Critical listening and altered states

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

Frank

Psilocybin mushrooms were a lot of fun. Humans have been using them for thousands of years. THC is here to stay and will be legal everywhere soon enough. On 5 mg I am perfectly functional and the pain I have does not interfere with me as much. If you don't smoke it it is much less dangerous than alcohol. Long term effects? The long term effect of being alive is death. There is nothing fun about aging. I know many very smart successful people who use THC on a regular basis. Might they be more successful not using? Maybe but, who cares. 

My own ability to analyze the quality of a recording or system does not change with lower doses of THC. It might even improve a little. With alcohol I just fall asleep. I never have more than one glass of wine. I use to like scotch but for some reason it makes me sick now, probably aging again. For me the main benefit of THC is that pain interferes less with my ability to perform in the shop or on a bicycle. 

I see there are still Victorians among us. The only thing prohibition ever did for us is explode crime. Why give the criminals something to make money on when we can sell it for less and tax it at 50% to boot. We can use everyone's addiction to pave some roads.  

@oregonpapa 

You had the good stuff!

Friends,
When I evaluate gear or make buying decisions that are chemically enhanced, even slightly, I often do not agree with myself when the enhancement has worn off or I listen to a choice over time.  I currently never make buying decisions while in an enhanced state.

When I evaluate gear or make buying decisions when I am in a naturally clear, settled and analytic state of mind, then the music is almost always engaging and satisfying when I am listening in an enhanced state. 

For me personally, my mood is important for the selection of what I listen to.  Sometimes late Beethoven string quartets transport me to someplace heavenly, sometimes I do not have the "ears" to listen for more than 2-3 minutes.  Sometimes it is Phillip Glass or Avro Paert.  Sometimes it isn't classical.  Rather Patricia Barber or other vocal jazz does it, or instrumental jazz like Oded Tzur, sometime I need Pink Floyd, or The Rolling Stones, or Tina Dico, or ambient electronic, or Indonesian Gammelan Orchestra, or Carnatic music . . . .  Yes, my tastes are varied and eclectic.

Listening for pleasure, to be nourished is a different kind of endeavor compared to listening to compare components.  Both of these listening contexts can be completely enjoyable and satisfying yet they are quite different.

I know I will never hear "the best" anything, only what pleases me the most at the time of listening based on my personal preferences and state of mind.

So much enjoyment and nourishment in music well performed, well recorded and well reproduced.  To each his own.

Weed, shrooms, mdma and ketamine. All different and all incredible when done right. Ket does make it hard to change the record, best get it done before your bump hits. But then you are just so present in the moment and able to appreciate music in ways you never could have imagined.
Lsd often takes me to a place where music makes little sense, unlike shrooms or majic truffles. the ultimate is combining mdma and shrooms, or mandy and k, but only when safely at home- unlike mdma, k is a party killer and was banned from our raves and festivals. Too much stumbling. But fun at home or in a safe environment.