The drugs don't work..

[Aosta]

Or do they?
I was having a discussion with a friend whether drugs help or hinder in music creating. There is no doubt that looking through history the ingestion of mind altering substances from alcohol to acid and beyond have played a role in some of the greatest music made but there is also an argument that comparative quality music has been made without any intervention of these drugs.
So is it down to the person or the drug that made it possible or is it a combination of both?
What say you?

[Rising Night Wave]

those who need drugs will use them.
to reach that level.

[Loque]

Its not the drug or the musician, it's both. Drugs can help to get inspired or to have the ear for polishing a sound. But drugs do not guarantee success, they also can hinder you to get the job done. I saw ppl swear on drugs for making music, but try didn't finished anything, but try finished more tracks without.

And don't forget, if you like your music clean, you will like it with drugs even more.

[estuary]

maybe it's about creativity, decision and (self)-confidence
A state of mind that several drugs can alternate

[PhillipOrdonez]

Maybe for jamming on your instrument, recording whatever comes out. Not when you get on the technical side of things. How's that saying? Write high, edit sober? Something like that, you get my point.

It can hinder you and hold you back as well. Definitely tricky.

[MrFigg]

I can tell you that you don't get much written when every note that you play on your guitar streams colours out of the amp and causes every single cell in your body to reverberate (at the frequency of the universe man).

[Noplan]

Everything you do sounds good under drugs, because the body is constantly producing happiness hormones, even if you just play shit. Your perception and evaluation of good and bad becomes unusable. You can also make music for 3 days without sleep. What you can achieve in this state is perhaps a little different than what you usually do, but not better. And after you've used up your mojo, you fall into a hole that lasts longer than normal creative breaks. The bottom line is that in the long run, drugs tend to be a big disadvantage for creativity for most people. Especially those who are not aware of the dangers and don't know their limits and become addicted.

[Auryn]

Everything you do sounds good under drugs, because the body is constantly producing happiness hormones, even if you just play shit. Your perception and evaluation of good and bad becomes unusable. You can also make music for 3 days without sleep. What you can achieve in this state is perhaps a little different than what you usually do, but not better. And after you've used up your mojo, you fall into a hole that lasts longer than normal creative breaks. The bottom line is that in the long run, drugs tend to be a big disadvantage for creativity for most people. Especially those who are not aware of the dangers and don't know their limits and become addicted.

Although I mostly agree with what's been said so far, I'd like to add some nuance. Not everything you do sounds great under any drugs. That might be true for stimulants, but really for cannabis and psychedelics it's a different story. For me personally, when I've used some kind of cannabis, some types of music will sound better (generally 60ies/70ies stuff, dub/reggae, ambient, electronic stuff with a lot of layers) but not all (e.g. generally anything from the 80ies will be like a cold wet towel to the face, rather than the warm bath that I'm looking for. Also metal or any very dark aggressive music wil usually bum me out)

For music making I feel that getting high helps in generating ideas, but staying sober will help you polish and get the most out of them. Sound designing pretty much the same. I can safely say that no cannabis would mean no refills as I do need it to get into the flow of finding new sounds.

[MrFigg]

Everything you do sounds good under drugs, because the body is constantly producing happiness hormones, even if you just play shit. Your perception and evaluation of good and bad becomes unusable. You can also make music for 3 days without sleep. What you can achieve in this state is perhaps a little different than what you usually do, but not better. And after you've used up your mojo, you fall into a hole that lasts longer than normal creative breaks. The bottom line is that in the long run, drugs tend to be a big disadvantage for creativity for most people. Especially those who are not aware of the dangers and don't know their limits and become addicted.

Although I mostly agree with what's been said so far, I'd like to add some nuance. Not everything you do sounds great under any drugs. That might be true for stimulants, but really for cannabis and psychedelics it's a different story. For me personally, when I've used some kind of cannabis, some types of music will sound better (generally 60ies/70ies stuff, dub/reggae, ambient, electronic stuff with a lot of layers) but not all (e.g. generally anything from the 80ies will be like a cold wet towel to the face, rather than the warm bath that I'm looking for. Also metal or any very dark aggressive music wil usually bum me out)

For music making I feel that getting high helps in generating ideas, but staying sober will help you polish and get the most out of them. Sound designing pretty much the same. I can safely say that no cannabis would mean no refills as I do need it to get into the flow of finding new sounds.

