The 411 Music Top Five 01.13.09: Favorite Songs About Drugs and Alcohol
Posted by Ben Czajkowski on 01.13.2009
We all know about “sex, drugs, and rock n’ roll”. This week, the 411Music contributors talk about the latter two, not exclusively, though. They list their favorite songs about drugs and alcohol. Because what’s been more of an inspiration, right? Tracks from System of a Down, Alice in Chains, Eminem, Pink Floyd, and Snoop Dogg, the lists go on and on. Stop by and leave your favorites, as well!
[Aarón Mayagoitia]
My list is solely about drugs, there are no alcohol mentions. Why? I happen to think that drugs get better songs than alcohol. There would be no point in mentioning blues songs because half of them are about booze and the rest are about women; I'd have my list full of blues songs if I were to go there. So buckle that belt tight around your good arm and roll a dollar bill ‘cause here we go…
5. Deep Purple – "Dead or Alive": One of the few songs Deep Purple has about drugs. This song off their The House of Blue Light album talks about how addicts end up estranged from the rest of the world and how people who care about them feel frustrated at not being able to help them escape from their addictions.
4. System of a Down – "This Cocaine Makes Me Feel Like I'm on This Song": I know there are longer and more outrageous song titles out there, but this one is a worthy contender. The song's typical System of a Down sonic frenzy, with a clear message: cocaine will fuck you up.
3. Black Sabbath – "Hand of Doom": Probably one of the spookiest songs about heroine ever. The way the music illustrates the scenario described by Ozzy Osbourne's twisted lyric about someone offering you heroine, the subsequent nightmarish trip, and the deadly aftermath… Black Sabbath at their best.
2. Neil Young – "The Needle and the Damage Done": Heart-wrenching to the bone. This song is about how Neil was losing his touring band, one overdose at a time. The song was recorded live and Neil Young sings as if the audience wasn't there, singing his losses to himself as if in a futile search for peace of mind.
1. Alice in Chains – "Junk Head": I know, 99% of the band's music is about drugs, but this is the one I find the most devastating; Layne Staley's agonizing screams reach their peek in this bludgeoning piece of musical self-loath. After listening, you're glad you're not the one who's singing the song.
[Ben Czajkowski]
Honorable Mentions: Eminem – "My Fault", 10 Years – "Drug of Choice", There are so many by NIN, but I'll go with: Nine Inch Nails – "Perfect Drug", Several mentioned else where: System of a Down – "This Cocaine Makes Me Feel Like I'm on This Song", Alice In Chains – "God Smack", Jerk – "Love Your Drugs"
5. Sixx: A.M. – Heroin Diaries: One of my favorite purely rock CDs in a few years, Nikki Sixx got this one right (sorry, Motley Crue). Okay, I can't give him all the credit, but moving on. Heroin Diaries is a poignant, prominent, and flawlessly on target. Coupled with the spoken word pieces ("Xmas Day", etc), tracks like "Van Nuys", "Pray for Me", and "Life is Beautiful" stand out as crushing rock songs.
4. Strata – "Cocaine (We're All Going To Hell)": This track is one of the few that I really got into from Strata. About an underage girl who does cocaine ("She don't like cocaine, baby just likes how it smells"), has sex with a stranger, and ODs. It's strong, emotional content buried within an up-tempo, well-written track.
3. Tom Waits – "The Piano Has Been Drinking": If you've ever seen Tom Waits, you know that deep, raspy voice does not fit his pasty complexion; more suitable for someone like smoking Louie Armstrong. No classicist can deny that this song is an absolutely wasted piece of work:
The piano has been drinking my neck tie is asleep and the combo went back to New York the juke box has to take a leak and the carpet needs a haircut and the spot light looks like a prison break cause the telephone is out of cigarettes and the balcony's on the make and the piano has been drinking the piano has been drinking
2. Rob Dougan – "Drinking Song": A track from one of the best CDs of this decade, "Drinking Song" is such a beautiful song that it could drive me to tears. I found it to be about a man who loves someone that he can never have back; all he does is drink due to the sadness. Perhaps he does intend to kill himself with alcohol. The lyrics are so potent, however:
For I'm a gambler that just wants to lose and be allowed to leave I'm a traveler - with one last mile my journey is complete I'm like a swallow that wants one long last look before flying east Last on my list - and then I quit - to kiss your lips and weep Is there a melody - that could lead you to me - like a lullubied child to sleep? So for one moment in time you'd find that you're mine And softly I'd kiss you and weep
1. Barenaked Ladies – "Alcohol": Alcohol, my permanent accessory Alcohol, a party time necessity Alcohol, alternative to feeling like yourself Oh alcohol I still drink to your health … Would you please ignore That you found me on the floor Trying on your camisole
The song is sarcastic, and the group is clearly against alcohol. However, that doesn't make this song any less awesome! "Alcohol" warns that it's easy to mess up on too, but also makes the point that getting tipsy on occasion is fun. In the end, it's all about finding "the fine line between self control and self abuse".
[Chris Crowing]
Again I am somewhat shocked to find I don't tend to like songs about drugs, at least not because they are about drugs - not being a stoner (rare amongst my group of friends) I'm not excessively amused by thinly veiled references to weed. Not to say I haven't partaken, but I never really understood the need some folks have to make such a big deal out of it. "Oh look at me, I'm so EDGY, I smoke dope and flaunt it by wearing big dope leaf prints on my clothing! How alternative of me!" - YAWN. Then again, drugs, like anything else can be used well in songs either for funny or fearful means. Let's see what Doug thinks...
Honorable Mentions: Seether - "Remedy"; the Chemical Brothers - "Setting Sun" or "The Test"; Alice in Chains - "Grind"; Fun Lovin' Criminals - "Scooby Snacks"; Marilyn Manson - "I Don't Like the Drugs (But the Drugs Like Me); Queens of the Stone Age - "Feel Good Hit of the Summer"; Terrorvision - "Tequila"; Oasis - "Cigarettes & Alcohol" or "Champagne Supernova"
5. Monster Magnet - "Tractor": Yet again, I could have chosen one of dozens of MM songs, but this one is probably the most blatant while still being as much pure rock fun as you'd expect from Monster Magnet.
