Tag Archives: drugs

Gene Vincent Lives

Today we celebrate the birthday of one of rock ‘n’roll’s original madmen: Gene Vincent embodied sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll about a decade before the emergence of an American generation that would take hold of those values and recreate world culture in a new era of freedom and expression. By 1969 Vincent was a [...]

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Coven!

In 1999, the documentary film American Movie captured the day-to-day struggles of Milwaukee based independent filmmaker Mark Borchardt. At the beginning of the film, Borchardt outlines a feature film he’s struggling to make. That film is called Northwestern, but Borchardt switches gears and decides to finish his short film ,Coven, in hopes that a successfully [...]

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MC5 on Film

For every rock band that makes it big there are a million others that disappear unnoticed. However, there is also a rock band of a third kind: A band that makes a deep, narrow mark in its time that influences musicians for decades to come. The Velvet underground is a great example of this kind [...]

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Opium: A History

Tracing the roots of the opium poppy all the way back to its likely origins in Mesopotamia in 4000 BC, this episode of Addicted to Pleasure takes a look at the plant, it’s pharmaceutical derivatives and society’s ambivalent relationship with the substance. In its pure form, the milky sap of an opium poppy has been [...]

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Jane’s Addiction: Gifted

In the late ’80′s and early 90′s, Jane’s Addiction brought the druggy, draggy Los Angeles underground sound to mainstream audiences with a trio of unforgettable albums: Jane’s Addiction (1987), the classic Nothing’s Shocking (1988) and Ritual de lo Habitual (1990). The fact that Jane’s guitar player Dave Navarro claims to have no recollection of recording [...]

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Supermodel. Rock Star. Junky. Nico. Icon.

Nico was a fashion model, an actress and a siger/songwriter who is best known for her time with The Velvet Underground and her contributions to their debut album The Velvet Underground and Nico. The Warhol Superstar is familiar to cinephiles for her gorgeous turns in Fellini’s La Dolce Vita and Warhol’s Chelsea Girls. Christa Päffgen [...]

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Grant Books Spare

A controversial magician and writer, Kenneth Grant left his mark on the landscape of modern occultism. Grant’s book The Magical Revival plays a seminal role in the interpretation of H.P. Lovecraft’s mythos – casting the fantastic tales as spiritual revelations and not just creepy monster epics. Grant also takes credit for bringing the occultist/artist Austin [...]

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Sesame Street Hustle

Hello friends, Have you ever noticed that Oscar the Grouch looks like he’s made outta weed? Seriously. Of course, I don’t think this is intentional. Frank Oz probably had a run of the green shaggy stuff laying around and the rest is history. Along with groovy music and the kind of social awareness that came [...]

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