Martha Wainwright really needs to think before she opens her mouth to speak. Of course if she did that, then there probably would have been no need for me to post anything that came out of her mouth, or ever even to mention her except in passing as the sister of Rufus Wainwright.
In a recent interview, Martha said that "drugs in music is normal." She went on to say that she has done lots of drugs and credited them with expanding her mind. She went on to say, "I had a great experience with narcotics. They have expanded my mind, maybe not as much as they have ruined it, but I think it's a part of life and being young and in the music and art scene. There are a lot worse things that people can do."
I think she is exactly what is wrong with the world of celebrity today. I don't think taking drugs is necessarily a part of life, and as she even says in the next breath it has ruined her mind more than expanded it. I think that is pretty f**king obvious by the statements she is making. Why does being into music or the art scene give you permission to take drugs and say, being a garbage collector doesn't?
This has got to be one of the most idiotic statements I have read in a very long time. To make matters worse she then adds the part about how there are worse things to do in life other than drugs. Sure there are. You could drink and drive or kill someone. Other than those two things I am having a tough time coming up with things that are worse than as she says it herself, "ruining your mind."
What exactly does she think is worse than taking drugs? Tell me how taking drugs helps people or yourself. Now the really sad thing is that someone will hear her say this or read it somewhere and say to themselves, Martha said it was normal to take drugs if I am a musician. They can read those words at their funeral when they overdose.
In a recent interview, Martha said that "drugs in music is normal." She went on to say that she has done lots of drugs and credited them with expanding her mind. She went on to say, "I had a great experience with narcotics. They have expanded my mind, maybe not as much as they have ruined it, but I think it's a part of life and being young and in the music and art scene. There are a lot worse things that people can do."
I think she is exactly what is wrong with the world of celebrity today. I don't think taking drugs is necessarily a part of life, and as she even says in the next breath it has ruined her mind more than expanded it. I think that is pretty f**king obvious by the statements she is making. Why does being into music or the art scene give you permission to take drugs and say, being a garbage collector doesn't?
This has got to be one of the most idiotic statements I have read in a very long time. To make matters worse she then adds the part about how there are worse things to do in life other than drugs. Sure there are. You could drink and drive or kill someone. Other than those two things I am having a tough time coming up with things that are worse than as she says it herself, "ruining your mind."
What exactly does she think is worse than taking drugs? Tell me how taking drugs helps people or yourself. Now the really sad thing is that someone will hear her say this or read it somewhere and say to themselves, Martha said it was normal to take drugs if I am a musician. They can read those words at their funeral when they overdose.
keanu reeves has said the same thing. hell, eric clapton did a song on the devil's dandruff.
ReplyDeleteI happen to also think that drugs, not only in music, but in being a celeb is normal.
ReplyDeleteYou write about being "shocked" that a certain so-&-so is on drugs, but I don't think there's one celebrity/celebutard out there that doesn't use drugs recreationally, or regularly.
I think it's so common place in Hollywood, hat i would be shocked to learn if someone actually tells the truth about their opinions & what they do with their spare time.
Well, you have to look at the history of 'performance' artists. I'm not talking about the casual violinist who has been rigidly trained since the age of three, but the curious musician, artist, actor. The actual expression comes from an emotional need. That same need is tamed by drugs and alcohol. While I dont necessarily buy into the whole 'drugs helped me become a greater artist' I do think that mild altering substances are commonplace with artists. They would've used regardless, they just happened to be successful at turning their pain into a commodity.
ReplyDeleteDont hate me, that is really my opi nion. Oh, and I do drugs and am an artist, in case you're curious.
Worse than doing drugs, worse than ruining your mind, your OWN mind? Ruining someone else's mind, life, anything. Hurting people, physically and psychologically. This might sound a little harsh but I actually prefer people who ruin themselves to people who ruin other people.
ReplyDeleteThere's a long, long history of artists using drugs to expand their minds/perspectives. Why get all uppity about a very talented creative artist poitning out the obvious?
ReplyDeleteI wonder what kind of drugs she's talking about in the first place. I see no reason to do synthetic drugs, no matter how many "brilliant" ideas pop into your mind while you're tripping.
ReplyDeleteHowever, speaking from the viewpoint of a writer, musician, and painter, I can say that marijuana helped me a tiny bit. Not in creativity, but in opening my mind to new ideas--it helped me be less self conscious, and I stopped worrying what other people would think of my "work", allowing me to live up to my full potential. I think most artists are held back by their own fear of rejection, but pot erased that for me, freeing me up to actually create. Now I spend more time writing instead of fearing the criticism or rejection. I don't sit around wondering how my "work" would be viewed by the outside world, and just focus on actually creating. That to me, is very positive.
I think any synthetics in this case would be far more trouble than they're worth.
Interesting perspective, Bad Fish. I:)
ReplyDeleteWhy, of course there are TONNES! of things that are worse than a little "puff, puff, pass" action. I think ENT is getting a little stuffy in his old age.
ReplyDeleteSquare!
:)
Meh. I'd rather hang out with potheads than drunks.
ReplyDeleteI hate ALCOHOL. HATE HATE. WITH A PASSION. I don't like to be drunk, & i hate drunk people.
ReplyDeleteThat being said, I go thru my life as an avid pothead.
It makes me happy & calm & immensely helps my rage problems, as well as my anxiety.
But, i'm not a artist, nor am i very creative, except when it comes to being good at improvising in tough situations.
I just like the high man!
