1st blog

What an interesting way to start this class - I really think I'm going to enjoy the subject matter. I really found myself looking into the musical aspect of what Hughes talks about, including the hallucinogenic/drug induced thought processes that so many artists display(ed). I am a fan of the Beatles, Bob Dylan, and the like, and have many times considered how their personal lives and choices have affected the music they wrote, and these chapters made it clear that I'm not the only one. Some musicians write better when they are intoxicated or under the influence of something, take for instance Dave Matthews. His music becomes longer, more passionate, etc. when even the crowd knows he's drunk. But then some write their finest music once they get clean, perhaps after experiencing things others will never understand, or, an altered state of consciousness. I was very interested to read that Bob Dylan believes he sees things and then presents them to the world in a different way, which may very well be true, but will we ever know? No one knows what is in someone else's mind exactly at any point, and in some cases this may set us back, because we might never truly understand what someone is trying to express. I also found it pretty interesting when shamans are discussed and the hold they have on the people of their groups - even while under the influence of whatever drug it is, they are able to be coherant, and even freer to make decisions and diagnoses. I will definitely look more into the hallucinogenic mushrooms brought up, because I am fascinated with the ability of artists, musicians, shamans, whatever - to do these things (drugs, etc) that our culture deems inappropriate, sometimes immoral, and illegal - and create such astounding work, while influencing people's lives across generations.