BoC & Drugs

[23degreesdream]

Does anyone else here appreciate the miserable, harsh comedown from certain substances--the kind that makes you feel utterly lonely and as if there is no hope for the universe, but at the same time you find reality somehow beautiful, and actually find it musically inspiring? The kind where your soul is rent to pieces yet somehow it feels good?

Some of the greatest moments of my life have been during really bad hangovers.

I find exactly this. In the middle of the strange mental wilderness of a comedown/hangover I find myself really inspired and fascinated, particularly by spaces, buildings, natural surroundings. I find myself noticing things about the environment i live in that i didn't before. Despite feeling anxious, depressed, paranoid or just emotionally dulled and physically drained. It's like through the fog some of my senses are dulled while others are very accute and aware to compensate.

[Fireal420]

Does anyone else here appreciate the miserable, harsh comedown from certain substances--the kind that makes you feel utterly lonely and as if there is no hope for the universe, but at the same time you find reality somehow beautiful, and actually find it musically inspiring? The kind where your soul is rent to pieces yet somehow it feels good?

Some of the greatest moments of my life have been during really bad hangovers.

I find exactly this. In the middle of the strange mental wilderness of a comedown/hangover I find myself really inspired and fascinated, particularly by spaces, buildings, natural surroundings. I find myself noticing things about the environment i live in that i didn't before. Despite feeling anxious, depressed, paranoid or just emotionally dulled and physically drained. It's like through the fog some of my senses are dulled while others are very accute and aware to compensate.

i am trying to put something into words, and simply cant. ive been sitting here typing, but hitting the backspace button over and over, cause i cant get the words to explain the feeling.


music usually triggers memories for me. i begin to remember different parts of my past. or different emotions from when i was younger. i usually dont even need music. just sitting here right now i can think about different places or people from my past, and begin to feel a very strong natural high. i wish i could explain it more, but its one of those things that i cant put into words.. i just know that my life has been very blessed and that i love being able to embrace these feelings when i can.

[TaoTapeTao]

This has happened to me before as well. Music I think for most people has a strong connection with it's context because listening to certain music always triggers memories- whatever they be.

And yeah like rodheh said, Boc have a very distinct psychedelic influence in there music. I don't even mean "psychedelic music" in the traditional sense, more like their music has components of the actual experience of being on the drug. They've even expressed their use of psychedelics in interviews, lol. But that's not to say that drugs are central to their music, and high or not, their stuff is brilliant.

[Snufkin]

Does anyone else here appreciate the miserable, harsh comedown from certain substances--the kind that makes you feel utterly lonely and as if there is no hope for the universe, but at the same time you find reality somehow beautiful, and actually find it musically inspiring? The kind where your soul is rent to pieces yet somehow it feels good?

Some of the greatest moments of my life have been during really bad hangovers.

I find exactly this. In the middle of the strange mental wilderness of a comedown/hangover I find myself really inspired and fascinated, particularly by spaces, buildings, natural surroundings. I find myself noticing things about the environment i live in that i didn't before. Despite feeling anxious, depressed, paranoid or just emotionally dulled and physically drained. It's like through the fog some of my senses are dulled while others are very accute and aware to compensate.

Yeah I get what you mean...

I wouldn't go so far as to say they have been some of the 'greatest moments of my life' mind, but certainly interesting and wired, in a weird way.

In particular, I remember a really bad hangover I had about a year ago. I was totally incapacitated the day after a night out, but I'd already slept for hours so strictly 'sleeping' wasn't really working. I laid down on my futon in this flat I had not long lived at, and I played this spoken-word piece of fiction I have on an LP, by Alan Moore, called 'Unearthing'. The story itself is a bit flawed, but it's really well-read by Alan Moore...

...the hangover and slipping in and out of consciousness just gave my imagination total fertility... I was dipping in and out of the story. At times it was so intense it was like a straight-up experience of what was being described.

I'd recommend audio-tape fiction to anyone on their next hangover (after the 'headachey' phase has passed...)

[saurus]

I seem to think that the drop in Happy Cycling was made specifically for when you exhale a massive bong hit of the ballingest dope ever.

[Fireal420]

I seem to think that the drop in Happy Cycling was made specifically for when you exhale a massive bong hit of the ballingest dope ever.

hahaha! i sure hope so.

[mondo swooper70]

Third time I got high (9th grade) my friends and I were camping out and they were in the tent and Chromakey Dreamcoat came on my portable speakers and I ran around outside the tent while they were inside and they had the craziest sensations, a friend did it for me after and it felt like the song was right next to my head. That night changed me. We forever refer to that night as "Chromakey Dreamcoat Night"

[Synthestesia]

Third time I got high (9th grade) my friends and I were camping out and they were in the tent and Chromakey Dreamcoat came on my portable speakers and I ran around outside the tent while they were inside and they had the craziest sensations, a friend did it for me after and it felt like the song was right next to my head. That night changed me. We forever refer to that night as "Chromakey Dreamcoat Night"

I need friends like that really bad

[cubistking1906]

Happy Cycling always reminded me of this:



Bicycle Day!