Some people do stupid shit, because they can, and because the stupid shit is available, and in the end it turns them into the person they become. Good or bad. I don't think taking drugs is the stupidest thing you can do, and I certainly don't think it's wrong to talk about it and just admit that you do them, or used to do them. I do, however, realise that drugs can ruin someone's life and shouldn't be glamourized. But that doesn't make getting high any less fun.
ReplyDeleteSorry, but it's true. People take drugs because they make you feel good, for a while. The trick is to stop when they no longer do, and as we all know, a lot of people can't, seeing as many drugs are highly addictive. I would just like it if people were more open and honest about these things. Drugs, sex, plastic surgery, herpes. You know?
But then half of Hollywood wouldn't get laid, and we can't have THAT, now can we? ;-)
ReplyDeleteMartha learned this from her Mama and Papa. Heck, they probably helped her through her first drug experiences.
ReplyDeleteHey, if I had taken more drugs I could have been an artist too!
I was about to say something but I forgot what it was..... Oh yeah, I was going to the kitchen for cookies..........
ReplyDeleteUmm..., o.k., what they said. See above ;)
I'm an actor, writer and director and have never used any drug. You want to expand your mind? Read a good book, visit a museum, take a class that challenges the way you think, travel and learn how another culture lives. I think "expanding" your mind with that method is a hell of a lot more conducive to art than frying your brain and reducing your attention span. Using drugs would be counterproductive to my art. Case in point, Lindsay Lohan, Robert Downey, Jr. Need I go on and on? Doing drugs hasn't helped either of their lives, their art or their careers.
ReplyDeleteI consider drug dealers worse than terrorists; they've destroyed far more lives and families than those behind 9-11. Lock 'em up and throw away the key. After what I've lived through, there's no way in hell I have an ounce of sympathy for drug dealers (even my good friend who used to be one, but is now recovered and has become an amazing artist) or those who choose to waste their lives and minds on chemicals. You want to stop feeling something? Deal with the issue at hand. Nothing goes away, learn how to accept it and move on.
You go, Katie! I agree wholeheartedly.
ReplyDeleteTheoretically, I also agree.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, life has very little to do with how I feel about things theoretically....*L*
I would never use the "expand your mind" catchphrase though...I just like to party. Or used to, I should say. These days, I stick to beer.
Katie, I totally agree with you. My best friend works as a psychiatric nurse and she has told me some terrifying things about what happens to people who use drugs. It doesn't have to be a habit either. She has had many people pass through her doors who have suffered permanent brain damage from trying certain drugs once. Everyone's chemistry is different, as is each person's tolerance.
ReplyDeleteI think if you have to use drugs to be creative, then you're not really an artist. Anyone can write down their deluded thoughts and pass it off as genius. A true genius is someone who can write thoughts from a place of authentic, clear contemplation.
Unfortunately, drugs are a crutch for people who are buckling under the pressure of wanting to be something that they're not.
well let's see here..i don't consider weed a drug. having said that drugs are bad blah blah blah..
ReplyDeletelive and let live.
i smoke pot and i do becasue i like it, it makes me happy after a long ass day at work and i'm allergic to hard alcohol. i know when to say no,no more and never again. i am an art type and it does make me a lot more creative and expands my imagination.
it doens't rule my life or make bad decisions except nutritionally.
and i NEVER wear tie dyed.
As for expanding one's mind, it depends on where that person is coming from. I grew up in a very emotionally abusive and oppressive environment and was extremely repressed. Then a friend introduced me to acid. Best thing I ever did. It enlightened me because it helped free my emotions by unlocking the gate to them. Occasional use of acid for two years kick-started the process. A bit of therapy and time did the rest :-) No regrets here.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Katie on this one.
ReplyDeleteIt depends on what you're taking.
ReplyDeleteWeed, shrooms = acceptable.
Heroin, cocaine, crack = dead end
I got so scared as a child in the late 60's and early 70's by the horror stories about LSD that, to this day, even after years of admitted pot smoking that began in college and the occasional powder coke use and the odd 'shroom trip, I have still NEVER taken acid or heroin.
ReplyDeleteI was literally scared off them for life. Anyone remember those stories?
Like the tripping mother who hacked her kids up with a cleaver thinking they were snakes; the Alice novel where the girl gets locked in a closet and dies trying to claw her way out...
Those early "just say NO" scared-straight attempts really did work for me!
I agree with brendalove...totally depends on the drug.
ReplyDeleteAnother thing is that alcohol is a drug too and can be very destructive. I guess EL can go off on "illegal" drugs ruining minds but alcohol is legal and EL likes to drink it so it gets a pass?
What's worse, doing drugs, owning it and living your life honestly in regards to one's history with it, or judging people that have done drugs? We all have taken or take 'drugs' or mood/personality altering substances. Caffeine, sugar, claratin etc. whatever. No one is truly exempt it is just a matter of how one defines 'drug' really; narrow-minded definitions do yield broad-minded judgments. And how does judging people via blogs like this helps people or YOURself? Youth, children and those of an impresionable mind should certainly be considered when speaking in public or behaving in a public way; but perhaps what would really help our youth is not having Martha Wainwright refrain from her honesty, but rather teaching children tolerance and understanding for one of many different worl-views that they will encounter on their way to adulthood so as to prepare them for the reality that one way is no the right way and that solutions to problems are found by mitigating many different perspectives. What do your children learn from watching you write judgments on those that you don't even know, whose lives you're not even interactive with. What do children learn about how we talk about others. Do they learn how to judge or do they learn how to tolerate and understand?
ReplyDelete