The Age Old Question: A Podcast for Music Fans · Rich Price and Clint Bierman

What Is The Greatest Reference To Drugs In A Song?

November 6, 2024·35 min·2 clips

Semi-Charmed Life hides verses about crystal meth behind a bright 1997 pop chorus.

1. The Age Old Question asks what is the best reference to drugs in a song, and Rich Price and Clint Beerman frame the topic around songs inspired by drug use. 2. Rich Price and Clint Beerman host the show, and their back-and-forth matters because they keep comparing lyric writing, cultural memory, and personal favorites. 3. The episode sets out to choose the best drug reference in a song, using examples that range from cocaine to heroin to marijuana. 4. The first major example is The Weeknd's 'I Can't Feel My Face,' which they call a thinly veiled ode to cocaine. 5. They say 'I Can't Feel My Face' stayed at number one for three weeks in 2015 and note Michael Jackson's influence on the track. 6. Neil Young's 'The Needle and the Damage Done' comes next, and the hosts point out that it appears on Harvest and was also the B-side to 'Old Man.' 7. They identify the recording as a live version from Royce Hall at UCLA in January 1971. 8. Rich reads Neil Young's introduction about seeing musicians whose careers were cut short by heroin. 9. Third Eye Blind's 'Semi-Charmed Life' is presented as a 1997 pop song that hides verses about crystal meth behind a bright chorus. 10. Clint says he had played the song '150 times' before noticing how explicit lines like 'chop another line' actually are. 11. Tom Petty's 'You Don't Know How It Feels' gets attention for the lyric change from 'let's roll another joint' to 'let's hit another joint' on MTV, VH1, and radio. 12. They say Rick Rubin heard the home demo during the Wildflowers sessions, after the band had already recorded about 26 or 27 songs. 13. The hosts also connect the drumbeat to Steve Miller's 'The Joker,' and mention Dave Grohl playing the song with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers on Saturday Night Live. 14. Jefferson Airplane's 'White Rabbit' is described as an Alice in Wonderland song that is really about hallucinogens and the 1960s. 15. Rich mentions 'Two Joints' by Sublime as another marijuana reference and talks about matching Alice in Wonderland with Dark Side of the Moon. 16. Ben Harper's 'Burn One Down' is described as a 1995 track from Fight for Your Mind, and they quote its argument that if you are causing no harm, it should not bother anyone. 17. The tone is conversational and reference-heavy, with the hosts moving quickly from song clips to anecdotes, production notes, and lyric readings. 18. The format mixes list-making, memory, and short side discussions about comments and internet clips, so the pace stays loose and informal. 19. Listeners who like classic rock lyrics and music trivia will likely enjoy this episode. 20. Listeners who want a focused deep dive on one artist may skip it. 21. The episode also includes honorable mentions like Prince's 'Sign of the Times,' Little Feat's 'Willin',' and The Beatles' 'Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.'

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