Psychedelics and Music

[JRL]

Isn't there a TS Elliot line about "gossip of Michaelangelo"? Those with ears hear. Those without bitch about Phils bass tone.

Having said that, I must confess, that due to 40 years of honing my musical critical facility, which is essential to my functioning as an artist and a proffesional, dose management sometimes is crucial.

Q What did the Deadhead say when he couldn't score a dose?

A. This band sucks

[laughingwillow]

LOL.....

Btw, I've been listening to the 10-9-89 Warlocks show that knocked me out of the batters box way back when. its been a few years since I've listened all of the way through. Anyway, it has been interesting to listen back to a night that was pure hell on my psyche. It was prolly ae low-light for me, but the band was hot as hell, pulling out more than a few dusty must-sees, like darkstar, attics, jack-a-row, death don't have no mercy. I remember fighting through the first set while the sacrament came on, as I dosed a little late for my taste. Anyway, the second set gave way to a psychedelic, Playing in the Band and the spirit tried top get me to sit down, but I refused. An earth momma beckoned from the floor with outstretched hand, but I declined to join her on the floor. Then a couple of tour rats made their way in front of me and started to try and pull me down with their thoughts and actions, imo. But I saw it as a psychic attack and not a suggestion so I fought some more. And I made it all the way through the song without planting myself. Then the boys broke into an uplifting uncle John's band and the heavy spell should have vanished, but I'd fought tooth and nail to maintain and I never managed to purge the psychic debris as proscribed by the ritual. Looks like I fought some metaphysical law and the law won. That night.

I relay this all in hindsight, of course. But through a lense of experience gleaned since joining this community.

Funny how a small change in perception can lead to big change in attitude, eh? - the book of laughingwillow -  

lw

[laughingwillow]

q: How maNy deadheads does it take to roll a joint?

a: Just one, if someone else deals with the stems and seeds first.

So I'm back to viewing a dead show as a psychic cleaning apparatus of cosmic proportions....

Ever hear of the cleaning wrase? Its a little saltwater fish that sets up cleaning stations for other species of fish. A customer pulls up and the wrase removes parasites from the body and even inside the mouth/gills. Large predators are some of the best customers, apparently never acting on reflex and devouring the little helper.  

A dead show is much the same, imo. The Spirit chips away at pychic/emotional debris and devours this discarded energy as payment. Or something like that.  

lw

[JRL]

Gaskin said that back in the day he would scoure  for bad vibes and shoot em up towards the stage so the Dead could scrub em.

I always saw them as that, energy tranformers. But I think thats what WE are, if we are anything. It just gets manifest and magnified by mangnatudes by the sacramental substances and sacrametal crowds.

Truer words were never spoken, LW. Incriments of attitude x cosmic distances will lead to different universes. And knowing that, you can conciously make small changes in atittude, decide to shape up, don't take much to get the ball rolling. That's why affirmations before take off work, even if you just go through the motions. Just a little reminder, like the parrots in Huxley's Island.

[JRL]

Oh yeah LW:

I have had an interest rekindled in later day Dead shows, like 89-95. I got the So Many Roads for xmas a few years back but mostly listend to the first 2 discs, cause you know my love of 66-68 and the second quintet era, (100 year Hall ect.)

I think I got turned off later stuff by the crappy shows I heard from the 80's, but some of the stuff in this box is great. The trippy parts are more amazing than ever, and they were still writing good songs. Maybe you can turn me onto a couple goodies from that time.

I love getting the shows through the Willow filter, hasn't let me down yet. (by the way, thanks for the Phil with Willie Nelson. I would love to be a fly on the wall when those two grizzled veterans hang out. Any recordings of Willie and Garcia around?

[Veracohr]

1) What did you listen to during your first psychedelic experience?

Daft Punk's "Homewerk". It was pretty cool until a song that had two vocal tracks (same words) pitched way up and way down. It kinda freaked me out until I turned it off.

2) Is there a particular piece that cemented the link of music and psychedelics for you?

Well, assuming you can lump different psychedelics into one category, I would have to say that once I got a good handle on the psychedelic experience, I realized that I had had a psychedelic view of music all along.

3) Is there a piece of music you never "got" until you heard it tripping?

Not really, but my Mecca of music to listen to whilst tripping (L.S.G's "Into Deep") took on a whole new aspect when I first heard it tripping. It transformed from a cool album into an absolutely divine body of sound. I do not exaggerate.

4) How has tripping influenced your appreciation and selection of music?

I think I notice really subtle things more, and songs can take on a different groove or a different feel when I switch my listening mode to a psychedelic-like one.

5) I know a large portion of you are musicians. How has tripping effected your playing? Do you play high? Do you play out high?

