What drugs do you use to enhance your listening experience?

I agree with raymonda that music itself is a drug. You may try to make your best to see and feel that (without using any drag). When I listen to music at night in my living room, I usually take some glasses of tee (green or sometimes black) that makes me more relaxed. And when I switch on my studio system in the mornings I do yoga asanas and try to connect the music I hear with what I feel while doing the postures. So try to make your best to substitute drags with something else (having a similar outcome), in particular, with music. 

Red wine is fine!

...and I thank you for accepting my apology. *S*

"The closet door banged open, shrieking, and all sorts of Things landslid into the space..."
My, look at all these skeletons. And all the abstainers look on in horror.  *G*  "Jez, Why?"  Because it's there?  Some of us are perhaps doing a public service, keeping these things out of the hands of those who abuse them.
(Please Note: That was a joke.  My rationale perhaps, but I digress..)
Listening to music is a pretty safe thing to do.  How is up to the listener, and it's all subjective IMHO of any listening state chosen.  We do, and will do, what we like.  As long as nothing becomes mandatory.  And one remains relatively civil and civilized about it.

125 db at the end of a dirt road, cool.  Next door, 3am, NO.  Deal? *L*
No deal; I retaliate with waveform inversion and nobody hears nothing until thermal overload and someone's windows turn to sand....

Hmm....I oughta try that...;)

Where's the Myth Busters when I need them?

Some of you could be professional humorists. Very much enjoyed this thread! After so many rock and R&B concerts the best drug is a homeopathic formula called "Clear Tinnitus". You don't know loud until you sit in the 4th row at a Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes concert.

Alcohol makes me beer-goggle my system so i cant trust my judgement.  Drugs would probably have me decide something is wrong, unhook all the cables, rearrange everything, and wake up in the morning with the speakers pointed backwards.  I mostly stick to espresso and early morning listening. 

I think Prozac or any SSRI would help most philes enjoy their systems more by nuking OCD tendencies.....

50,000 or so deaths attributed directly to alcohol use annually (just in the U.S.), zero deaths attributed to pot. Zero.

My system is so good i don't need drugs it puts me on an Audiophile high!!!!

Hi, my name is Tostados and I'm a recovering audioholic...

Wolf, I have a hard time believing that I'm the only person who felt that daily smoking was bad for my lungs.  After a really bad bout of bronchitis I tried to go back to regular use and it was a mistake.  I'm glad I got out when I did and I'll be surprised if, when data is available, we don't find that a lot of people are wrecking their lungs with pot.  The new vaporizers should help a lot in that regard.  Time will tell.

First things first: I am oldskool and beer/Stoli/cigar is my poison. My take here is: what do u listen to when "relaxing" vs your usual self?
Right now, going thru six-pack of Hofbrau "diluted" with Stoli I am totally immersed in Enigma, Bee Gees and Yello!!  Tomorrow, for a hangover, it will be LP of Shamal by Gong followed by my usuals of Klaus Schulze, Richter, Brahms under Bohm, ECM albums...

The biggest financial and time expense for this audio hobby is the dedicated music room. One of lifes pleasures is to indulge occasionally in your favorite drink (for me), whatever for you, and know, you will not get thrown out of the joint, at the end of the night. In fact you can also sleep in your room if you want to. My recommendation is try not to make this habit forming.....

OP said.

Too much alcohol will increase my enjoyment (because I’m drunk)

This is also when the digital only guys start saying their bits and bytes sound better than analog....... :^)

Tostados, 'bout a decade ago I read a report in the Houston Chronicle, buried in the back of section A, regarding the results of a study on regular pot smokers.  Seems they had a lower incidence of lung cancer.  Now, since it was a university doing that study, one could claim a bias buried in there ('damn kidz'). *G*  Shared that news with my 'source' at the time, and he wasn't surprised at all....

"You know how you cough with that first hit?  All the junk you bark up?"

Yeah...

"Well...it's probably not all from weed, don'tcha think?"

Now, wouldn't that be nifty.  Another selling point....*LOL*  IMHO, anything and everything seems to have a hidden cost, some not so hidden.  Something that makes your head happy is likely rotting your butt in some obscure fashion.  So, pick your poison or not, enjoy the toys in the mindset of your preference.  That's the point, I thought...;)  Soar with the angels now, since the devil will get his due eventually anyway.
Play on...



































































































ion,

...and I don't know how that happened.  I'm not 'high' nor 'low' @ this moment.  Although that might be a cure for Monday mornings...;)

I also see nothing wrong using pot or any cannabis. It's medicine that fights a HUGE number of diseases. It increases life longevity as no other medicine indeed.

