Cannabis and Music
Hey folks! We are back again for another blog post designed to bring your closer to the herb you love. Music and weed go together like peanut butter and jelly: awesome alone but magical in conjunction. If you haven’t smoked up and blasted some tunes, you’re really missing out on one of the most foundational experiences that cannabis has to offer. So, this week we’re going to take a little look at the relationship between cannabis and music; both from a cultural and a biological perspective to try to understand why I only like Paris Hiltons debut album (appropriately titled “Paris”) after smoking three bong loads.
You uh….You listen to Paris Hilton albums?
We’re not here to discuss my personal failings. Anyway, let’s first talk about the culture of cannabis as it relates to music. It’s no secret that tons of musicians from all walks of life partake or have partaken in the reefer while writing and performing their music. It’s not a recent trend either, with many famous Jazz and Blues musicians from back in the day like Muddy Waters and Louis Armstrong being lifelong users and advocates for the electric lettuce. Both of them were arrested for possession of cannabis, which in Armstrong’s opinion was a substance with medicinal benefits and a better alternative to alcohol. Hell, Muddy even performed a song called “Champagne and Reefer” back in 1981 which touched on the creative and recreational benefits of imbibing weed. If that’s not an endorsement I don’t know what is.
Also, everyone knows Bob Marley was a huge advocate for regular consumption of cannabis, with him becoming an icon for the culture. Check out the song “Smoke Two Joints” and you’ll hear what I mean.Moving forward in time, we have entire bands that have built their image around the iconography of cannabis culture.
Take Sublime or Cypress Hill, both of whom are bands that are synonymous with weed consumption. Cypress Hill wrote probably the most cannabis intensive song of all time in the form of the tune “Dr. Greenthumb” which touches on some of the pillars of cannabis culture: anti-authoritarianism, respect for the plant itself and a little more anti-authoritarianism splashed on there for good measure. Cannabis is a counterculture, which is to say that its continued existence runs contrary to the established societally endorsed cultural movement that is currently present. In many ways, musicians tend to trend the same way, eschewing societal norms in the name of creativity. Authority figures would much rather you get an office job than start a jam band in your mom’s basement.
Yeah, that’s pretty cool and all, but why does music sound better when I’m high?
Great question Brynn’s internal voice. The answer to that question lies in our biology and what happens in our brains when we listen to music. When we listen to a song, the parts of our brains made to process emotions as well as memory are stimulated to a crazy degree. In addition to that, our brain releases dopamine under certain conditions if the music is titillating enough. Which is why you get chills when Freddie Mercury hits those high notes or when Shania Twain says: “Lets go girls”.
Now, when you add cannabis into that mix, things get even more interesting. One of the many features of cannabis is that it “quiets your mind”, which in effect means you’re able to focus more on your immediate environment without the background noise your brain usually provides. This means when you’re listening to a song while on cannabis, you’re listening to it completely; your experience of the medley and sounds is unfiltered to a degree, allowing your brain to more easily identify the disparate parts of the music. To put it in a less clinical more hippy dippy way, you really FEEL the music.So! Next time you go to smoke up and you’re wondering how to occupy your time, tune in to some music and let the vibes carry you off to a great high. Stay frosty cool cats. Need some weed to go with your music? Check out our menu!