blog 9

After we finished reading the Hughes text last time I was disappointed. Not from the text, of course, but I was under the assumption that this brief window into Altered States was the only time we were reading this text this semester…but naturally, I was wrong. Chapters 11 and 12 were fantastic (most notably chapter 12). I am enjoying the progression towards the creative states of mind that stem directly from altered states of consciousness. The previous texts we have read this semester have allowed me to view artistic outlets with an entirely new perspective. In the past, I would view a Picasso, or read Kerouac and state immediately: these guys are blowing their minds out with drugs. But I am beginning to understand that the creative minds behind the works I find most dear may have indulged themselves into an alternative universe rather than blasted their mental molecules into oblivion.

What I enjoyed most about chapter 12 was the way the book prescribed various artists drugs of choice. After learning about the individual drugs (and the responses they provoke) it is interesting to view the works they composed while they were on them. I used to read Allen Ginsberg’s Howl, and immediately believed he was smoking marijuana throughout its composure, but the Hughes text assigns peyote as the actual drug. After learning about peyote and the effects it has on our consciousness, the overwhelming “rambling” text is able to be view in an entirely different light.

Another interesting synopsis I encountered was Hughes’ description of marijuana: “The emphasis on music may be significant. Music and cannabis “have the same frequency,” according to some modern musicians.” In addition to this, Hughes states, “Many of the French Haschischins reported the phenomenon of synesthesia, the ability to “hear” colors, “see” sounds.” This is an interesting observation. Perhaps, this ability to “see” sounds is where the source lies for the creation of intertextual harmonization that previously had not been “seen” by composers of the past. Louis Armstrong is noted for his use of cannabis in the Hughes book and if we observe the liberal changes Armstrong introduced in jazz in the 20s, it is possible to correlate his usage of the drug and what is considered by jazz aficionados as “hot”, or “outside playing.” If anyone would like to discuss jazz with me, I can explain this to them or visit the website below for a list of jazz terms. But this concept can be applied to countless musicians. For example; where did George Harrison hear how the sitar could be applied to “rock n’ roll”? Where did Paul McCartney discover the “musical mode” that would provide the vocal line for “Eleanor Rigby”? In a musical sense, he was using a “mode” that was dead for hundreds of years, but he somehow made it “work” within rock n’ roll. By now I’m sure everyone is sick of hearing me introduce The Beatles into nearly every blog, but I feel that it is a necessity. There is not one rock n’ roll group that has changed the course of music more than them. And they were the quintessential experimenters with mind altering substances. For more proof of this, listen to their first album, Please Please Me. No drugs here, with the exception of cigarettes, alcohol, and perhaps barbiturates. Then, listen to either Rubber Soul or Revolver. It is astonishing. From this point on, as they grew in their drug habits it only pressed the limits of acceptability even more.

http://www.humboldt1.com/~jazz/glossary.html