4. Green Day - "Brain Stew": Is a perfectly apt description of a horrid hangover / comedown, and those jagged chords are the LAST thing I want to hear when I've had a little to much of anything...
3. System of a Down-"Sugar": There are more than a few SOAD songs where they talk about how governments use drugs even down to MSG in our day to day food to pacify and control the population. It's a true message in my view, and it's just lucky that System manage to put it across in such an infectious way that it gets out. Now get back together boys...we need you.
2. Eminem - "My Fault": 'I never meant to give you mushrooms girl / I never meant to bring you to my world / now you're sitting in the corner crying / and it's my fault my fault' - how I laughed...
1. Metallica- "Master of Puppets": Sure, I could just as easily have chosen "Harvester of Sorrow" or even "Fixxer" as drug related songs from 'tallica but apart from being one of the most awesome heavy metal songs ever, 'Master...' is probably the most direct and concise tale of being hopelessly lost in the arms of addiction you are likely to hear.
[Dan Haggerty]
5. George Thorogood & The Destroyers - "One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer": Rock and roll blues at its most run down blue collar best. What do you do when life hands you lemons? You pound down a bourbon, a scotch, and a beer of course!
4. Black Sabbath - "Sweat Leaf": in case you weren't sure if the song was about Mary Jane, the cough at the beginning should give it away. You can't get any more honest about the recreational use of the sweet leaf than this... Bonus points for the band recording Toni Iommi coughing and looping it for an intro. Factoid - The songs title was a phrase actually written on a pack of cigarettes the guys bought in India.
3. The Beatles - "Lucy In the Sky With Diamonds": Oh come on, you can't get anymore neck deep in the drug culture of the 60's then this psychedelic trip through the minds of the fab four performing like their tripping along with ol' Lucy there. Truly, while not that great of a song, it wins points for sounding like what you might expect a LSD performance of a Beatles song to be.
2. Eric Clapton - "Cocaine": One of the biggest anti-drug songs ever, even if cleverly disguised by lyrical play. Add in one hell of a catchy melody and the Axe work of slow hand himself, and the accolades write themselves. Sure, it's a cover, but can you really picture anyone else saying "If you wanna get down, down on the ground, cocaine...", of course not.
1. The Velvet Underground - "Heroin": The thing that really, and I mean really sets this song as such an iconic piece is the simple fact that it treats the use of heroin as neither good nor bad. It simply is, and the song's brutal neutrality in how it just throws out the use of the stuff makes it so wonderfully troubling. Add in Lou Reed's voice and the rhythmic guitar and you have one hell of a great song.
[Fred Richani]
5. J-Kwon featuring Petey Pablo - "Get XXXed Up": It's a song about taking ecstasy featuring a guy at the time that is barely legal. Kinda sad, ain't it? It's a stupid song that pretty much put the nail in the coffin for J-Kwon's career, as well as Death Row's Petey Pablo. Needless to say this song did not reach the heights of J-Kwon's previous hit "Tipsy". And Petey Pablo, well his career is still dead. Whatever happened to those guys?
4. J-Kwon – "Tipsy": Speaking of "Tipsy", this was J-Kwon's one hit wonder, which seems like ages ago. It is still popular in the clubs, despite the basic instrumental and datedness (if that's a word). A 17-year old rapping about getting drunk didn't do parents any favors, though. That's for sure.
3. 50 Cent - "High All The Time": Ah, 50 Cent at his finest on the now classic first album Get Rich Or Die Tryin'. The hook is so catchy, coupled with an illmatic instrumental, and makes this track easy to bump whether you puff that Mary Jane or not. This song showcases one of G-Unit's better tracks in the early 2000s, before they fell off faster than Mel Gibson post-rehab.
2. Devin the Dude's Entire Discography: Devin the Dude is a southern rap legend. No rapper has been made more famous for rapping about his love for the Kush than Devin the Dude. Okay, maybe Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg, but other than that I give you Mr. Dude—rapper of singles such as "I Can't Quit", "Doobie Ashtray", and "To Tha X-Treme". He even has an album called Waitin' To Inhale. In addition to that, he was so good at rapping about drugs that he was featured on the Up In Smoke tour with Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg. Now THAT'S a seal of approval.
1. Afroman - "Because I get High": I was gonna make love to you, but then I got high, I'm serious I was gonna eat your pussy to, but then I got high Now i'm jacking off and I know why, (turn this shit off) 'cuz I got high, because I got high, because I got high I messed up my entire life, because I got high I lost my kids and wife , because I got high Now I'm sleeping on the sidewalk, and I know why, (why man) 'cuz I got high, because I got high, because I got high Do I really need to go any further?
[Jasper Jones]
5. Hank Williams Jr. - "Whiskey Bent and Hell Bound": This list wouldn't be complete without one country song about getting drunk. Which to chose was the tough part. I ended up choosing "Whiskey Bent and Hell Bound" because it was one of the first Hank Jr songs I really got into and it has some awesome slide guitar work. In the song, old Hank just wants to "get drunk and hear country sounds", and I know how that feels all too well.
4. Rolling Stones - "Mother's Littler Helper": Here is a great Rolling Stones song that you don't hear on the radio too often. This tune is about being dependent on pills to help you through the day. "Behind the door, she took four more!" The pills seems to make the girl in the song dull and emotionless though. At least she isn't depressed or stressed!
3. Todd Snider - "Beer Run": This is not the George Jones and Garth Brooks "Beer Run" which is simply a rip off of the much more cleaver song of the same name by Mr. Snider. This song is the tale of a couple of under-aged frat boys on an adventure to get some booze on their way to a Robert Earl Keen concert. Their first attempt is foiled by a bad fake ID. Luckily they find a hippie in the parking lot who not only buys them some beer, but gets them stoned for the first time as well. All this and they make it to the concert in time to sing along to "The Road Goes On Forever And The Party Never Ends". I call that a good night.
2. Snoop Dogg - "Gin & Juice": Another component that a list of this nature wouldn't be complete without is a rap song about liquor and drugs. I chose the classic "Gin & Juice" just for it's mass appeal. Everyone from 15-40, whether they are black, white, brown or green, knows this song. Chances are they could even sing the first verse at least. Hell, you can even find this rap song in country form!