Ambian, shot (or two) of Vodka and a well placed (spot) light directly above the spinning record puts forth a rather psychedelic light show on my ceiling...Not to mention I can watch the Head Shell travel the album so my stylus doesn't get jacked up by the label!

golfer boy

What a cool city to live in. Have visited several times. Just love it. Red wine is my thing now. Doctors order you know. I have a little shop in Bellingham WA so if you are ever in Vancouver and have time to visit let me know. Or take the ferry to Seattle and drive up through B'ham. Enough dispensaries in this town to get Vancouver Island stoned for at least a month. Coffee too and every week is beer week here. Good beer. 

Bring you clubs. 

So, hi-fi is a sort of gateway drug. You buy a turntable, and the next thing you know, you are shooting junk. :)
I dunno. I've been sober for going on 30 years, but back in the day, everybody got stoned to listen to music.
Whatever floats your boat. (But, don't drink, drive or operate farm machinery while under the influence). 

You buy a turntable, and the next thing you know, you are shooting junk. :)

hah hah :^)

it can be a slippery and dangerous slope with vinyl. What, with the horizontal record and the vertical cantilever. Especially on a well endowed expensive cartridge. (shudders)
Hurts just thinking about it ....should have bought the Decca.  

asvjerry, there's a lot of unfavorable possibilities besides lung cancer.  Read all about it:   https://www.thoracic.org/patients/patient-resources/resources/marijuana.pdf
Of course there's vaporizers and there's ingestion by way of prepared food, so...where there's a weed there's a way, I suppose.

I tried pot once. It made me want to rape and kill. 

so no more pot for you, oregonpapa.

tosta, well, sure.  Anything inhaled (other than 'normal air', and it's well-documented as to what it consists of these daze) in major concentrations is bound to have Something Negative traipsing along with it.  Vaping is certainly 'cleaner', digestion perhaps.
But as you've noted, where there's a way...there'll be means towards the desired effect. ;)*G*

oregon...damn....real 'killer pot'.  You ought to let the Pentagon know about that source.  The enlistment rate would clear the streets.  Talk about motivation for the troops.  On the other hand, that might a bit of a nightmare.  Too much motivation could be a 'bad thing'. *shiver*

That's why I do my part of being a good citizen and keep it out of the hands of those who would abuse it or can't handle it.  'Public Service', right, Judge? *G*  (Hey, might fly...)

soundsreal, I love Bellingham!  We go down a couple of times a year just to hang out.  Bellis fair, Fairhaven, that windy 'highway' that goes down to the flats.  Also, Whidbey Island and the outlet mall down by Marysville.  

@asvjerry 
Gotta ask, what is this *G* you keep posting?

*Laugh* timrhu, old 'webchat' nomenclature.  *Grin*, *LaughOutLoud*, *InMyHumbleOpinion*, and other contractions.  It's gotten out of hand with the text-ers 'IMHO', what with emojis and all that graphical stuff.  If you're not a teenager, who can decipher that?  It's rapidly becoming a modern version of pictographic languages like Chinese or Japanese....

I just use it so you've got some sense of how I'm feeling about what I'm typing at y'all.  Esp. in this forum, and esp. regarding the subject under discussion, which is real 'left field' for a 'serious audio crowd'.

I mean, Really.  "How f*ck'd up do you get when listening?"  Before, during, after?  Considering the current state of Reality, I've been considering Constantly, Dawn to Lights Out.  A major case of becoming allergic to civilization, I suspect....;)

Wonder if it's catchy?
 

Thanks for reply. Even my 18-year-old grandson was stumped with the *G*. And he can text with the best of them. 

(Laughing) Well, it's 'ancient history' for him.  I suspect that vinyl and records might be mysterious in their appeal to some, but he's your grandson and he's aware of your 'predilection'....so an old version of emotive annotation might seem....quaint and backwards.

Well, I'm assuming such...but emojis?  I suspect he's better versed in those....again, assuming, given his age group and the popularity of cells within it, and texting/messaging/all that.  Why *G* when a symbol is less keystrokes, if keystroked at all? (I'm not a 'swiper' on my phone's keypad...spouse is good at it, me naah...)

I'm a handkerchief user.  My spouse thinks that's dated and quaint as well.  Should I stop?  It wouldn't be pretty if I did.

Relating that (obliquely,perhaps) to not using any 'emotive comment' on a (well, my) posts leaves one with guessing if I'm serious or pulling your leg (another ancient activity), which happened earlier in this forum.  Should I stop?  I'd rather not.... I'm happy to expound if asked and clarify anything I've said or intimated in my somewhat off-centered ramblings.

