The drugs don't work..

[plaamook]

I’m really sensitive to stimulants and I don’t even drink coffee very often.
As such, if I ever want to really work hard of a project, I roll out the strong coffee. Simple and cheap and if your caffeine tolerance is very low it really focuses your mind.

[dannyF]

LOL. Probably high on alchohol

[dannyF]

I’m really sensitive to stimulants and I don’t even drink coffee very often.
As such, if I ever want to really work hard of a project, I roll out the strong coffee. Simple and cheap and if your caffeine tolerance is very low it really focuses your mind.

I'm the same way. I love flowers on a subtle level...but if I do too much I am in another reality which feels just as real if not more than this one.

[Auryn]

Because the thread title obviously refers to the famous Verve song, I feel I should at least offer the following evidence:

Exhibit A
[

]

This song, recorded years after the thread title track, proves conclusively that "the drugs" do in fact work for them, on occasion. Shame about the rest of the album though.

[guitfnky]

proves conclusively? writing something creative while high does not answer the question whether they could’ve written something as/more creative while not high.

it’s impossible to prove a counterfactual, let alone “conclusively”.

[bxbrkrz]

Exhibit A video has way less views on Youtube than the video the thread title was referencing to.
Conclusively proving 100% that drugs don't work on a public with good taste.

[Billy+]

I'm not really sure what's going on but I wish you would hurry up and pass along

[Auryn]

proves conclusively? writing something creative while high does not answer the question whether they could’ve written something as/more creative while not high.

it’s impossible to prove a counterfactual, let alone “conclusively”.

I know that, I was just using hyperbole for rhetorical effect

besides, I wrote 'on occasion' which should significantly lessen the burden of proof

[EdGrip]

It's pretty safe to say that a lot of good music has been made - especially since the 1960s - that wouldn't have been made had there not been drugs. And a great deal more that would, at least, have been made differently. To think otherwise is naïve, I'd say. LSD and cannabis were certainly influential, and that's nothing to the way MDMA changed the face of music from 1988 onwards, directly and indirectly.

But! I think it's easy to overestimate (especially when you're high!) how high an artist must have been when they wrote the track that's currently blowing your mind, or how much they wrote it specifically with (x) drug in mind.

For me, depending on the circumstances, I find not only that the free association of ideas and concepts flow more readily, but also that the relentless internal critic that would normally shoot those ideas down can be temporarily overcome. These are both useful things - not least because to experience them artificially is to know it's possible to reach these states at all, and maybe even by non-substance routes.

Other than that, some drugs allow you to synergise with music on a level that it's not possible to experience otherwise, no matter how big a part music has played in your life and how deeply you know it. I feel a bit sad for people who haven't dabbled.

Having said all that - I'm not much of a drug user. I don't smoke, don't really drink, and have a session rarely - on special occasions with good friends who love music as much as I do. It's all about moderation

[motuscott]

The road of moderation leads to the palace of Scooby Doo.
William Blake, Elizabethan influencer

[MrFigg]

The road of moderation leads to the palace of Scooby Doo.
William Blake, Elizabethan influencer

Scooby Doobie

[jlgrimes]

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?

I wouldn't recommend getting totally wasted off of anything. But maybe a little marijuana or alcohol can relax your nerves. Some times though you can get too high and something will sound great the night you made it and when you wake up you are wondering what in the hell where you thinking. It probably don't matter too much though as there are great producers who use drugs and great producers who are sober.


Another good idea though is to keep a phone recorder or keyboard nearby when you sleep. Sometimes I will dream a beat and wake up and try to recreate it. Dreams can be great inspirations for songs.

[stratatonic]

The road of moderation leads to the palace of Scooby Doo.
William Blake, Elizabethan influencer

Scooby Doobie

Scooby Doobie, burning bright...

[dannyF]

The trick is to know your tools. ALL your tools.

[plaamook]

I generally assume that drug experiences have inspired music but the people that wrote x tune were not necessarilly on drugs when they wrote it.
Obvs it depends on the person and the drug but most of the people I know that make noise, while they're not really druggy anyway, are in general agreement that you can't really get shit all done even after a pint of beer. I agree with this. Each to their own though.

[gullum]

never produced any music on drugs or drunk so maybe that is why I still have no hits

[motuscott]

never produced any music on drugs or drunk so maybe that is why I still have no hits

Science, it just f@#$% works
back to the lab....

[Auryn]

Just a random thought: when I look back I was basically already into sort-of consciousness altering music like underworld, hallucinogen, spiritualized etc etc before I even ever tried weed. So I'm pretty sure that an interest in drug-like music can be quite seperate from having actual drug experiences. How was this for you?

[integerpoet]

Advice I heard recently (and probably have remembered imperfectly) was to avoid drugs generally, but…

When you think your mix is done, get lightly stoned, make notes while listening, but touch nothing.

Then, later (sober), heed the notes as you master (and/or revisit the mix).

I've no idea if this actually works, but I'm in California, so I guess I could try it as long as I'm not in the presence of any federal authorities.

[fullforce]

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.

Not for me. When I used to smoke pot I was a lot more focused.

[BRIGGS]

Caffeine is the best drug. I take mine with no sugar, and a massive dose of B vitamins:

[zoidkirb]

Drugs can be useful for listening back to a finished work to give a fresh perspective on what works/doesn't work. It can almost be like hearing your own work for the first time.
You could take it a step further and use the same concept in the mixing process.
Current lack of motivation to partake, and easy access to drugs has me also wondering if but mixes need a reality check soon

[motuscott]

Now that the shit's legal, it's having absolutely no effect.
Anyone else getting this?

Don't wanna go all conspiracy theory on you or nothing...

[plaamook]

I know a chap who swears by 6 month cocaine binges. His reasoning is that you can get loads done in 6 months but by then psychosis starts to set in so regardless of how you feel about it all you have to stop dead at 6 month mark.

I’ll prob never try this but I reckon it would work.

[MrFigg]

I know a chap who swears by 6 month cocaine binges. His reasoning is that you can get loads done in 6 months but by then psychosis starts to set in so regardless of how you feel about it all you have to stop dead at 6 month mark.

I’ll prob never try this but I reckon it would work.

Same goes for bipolar disorder but on a shorter time scale. Loads done then crash.