moral of this entry: thank goodness for ween.
leave it to Vh1 to show us the way things used to be and how much they suck now. this coming from a channel that plays hour after hour of celebrity and pop-culture obsessed garbage to hide the fact that Vh1 is MTV for the "baby boomer set". The channel used to feature anything and everything nostalgic whether it was from the times of classic rock dinosaurs or 80's hair metal mania. such programs are now few and far between and hardly stray from talking strictly music....
then they spring this on us "The Drug Years"...a four-part series about drugs in popular culture. there is no arguing its potential appeal...drugs are an interesting subject and greatly affect social history. it is a much more lengthy and elaborate tell-all than say the movie "grass" narrated by woody harrelson. the movie also proved the point that drugs are now a very different factor in society than they once were.
take native americans or any other indigeonous(sp) people...they would not use the word "drugs" but they sure as hell take them. they take them for a better understanding of altered states, reality and spirituality.
this is the only example i can think of where such chemicals are viewed this way.
in the 1950's to the mid-1960's drugs were viewed this way for lots of people in america. in fact we celebrated writers, artists and musicians affiliated with such acts. how refreshing! check out what these guys are doing!
it eventually grew into mass amounts of people doing LSD together in ecstatic "be-ins" or "love-ins"...one might say this is analogous to the practice of indigenous tribes.
in any event...this is all over now. and Vh1 couldn't have rubbed it in our faces any more. people altering their reality through chemicals are "drug users" "drug addicts" "junkies" "burnouts". people are getting killed over crack and millions are now going to jail for any affiliation with the stuff.
this was inevitable...drugs can easily get out of control.
some facts on LSD from the Drug Addiction and Advice Project of Canada:
But many users experience unpleasant reactions to LSD. Fear, anxiety, and depression may occur, even with experienced users who have had no prior adverse reactions. Calling these reactions "bad trips," users feel that they are losing their identity, disintegrating into nothingness, and that there is no reality.
Pseudo-hallucinations give way to terrifying true hallucinations, sometimes resulting in violence, homicide, or suicide. In some cases, this psychotic state lasts several days or even longer. Because adverse effects are particularly common among new users, early LSD trips are usually taken in the company of experienced users who can often help curb acute panic reactions.
No deaths resulting exclusively from LSD overdose have been reported. Cases of suicide, however, have occurred during or following LSD intoxication. Other results of violent or hazardous behavior include accidental (sometimes bizarre) fatalities, homicides, and self-mutilations.
Chronic LSD use may result in prolonged depression and anxiety.
i had heard that one or two of the suicides at nyu were LSD induced...they thought they could fly from the top floor of the library?...i dunno if its true...but yea, we live in messed up times.
GETTING TO THE POINT:
when writers like Allen Ginsbrg, Ken Keasy, Jack Kerouac and hell even Hunter S. Thompson (despite his insane tragic death) experimented with drugs, they were able to create their best work...the work they are famous for. it's the same thing with the Beatles.
and i was thinking to myself, who really does that now?
i racked my brain for some positive examples...then suddenly....
WEEN!!!!!!!! WEEN!! thank goodness for ween. famously experimental with drugs and making music completely induced by them. drug music..drug imagery....drug creativity...it's all there. thank you ween. thank you for still being those figures for us even in this day and age. figures of possibility....of infinity?!?
yes, infinity.
then they spring this on us "The Drug Years"...a four-part series about drugs in popular culture. there is no arguing its potential appeal...drugs are an interesting subject and greatly affect social history. it is a much more lengthy and elaborate tell-all than say the movie "grass" narrated by woody harrelson. the movie also proved the point that drugs are now a very different factor in society than they once were.
take native americans or any other indigeonous(sp) people...they would not use the word "drugs" but they sure as hell take them. they take them for a better understanding of altered states, reality and spirituality.
this is the only example i can think of where such chemicals are viewed this way.
in the 1950's to the mid-1960's drugs were viewed this way for lots of people in america. in fact we celebrated writers, artists and musicians affiliated with such acts. how refreshing! check out what these guys are doing!
it eventually grew into mass amounts of people doing LSD together in ecstatic "be-ins" or "love-ins"...one might say this is analogous to the practice of indigenous tribes.
in any event...this is all over now. and Vh1 couldn't have rubbed it in our faces any more. people altering their reality through chemicals are "drug users" "drug addicts" "junkies" "burnouts". people are getting killed over crack and millions are now going to jail for any affiliation with the stuff.
this was inevitable...drugs can easily get out of control.
some facts on LSD from the Drug Addiction and Advice Project of Canada:
But many users experience unpleasant reactions to LSD. Fear, anxiety, and depression may occur, even with experienced users who have had no prior adverse reactions. Calling these reactions "bad trips," users feel that they are losing their identity, disintegrating into nothingness, and that there is no reality.
Pseudo-hallucinations give way to terrifying true hallucinations, sometimes resulting in violence, homicide, or suicide. In some cases, this psychotic state lasts several days or even longer. Because adverse effects are particularly common among new users, early LSD trips are usually taken in the company of experienced users who can often help curb acute panic reactions.
No deaths resulting exclusively from LSD overdose have been reported. Cases of suicide, however, have occurred during or following LSD intoxication. Other results of violent or hazardous behavior include accidental (sometimes bizarre) fatalities, homicides, and self-mutilations.
Chronic LSD use may result in prolonged depression and anxiety.
i had heard that one or two of the suicides at nyu were LSD induced...they thought they could fly from the top floor of the library?...i dunno if its true...but yea, we live in messed up times.
GETTING TO THE POINT:
when writers like Allen Ginsbrg, Ken Keasy, Jack Kerouac and hell even Hunter S. Thompson (despite his insane tragic death) experimented with drugs, they were able to create their best work...the work they are famous for. it's the same thing with the Beatles.
and i was thinking to myself, who really does that now?
i racked my brain for some positive examples...then suddenly....
WEEN!!!!!!!! WEEN!! thank goodness for ween. famously experimental with drugs and making music completely induced by them. drug music..drug imagery....drug creativity...it's all there. thank you ween. thank you for still being those figures for us even in this day and age. figures of possibility....of infinity?!?
yes, infinity.