For as long as I can remember I’ve held the maxim that “Music should be able to stand for itself.” By which I meant that a song shouldn’t require a quirky video or being high in order for the music to be enjoyed. The music should stand for itself.
Last Friday I listened to Pink Floyd’s The Wall while high, and was mesmerized by it. The album, which I’ve listened to countless times before, took on a whole new dimension, a whole new quality that I’d never experienced. To be honest, I enjoyed it more than I usually do.
This bothers me though, as I get the feeling the next time I listen to The Wall I’ll think “Well it’s not as good as it is when I’m high”. It’s as if the artistic quality of the album has been compromised. So what do you Dopers (pun unintended) think; what should be the judgement of music that becomes “better” when a person is high?
Just an addendum, I did debate for a while whether this belonged in IMHO or Cafe Society. On second thought I think it probably belongs in the latter. Sorry.
A lot of music is written specifically to induce a euphoric effect in the listener, so it just makes since that if you take euphoric drugs, their effects will combine. Most all recreational drugs are euphoric in one way or another.
Sometimes a composer knows, at least intuitively, which sounds or sound effects work best with specific highs… so their music is especially pleasurable in combination with certain drugs. There’s Pink Floyd with pot (and perhaps opiates), Grateful Dead and LSD, and the whole Trance/House/electronica genres and excasty… hell, I’ve even bought a few trance and ambient CDs just cause they bring back flashbacks of my druggie youth. (And they sound especially good when I take the painkillers the doc gave me for my back.)
Pink Floyd is definitely made for people who are high. I’m positive that this was their intent. In the late 60’s and early 70’s, I don’t think I listened to ANY music without being high. It is surprising how good some of this music is without being high. “Careful with that ax, Eugene” doesn’t have the same effect, though.
Pink Floyd at Soldier Field in the 70’s - best concert ever.
Though I do believe some musicians strive to make music that is well-complimented by being in an altered state, I don’t think it makes much of a difference - ALL music is great for me when I’ve been smoking weed. It makes no difference what genre it is, stuff that I normally dislike becomes interesting and enjoyable with a good buzz. Sometimes I’ll still see what I liked in the song later when I come down.
