who tf names a song rat salad

Paranoid-Black Sabbath

ozzy osbourne is a strange motherfucker.**

however, i'm blessed by his druggie antics because if he, geezer butler, tony lommi, and bill ward weren't bat shit crazy then the world wouldn't have this gem of an album; i mean, it is useful for literally any life situation. need to vent? listen to "war pigs." need to cry? listen to "rat salad." need to kill a bitch? "iron man" has your back. there is nothing this album can't accomplish.

regarding this album accomplishing things, this was black sabbath's make or break album. their first one was relatively successful and allowed them to go on tour for a good bit, but their families still did not trust that they were going to do well in music- and frankly, neither did their fans.  they wrote this eight-track album in an impressive six weeks while on tour and the majority of the songs were written in a bathroom while they were on some serious drugs...this is consequently obvious in those songs.  Ironically, the three most impressive and notable songs on the album were an afterthought in the writing process. “war pigs”, “iron man”, and “paranoid” were written in about twenty-five minutes each only because they didn’t think they had enough songs on the album.  each of these tracks later became the band’s most famous pieces and even topped the UK charts at some point.

the late-60s, early 70s music was a new wave of rock and the gradual beginnings of heavy metal.  black sabbath was competing with bands like aerosmith, led zepplin, acdc, queen, etc., so in order for the band to do well in this time they needed to create their own unique sound.  black sabbath did just that and more, later being dubbed as the inventors of heavy metal.  their angsty tone, freaky lyrics, stringed together guitars, interesting backstory, and a drum that was forefront of the music turned the world from the who and sir paul’s “original metal piece”- “helter skelter”- into a surge of ozzy osbourne screaming at us about drugs, war, and satan.  

another way this album really defined the heavy metal scene was the way they graced us with it’s presence.  while, yes, the music is obviously metal af, the band intentionally included a wave of blues, jazz, and classical music.  while one might not be able to initially hear it when listening to the songs, if you pay attention to the way the music combines together, it is smooth and articulate to a point where if there weren’t weird lyrics and an electric guitar this could easily be a bluesy-rock album.  this flows into how the music at the time was mostly about love.  the early 60’s was all about “flower power” and making the day full of sunshine- again this also has to do with the background of war and drugs.  but black sabbath put a brand new twist on war and drugs by making the lyrics dark and showing what could be considered the true side of those two infamous things.  

the album’s title track “paranoid” was the biggest filler on the album, yet is their only song to make the UK top 10.  “paranoid” sets the stage for the entire album as it focuses on the difference between the paranoia one gets when they are doing drugs then followed by the depression it causes afterwards.  the rest of the album follows this lead by taking different situations and hallucinations one can see when they are on drugs and mixing them with a trip out, happy piece, and then the depression that follows-and that the band was facing. Some of the “scenarios” caused by drugs include war- “war pigs”, “hand of doom”, and “jack the stripper.” a crazy man killing everyone thinking he’s a superhero- “iron man.”, satan taking over one’s mind- “planet caravan” and “electric funeral.”  then finally a surplus of craziness with a tweak- out instrumental piece accompanying the, previously mentioned, paranoia and depression caused by drugs- “rat salad” and “paranoid”.

these songs being so deep and crazy in their meaning is what makes them a phenomenal song to toke out too.  while my last album, meddle, by pink floyd was classically trippy in the way the instruments and synthesizers laced together, paranoid, is trippy in the facet of it’s lyrics.  as previously mentioned, these songs describe the crazy shit you see when you’re high as a kite, thus it makes it an interesting piece to smoke to. actually listening to it-lyrics and all- on a normal day is freaky enough as it is but when you’re stoned af, it might just cause the largest existential crisis and-duly named-paranoia-case you’ll ever have.

**look at the damn title


i don't want to think about jack stripping

meddling mofos

meddle- pink floyd

**that's some serious artwork

as previously mentioned, one of the most classically known artists to get high to is pink floyd.  at first, i was going to review their album The Wall...until i learned the back story of it and realized that it is one of their few albums with a pretty intense history (it was also 43 songs and no one wants to sit through that).  after some research, deep soul searching, and long walks to listen to each album, i found that the album, Meddle, released in 1971 is a solid beginner album for the rookie toker.