1. Neil Young - "The Needle and the Damage Done": My number one song about drugs/alcohol goes to "The Needle and the Damage Done" by Neil Young. The song is an ode to Neil's friends that he's lost to drugs and a warning to those still alive. Neil's haunting vocals and light guitar drive the point home with a very serious tone. Clocking in at just over two minutes, it might be Neil Young's short song, but it might also be his most powerful.
[Jesse Coy]
I am going strictly the drug route. Not only that, but I will get very specific here. The numerical ranking really has no meaning.
For Assorted Drugs 5. Warrior Soul - "Tripping on Ecstasy": this one was really ahead of its time. Not only was Warrior Soul a greatly underappreciated Chicago based band, not quite grunge, not totally hard rock, not quite punk, but some great hybrid… it's a cool song, this track off their debut, dating back to 1990. Ecstasy in 1990? Hell, yeah. Other runners-up in this assorted drugs category? There was the Ramones' "Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue," the Dead Milkmen's "Smoking Banana Peels," and 4 Non Blondes' "Morphine and Chocolate" (which actually sounds very good at the moment).
For Heroin 4. Alice in Chains - "Junkhead": I know there are a lot of epic heroin songs out there, but I really have to give the nod to one who walked the walk, talked the talk, and OD'ed the OD. Layne was found dead a couple weeks after he actually died, on the heroin express. As for the song, it's disturbingly haunting, with Layne's warbly voice on this particular track. Runners-up, and it was hard not to pick Velvet Underground's "Heroin," but someone will probably nod that way. There's also Life of Agony's "Heroin Dreams," Queensryche's "The Needle Lies" (though probably not about heroin per say), Ministry's "Just One Fix," and Flotsam and Jetsam's "Hypodermic Midnight Snack."
For Cocaine 3. Ween - "Bananas and Blow": this is one of the coolest cocaine songs I think I've ever heard. There's not much more I have to say about Ween's quirky delivery or style. This one was also VERY hard to pick, and I'm not saying the runners-up aren't just as great, but it's really like comparing apples and oran… er, bananas. For runners-up here, I had of course Black Sabbath's "Snowblind" (someone will give that a nod, I'm sure), and interestingly enough, two bands that for me are in a similar ballpark, maybe not cocaine fueled in reality, but I wouldn't be surprised, as in Mindless Self Indulgence's "Cocaine And Toupees" and System of a Down's "Cocaine Psycho."
For Marijuana 2. Cypress Hill - "I Wanna Get High": for sheer abundance of marijuana songs, and some considerable eloquence in said arena, amongst many a candidate, I elected these guys. It's off their sophomore Black Sunday release, still their best in my opinion. And this song is a great opener, short and to the point. Their collaboration with Sonic Youth, "I Love You, Mary Jane," was also a contender. As for the others amongst quite a lot who address the stinky weed…once again, Black Sabbath with "Sweat Leaf" (and once again, someone else will mention this one), Mojo Nixon with "I Love Marijuana," Lords of Acid's "Let's Get High," NWA's "Dopeman," and Murphy's Law's "Bong."
For Acid or LSD 1. Jefferson Airplane - "White Rabbit": oddly enough, I don't have a slew of hallucinogenic contenders. The only other one, and it is a BIGGIE, is Jimi Hendrix's "Purple Haze," and on any given day, since these two are so neck and neck, I could substitute Jefferson with Jimi. Right now, though, I'm feeling all Alice-in-Wonderlandy. So I'll go with this one. You know what I mean… sometimes you might want to kiss the sky, but other times you just want that one pill to make you smaller.
[Jon Kinsey]
5. The Divine Comedy – "A Drinking Song":Positioned amid songs about attempted suicide and the ultimate act of dying, "A Drinking Song" served as light relief on the second half of the concept album Promenade. It describes a couple's evening as they go off into their seaside town to get bladdered. It is a mix of jaunty orchestration and wonderful imagery and, in the context of the album, never fails to make me smile.
4. The Pogues – "The Sickbed of Cúchulainn":What sort of countdown would this be if I didn't include a song from The Pogues? Truth be told, I could have picked any number of their tunes, but this is one of my favorite Pogues songs, so it gets the nod. It tells the story of two men sitting around the deathbed of their friend, who is dying because his liver has packed in from the booze, reminiscing of all the scrapes they got into in the past while drunk in various places in Europe. Shane MacGowan at his slurry, sneering best.
3. Palace Brothers – "(I Was Drunk at The) Pulpit":Since this is my Will Oldham week, I would be remiss not to put this song in my top five. A drunken preacher decides that there is more truth and honesty in a bar full of friends than in the words of the Bible and leaves, mid sermon, to get sloshed. Brilliant if only for the logic by which the protagonist loses his faith.
2. Sublime – "Pool Shark":Bradley Nowell wrote a good many songs about drugs and alcohol, but Pool Shark will always be the most poignant. In this track, Nowell foretells his own death, when he predicts that he will "lose the war" to heroin addiction. That he did just so two years later makes this a harrowing classic.
1. Velvet Underground – "Heroin":To top the list today, Lou Reed's cautionary tale about the drug that spurred much of his band's early creativity. Many accused The Velvets of glamorizing drug use, but their lyrics generally, and especially in this song, took a more cautionary approach. They merely stated how to take a hit and what it does to you – the positives and the negatives – and left you to your own devices. This is the musical equivalent of William Burroughs' "Junky" and a deserving number 1.
[Matt Shoemaker]
5. Sublime- "Smoke Two Joints": God, I remember hearing this song at my neighbor's house when I was like, 14 years old. He was a major pothead, and I didn't know it then, but this song pretty much summed him up. He was always high. We always skated to Sublime, so I wound up hearing this song alot. Along with Afroman's "Because I Got High", this is like, the quintessential weed song. While I don't like Sublime much anymore, this song has always stuck with me, and I always find myself singing along to it if I get the chance.
