscionable things to feel that way again.”Post-grunge rock band Nickelback are casual marijuana smokers, and like to get high backstage after playing concerts.Songs about drugsDespite casual drug use, the members of Metallica never submitted to abuse of harder drugs, but that didn’t stop them from writing Master of Puppets, one of their most widely acclaimed songs, around the subject of heroin abuse.“Taste me you will seemore is all you needyou're dedicated tohow I'm killing youCome crawling fasterobey your Masteryour life burns fasterobey your Master” ~ Metallica – Master of PuppetsSeattle hard rock band Alice in Chains, a band which includes several known drug users and whose singer overdosed on heroine and cocaine, spoke of the positive and negative aspects of drugs in many of their songs.“What's My Drug Of Choice?Well, What Have You Got?I Don't Go BrokeAnd I Do It AlotSeems So Sick To The Hypocrite NormRunning Their Boring DrillsBut We Are An Elite Race Of Our OwnThe Stoners, Junkies, And Freaks” Junkhead“So Be Yearning All Your LifeTwisting, Turning Like A KnifeNow You Know The Reasons WhyCan't Get High Or You Will Die Or You'll DieSo Your Sickness Weighs A TonAnd God's Name Is Smack For Some” GodsmackExperimental rock band Velvet Underground wrote songs about drugs, most notably “Heroin.”“Heroin, be the death of meHeroin, it's my wife and it's my life, ha-haBecause a mainer to my veinLeads to a center in my headAnd then I'm better off than dead”Famous musicians whose deaths were caused by overdosing or drug-related complications include: Layne Staley (Alice in Chains)Jimi Hendrix (The Jimi Hendrix Experience)Jim Morrison (The Doors)Janis JoplinTommy Bolin (Deep Purple)Steve Clark (Def Leppard)John Entwistle (The Who)Jerry Garcia (The Grateful Dead)Bobby Hatfield (The Righteous Brothers)Shannon Hoon (Blind Melon)Phillip Lynott (Thin Lizzy)Frankie Lymon (The Teenagers)Keith Moon (The Who)Brad Nowell (Sublime)Gram Parsons (The Byrds)Kristen Pfaff (Hole)Elvis Presley Dee Dee Ramone (The Ramones)Sid Vicious (The Sex Pistols)Andrew Wood (Mother Love Bone)Hillel Slovak (Red Hot Chili Peppers)