I'm here to perhaps learn something, read opinions, tap into 'what's hot/what's not', and have some fun in the process.  I have my preferences like anyone else here...my opinions are subject to the same up/down vote as well.  Getting into lengthy discussions over such isn't my style...brevity isn't either, obviously from the above.... ;)

But you're more than welcome. *S*

BTW, going back somewhat towards the original topic...

http://motherboard.vice.com/read/the-wall-of-sound

A little CA history story for y'all.  For your consideration...;)

Amazingly these are all legal!  My preferences, not necessarily in this order: Dopamine, Serotonin, Endorphins and especially Oxytocin.  And we all have them handy.  A quick search on how to naturally release these chemicals from their constraints may improve not only what is between your ears, yet your whole body and your listening session.  Never would have thought that shooting a gun or petting the cat (both varieties) before listening to the rig could heighten my listening experience.  Enjoy!

Love is the drug.

"....shooting a gun or petting the cat ...."

Go with the latter.  Either of those doesn't draw unnecessary attention to the following listening session.  Both could be done during, but there's gonna be a break in there at some point for the one...;)

The former lends itself to metal music played loud because one's ears could still be ringing.  But that tends to overly excite the gendarmes who tend to show up after gunfire.  Some overstimulation for some social groups isn't a good thing....they want to compete with bull horns, sirens, all that police stuff...

A real buzz kill....*smirk*

I sometimes like to watch porn on mute while listening to music. 

I can also recommend ayahuasca which can add a shamanic solemnity and expansiveness to your listening experience.  The listening room walls disappear and there is only Peruvian jungle (and my speakers)....

Perhaps this website will fine tune your selection:

www.drinkify.org

About 45 min before serious listening to a serious piece of music I take one HYDROCODON-ACETAMINOPHN  or better known a pain pills. It helps one tolerate any mistakes made in the music, as yes, even serious music has it's mistakes. I only do this once in a while, LOL.

@exron thats why I consider myself blessed by being musically illiterate: I wont be able to "see" any mistakes while listening to Bruckner under Celibidache (and being live recordings there must be many!). 
My take on this great thread is the same as from a week before: "under the influence" I listen to the music I totally do Not care when being "myself"... I can even listen to Lady Gaga and Yello while drinking Becks/Stoli!!!! Trying some of the tips from this thread is on my "to do list": maybe Kanye West is not that bad, after all, The Atlantic mag hailed him as Mozart of the 21st century!?!?...

Hey sevs, I also consider myself blessed, but did you know that I actually was just kidding' around ? Just to make a point here, one does not see mistakes when one listens to music, one hears it.
I suspect most of us like the occasional weed, whiskey, beer, wine, or whatever to listen to a good album but I would say most of us listen usually sober a great majority of the time, but it is fun listening being tipped every now an then LOL.  All the best sevs.

You know sevs, your right, sometimes I actually see mistakes when listening to music while under ( no pun intended ), it's a riot.
While on the subject of music, I can't believe the crap that is being put out these days and passed as music.

As a musician for about 5 decades, I've noticed I don't make mistakes…they're more like dissonant musical choices.

@exron I always thought that the crap flowing thru "Top 30" on the radio or the recommendations nowadays for Prog Rock is my problem of being old and being "imprinted" (Konrad Lorenz term, not mine) with tunes from the 60ies and 70-ies. A few months ago I followed the tip from The Atlantic Monthly (do I sound like a sales-guy for this mag?) and bought "Inside the Hit Factory". Reads like a horror story to me, but at least now I know that I am OK, and everybody else who listens to this corporate-produced crap are nuts. 
Well, at least we still have some Dinosaurs survivors and now a few youngsters like Steven Wilson and Wilco to update our "rock'n'roll" collections. 
Back to this thread: even being "under" I still prefer vinyl and cassette boombox to digital, no amount of nicotine/alcohol can change that!

This reminds me---I need to check out absinthe, a liquor I’m as of yet unfamiliar with.

Absinthe makes Henry Fonda.

I recommend other peoples drugs. Cheaper.....

That basic standard from France--St. Remy Brandy-gives me relaxation-which I always appreciate listening to my music. Cheers. Pete

I read an article recently where the writer noticed the soup at her local Thai place was GREAT when she was stoned, not so great when she wasn’t. The issue isn’t "which soup flavor was reality," more interestingly is the fact that the flavor was enhanced by being stoned and what the hell is wrong with that? To puritanical often Right Wing freaks the whole "having fun with a drug WE don’t like" thing is BAD…a conservative (!) friend tried to make that case to me while he was drinking red wine, and I pointed out how lame that is, but taking rights away from those who you disagree with is the conservative credo these days…again: No deaths from pot, no notable lung issues (People have been pot smokers for centuries…this should have shown up by now) except when there already was an issue, where the obvious remedy should be don’t smoke anything. Pot is non-toxic by clinical definition…rare among any substance (sugar?). I smoke a little, you might not, leave me alone.

best wine (and pot) story involves Wm. F. Buckley, his yacht and the 3 miles limit on the high seas