4. Gym Class Heroes- "Pillmatic": This is one of the first, and one of the very few songs I've heard by GCH, but this is a serious departure from their normal pop/hip hop sound, taking a more serious tones about the singer's former pill abuse. Having never been through something like this, I can't obviously relate, but the song is incredible, and the idea of turning to drugs to escape real life is a serious subject. Everything about this song clicks, and it clicks perfectly.
3. Dropkick Murphys- "Kiss Me, I'm Shitfaced": We've all those moments, drunk off our asses, claiming we're the best in the world at something, usually the most outlandish thing we can think of, in hopes of getting some action. I know I have on more than one occasion, but the point is, Dropkick put all those feelings into song. This is a great song to drink to, and to sing along to with all your drunk friends, and I think it's probably one of the best summations of most people act when they're drunk, and I love every second of it.
2. Alestorm- "Wenches and Mead": Take Dropkick Murphys or Flogging Molly, and put them in a time machine going back to the times of Blackbeard and Sinbad and whatever other pirates you can name that I can't. That's Alestorm. Part of a long story of a pirate's journey, this song is all about how much a pirate parties when he gets back to land from long voyages. Again, this is another song that's incredible to drink to, especially if you get the whole party singing along to different parts. As singer Christopher Bowes puts it, "... A wench by my side, and a jug of mead/These are the things that I most need". I'm sure plenty of people can relate.
1. Ensiferum- "One More Magic Potion": A very clever metaphor for beer. The lyrics, damn near impossible to understand in the song, make perfect sense when read. The whole song is about a group of Vikings travelling through the forest, and finding an old lady in a house in the woods who gives them beer, and they get really drunk. A really simple concept, but an absolutely incredible song.
[Michael Adler]
Honorable Mention: Ray Parker Jr. - "Ghostbusters": Ok...There's an afterlife? And people come back as ghosts? And there are these guys, who are celebrities for all intensive purposes, who "bust" them? With proton accelerator packs? Can you say LSD?
5. Guns N' Roses - "Mr. Brownstone": Don't you love it when some dumb guy walks up to you at a party to tell you that this song isn't about architecture? I hate people. Anyway, this is one of Guns 'N Roses best songs. It also happens to be about heroin thus qualifying it for this list. Bonus points for Axl's awesome spoken word at the end. "Yowza!"
4. Eric Clapton - "Cocaine": I hate having a song on here that EVERYONE else is going to have, but so be it. It's one of Eric Clapton's best, and probably the best song written about cocaine ever. It's also got a killer, unforgettable riff. So I say go snort a line, sit back, blast this song, and relax. *Disclaimer* Don't actually snort a line, but feel free to do the other three things.
3. A Perfect Circle - "Blue": So, I think this one's about drugs. Figuring out some of Maynard's stuff is one level down from trying to figure out Mars Volta lyrics. In any event, this is probably about drug use and denial. It's beautiful and dissonant to boot, and probably their best song.
2. Queens of the Stone Age - "Feel Good Hit of the Summer": This song is just eight words long! Leave it to Josh Homme and company to make listing drugs into a song, and a spectacular one at that. The title really brings it together for this one. It also features one of my top five concert moments, when the NY crowd at the WAMU Theater at MSG enthusiastically agreed with Josh Homme that New York City has the best nicotine, valium, vicodin, marijuana, ecstasy, and alcohol. Cocaine! *Disclaimer* Enjoy Valium, Vicodin, and Cocaine responsibly. Go crazy with the other stuff. *Disclaimer* Don't actually do that.
1. Neil Young - "The Needle and the Damage Done": This is another short yet devestating song, and it's quite a downer, but it's brilliant in its starkness. This is the definitive song on heroin.
[Patrick Robinson]
Hip-hop is largely full of drug and alcohol references, some support the habits, others criticize the affect they have on the community (in particular cocaine). Therefore, I've tried to go for songs that are a bit more creative in their subject matter.
Honorable Mentions: D12 – "Purple Pills", Snoop Dogg – "Gin And Juice", the hook from 2Pac's "Hennessy"
5. 50 Cent – "A Baltimore Love Thing": This is probably one of the best songs 50 Cent will ever make, and it's not hard to see why. From the perspective of cocaine, 50 raps about pulling a girl in and refusing to let her go. The song doesn't end in a cliffhanger or any form of resolution, rather it lets the notion end that the girl and cocaine will be together when she walks "through those pearly gates". It's detailed and realistic, if only 50 could apply this much creative effort into all of his songs.
4. Eminem – "My Fault": This is a song that's often overlooked when it comes to Eminem's catalog, and unfairly so in my opinion. This is what made him so popular in the first place, detailed lyricism, a touch of humor ("There's a girl upstairs talkin' to plants!") and combined with stark realism. "My Fault" tells the tale of Eminem and a girl at a party who try hallucinogenic mushrooms, and the girl ends up overdosing. The song itself is told in a progressive story style and it's main strength is that it's done in such a simple and straightforward manner.
3. Redman – "How To Roll A Blunt": For anybody wanting to know how to roll a blunt, this is the song for you! Redman combines an ode to weed with his signature lyrical style and complexity that isn't often seen in weed tributes these days. There's not much else to be said for this song except that if you HAVEN'T heard it get Whut? Thee Album NOW!
2. The Notorious B.I.G. – "10 Crack Commandments": Much like the above song can be likened to an instructional video for first time weed users, this song contains 10 simple rules, or Commandments rather, for crack selling. Actually, many of the rules apply to real life, and not just slinging crack, and lot of the so-called hustlers in today's rap game should take notes. After all, "Bad Boys move in silence", so sit your ass down and learn from one of the legends of the game.
1. The Luniz – "I Got 5 On It (Reprise)": The ultimate weed anthem! This actually features the majority of the verses from the original version, but opens with a conversation style verse from both Yukmouth and Numskull in an in / out style as the two go in search of paper to roll their blunts with. Listeners may recognize the beat as Diddy sampled it for his track, "Satisfy You", in a moment that completely skewed everything the original song was about. Needless to say, the phrase, "I got five on it" will live on in hip-hop lexicon because of this song and if weed ever actually needed an ad campaign, this would be the backing track for TV advertisements.
[Paul Hollingsworth]
Honorable Mentions: Rolling Stones: Brown Sugar, Velvet Underground: Heroin, The Beatles: Daytripper, Jefferson Airplane: White Rabbit.
