3 Songs About Drugs and 3 Songs That Aren’t

Jill Harness — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 00:13:48 +0000

Yes, we all know music largely revolves around sex, drugs and rock and roll, but sometimes it’s hard to actually tell which one the band is talking about. Here are six songs with meanings you may not have originally guessed.

Songs About Drugs:

“Got To Get You Into My Life” by The Beatles
This track really sounds like a love song written for a love interest with lyrics like, “Ooh, I suddenly see you/Ooh, did I need you/Every single day of my life.” Despite how it sounds though, this one is about the first time Paul tried marijuana and his instant love affair with the drug. What more would you expect from soneone who also named a romantic love song (Martha My Dear) after his dog?
Source Image Via Gonzalo Barrientos [Flickr]

“Motorhead” by Hawkwind and Motorhead
Even a lot of Motorhead fans don’t actually know that the name is a slang for a speedfreak. Lemmy wrote the song for the group Hawkwind first and then took it to be the title song for his post-Hawkwind group. Here’s some of the song’s lyrics that really give it away, “Motorhead, you can call me Motorhead, alright/ Brain dead, total amnesia/ Get some mental anesthesia.”
Source

“Hey Mr. Tambourine Man” by Bob Dylan
This one’s a little less certain. You see, although it is widely accepted that this song is about a man looking to score from his dealer, Bob claims none of his songs are about drug use. While I’m usually inclined to accept the artist’s word on his own songs, Mr. Dylan also claims that “Rainy Day Women # 12 & 35” A.K.A. “Everybody Gets Stoned” is especially not about drugs. I may be able to concede that he may have meant the song to be more about stonings and social outcasting, I have a hard time accepting a poet as prolific and intelligent as Bob Dylan didn’t realize and fully intend the double meaning of the chorus.
Source Image Via MarkyBon [Flickr]

Songs Not About Drugs:

“Hotel California” by The Eagles
With lyrics like “you can check out anytime, but you can never leave,” it’s easy to see why so many people associated the song with drug use. The reality is that the song is more about the hedonism of the Southern California lifestyle the group was exposed to in the seventies, which, to be fair, did include heavy drug use. Still, the drugs would be no more than a minor part of the song’s deeper meaning. Eagles drummer and writer Don Henley, said it was “basically a song about the dark underbelly of the American dream and about excess in America, which is something we knew a lot about.”
Source Image Via Saguayo [Flickr]

“Mirror in the Bathroom” by The English Beat
While many people assume any songs involving mirrors, particularly when the mirror is in a bathroom, must be references to cocaine, this one is actually about narcissism. The writer, Dave Wakeling, said he was inspired to write the song while he was looking in the mirror at himself debating whether or not he could skip work that day. He then started thinking about the self-involvement and narcissism. The line about “a restaurant that’s got glass tables” was actually a direct reference to a fancy restaurant that opened near him that, would you guess it, had glass tables. Funny enough, the success of the song may have helped lead the band into cocaine addictions; Dave later remarked about it that, “songs can become sort of strangely prophetic.”
Source

“Puff the Magic Dragon” by Peter, Paul and Mary
This song really is about a growing up and abandoning an imaginary friend who happens to be a dragon. Although it’s merely a tale of lost childhood innocence, the release of the song in the drug-fueled sixties led to many people assuming that anything with the word “puff” was actually a reference to marijuana. Co-writer Leonard Lipton once said, “I can tell you that at Cornell in 1959 [when the song was written], no one smoked grass.” So, if you were hoping for the song to actually have been about drugs, you almost certainly have already lost that childhood innocence referenced in the song.
Source Image Via CelestialSpirit13 [Flickr]

Diamond Albums

Miss Cellania — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 16:21:43 +0000

Today’s Lunchtime Quiz at mental_floss is another music quiz to promote the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame giveaway, where you could win a trip for two to the Hall of Fame induction ceremonies in Cleveland. The RIAA certifies an album as “diamond” when 10 million copies are sold in the US. 104 albums by 69 artists have been certified as diamond. Can you name those 69 artists in 5 minutes? I don’t think so. I got 22 and I felt like kicking myself when I saw the answers! Link

Who's Got Your Back?

Miss Cellania — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 19:03:23 +0000

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland will formally induct new members April 3-4. In honor of the occasion, today’s Lunchtime Quiz at mental_floss challenges you to match up some hit songs of the past with the famous background vocalists that sang on them. I scored miserably, but it brought back some fine memories. After you try the quiz, enter the mental_floss sweepstakes to win a trip for two to see the Hall of Fame induction ceremonies in person! Link

Update: The quiz wasn’t working earlier, but it’s been fixed now.

Wanna Buy The Big Bopper's Casket?

Jill Harness — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 18:33:18 +0000

If your goal in life is to own the most tasteless rock memorabilia, then you best be heading to eBay soon. The Big Bopper was moved to a new casket recently and that means his previously used casket is now up for sale on the internet.

The casket is in good condition, having some minor rust damage and a little lime sentiment that shows water once entered the outside vault, although it seems the interior never suffered water damaged.

If you’d like to see the item in person before you place a bid, it is currently on display in the Texas Musicians Museum.