[TaoTapeTao]

I have a feeling that's what that songs about but I'll never be able to confirm it lol. It just seems like the transition in the song (which is incredibly trippy) is supposed resemble the transition that Albert Hoffman went through when he ingested what he believed to be a small dose but in actuality was a huge amount and his bike ride home was the peak of the craziness

I could be 100% wrong though.

[Jonse]

I've been thinking a bit about equating the albums to various psychoactive substances.

MHTRTC is like cannabis. Mild euphoria, lots of observation, moderate amounts of self-examination.

Geogaddi is like psilocybin. Moderate euphoria, albeit occasionally marred by immense amounts of self-examination. Very emotional. There are points of the album that seem reminiscent of dissociatives as well.

TCH is like opiates. Calm, collected and relaxed. Just kinda floating in the world and not really caring about too much.

An interesting thought.

[TaoTapeTao]

Huh, I see what you mean there.

If there is an album that could be compared to psychedelics, I'd say Geogaddi definitely takes the cake there. There are some absolutely beautiful and mysterious moments to that cd but also really dark and ominous points to, which to me correlates perfectly with those kinds of drugs. Not to say it's strictly a drug album though.

[Jonse]

Huh, I see what you mean there.

If there is an album that could be compared to psychedelics, I'd say Geogaddi definitely takes the cake there. There are some absolutely beautiful and mysterious moments to that cd but also really dark and ominous points to, which to me correlates perfectly with those kinds of drugs. Not to say it's strictly a drug album though.

Always felt that way after hearing it.

It's just like, there's that sort of thing that occurs several times throughout, one being the transition from In The Annexe to Julie and Candy, where the album goes from a moody, depressed sound to the beautiful sounds in Julie and Candy. It totally lines up with the process of realization, acceptance and improvement that occurs often in psychedelics use.

Perhaps even more interesting though is "Opening the Mouth" into "Alpha and Omega". It's like the spirit is being dissected from the physical body and transcending into something more evolved. It builds in a calm, windy sound as a requiem for what the spirit once was and then just drops (at about 0:03 of Alpha and Omega) back down to Earth. However the perspective is still fuzzy, and you're not quite entirely back until about 0:51 seconds in.

Ah, I love this album so much.

[TaoTapeTao]

Looks like I'll have to listen to this album all the way through again lol. It's about time.

[Amo Bishop Roden]

A few nights ago I had my first psychedelic experience in around 6 months (rough estimate) and it was easily the most personal and life changing trip I've ever had. A mass re-evaluation of my entire life, the choices I've made, the person I am, and my relationships with others. All of this was set to The Campfire Headphase, which had me pouring tears by the end. Seriously, nothing has ever made me cry as much as that, especially not music. Boards of Canada is truly a magical act.

[Cryabetes]

http://www.dailygalaxy.com/my_weblog/2008/05/space-euphoria.html

probably relevant to your interests

[cubistking1906]

Excellent article there. Thanks for the share.

[TaoTapeTao]

http://www.dailygalaxy.com/my_weblog/2008/05/space-euphoria.html

probably relevant to your interests

This is really interesting. For a while my personal philosophies/beliefs have revolved around basically everything that article talks about.

Honestly when I look any aspect of reality I see a working system, an organism I guess you could say and in any model there are other models or organisms that build from each other. From atoms to molecules to cells to organs to bodies to groups to cities etc. etc. Every aspect of life is interconnected and yields a larger working system or organism, and earth is no exception. We are a part of it. There really is just this inseparable quality in everything; everything works together to build form, and then that form builds more form and so on and so forth... yes I'm rambling.

[saturdayindex]

I've been thinking a bit about equating the albums to various psychoactive substances.

MHTRTC is like cannabis. Mild euphoria, lots of observation, moderate amounts of self-examination.

Geogaddi is like psilocybin. Moderate euphoria, albeit occasionally marred by immense amounts of self-examination. Very emotional. There are points of the album that seem reminiscent of dissociatives as well.

TCH is like opiates. Calm, collected and relaxed. Just kinda floating in the world and not really caring about too much.

An interesting thought.

Have to agree with you on this for the most part.

[cubistking1906]

I've studied a ton of Eastern philosophy and references to this experience of bliss arising from a perception of the interconnectedness of things at all levels can be found all the way back to to the ancient Hindu Vedas. What's most fascinating is that now this experience is starting to be referenced in discussions of quantum physics and here in the case of space exploration. One could even argue that such a sensation is the basis for all humanitarian thought and all humanitarian religions. (If everything is truly connected as a whole, then it makes a lot of sense that such an understanding could arise out of what one could refer to as very "separate" topics.)

I could only imagine the sensation of seeing Earth as a peaceful blue jewel amidst the cold empty darkness of space with a backdrop of twinkling stars. Just looking at pictures from space seems to put me at peace and renews some hope for our species, or at least our reality as conscious creatures.

And as an aside, bravo to you Amo Bishop Roden for tripping out to The Campfire Headphase. I too have been brought to tears (mostly happy ones) by the end of that album, and I'm always astounded at how much comforting warmth the album radiates when undertaking a mental voyage. By the end I always feel very much reborn and much more tuned into the natural beauty of life itself.