For Your Listening Pleasure
Huey Lewis & the News – “I Want a New Drug”
Since I featured the newest Weird Al Yankovic album last week, I got to thinking about all of the great songs he’s parodied. Who can forget the great “I Want a New Duck”, the remake of Huey Lewis’ “I Want a New Drug” from the SportsLP?
News to You
The May 26 issue of Newsweek reports that the U.S. military is using Metallica and the theme songs to “Barney” and “Sesame Street” to coerce Iraqi soldiers to talk. And we’re saying the weapons of mass destruction are one of the biggest threats to the world?
Stoned Cold
So, Lollapalooza second stage act Steve-O (from “Jackass”) was recently arrested on drug charges, following news that the State of Illinois is banning ephedra, and another report of Stone Temple Pilots singer Scott Weiland’s drug woes. That got me thinking about drugs, ’cause you know, drugs are bad, m’kay?
I couldn’t disagree with this ephedra ban more, and I doubt it will stop those who REALLY want to get their hands on it from doing so. Just like anyone who wants to shoot illegal steroids, do ecstasy or even use legal drugs like vicatin for recreational purposes, it’s all fairly easy to get a hold of.
As Plato said, “Good people do not need laws to tell them to act responsibly, while bad people will find a way around the laws.” The “war on drugs” is an absolute failure, and I’d much rather the government spend their time and money telling us — honestly — the potential benefits and/or dangers of ANY drug, and letting us make our own decisions about what we do/don’t put into our own bodies.
As Peter Tosh would say… let’s just “legalize it”… And I don’t think it should stop at ephedra or marijuana. How about cocaine? Heroin? Penicillin? Let any individual take any drug they want, legally, as long as (1) they’re 18 or over, (2) they don’t put others, especially children, in danger, and (3) information on the drug, its uses and potential side-effects is easily available.
The 18 and over aspect of my philosophy is pretty simple: the same restrictions that are on cigarettes, alcohol (okay, fine, the current drinking age is 21 in all 50 states, but 18 wouldn’t be so bad), etc., should apply to drug use. You don’t want kids doing drugs, and there’s a good argument to be made that kids for the most part aren’t mature enough to make their own decisions, and even if they are, their well-being is still the responsibility of their guardians, so they don’t and shouldn’t have the freedom to kill themselves.
Point #2. If you drink and drive, you’re breaking the law by endangering others, and you ought to be punished. Same thing should apply if you smoke weed and drive, or if you take any other substance that impairs your ability to operate an automobile. Or, for that matter, if you shoot up around your children. Or if you steal in order to get the cash to purchase said substances. You get the idea.
The third point is the trickiest to practice, but it makes a load of sense. Let’s say I’ve had strep throat three times, and all three times in the past, my doctor has prescribed the same drug. Now, not only am I paying the doctor for the visit to his office (or I’m paying insurance premiums to my insurance company who’s paying the doctor), but I’m also paying FOR the drugs themselves. The drugs and doctor bills are so high in part because they have high malpractice and other insurance premiums, to protect them if they give me “the wrong drug”. But what if a FOURTH time getting strep throat, I decide I’d rather take my chances that it’s strep, and side-step the middle-man (the doctor) and just get the drug myself? Shouldn’t I be allowed to do so if I sign a release, excusing any pharmacist of liability? Shouldn’t I be able to do whatever I want to myself as long as I don’t directly get in the way of SOMEONE ELSE doing what THEY want to themselves? Now add to that my part about having enough information available to me — either through brochures, Internet access at the pharmacy, etc. — and you’re golden.
If Scott Weiland, or Steve-O, or Robert Downey, Jr., etc., etc., etc., wants to get rich, and spend their millions shooting/smoking up in the privacy of their own homes, the government should just let them. Inundate them with information about the possible negative effects of what they’re doing to themselves, arrest them if they’re putting others in danger, and tax the shit out of their purchase of the formerly legal substances. But if their friends and family can’t convince them to change and better themselves, what makes the government think that it’s right to try and do it forcefully?
