Drugs and rock 'n' roll seem to go hand-in-hand like two estranged lovers walking through a park of dead flowers, confused by its demented beauty but infatuated nonetheless.
The relationship of drugs and music has long been romanticized since the emergence of the rock god in the late 1970s after the transcendental mind expansion of the 1960s had faded from the scene.
But the relationship that was once widely revered or loathed is now lurking in the shadows under the new guard of musicians like a diseased toenail ' out of sight, out of mind.
Sure, it still exists, but to what extent? Pete Doherty of the Babyshambles, fresh out of rehab as of Tuesday, is a known addict. Yet this seems to be his claim to fame.
Despite the fact that he has music worthy of attention, his lifestyle has become a mockery. Log onto RollingStone.com and check out the Doherty Watch
a daily record of his days in and out of rehab and arrests.
Forty years ago Doherty would have been chastised for his drug use but still would have been noticed for his music. Nevertheless, he's doing something right, considering the fact that he walks the streets with the breathtaking Kate Moss on his arm.
Are contemporary musicians hiding their scarlet A's of abuse or merely, as the government would have you do, just saying no? Or could it be another reason?
Legendary ax man and chemical connoisseur Keith Richards of the best band that ever tumbled the dice of decadence recently said in an interview with Q magazine that he's given up drugs because the quality's gone down. All they do is try and take the high out of everything.
If anyone were to know the current state of our chemicals, it would be this Rolling Stone who once stated, I don't have a problem with drugs. I have a problem with police.
Richards did admit to scamming a little bit more (morphine) out of the night nurse during his recent hospital stay in Fiji.
Earlier in the week, Willie Nelson, who infamously smoked weed on the White House rooftop, was arrested for possession of approximately 1 1/2 pounds of marijuana and roughly two-tenths of a pound of mushrooms on his tour bus.
Leave it to the fathers of rock 'n' roll to show today's youngsters how to get things done. 17
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Collin Minnis
