Day #8 - of 30 Day Music Meme - a Song About Drugs or Alcohol

[shadowkat]

There's a lot of songs about drugs and alcohol, about 50-60% of Rock and Country music are about drugs and alcohol.

Which makes this really hard - but not in the way last two were, more in which song do I choose?

I have two that I adore. But they are very different, and in different music genres. One is more famous than the other - and up until this moment, it was the one I was going to go with. But alas, at the last minute - I have to go with the one I loved so much, I actually saw the woman sing it live and in person...

Don't worry I'll share both so you don't have to guess on the first one. It may, show you some insight into my eclectic music taste or not as the case may be.

The first song - by Aimee Man is very subtle, and you have to look deep to realize it is about addiction. It's in the last verse of the song. "Only you can give me the fix."

But the reason, I fell in love with the song is the refrain which is spot on metaphorically regarding substance abuse and addiction.

"Because that is how I nearly fell, trading clothes and ringing Pavlov's bell". In Mann's song it is about addictive relationships, so it may not completely work? But it also is about fixes, and drugs.

Watch on YouTube

The second song, which may work a lot better, is written by Kris Kristofferson and best sung by Johnny Cash, who gets it, and it's ...

Watch on YouTube

So if song one, doesn't work, pick song two.

Rest found here

Comments

[cjlasky7]

I love both, thank you very much.

I still have this image of Aimee Mann stomping off the stage at the Bronze after singing "Pavlov's Bell":

"I hate playing vampire towns."

My selection: "White Lines (Don't Do It)"

One of the most important singles in the history of hip-hop, with a bass line that still pops after 40 years.

https://youtu.be/RQy4WbUf84Y

[shadowkat]

Lando, my co-worker soon to be former, adores Grandmaster Flash. He lectured me on the history of rap and hip-hop in 1970s and 60s for hours when we were stuck in a small office cubicle space in Manhattan between 2016-2017. Pulling out Grandmaster Flash on more than one occasion - it's the first time I heard of the guy. And he'd play bits for me on his computer sharing earphones.

I liked the song - which like most rap seems to glorify drugs, yet with an underlying kinetic rage. I think my difficulty with most rap is the kinetic rage underneath.

[cjlasky7]

I'd like to say that I posted "White Lines" to celebrate the anniversary of DJ Kool Herc's "after school" party in 1973....

Nope. Pure coincidence.

Wild, huh?

"White Lines" doesn't lie about the allure of cocaine, but the lyrics are very blunt about the cost:

Ticket to ride, white line highway
Tell your friends you can go my way
Pay your toll, sell your soul
Pound for pound costs more than gold
The longer you stay, the more you pay
Buy white line go a long way
Either up your nose or through your vein
With nothing to gain but killing your brain

And I always thought the kinetic rage was part of the point. Yes, some early rap was party music (The Fat Boys) or stressed unity (Afrika Bambaata), but songs like "White Lines" or "The Message" were about hitting the listener hard

[shadowkat]

Thank you for the recs. I may check them out some day.

[cactuswatcher]

All them thar vices:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkT5J2C8IVs

[shadowkat]

Hee Hee...Sellers parodying and satirizing in full glory along with the Muppets.

[atpo_onm]

Indeed, so many to choose from. But this one always gets to me, and largely because of who's singing it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8AHCfZTRGiI

[shadowkat]

Oh, that's an excellent selection, and I'd not seen the video - although I've listened to the song numerous times. The song - much like Pavlov's Bell is kind of subtle on being about drugs or alcohol. It's the best music video by far of any of the above.

Also agree - it sends a chill up the spine, and pulls at the emotions in a way that not many songs do, because of who is singing it and how honest he is with the video. That's what I adore about Cash - he's honest in his performances. You know he lived those songs and feels them in his gut. My difficulty with some other performers, such as Aimee Mann, is I'm not sure I feel that same pathos and raw honesty.

I love that song. Forgot about it.

Thanks for sharing!