I have pressed a secret button. A policeman will be with you shortly

[MrFigg]

Although I mostly agree with what's been said so far, I'd like to add some nuance. Not everything you do sounds great under any drugs. That might be true for stimulants, but really for cannabis and psychedelics it's a different story. For me personally, when I've used some kind of cannabis, some types of music will sound better (generally 60ies/70ies stuff, dub/reggae, ambient, electronic stuff with a lot of layers) but not all (e.g. generally anything from the 80ies will be like a cold wet towel to the face, rather than the warm bath that I'm looking for. Also metal or any very dark aggressive music wil usually bum me out)

I guess it's subjective. Back in the day me and my friends got sick of sitting in listening to spaceprog and going clubbing and dancing until the early morning to techno so we went to a metal club on a mixture of acid, mescalin and psilocybin (with a good amount of moroccan thrown in). It was pretty cool
Also saw some pretty extreme electronic bands on a variety of psychedelics. Pretty intense but we were smiling.
Never listened to Duran Duran or Nick Kershaw so can't comment haha.

[dannyF]

Its all relative man.

There is no "this is the way it is"..... I'm gonna slap this topic with my big wide brush.

[Auryn]

I have pressed a secret button. A policeman will be with you shortly

Haha, I'm in Holland man, watchoo gon do?

[I guess it's subjective. Back in the day me and my friends got sick of sitting in listening to spaceprog and going clubbing and dancing until the early morning to techno so we went to a metal club on a mixture of acid, mescalin and psilocybin (with a good amount of moroccan thrown in). It was pretty cool
Also saw some pretty extreme electronic bands on a variety of psychedelics. Pretty intense but we were smiling.
Never listened to Duran Duran or Nick Kershaw so can't comment haha.

well if we're gonna tell drug stories here, I was once at Torhout/Wercher festival in Belgium, just came from partying at Fatboy Slim, high as a motherfucker on MDMA, lost all my friends, wandered into a metallica concert. Was completely awestruck by how tight they were playing and how well the audience knew all the songs and all the lyrics etc etc. Felt like I was watching some commander directing an army. But completely failed to connect to the emotion in the music, so wandered off again after a few tracks. Was the only guy with a white smiley-face shirt in a sea of black btw (to make matters even more crazy, the same afternoon also featured a performance by Bryan Adams, so there were also these mother+daughter couples wandering the terrain waiting for mr Adams between the metalheads)

Anyway, I digress. It's weird because although I agree it is mostly subjective I don't agree that it is entirely subjective. I think most people would agree that it's better to listen to The Orb or The Doors while stoned than it is to listen to Atari Teenage Riot or Metallica.

Its all relative man.

There is no "this is the way it is"..... I'm gonna slap this topic with my big wide brush.

Oi! There's another one of those wet towels to the face. Killin' my buzz man...

[dannyF]

I have pressed a secret button. A policeman will be with you shortly

Haha, I'm in Holland man, watchoo gon do?

[I guess it's subjective. Back in the day me and my friends got sick of sitting in listening to spaceprog and going clubbing and dancing until the early morning to techno so we went to a metal club on a mixture of acid, mescalin and psilocybin (with a good amount of moroccan thrown in). It was pretty cool
Also saw some pretty extreme electronic bands on a variety of psychedelics. Pretty intense but we were smiling.
Never listened to Duran Duran or Nick Kershaw so can't comment haha.

well if we're gonna tell drug stories here, I was once at Torhout/Wercher festival in Belgium, just came from partying at Fatboy Slim, high as a motherfucker on MDMA, lost all my friends, wandered into a metallica concert. Was completely awestruck by how tight they were playing and how well the audience knew all the songs and all the lyrics etc etc. Felt like I was watching some commander directing an army. But completely failed to connect to the emotion in the music, so wandered off again after a few tracks. Was the only guy with a white smiley-face shirt in a sea of black btw (to make matters even more crazy, the same afternoon also featured a performance by Bryan Adams, so there were also these mother+daughter couples wandering the terrain waiting for mr Adams between the metalheads)

Anyway, I digress. It's weird because although I agree it is mostly subjective I don't agree that it is entirely subjective. I think most people would agree that it's better to listen to The Orb or The Doors while stoned than it is to listen to Atari Teenage Riot or Metallica.