5. Dwight Yoakam - "Two Doors Down": Country music probably has more references to drinking than any other genre. The songs usually fall into one of two categories. Either it's a celebration of a great time or a lament about how drinking dulls the feelings of loss and regret. Yoakam's song leans more toward the latter, but there's also an odd comfort in it, particularly in the line about a ‘barstool that knows you by name.'
4. Kiss - "Cold Gin": ‘When you're down in the dumps, there's only one thing to bring you up,' Paul Stanley tells the crowd on Alive before the start of this song. Sometimes, the cheapest stuff really is all you need
3. The Electric Prunes - "I Had Too Much To Dream Last Night": During the height of the psychedelic era in the sixties, many bands tried to describe in song what an acid trip was like to the uninitiated (Or to the inexperienced, if you prefer. It's true, you can't talk about drugs and music without a nod toward Hendrix.) The Prunes wrote about a mostly benign trip with this, their only hit and allowed the listener to have an experience of their own.
2. Pink Floyd - "Flaming": Syd Barrett wrote many songs either directly related to his LSD trips or slightly veiled references to the drug culture of the time. The band's early shows were (reportedly) best enjoyed with a few mind-altering substances. Eventually, the drugs destroyed the musically creative aspects of Barrett, but he did record several songs, such as this song from Floyd's debut, Piper At The Gates Of Dawn, which shows the ecstatic heights of a trip. (For the comedown, see Dark Globe, from Syd's solo album, The Madcap Laughs.)
1. Mad River - "Amphetamine Gazelle": Mad River appeared during the 60's in San Francisco and quickly disappeared. This track from their debut album combines all the elements of a really bad acid trip into three minutes of psychedelic madness and music. It successfully shows both sides of an acid trip, acting as both an invitation and a warning.
[Tom Santoro]
Follow me on your journey into the abyss.
5. Black Flag - "Six Pack": Obviously your gateway into drinking is a sixer. Black Flag glorifies all of the uses of beer has. In the song Henry Rollins sings of all the virtues beer has to make you feel better. He even says he would choose beer over his girlfriend. Beer will always be there for you.
4. Snoop Dogg - "Gin and Juice": Once your tolerance level has been built you then move on to hard liquor and Snoop's ode to drinking is one of the best party jams about drugs and alcohol. Just ignore the message of drinking and driving kids.
3. Sublime - "Smoke Two Joints": The logical move from liquor is to something more organic. A cover of a reggae song, Bradley Nowell created an anthem for pot smokers the world over.
2. Eric Clapton - "Cocaine": Every once in a while you need an upper. Here is the drug of choice in the 1980s. The 1977 blues rock jam about nose candy tells the tale of how the drug can give you a pick me up. Cocaine is a hell of a drug! (R.I.P Rick James)
1. Velvet Underground - "Heroin": Lou Reed's ode to smack will surely have you climbing out of a dirty toilet. The great thing about this song is how romantic in parts and then frantic when he figuratively starts to use it. It is one of the bands best songs and talks about the battles of addiction. Just say no!
Alright, folks. Thanks for reading. Here's what you should do. Enter your list in the comment's section.You do not have to register to comment. Here's how your list should look:
Honorable Mentions: If you have any...
5. Choice: Explanation of choice 4. Choice: Explanation of choice 3. Choice: Explanation of choice 2. Choice: Explanation of choice 1. Choice: Explanation of choice
i was so happy to see junkhead mentioned TWICE cause that was my #1 pick too and its just incredibly powerful and ironic:
"You cant understand a users mind
But try, with your books and degrees
If you let yourself go and opened your mind
Ill bet youd be doing like me
And it aint so bad"
Posted By: Jcon (Guest) on January 12, 2009 at 11:16 PM
Can't believe no one mentioned Johhny Cash's "Cocaine Blues" or "Drinkin' My Baby Goodbye" by Charlie Daniels.
Posted By: Abs (Guest) on January 12, 2009 at 11:41 PM
Thorogood George "I drink alone"
(no song is bigger for drinking then this)
that one song that goes, "2 BURBOONS 1 SCOOTCH AND 1 BEER"
The Alkoholiks "Hip Hop Drunkies"
Iggy and the Stooges "Wanna be your Dog"
Posted By: Mikey27 (Guest) on January 12, 2009 at 11:52 PM
All of you lose for not mentioning Tool's "Sober"!
Posted By: Marshall (Guest) on January 13, 2009 at 12:01 AM
These are just the first five off the top of my head - I could go on for quite a while. Although we are asked for numeric order, I can't really find any of these finer than the others - they all stand on their own.
5. Kicks - Paul Revere and the Raiders - What an anti-drug anthem by Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil! But as many know, all the Raiders were not squeaky clean - it was a great song with a great beat, a perfect showcase for Mark Lindsay's incredible voice - one of the best and most maligned in rock history.
4. Fairytale of New York – The Pogues - Any song that begins, "It was Christmas Eve babe, in the drunk tank . . ." deserves to be here hands down.
3. How’s My Drinking – Guided by Voices - I can't believe I'm the first person to put a song by Dayton's finest, Mr. Bobby Pollard, on this list. Written following a series of increasingly morally righteous reviews in Pollard's hometown newspaper, AKA No Dayton Daily Drinking Heroes in the Hometown News, well, it's a great song, too.
2. Let it Bleed – The Rolling Stones - A friend in need is a friend indeed.
Especially with "a little coke and sympathy."
1.Itchycoo Park – The Small Faces - this is a song from back in the age when drugs were fun - "What did you do there, We got high! . . . It's all too beautiful . . ." No bad trips, no drug tests, no jails - what happened? Or was this just another myth they sold us?
Posted By: Martha Hardcastle (Guest) on January 13, 2009 at 12:04 AM
5. The New Black - "50 Ways To Love Your Liver" - the album doesn't officially come out until Jan. 23rd, but is a must-have. Features the great phrase, "alcoholiday to alcoholocaust."
4. Queensryche - "The Needle Lies" - I wish this band would be good again.
3. Aerosmith - "Simoriah" - always my favorite song on Permanent Vacation but never got much attention. "Slice of the sky on a silver wedge - higher and higher we go - let's go."
