Re: [MLUG - DISCUSSION] musicians

["Jim Locke" <EMAIL:PROTECTED>]

Interesting topic!  I have found my favorite artists often have drugs, major internal conflict, and/or members who are a pain in the butt to the rest of the group.  On the latter example (difficult members), Noel Gallagher from Oasis comes to mind.  I used to realy like them, and ha
ve drifted away from the over the years.

Tears for Fears:  Roland and Curt made some records long-distance because they could not stand each other, and "Songs from the Big Chair" is one of the best pop/rock albums ever made I think.

Pink Floyd:  their first album Piper at the Gates of Dawn has some major drug-induced sounds.  Syd Barrett was probably fried most of the time.

I hate to say it, but I know some artists have gotten more corporate (more formulaic, less interesting, more blah basically) after they cleaned up.

I'm curious if my current favorite band, Porcupine Tree, has been into drugs.  They certainly have some psychedelic sounds in their past (and still now to some extent).

I'll leave this post with:  anyone who think they would like a more driving, modern sounding Pink Floyd that I think sounds of a Rush, Pink Floyd, and YES or King Crimson combination seriously ought to check them out.

They have a Myspace page with some full-length tracks to check out.

On Wed, Apr 2, 2008 at 6:39 PM, Mike Miller <EMAIL:PROTECTED> wrote:

On Wed, 2 Apr 2008, Vern Green wrote:

I would expand it to include many artists. I wonder if to be really successful with the creative portion of your brain, that the common sense side gets suppressed in some way.

Good question about the brain.  I don't know.  Regarding artists: Jackson Pollock, van Gogh, and many others I'm sure -- another buncn of crazy drug users.

Musicians have the worse of it as they are totally thrust into the lifestyle, living fast, lots of sex, and yes drugs, at least drinking. Many I know that are not into the sex and drugs part have problems with depression. I know more than one talented musician both successful and less successful that have this problem.

I guy I know spent a day or two with Wilco.  He said that they had to be able to sleep on the tour bus, which was very hard to do, and that drinking and drugs were used partly to help them to sleep.  That makes sense.  I would also think that recognizable rock stars are often offered drugs and drinks by people who want to say that they partied with them.

While I play music, and have had some degree of success in the past, I have always had the power of will to resist drug use. I am not so sure about the depression part of the equation however. I have said before that I am not sure what being happy is, nor do I know what being depressed is for sure, but there are many days where I have all the classic symptoms of depression.

Depression is really common among writers too.  This is interesting:

http://www.cbs.com/cbs_cares/depression/creativity.shtml

Dr. Nancy Andreasen is a psychiatrist (MD) and researcher who first earned a PhD in English -- so she knows the writers really well.

Mike

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- Jim Locke.
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