Unhealthy Obsessions that led to psychic decline
 

My friend can't listen to eighties metal anymore because when he does he descends into a mindset dominated by junk food, lager and basic silliness that gets in the way of work, being a dad, hygiene, to the extent that he now visibly shudders at the merest mention of the names Diamond Head and Tygers of Pan Tang.

I have the same problem with Eyehategod and Crowbar.

Any other bad musical obsessions that you now fear returning to in case they lead to downward-spiral-itas - usually marked by lifestyle dodginess and general mental decay?

Drum n' bass. Someone made me a mix CD with loads on recently, and it just makes me want to take masses of gurners. I can listen to pilly music, but not DnB.

The Smiths

I was really into them as a teen. Thankfully I had the good sense of being into many other things too, so now I can't bear listening to their records without feeling comatose. They were a great band, but I came to the conclusion I only really like the music and loathe Morrisey, his lyrics, his persona etc. It's been easy to reach this conclusion 'cause I wish some people would give me a fucking break about the man.

On the other hand I have developed a strong affinity with punk/hardcore in the past two years which I had never really felt so much before.

the smiths have one of the worst drummers i've ever heard

I did used to really like The Smiths, but not in an unhealthy way. Although I did dabble with vegetarianism for about an hour after listening to Meat is Murder, leading to weird skin issues. So maybe it was.

i could name a few of the drummers in bands you like that are shitty , yet we like to turn a deaf ear when overall everything sounds just about right, don't we?

If a band has an incredible drummer, it's noticeable and enjoyable. But if the drummer sucks, it doesn't really matter. As long as he can keep a beat with the snare on 3, the others can work around it.

I have that same issue with Pink Floyd's THE WALL.

I became obseessed with it at age 13-14, watched the movie too muhc, listened to the album too much, and was in just a very negative depressed , suicidal place. (middle school was the pit of hell at the time) and to this day I cannot listen to anything off the WALL, especially RUN LIKE HELL without my mind leaning towards that dark void that I worked so hard to escape from.

Listening to the Sisters of Mercy at 16 convinced me that wearing cheap reflective mirror shades and pointy suede winklepicker boots that fell apart after 2 months was a grand idea. Add to the fact that I thought that Andrew Eldritch was a truly immense talent of a singer, leads to a Melly obsessed with wanting to be a bloody Leeds goth himself. Fact - I actually got into playing guitar because I used to have dreams of playing onstage with Wayne Hussey! Thank God I was also listening to Big Black and the Butthole Surfers at the same time...

Rob - Christ, I also remember going through a bunch of personal shit a few years back, and on listening to "The Thin Ice" (A LOT), would break down. I can still listen to "The Wall" on the whole, but there's some odd and not entirely pleasant memories that said record holds for me.

The Wall seems to be a big one for those that've dipped a toe into the dark side. I've never actually heard it, which is probably for the best.
Especially when I was spending a whole summer two years ago smoking silly amounts of weed, eating spaghetti on toast and listening to this and this, fucking constantly. Scary times.


Ah yes. When Shelley's in Oxford Street seemed like the answer to all of our 'alternative' aspirations.

Wow, this is an awesome thread.

Eh...sigh. Apologies because they are a band mentioned overmuch. Alas, I was a teen in the late nineties.
But smashing pumpkins definately pull me back someplace I dont want to be anymore. Somewhere that wasnt quite real - nostalgia for something that never happened. At the time, it signified endless youth and cherishing the pain of every movement. But after its over, there is that bitterness to ignore, like a shadow to kick off with hind legs.

I dunno. I guess I don't enjoy listening to any riot grrl stuff (not that there's much good in that, uh, "genre" anyway) because a girl I dated ONLY listened to that shit. Either way, regardless of anything, Kathleen Hanna sucks.

Do you have it out for most female vocalists now?

sugar - the substance - is basically what I have to watch out for to avoid depression, although cheap shit, nutritionally stripped pseudo-food like say hyperprocessed crackers or chips are also bad.

No.

this. I too blame Morrisey.

....

thank gawd I can still listen to the Sisters of Mercy.

no that guy makes the rest of the band sound worse, i listen to plenty of music made by people who aren't "good" musicians, but the drummer from the smiths, and the bassist too to be honest, are just fucking depressing.

yeah but when you have a good guitarist and a distinctive singer having a worthless rhythm section is just idiotic, i mean if you can play with flair or imagination why would you want a pair of inspid fucks like the smiths rhythm section in your band?

Mike Joyce's drumming may not have been all that spectacular but Andy Rourke has always struck me as an excellent bass player. Some of his playing on the The Queen is Dead album is really quite brilliant.

When I listen to Echo & the Bunnymen, particularly Porcupine and Heaven Up Here, I do start to feel rather like I'm high on acid and sometimes come close to having flashbacks. It doesn't make me become an 18 year old fry head again, but I does remind me vividly of how great it felt.

I can't really listen to Mudhoney properly without getting drunk, which is not something I have much time to do these days. It's not like hearing "Touch Me I'm Sick" or "In and Out of Grace" will make me into a raging drunk, but it would taken an inordinate amount of dark beer to make me really have that feeling of watching them ring in New Year's Eve at the Central Tavern in 1989 by covering the Stooges classic and changing the date. Realistically, I'd be hung over for a week just trying to get there.

As for the Smiths, never my thing (I've gone in the reverse direction of Pork Marras in that I can appreciate them now, while then I was "too punk", which is of course laughable). Even with a newfound appreciation for the pop skills of the band, I always end up wanting to shove a sock in Morrisey's mouth before long. I've never been struck one way or the other by the drummer, except to think the drum part on "How Soon is Now" is exceptionally cool (though I'm sure it was completely put together in the studio).

Heheh.

HEAVEN UP HERE is awesome. I recently sold about 150 cd's and that was the only one I regretted selling...

There should be a separate thread for stuff you regret selling. I'd be afraid to admit hereabouts the vinyl I let go when I decided I just couldn't stand the space it took up anymore (this was around '96, I also stopped collecting books I'd already read and anything else I'd ever collected really, except show flyers, God help me, I kept all of those...)