2. Ozzy Osbourne - "Suicide Solution" - supposedly a tribute to the late Bon Scott and his alcohol abuse.
1. Bad Moon Rising - "Belligerent Stance" - featuring the great rock line, "I drink too much then I fall down."
Posted By: The Furnace (Guest) on January 13, 2009 at 12:07 AM
Patrick Robinson one thing I need to clear up for you. "I Got 5 On It" also sampled from a song back in the 80s called "Why You Treat Me So Bad" by Club Nouveau. So technically this is where Puffy sampled it from.
Posted By: Guest#9327 (Guest) on January 13, 2009 at 12:37 AM
any song by the kottonmouth kings even the band name is a clear reference to drug use
Posted By: rob (Guest) on January 13, 2009 at 01:02 AM
how could tha liks be snubbed
Posted By: studmuffin (Guest) on January 13, 2009 at 01:41 AM
rick james - mary jane ????
Posted By: bluntman (Guest) on January 13, 2009 at 02:03 AM
How could no one mention "White Lines" by Grandmaster Flash & the Furious 5
Posted By: MachoMaddness (Registered) on January 13, 2009 at 03:09 AM
50 Cent's "High All The Time" wasn't about smoking. As he's stated in several interviews, he doesn't smoke and none of the lyrics in his verses discuss smoking.
Posted By: Bob (Guest) on January 13, 2009 at 03:23 AM
no one put purple pills by D12 out there. cmon the whole song is about nothing but drugs.
Posted By: MFM420 (Guest) on January 13, 2009 at 04:11 AM
How about TISM's "I'm on the drug that killed River Phoenix"
Posted By: blaidd1 (Guest) on January 13, 2009 at 04:34 AM
Seeing as there are tons of songs about alcohol and drugs im not surprised that one of my favorites was not mentioned, "Beer" by Reel Big Fish. But great list overrall!
Posted By: That guy over there (Guest) on January 13, 2009 at 04:35 AM
Man, I get here, expecting Junkhead, Feel Good Hit of the Summer and Sober by Tool to not get a mention in the article or comments, and now that they are, you guys have no use for me here :(
How about Scarlet Begonias by Grateful Dead/Sublime?
Posted By: James (Registered) (Guest) on January 13, 2009 at 05:54 AM
"Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds" isn't about drugs, though it's pretty clear what John Lennon used to think up the images contained within it.
To the surprise of many, Paul McCartney's "Got To Get You Into My Life" IS about drugs.
Posted By: Chris (Guest) on January 13, 2009 at 06:15 AM
MR brownstone isnt about architecture? well YOWZA
Posted By: zoosemon (Guest) on January 13, 2009 at 07:33 AM
Afroman - Because I got High
This song pretty much brought weed to the mainstream.
Everybody and there mother bumped this song.
Posted By: RawManiac (Guest) on January 13, 2009 at 07:42 AM
- in no particular order-
Buckcherry - Lit Up
And Yes, I'm all lit up again, on the couch, in my bed... "i love the cocaine, i love the cocaine"
America - Horse with No Name
This song was originally banned on a lot of radio stations because of the suspected drug undertones... one of my favourite tunes for its controversial nature alone.
Hurt - Johnny Cash/NIN
"the needle tears a hole... the all familiar sting..."
What a great song, you have to keep it on the list, it was so great that Johnny Cash had to cover it...
The Cocaine Blues - J.C, Hank III
One of the first songs ever written about drugs, it's got everlasting charm.
Kris Kristofferson - Sunday Morning Comin Down
This was a no brainer for me... it's acoustic nature makes it the perfect song to play during a hangover to remind you how hungover and depressed you are from all the shit you put yourself through the night before... it's gotta be on the list.
Posted By: Cody (Guest) on January 13, 2009 at 07:53 AM
The Dandy Warhols - "Not if you were the last junkie on earth"
Posted By: Guest#7587 (Guest) on January 13, 2009 at 08:15 AM
I can't believe everybody missed out 'Hurt' - either NiN or Johnny Cash
Posted By: MVP316 (Guest) on January 13, 2009 at 08:50 AM
no love for twiztid's So High? Man..
Posted By: 16seconds (Guest) on January 13, 2009 at 09:09 AM
no SuperJoint Ritual? Phil has some heavy lyrics about drug use/abuse on both albums.
Posted By: pagan696 (Guest) on January 13, 2009 at 09:32 AM
Ben Czajkowski
There are so many by NIN, but I'll go with: Nine Inch Nails – "Perfect Drug".
Not a song about drugs. Its about vagina.
Posted By: Jimbo (Guest) on January 13, 2009 at 10:26 AM
Patrick Robinson: 50 Cent: A Baltimore Love Thing is about heroin. But, you're right, it's 50's best song ever.
Posted By: Jimbo (Guest) on January 13, 2009 at 10:39 AM
Will some of you commenters PLEASE (PLEASE!!!!!) stop saying, "why did know one mention so and so," or "I can't believe you all missed so and so"...
BOORRRRING!
The people up there have 5 (count'em), 5 picks to make. It's up to us to mention them. So don't be a total 'tard. If you mention it down here, you're... uh, mentioning it. So it's included. Now, shut up.
Two more, I think unmentioned...
1. Huey Lewis- "I Want a New Drug"
2. Dead Kennedys - "Drug Me"
Posted By: Love Lists (Guest) on January 13, 2009 at 11:01 AM
btw... I think "Hurt" isn't a very good (i.e., stupid) example of a drug song. There are far better examples, as have been listed, because for "Hurt," the drug reference is a small part of a much bigger picture. As a matter of fact, the Johnny Cash version, you may get a wholly different take/interpretation of the song, if it's supposed to be about drugs.
And you wanna run "Hurt" against "Junk Head" or "Heroin" or "Hand of Doom" or other such tracks? Uh...
PUHLEEEESE!
"Sober," too, while sort of about alcohol... there are about 30 other alcohol songs that can and should be included before "Sober."
Posted By: Love Lists (Guest) on January 13, 2009 at 12:20 PM
5) Wesley Willis "I Smoke Weed" - No explanation needed. RIP Wesley Willis.
