Heartland

I was just wondering... what is everyone's opinion on Sisters music and drugs.. do you think that the use of different substances has made a contribution to the quality of the songs? Do you yourself that using drugs yourself (if you have) has made it possible to understand Von's songs better? I am curious what your views are...


Paul

Everything sounds better after a few cold Holstens and/or a bottle of Merlot

regards
James Blast

I think things sound better sober.

Sure, drugs can help the music 'sound' better. My personal faves are...

Reptile House EP and Gift whilst caned - weed usually increases my appreciation of the 'soundscape' of any tune - Mezzanine is another killer album to blast out with a J - but Kiss The Carpet, Giving Ground, Colours and Rain From Heaven are unsurpassable. The line 'well she got red eyes' is rather apt at such times! . Oh yeah, Comfortably Numb is quite groovy too!!

Temple Of Love (any vers) and Ribbons are ace when loved up.

Absolutely everything else by The Sisters is aided by speed.

Unfortunately, lyrics can prove a bit tricky when mashed.

Dave

It's a tricky one - the number of times I've recorded a song or mixed something under the influence it always sounds really crap the next day....

Each to their own I guess......

I am a BIG "kiffer" (in German), i dont know the word in English (i smoke hash & weed).
But i dont think Von's it smoking weed, because i would be a bit more friendly with his fans (I'm always thinking the effect my actions do have(??)).
But I think amphetamine are not the worst think, when u have in mind:
use the drugs - but dont let the drugs use you
@ quiffboy: does this name have a proper meaning?

jenzi-benzi wrote:@ quiffboy: does this name have a proper meaning?

what word?

"kiffer"? i dunno to be honest. i imagine we would probably use some kind of 60s american slang expression over here - maybe "pothead" or "stoner" or something...?

or "quiff boy"? its to do with the haircut known as a quiff, and that when i used to have one i looked quite young, like a boy.

@ quiff:oh!
the word means HASH in maroc language!

so i am a potthead

jenzi-benzi wrote:so i am a potthead

A startling admission.

This is hardly the Opra Winfrey show though, is it?

Chairman Bux wrote:

jenzi-benzi wrote:so i am a potthead

A startling admission.

This is hardly the Opra Winfrey show though, is it?

LMAO

Zuma wrote:It's a tricky one - the number of times I've recorded a song or mixed something under the influence it always sounds really crap the next day....

I know that feeling. It's such a bummer when you're convinced you've made the most beautiful song/mix known to man, then when you've returned to earth in the morning it turns out to be the biggest pile of cr ap...

i have always found music to be a stimulant all of its own i vareying degrees+ways.

the effect a cocteau twins track can have is as intense as any chemical enhancement could aspire to achieve.
finding something which reaches out and touches you deeply can have a life altering effct on your life;and as is hardly ever the case with drugs as such-you can revisit this emotion/feeling again and again and again simply by listening to the tune again and so on.

however from a purely visual point of view...i always found lsd had a unique way of enhancing even the most banal of wallpaper patterns and cloud formations.

Sex, Drugs & Rock n' Roll.

Nuff sed.

Serendipityhaven wrote:i have always found music to be a stimulant all of its own i vareying degrees+ways.

the effect a cocteau twins track can have is as intense as any chemical enhancement could aspire to achieve.
finding something which reaches out and touches you deeply can have a life altering effct on your life;and as is hardly ever the case with drugs as such-you can revisit this emotion/feeling again and again and again simply by listening to the tune again and so on.

however from a purely visual point of view...i always found lsd had a unique way of enhancing even the most banal of wallpaper patterns and cloud formations.

I guess you just said it all.

But then again, some Speed and you party all week.

As this post should take me to Gonzoid Amphetamine Filth, it's probably most appropriate to join the debate.

I don't think amphetamine use/abuse has greatly influenced the actual song writing, though clearly it has provided subject matter for Von over the years.
That said, the original version of TOL is very fast...

As for the live experience, I've witnessed the Sisters in a variety of conditions and I have to say I don't think speed or alcohol really
enhances the gigs. You can feed off the atmosphere regardless.
I've been pretty straight/sober at most of my favourite gigs by TSOM.
At the others the lights were pretty and I didn't seem concerned about being squashed.

Dave Whelan wrote:Temple Of Love (any vers) and Ribbons are ace when loved up.

You spend all that money on recreational "happy" drugs and then you listen to The Sisters? Some people have no sense of occaision...

Dave Whelan wrote:Absolutely everything else by The Sisters is aided by speed.

Unfortunately, lyrics can prove a bit tricky when mashed.

Ditto, to both points.

Serendipityhaven wrote:however from a purely visual point of view...i always found lsd had a unique way of enhancing even the most banal of wallpaper patterns and cloud formations.

And records.

i think TOL sounds and feels better on Amphetamine than on Extasy...

Sounds like a stoner is selling this one.

I often wonder what The Doors sounded like to Jim Morrison in his perpetual drug haze.

Back in those days when I was a frequent hyxleyan tourist, my number one on LSD by the Sisters was Phantom: dr Avalanche does a brilliant job I called then a "kongo groove" , and the guitars evoke the exotic side of things, which was quite appropriate. Phantom was the best dance hit on acid, not only for me.

The big laugh was when the Detonation Boulevard was played, and it was great to dance to as well.

Another great acid hit was Burn, thanks probably to the same exotic touch as in Phantom, but also for its reptile connotations, but it's less neutral, and more a kind of bad-trip song.

Of course it's all just my experience, but anyway: wanted to share them with Ya!

Regards 2 all

Hirro

I prefer alcohol....

Planet Dave wrote:Unfortunately, lyrics can prove a bit tricky when mashed.

I'll vouch for you on that one - when else would you kiss/lick a Leeds fan..?

Norman Hunter wrote:

Planet Dave wrote:Unfortunately, lyrics can prove a bit tricky when mashed.

I'll vouch for you on that one - when else would you kiss/lick a Leeds fan..?

That would be kiss/lick TWO Leeds fans!!!

My take on this debate? I don't do/never have done any drugs. Don't even smoke weed. Without doubt The Sisters would've sounded different had they not done lots of drugs, but I'm glad they did as the music will do for me.

IMHO drugs make things look/sound/taste different but I don't think they make them better. Bowie probably wouldn't have done Diamond dogs and Station to station without the enormous amount of drugs he was taking at the time. But you know how it goes : there're lots of junkies, but there's only one Bowie.
Do the Girls' songs sound better while on drug ? I don't know for sure. What I do know is that about anything sounds better while on the right kind of drug. And partly because in that particular state of euphoria you are much less demanding.