Junkies on the Run

This week I have been inspired to create a mix that matches the winter landscape of the dreary Pacific Northwest. This is due partly to my moods being affected by several days of continuously dismal weather, and partly because I have been listening to the Bob Dylan's Theme Time Radio Hour show on XM radio. If you haven't heard this show yet, do yourself a favor and check it out. Bob has an extensive knowledge of music and he focuses on a different theme each week. Thus far, he has covered themes such as flowers, food, jail and weather in his mixes. Here is a link to a site that offers them all for free download.













My theme today is on the drug heroin. We all know that heroin has played a significant part in destroying the lives of many talented musicians such as Billie Holiday, John Coltrane, Charlie Parker, Kurt Cobain and Miles Davis. It hooks you, reels you in and then spits you back out into your own personal hell, fending for yourself in the darkened corners of your mind. Heroin has also served as the spark which inspired these iconoclastic figures to create such amazing work. I'm not condoning the use of heroin or suggesting that anyone should try it. I'm merely stating that a lot of the most mind-bendingly amazing work has come from artists who were hooked on drugs like heroin. That which inspires isn't always the best thing for us.

Here is a medley of songs in the spirit of Bob Dylan's Them Time Radio Hour dealing with the theme of heroin.
Champion Jack Dupree- Junker Blues
Velvet Underground- Heroin

Elliott Smith- Needle in the Hay

Jolie Holland- Old Fashioned Morphine

Gun Club- She's Like Heroin to Me

Comments

Anonymous said…
Man...Thanks for The Theme Time Links! I've been wanting to listen to his show and never got around to finding it on-line. FANTASTIC!
6:00 PM
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