4) Redman "How to Roll a Blunt" - Like Robinson said.
3) Twiztid "Bagz" - Twiztid writes a hell of a weed song, and this was one of the best songs on Freekshow. I saw a comment calling for "So High," which is a good song, but "Bagz" is just a little bit better.
2) Neil Young "The Needle and the Damage Done" - No matter what the song is about (as I see some of the 411 staff have differing interpretations), it's powerful and amazing.
1) Twiztid w/Layzie Bone "Hydro" - This song is just amazing. Of all Fritz the Cat's beats on this album (and the only track he didn't produce was "Wondering Why," by Mike E Clark), this is the best. It's perfectly laid-back, but the guitar in the background gives it the spacey-sound that a song about Hydro weed should be. Madrox and Monoxide bring their A-games, and the inclusion of Layzie Bone is great. This is the best track on The Green Book.
Posted By: Nick (Guest) on January 13, 2009 at 12:35 PM
In my book Pot Culture, I list the Greatest Marijuana Songs:
Legalize It - Peter Tosh
Sweet Leaf - Black Sabbath
One Toke Over the Line - Brewer & Shipley
I Like Marijuana - David Peel & the Lower East Side
Panama Red - New Riders of the Purple Sage
Mary Jane - Rick James
Pass the Dutchie - Musical Youth
Don't Bogart Me - Fraternity of Man
Smoke Two Joints - the Toyes (original version)
Hash Pipe - Weezer
Blunted Hip-Hop Classic
Hits from the Bong - Cypress Hill
How to Roll a Blunt - Redman
Cheeba Cheeba - Tone Loc
Pack the Pipe - the Pharcyde
I Got 5 on It - Luniz
Take Two & Pass - Ganngstarr
Blueberry Yum Yum - Ludacris
Indo Smoke - Mista Grimm
Many Clouds of Smoke - Total Devastation
Mad Izm - Channel Live
Hay - Crucial Conflict
Ganja Reggae Classics
Legalize It - Peter Tosh
Kaya - Bob Marley
Sinsemilla - Black Uhuru
Pass the Kutchie - Mighty Diamonds
One Draw - Rita Marley
International Herb - Culture
Macka Splaff - Steel Pulse
Under Mi Sensi - Barrington Levy
We Be Burnin' - Sean Paul
Iron Bars - Stephen Marley
Cannabis County Classics
Me & Paul - Willie Nelson
Weed with Willie - Toby Keith
Wildwood Weed - Jim Stafford
Grandma - John Nicholson
Shanty - Jonathan Edwards
The Dope Smoking Song - Hank Flamingo
Reefer Jazz Classics
Reefer Man - Cab Calloway
Sweet Marijuana - Gertrude Mitchell
If You're a Viper - Stuff Smith
Viper Mad - Sidney Bechet
Muggles - Louis Armstrong
Pot Culture is available at Amazon.com
Check out High Tunes at CelebStoner.com
http://www.celebstoner.com/high-tunes/
and Top 5 Hip-Hop, Reggae & Jazz
Posted By: Steve Bloom (Guest) on January 13, 2009 at 12:59 PM
The Grateful Dead - Casey Jones. Nine Ince Nails - The Perfect Drug. Just to mention a couple you missed.
Posted By: thedouce (Guest) on January 13, 2009 at 01:10 PM
Man you guys love your reefer on this website, eh? Every other article I read has some pro-marijuana rhetoric. Not that there's anything wrong with that... :)
I was glad to see "Gin and Juice" make it on a few lists. That'd be my top pick. It's a good party jam and an ode to getting fucked up. I'm suprised "Grind" from AIC didn't make it on a few more lists. To me, that's one of Layne Staley's best vocal turns.
And no "I Am the Walrus"? John Lennon wrote that about two seperate acid trips he had.
Gotta love any major website where an article entitled "BEST SONGS ABOUT DRUGS OR ALCOHOL!" is advertised on the front page in very large font.
Posted By: lilwayne1 (Registered) on January 13, 2009 at 01:25 PM
No "Sister Morphine" by the Stones. Probably the most chilling drug song ever recorded.
Posted By: Dude (Guest) on January 13, 2009 at 01:33 PM
A Baltimore Love Things is actually from the perspective of heroin.
Posted By: Mr. Marcus (Guest) on January 13, 2009 at 02:18 PM
Honorable Mention - DropKick Murphys - kiss Me Im $hitfaced, Neil Young - Needle & Damage Done, Snoop Dog - Gin & Juice, George Thorgood - 1
5. Ramones - I Wanna Be Sedated - Party anthem of not wanting to feel anything
4. Toby Keith - I Love this Bar, 1/2 the fun in drinking is the local bar you share with your friends, which this song celebrates.
3. Chumbawamba - Tubthumping, brings me back to freshman year of college
2. Johnny Cash - Hurt, when the writer of the song says anotherartist made the definitive version, it says something. You can just tell the paiin in the voice of Johnny Cash for all the deeds he has done.
1.The Pogues - Fairy Tale of NY - one of the most beautiful songs of all time. Tells the story of immigrants dreams cruched by the bottle.
Posted By: C.Drama (Guest) on January 13, 2009 at 02:23 PM
Can't believe you missed:
Eminem - Drug Ballad
Suicidal Tendencies- Institutionalized
Sublime - Smoke Two Joints
Crazy Town - Butterfly
Posted By: Guest#7671 (Guest) on January 13, 2009 at 02:44 PM
You forgot The Kid,
Pantera-Good Friends And A Bottle of Pills
Posted By: MBD (Guest) on January 13, 2009 at 02:52 PM
I liked most of the lists this time about. cool. little thought put into this, but this is what I'll say my list is.
5. Oasis - Morning Glory: a strong rocker which almost subtle (for Noel) lyrics about "being chained to the mirror and the razor blade." I put it here if only because I had to hear it like fifty times before that clicked.
4. David Bowie - Station to Station: not explicitly or entirely about drugs, but it has the best single line reference to drug use ever, "it's not the side effects of the cocaine, I'm thinking that it must be love." That's better than almost all songs on the subject.