What’s next, making suicide illegal? Oh wait…
All Growns Up?: Some More Feedback
From last week:
LilDwayne21 contributed this:
FUCK ROCK and ROLL. Rap rules. FUCK all ur lil punk rock artists. All dem muthaf*cka’z are goin down da toilet. Hip-hop is takin over.
Now, while I let this one go pretty much without a response, Reggie R. wrote in with his two cents:
First off, great article. But the only problem I have doesn’t involve any of your points, it has to do with LilDwayne21 comments towards Rock ‘n’ Roll and Punk etc.
Dear Mr. LilDwayne21,
I’m not going to get into that First amendment crap, but do know that if you aren’t open to other types of music like many of your favorite rap artists are, you expansion of creativity and your favorite artists would be very limited? Do you think that Public Enemy or Run DMC ignored rock ‘n’ roll? ( “Bring the noise”/Anthrax and “Walk this way”/Aerosmith collaborations) Where do you think Puffy gets all his samples from? Sounds like 80’s new wave to me. You do realize that DMX used some pretty hard guitar riffs in his latest album, more specifically the song “911”? Did you know that Snoop is a big fan of Marilyn Manson? There’s alot of music out there that I don’t like but I do give it a decent chance. I’m a dj: and although that hiphop is my first choice I have extensive knowledge in the alternative/80’s newwave my older brother left me with 70’s funk, motown, and even the death metal era with AC/DC & Van Halen. We can both agree that rap has had an influx of very lyrically weak artists that get pumped through the mainstream, but how can anyone say that artists like Pearl Jam, Nirvana & Creed suck if they’ve actually sat down and gave it a chance. Just like when you gave a rapper named Rakim “I ain’t no joke” a listen or the 3 remaining members of New Edition that called themselves Bell Biv Devoe (BBD) premiere “Poison” on KDAY 1540.
Reggie R.
Thanks to everyone else who wrote in on the subject. If your comments fit into a future column, I’ll be sure to get them in, so keep sending me your thoughts.
Festival Update
Some quick festival updates for those of you who’ve missed this semi-regular segment of Till My Head Falls Off:
Field Day may be cancelled, after seven environmental groups on Long Island and the Suffolk County Health Department have decided to get in the way. Normally, I’d have no pity on a concert promoter that STARTED MARKETING for an event BEFORE all the permits were in, but let’s remember something: the site where they’re planning to hold this concert (as well as Bonnaroo NE) used to be a Grumman plant! They built defense equipment there for YEARS, but NOW these organizations have environmental concerns? Kind of ironic when you think about it, especially since the last time I checked, the fans most likely to pack this festival tend to be of the “tree-hugging” philosophy anyway…
It looks like some new Lollapalooza dates have been announced, with tickets going on sale as early as May 31st weekend:
Syracuse – Vernon Downs Raceway – Vernon, NY – July 26
New York – Tommy Hilfiger at Jones Beach – Wantagh, NY – July 30
West Palm Beach – Sound Advice Amphitheatre – W. Palm Beach, FL – August 5
Dallas – Smirnoff Music Centre – Dallas, TX – August 8
Albuquerque – Journal Pavilion – Albuquerque, NM – August 12
Denver – Fiddlers Green Amphitheatre – Greenwood Village, CO – August 13
Phoenix Cricket Pavilion – Phoenix, AZ – August 15
Los Angeles – Hyundai Pavilion at Glen Helen – San Bernardino, CA – August 16
The latest acts, according to Lollapalooza.com are Jane’s Addiction, Audioslave, Jurassic 5, Incubus, Queens of the Stone Age, A Perfect Circle, The Donnas, Cold, The Distillers, and the Blender Second Stage.
Also, for more information on some NY metropolitan area concerts and music festivals, check out this listing on VillageVoice.com.
Fun With Spellchecker!
This one’s kind’ve interesting:
I typed: “Bonnaroo”
Spellchecker’s suggested replacements: “Bonanza” or…. “Boner”
Well, maybe for SOME…
peace. love. moe.
– Matt
Till My Head Falls Off can be found weekly on 411 Music (old columns are archived in the pull-down menu below). Already hit everything on 411? You can find more from Matthew Michaels at moodspins and 1-42.
