Under The Influence: Are Drugs And Music Eternally Entwined?

Music has always encompassed an aura of dangerous living from its bleak beginnings and will do on to its endearing end; thus it comes as no surprise that drugs have been running through its veins and inhaled through its lungs a copious amount of times since its birth.

But just how much influence do drugs have on the music made? And how much influence does music have on the drugs taken by the pockets of society in which it operates? There are no definite answers but there is history and history can be examined.

Have Drugs Influenced Music?

Luke Jordan ‐ Cocaine Blues 
The year is 1927; the USA is now at the back end of the roaring twenties and music has flourished in that period; drugs have too.
So much so that Luke Jordan proclaims "I'm simply wild about my good cocaine."
The roaring twenties are an era stained by nostalgia and looked at through rose tinted spectacles and often people ignore the fact that prosperity breeds inequality and drugs were rife in the cities lower classes.

Jazz and Folk music found their place amongst the haze and the rush of drugs and more often than not, they enhanced the experience.
There is no denying that 'Cocaine Blues' is evidence of both drugs influencing the path of music lyrically and influencing the scene that it was born from.
However I would stop short of suggesting that cocaine influenced the feel of this song due to a lack of rush or a lack of desperation often found in songs that are created as a medium through which the artist can translate the effects to the listener.
'Cocaine Blues' was covered in 1928 by the white singer Dick Justice and from there it found itself thrusted into the limelight possibly paving the way for the next 80/90 years of drug influenced songs.




 The Velvet Underground ‐ Heroin
The rush; the desperation; the encumbering need; this song has heroin imbued within every single note played and every single word sighed and snarled.
Lou Reed and John Cale created something wonderful when this was written in 1964.
This song doesn't lambast the use of heroin and neither does it celebrate it; it simply presents the facts through music and through poetry.
  

 

This song was largely ignored by the wider public on its release however it has gone on to be one of the most infamous songs in the history of rock 'n' roll.
Whilst we can sit here and state that at the time it did nothing to influence and coerce people into using and abusing drugs it has influenced the minds of many since; not necessarily influencing them into becoming drug users but it has opened their minds to the facts about heroin.
Heroin does create a rush and a need and a desperation within its users which was knowledge that Lou Reed was very familiar with.
If nothing else I would at least hope that it created a certain level of sympathy towards those hooked on the substance.
As I previously stated, by this point Lou Reed had explored excess and his attitude towards experimentation was what some would perceive as very 'decadent' so it would be impossible to deny that heroin influenced this classic.
This song was and still stands as the closest thing to heroin, without being heroin, that many people can imagine.

Oasis ‐ Cigarettes And Alcohol 
 Whilst the 'genius' of Oasis is more often than not attributed to the songwriting capabilities of those that Noel Gallagher looked up to, it would be lying to myself to not include this.
"Cigarettes and Alcohol" represents nothing but lust for fags and booze.
It's as simple as that.
But also theres something completely and utterly endearing about that.
This song, with it's loud sounds and rough edges, is purely a night out in musical format.
They encapsulated everything they needed to about going out and getting blind drunk and stubbing out a cigarette in the dark.
That's because Noel was very aware of that kind of life, just as many people are; he'd lived those days and thus this song is simply a recreation of that.
It is the drugs influence on him becoming very evident.

 

Cigarettes and Alcohol ARE drugs and so many musicians have been seen with a cigarette hanging from the corner of their mouths whilst swinging a half empty bottle of rum in their hand.
Fags and booze have passed through an abundance of musicians and despite all the health risks they will probably continue to do so.
This is a case in which the scene is very much so influenced by the drugs, and it's not just one subculture; music has become synonymous with cigarettes and drink.
It breaks every fiber of dignity left within my body to say that I've often took back the drag of a cigarette and imagined myself as a rock 'n' roll caricature.
Cigarettes and alcohol as a song has influenced me and that's because they're the most accessible drugs and almost everyone can relate.

 Has Music Influenced Drugs?
 Of course, there are other drugs.
Acid, Ecstasy, Bubble, Ketamine and Marijuana are just a few.
But out of all these Acid and Marijuana became the most iconic drugs to be influenced by the music.
 Reggae became synonymous with Bob Marley and the Rastafari movement and thus Marijuana flourished amongst the listeners of Reggae and still does to this day.
It has become a cliche in our society to sit back with a joint and listen to Reggae and that is because of the close relationship between the two.
Rave and Acid too walked hand in hand when the Rave scene was at its peak.
It was simply part of the night to take LSD.
The U.S law enforcement agencies even branded the Rave scene as a purely drug centric culture leading to the break up of many Rave parties.
The consumption of Acid was at it's highest point since the psychedelia stained sixties during the late eighties and nineties.

Whatever your opinion on the use and abuse of drugs and whether you deem it morally dubious or not a matter for morals whatsoever, it would be factually incorrect to state that they have not influenced the music that is with us today or that they have not influenced the scenes that have developed around music.
Drugs and Music are entwined in my own opinion and whether that is a good or a bad thing, I believe that it would take a lot more the arrests of Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Peter Doherty, David Bowie and Iggy Pop to break that relationship between the two.

¬ Connor