3. Tom Waits - The Piano Has Been Drinking (Not Me): you couldn't claim the list included alcohol unless you have a song by Tom Waits. this is his most obvious choice on the subject.
2. Neil Young - The Needle and The Damage Done: just a really sad, powerful song. he would explore it more in Tonight's The Night, an all around better album that Harvest, but this song hit the mark first and best.
1. The Velvet Underground - Heroin: you can't listen to this song and not acknowledge greatness when he quietly yells "when I put a SPIKE into my vein."
lastly, to the kind writer who mentioned The Chemical Brothers' "Setting Sun," please explain to me in what way that's about drugs? I don't disagree, I just never noticed any such reference.
Posted By: thatguy (Guest) on January 13, 2009 at 03:13 PM
Any song off of The Leak Bros. LP "Waterworld", it is all about dust.
Copywrite- HE Burns Trees
Choose any Kottonmouth King song basically
I Got Stoned And I Missed It by Shel Silverstein!!!!
Posted By: L I A M (Guest) on January 13, 2009 at 03:23 PM
Wow, there's a lot I wasn't thinking about. Here's some more for what it's worth:
5) Ethyl Meatplow - "Devil's Johnson" - Right. It's about a bong...or a crackpipe. Moving on...
4) Melvins - "Hooch" - 'Los ticka toe rest/might like a send doe ree/exitease my ray-day member/bright like a penalty' Yeah, that's some pretty good hooch yer drinkin there, Buzzo...
3) Lemonheads - "My Drug Buddy" - Changed to just "Buddy" so it could be sold at Wal-Mart, I guess...
2) Peter Tosh - "Legalize It" - Well, why not?
1) Steppenwolf - "The Pusher" - "I said GODDAMN!" Very powerful song, if you've ever heard it.
Posted By: JMAC (Guest) on January 13, 2009 at 04:50 PM
Six pack by black flag is actually making fun of people who spend all their time drinking
Posted By: whitley (Guest) on January 13, 2009 at 04:59 PM
Can't believe no one mentioned Johhny Cash's "Cocaine Blues" or "Drinkin' My Baby Goodbye" by Charlie Daniels.
Posted By: Abs (Guest) on January 12, 2009 at 11:41 PM
Thanks, I thought I was going crazy, there!
Posted By: jsn (Guest) on January 13, 2009 at 05:29 PM
I'm just naming five good drug or liquor songs that I haven't seen anyone else mention, unless they're posting them while I'm typing this.
In no particular order:
Defective Trip - Gravediggaz
Smoke Buddah - Redman
Drink Away the Pain - Mobb Deep
Water - The Roots
Spottieottiedopalicious - OutKast (not really a song about liquor, but Andre is drunk all through his verse)
Isn't anyone going to mention "Rehab" by Amy Winehouse?
Ow! Hey! Quit throwing stuff!
Posted By: Tony Majestic (Guest) on January 13, 2009 at 06:24 PM
Cool Article.
mine is kottonmouth kingz - 420
It's because i always used to wonder what all those 4:20 signs durning the monday night wars era meant, now when i watch wrestling (ripped) i can mark out when i see them. there were like 6 ECW ONS 05.
Posted By: 420nz (Guest) on January 13, 2009 at 06:32 PM
Gotta love any major website where an article entitled "BEST SONGS ABOUT DRUGS OR ALCOHOL!" is advertised on the front page in very large font.
I LOLed. Because it's true. Stuff you won't see on Yahoo! ;)
Posted By: Ben Czajkowski (Registered) on January 13, 2009 at 06:36 PM
Queens of the Stone Age - "Feel Good Hit of the Summer"
Jesus, it's about fucking time someone posted this fucking song.
Posted By: banger (Guest) on January 13, 2009 at 07:31 PM
any lil wyte song.
Posted By: Guest#1035 (Guest) on January 13, 2009 at 08:08 PM
Thank you Jesse Coy! I cant believe only one person had "White Rabbit"!
I would go with:In no particular order:
White Rabbit - Jefferson Airplane
Ebenezer Goode - The Shamen
New Drug - Hostage Life
Six Pack - Black Flag
Pusherman - ?
Posted By: Wooder (Guest) on January 13, 2009 at 08:19 PM
yahoo aint got monkey dick on 411 baby
Posted By: Guest#6687 (Guest) on January 13, 2009 at 08:59 PM
Cody nailed it. Kristofferson's "Sunday Morning Coming Down" is fantastic, although I prefer Cash's version. My fave is The Replacements' "Here Comes A Regular". When I was younger,I wanted to be that guy. Then, I finally understood "Used to live at home/now I stay at the house." Brilliant.
Posted By: Scott (Guest) on January 13, 2009 at 10:06 PM
Lynard Skynard. That smell?
Posted By: bookerfuzz (Guest) on January 13, 2009 at 10:57 PM
because of my heavy drug ridden past i think all songs are related to them: ever consider- Filters Take a Picture?
"Awake on my airplane
I feel like a newborn,
will you take my picture-cuz I wont remember?"
if that isnt exactly how i felt on ecstacy-which it was.
What about "Poppies" by Marcy Playground
"long long ago- in China I'm told, to England was traded some tea"
What about the awesome remake by Dynamite Hack "Boyz in Hood"? who wrote this list n e way?
you totally should have asked me to make this list- I would hace smoked it-no pun attended!
Posted By: dlorah06 (Guest) on January 13, 2009 at 11:04 PM
Too Drunk To Fuck-Dead Kennedys
Hits from the Bong-Cypress Hill
Gin & Guice-Snoop Dogg
Hurt-Johnny Cash/NIN
Under The Bridge-Red Hot Chili Peppers
Posted By: Uh...me (Guest) on January 13, 2009 at 11:07 PM
@MFM420: I had Purple Pills in my Honorable Mentions, would have come in at no. 6
@ Others re: 50 song - It is too, guess I was a high at the time
Posted By: Patrick Robinson (Registered) on January 14, 2009 at 02:16 AM
5. Time to Pretend - MGMT
4. Mr. Brownstone - Guns N Roses
3. Champagne Supernova - Oasis
2. Here It Comes - Doves
1. River of Deceit - Mad Season
Posted By: Mav (Guest) on January 17, 2009 at 02:03 PM
