This is a topic I find extremely important, yet virtually nonexistant on these boards. I understand that to many people, psychedelics are a touchy subject due to their legal status. I'm not targeting anyone without general knowledge of psychedelics; rather I wish to encourage the music community to discuss the effects of cognitive manipulation on the perception of music. In media the subject is often ignored or marginalized - but famous bands and entire genres were birthed by the movement, and it shouldn't be a secret that LSD and mushrooms laid the foundation for timeless groups including Pink Floyd, The Beatles, Grateful Dead, and Cream. How can these artists be universally adored, yet those same people pay no mind to the substances that created the mind-state the music was built upon? It's a huge missing piece of the puzzle and I think I'll be the one to go ahead and place it.

The threads here exchange information that is all based on one assumption - that the listener is sober. I personally believe this is a one-dimensional, narrow-minded way of expressing opinion. So many people come out and say "how did this song change my life" or "I never got into band X, why're they so great?". Often we discover the reason when we hear them from a different angle; so ask yourself, have you listened to your favorite songs in every possible situation? In the mountains? On a train? With giant $500 headphones? With your parents at dinner? Underwater? Probably not... so it's impossible to say you're familiar with every angle to "perceive" the song. People think that just because they've heard a song 50 times, means they know everything there is to know about that song, without realizing there is a whole other layer waiting to be peeled back. The purpose of drugs is somewhat akin to the "remix" - there are plenty of remixes out there of artists like Battles, Justice, and Bjork - and we listen to them just to hear an alternate take, no? Psychedelics do exactly that, only on a deeper level.

They can completely transform the way you think about a song.
They can make you believe a song was created by gods, or an alien entity.
They can move you to tears even if you've heard the song 50 times.
They can make you feel like you are right there sitting next to the singer.
They allow you to hear the intricacies more easily.
They can deplete all your other senses and focus on the "hearing" sense.
They can make a song feel longer and more drawn out.
They can make you have a damn near religious experience given the correct set and setting.

If I may, below is a list of common psychedelics and their common effects on the perception of music as voted by users on a separate site (my own post):

Alcohol: The most shallow of effects; music simply is more enjoyable. There is no such thing as a "crappy song" while intoxicated, you enjoy any and everything that is playing. Danceability also increases, there is less self-consciousness and less analization of the music. + Music sounds messy or disorganized.

Marijuana: Eliminates the record playing "in your head". Especially with familiar songs, and the phenomena of music "growing on you" (which is really just the minds' familiarization of the music). Cannabis allows the user to hear songs as he/she was hearing it for the first time with fresh ears; as a result, is able to hear new sounds never heard before as well as catching more of the lyrics (most often in the case of hip hop). + Makes some users feel like they're "in" the music, in close proximity with the musician(s).

LSD: The user tends to lean towards softer and less aggressive music to avoid overloading the senses. Unique to LSD is the sense that the music is performing according to the environment; as in, the music affects the environment/visuals and vice versa, rather than isolating the mind with headphones from the outer world. Sympathy for the artist also arises, as if the user feels a deep connection with the singer or *finally* understands the emotion behind the music. Personally I have had damn near religious experiences on LSD. + Mood swings tend to occur more frequently as the drug plays with the user's emotions. Can make the music sound mechanic, allowing the listener to pick out every layer of sound apart.

Mushrooms: Generally audio is very warped while tripping, sections of songs sound much stranger than intended to be. Individual tracks also seem very long and take forever to finish, letting the user soak in every second of it. Whether the music is actually more enjoyable depends largely on the vibes/style, meaning selectivity is very important when deciding on a playlist, as inappropriate songs can induce bad trips and fitting ones can feel like utter bliss. + May get too erratic to the point of sounding like it was created by an outworldly source, or by gods, or "mother nature". In any case, it does not sound man-made. Another effect is surrounding the user completely, depleting him/her of his other senses, distracting from the task or conversation at hand.



***Feel free to disagree with the above; they are all working descriptions after all ***

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Cyrone,

quote:

Originally posted by Cyrone:
This is a topic I find extremely important, yet virtually nonexistant on these boards.

Did you use the search feature?

http://forums.metacritic.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/646109/...190004834#9190004834

http://forums.metacritic.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/646109/...090072325#6090072325