Its all relative man.

There is no "this is the way it is"..... I'm gonna slap this topic with my big wide brush.

Oi! There's another one of those wet towels to the face. Killin' my buzz man...

Can you ship some "Temple" hash to the uk ? such a calming one that....true to the name.

[MrFigg]

Anyway, I digress. It's weird because although I agree it is mostly subjective I don't agree that it is entirely subjective. I think most people would agree that it's better to listen to The Orb or The Doors while stoned than it is to listen to Atari Teenage Riot or Metallica.

Nicer maybe but not necessarily better. Sure when you're stoned some nice Spcemen 3 or Can or whatever. But I mean Atari Teenage Riot and Ec8or and Lee Ranaldo and all those noise terrorists can be pretty cool on psychedelics. An all engulfing wall of sound sort of stuff. Kind of the opposite of being in a floatation tank. Throbbing Gristle should be avoided at all costs however .

Yeah...drug stories are boring...I was just trying to illustrate my point though that it depends what you're in the mood for.

[guitfnky]

the title of the thread says it all.

drugs can alter your mental state and make you more motivated to create, but they can also make you less motivated to create. they don’t make you more creative. they can alter the types of things you’re open to, but they don’t make you more creative.

I’ve heard this myth countless times and it makes me laugh, especially when I hear successful musicians use it—it usually comes off as an excuse to keep using drugs, rather than a legitimate belief that they’re actually helpful for their creativity.

I’ve been making music for probably around 25 years at this point, and hadn’t even touched alcohol for the first 10 years, let alone while writing music under the influence. another 5 or 6 years before trying weed. the music I wrote under the influence was no different in terms of creative quality than when I wrote sober. it was kind of a letdown, actually, because some part of me wanted to believe I could be even more creative than I already was. with some hindsight though, it’s a blessing. I have an addictive personality and the last thing *I* need is that same faulty excuse.

that said, I do think drugs can enhance your enjoyment of music (back to that point about altering what you’re open to). I didn’t “get” Mastodon, until my then GF made me listen to it after a smoke. now I love them (even without the weed).

[PhillipOrdonez]

I can tell you that you don't get much written when every note that you play on your guitar streams colours out of the amp and causes every single cell in your body to reverberate (at the frequency of the universe man).

That's what the record button is for, MrFigg

[dannyF]

If you think your opinion is THE opinion then you haven't done enough drugs.

[Noplan]

Everything you do sounds good under drugs, because the body is constantly producing happiness hormones, even if you just play shit. Your perception and evaluation of good and bad becomes unusable. You can also make music for 3 days without sleep. What you can achieve in this state is perhaps a little different than what you usually do, but not better. And after you've used up your mojo, you fall into a hole that lasts longer than normal creative breaks. The bottom line is that in the long run, drugs tend to be a big disadvantage for creativity for most people. Especially those who are not aware of the dangers and don't know their limits and become addicted.

Although I mostly agree with what's been said so far, I'd like to add some nuance. Not everything you do sounds great under any drugs. That might be true for stimulants, but really for cannabis and psychedelics it's a different story. For me personally, when I've used some kind of cannabis, some types of music will sound better (generally 60ies/70ies stuff, dub/reggae, ambient, electronic stuff with a lot of layers) but not all (e.g. generally anything from the 80ies will be like a cold wet towel to the face, rather than the warm bath that I'm looking for. Also metal or any very dark aggressive music wil usually bum me out)

For music making I feel that getting high helps in generating ideas, but staying sober will help you polish and get the most out of them. Sound designing pretty much the same. I can safely say that no cannabis would mean no refills as I do need it to get into the flow of finding new sounds.

Yes, drugs have diffrent effects. For me, cannabis was never a drug that made me productive.

[Aosta]

Edited. Original post was in reply to spammer

[motuscott]

Too high to post right now

[Auryn]

[edit : post in response to a banned user who was shitting up the thread, removed]

[stratatonic]

Gimme a hit of what Beethoven was on.

[dannyF]

Damn I missed the spammer. What did they say?

[MrFigg]

Damn I missed the spammer. What did they say?

Masses of total crap. Then he (or she) deleted it and wrote masses more total crap.

[Auryn]

Damn I missed the spammer. What did they say?

the chief thing I remember is something like "alcohol wil not be forgiven" (or something along those lines) x 20