Well I definitely attempt to put a psychedelic feel into some of my music, not psychedelic in the normal musical sense (weird sounds and effects and what not), but incorporate some of my personal experiences into the feel.

As for playing while tripping, I have not. I haven't tripped in a long time, and not many times in all. I think if I tried to even just jam while tripping on my current setup, I would find it entirely to complicated to get stuff turned on and find a sound to jam on (synthesizers). I tried to play guitar once on mushrooms that were just over threshold, but my fingers didn't respond very well, so I put it down.

[Veracohr]

Let me add a few more things.

When I referred to 'psychedelics' in the above post, I meant mushrooms and salvia. Those are the only psychedelics I have experienced, and salvia only once (that worked). And I'm not very experienced with mushrooms, so I have to admit that my psychedelic experience is pretty limited.

I'd also like to add that I don't really think of cannabis as a psychedelic. It has approached a psychedelic feel at certain times for me, but for the most part it's always just been a stupefying fun thing for me. But on the other hand, cannabis did have a very powerful effect on the way I listen to music. It helped me recognize what I know consider to be the 'higher' spiritual aspect of music.

In lieu of my limited psychedelic experience (except for significant cannabis experience), perhaps I should relate my view of music, and the place of music in my life, because it may fit into this discussion.

I wasn't always as completely into music as I am now. I guess I really started getting into music in my early teenage years, when my older brother started branching out his musical tastes. Before that, I really just listened to the stuff my mom listened to, like Bruce Springsteen, Hewey Lewis and the News. My dad is probably the least interested in music of anyone I've ever known.

In the years since my introduction to music, I have changed a lot. Most importantly for this discussion, I have developed a spiritual outlook on life. And over the past few years, I have developed the idea that music is the closest thing to the language of god that humans can make. Discussions on the nature of god need not apply. To me, nothing is as capable of expressing the infinitude of reality as music. In fact, since the fallout of my experiment with religion (paganism), my spiritual side has diminished, but I think music is the strongest reason why that spiritual side hasn't completely evaporated.

Another thing I don't really consider to be psychedelic, but some might, is MDMA. I don't recall ever getting anything spiritual out of it, but one thing it did do for me was show me the ecstasy (no pun intended :wink: ) possible in music. Sort of a continuation of the spiritual education that cannabis gave me involving music. And I don't think that would have happened had I not taken MDMA at raves (only once or twice did I NOT take it at raves.) The wonderful thing about being on MDMA at a rave for me is that I filter out everything except the group mind of those who are in ecstasy with the music, and luckily that connection with the divinity of music has persisted in the sober realm. I'm done with MDMA now, have been for a few years, but I definitely got some good out of it.

[laughingwillow]

Yeah, jrl-mon. I've been waiting for the right time to spring a few crispy late year shows on you. The drums/space of the 84-90 era never ceases to amaze me. Jerry plays a mean midi piccalo in that warlocks gig mentioned above.

lw

[TroutMask]

1985 is probably my favorite Brent year. I'm listening to 6/25/85 (Blossom) right now. A recording of the Pittsburgh show the same year had a lot to do with me seeing my first show in 1986.

My first LSD trip, I listened to whatever was on the radio at the local private tennis/pool club, where my family had a membership. I remember sitting on the upper covered deck, and as the acid came on I started finding everyone very funny and I started laughing. My less-affected friend did a lot of sshh-ing and finally lead me out of the place to a more quite area in the surrounding woods.

-TM

[JRL]

Interesting setting, lol. Reminds me of the time when my friend Peter came to our Passover Seder trippin balls.

[JRL]

Veracohr: Isn't the divinity af music and an ecstatic group mind the essence of spirituality?

[laughingwillow]

verachor: Da kine is a most-powerful entheogen, imo.

Why didn't you didn't TELL me this hella nutella was going to make me TRIp!! - semi-famous last words of mrs lw just as she realized something WAS shakin' on shakedown street. - hehe

lw

[TooStonedToType]

Eating seems to enhance the entheogenetic effects.

-----
Hella Nutella

-Spread Nutella on two chocholate gram crackers
-Sandwich generous amounts of kiff between crackers
-Bake 300 degrees f. for about 10-15 minutes
-Enjoy
-Sing "Well, well, well, you can never tell."

[JRL]

Is that anything like Utopian Bliss Balls?

[laughingwillow]

Speaking of bliss.......

Even now that I've managed to change me prospective a bit and to go with the psychedelic flow at most shows, I still wouldn't call the experiences exactly blissful. hehe Intense, would prolly be a better adjective. Blissful upon safe return would be more like it.

What about paranoia? I've felt it buried in me guts on a few occasions. Mostly  after shows where my emotions were invoked without proper release. Anymore, the spirit tell me to sit down and I be looking for the closest place to land.

lw