As I have shown in my previous posts, recreational drug use and popular music have walked hand in hand for a long time now. However, perhaps the musician’s need to alter the conscious mind runs deeper than what drug is popular at the time; for an artist in the limelight, a substance is often used to escape the intense reality of being in the public eye, but how about as a creative booster? Maybe musicians find certain drugs to be helpful creatively because they are so enthralled within the music; experiencing the art form in an altered state of consciousness could give a new angle, even a completely fresh perception of the work.
Throughout history, our society has always looked for role models; we, as the public of this modern world, have an insatiable desire to know of celebrity lives, and most of us believe that these ‘stars’ should uphold certain moral values. Of course, the easiest way to get noticed by the public is to break these expectations of morality, and use shock tactics. (Just look at the state of the recording industry – sex is packaged to prospective audiences, because it is well known that it will sell a record). The news of musicians using drugs works upon the same principles, albeit in a more subversive method. It has been common knowledge for years that the artist may use substances to provide new areas of inspiration, and those in the youth culture who aspire to the artist’s ideal except this fact. In this open-minded view of drug use, we perceive our society’s heroes as the artists who can push themselves right to the edge and come all the way back again. Of course, this carries a direct correlation with the hipster ideology of the bebop jazzmen, however, in an accent similar to martyrdom, those who go over the edge become our legends. This whole ideology of the musician living life on the edge of his compulsions could be brought down to simple adolescent behaviour. Therefore, the thing we must remember is that great art is not created by happy, stable people. The greatest art is a pure source of sublimation, and is often created by neurotic individuals who are ruled by compulsions. Those who have made the biggest steps in pushing music forward are often the closest to the edge.
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