initially listening to this album, i was pleasantly surprised by how short it was, that all came to a halt when i found out how long half of the songs are- the length of the six-song album was the same as an average thirteen song album.  that shocker was then surpassed because of how fundamentally wicked all of these songs are.  i had never heard of any of them but one- "San Tropez" - so to hear all of them together and then back to back was phenomenal. there is a deep af meaning to this album and it's so subjectively awesome that i listened to it six times in one day.

the first song on the album, "One of These Days", is an almost six-minute slur of craziness.  the intense wind in the beginning of the song will tweak out even a sane mind,  but when it switches into the catchy, foot-tapping bass line things really start to pick up.  the guitarist kicks into an almost led-zeppliny rift for a few minutes until the classic, trippy pink floyd style kicks in.  a creepy discord in all instruments present surrounded by what sounds like jabba-the-hutt talking in murmers takes over the middle of the song until full-fledged guitar and a classic rock vibe encompasses the rest of the piece.  this solely instrumental song is not only trippy but extremely enjoyable no matter what your current state of mind is.

the second song of the album is "A Pillow of Winds."  pink floyd continuously straddles the line between having audiences falling asleep and having a severe existential crisis. this song really dances along that line and personally pushes my mental capacity.  the ethereally-smooth vocals hold in front of simple instrumentation. this combination initially seems to have no connection, but they somehow make it beautiful with a hint of "i need to rethink my life."

the third song on the album is "Fearless."  while the previous song minimally defined itself as the "existential crisis" part of pink floyd's known noise, this one takes on the other side of that line and makes me fall asleep. other than the soccer-like chanting at the end of the song, this one can be put in the category of "tweaked out ballad"- the music itself is ethereal and subtly tranquil, but i didn't see the point of it on this album.

the fourth song on the album is "San Tropez."  if you're going to get periodically high to a song on this album- this is it. it's one of the shortest songs, but it has a catchy enough beginning to keep you flowing and swaying your body. the ethereal and twilight-zoney synthesizer will have a toker rolling to this shit.  the only thing i don't understand about this song is the piano. i don't know what compelled them to put it in there, but...i guess it works cause the song is bonkers.

the fifth song is "Seamus."  if there is a song to come down from your high on, it's this one.  psychedelic enough to maybe keep you in your high long enough to finish the next grueling song but creepy enough- cue dog barking?- to maybe knock you right out of it.  as usual, there is a strong bass line and background lyrics that are practically incoherent, but this one really stands out with how soft they made those qualities,  which is what makes this song strangely beautiful. 

the final, and longest song on the album is "Echoes."  this almost twenty-five minute song is easily a culmination of every song on their album (and arguably, every song on all of their albums).  this song passes the line of creepy and dives directly into psychedelically freaky. however, i still listened to it five times last night.  it is trippy as it is scary and that is what makes it absolutely the best stoner tune on this album.  it will last for the better half of your high, and the real-life lyrics can keep you going into your come-down. the song is well-balanced with the guitarists, strong bass line (as usual), synthesizers, good lyrics, and whatever creepy triangle-sounding noise is playing in the background. the pick-up towards the end of the song is my favorite part because, for once, the instruments aren't in discord and actually play with respect to each other.  this is when you hear just how good of a band pink floyd is- they just choose to appear the opposite.  but, of course, that shit continuously works for them.


ya meddling kids

Songs to Listen to When You're Stoned AF

well hello.  my name is katherine and i have no idea what i want to do with my life.  i am a failed mechanical engineering student, then economics (but then realized i really hate calculus), then political science (then realized i missed the tech world), so now i am back in the school of engineering with computer information systems and a minor in business management.  with that being said i am a people person.  people are cool and i like figuring them out psychologically and socially.  one of the best ways to get inside of a person's head and really figure out what they are like is through music. what a person listens to is a gateway to their brain and how they think or even what they do in their daily lives.  for instance, ignorant rap could be for someone that wants to not think deeply when they listen to music and instead listen to a guy screaming about how he can't keep his dick in his pants, alternatively, alternative music could be for someone that, while they enjoy the mix between pop and rock music of the new generation, they enjoy looking deeper into the way a song is made and what the artists intentions for it are.  the main genre of music i will be focusing on, though, is classic rock.  of course classic rock rubs well with people who were either raised in that generation or people who appreciate what the generation held (in my opinion it held the promise of a new technological era).  i am going to flip those, however, and portray some known classic rock artists into artists to get high too. as previously mentioned, i enjoy getting into people's heads- lets see how you can handle tripping out to these rock gods.

just to test the waters