5 Guitar Songs to Get High By
To celebrate International Guitar Month, my buddy AJ put together his list of top five songs worth listening to while you’re stoned. I’ll have to take his word for it because, of course, I know nothing of such things.
Crazy Train, by Ozzy Osbourne
AJ claims that the first time he heard this song, he was at a dealer’s house in Pacific Beach. This was back when it was cool to have 4-ft-tall speaks that weighed 120 lbs. each. AJ was sitting on the floor next to one such speaker when the dealer said, “Hey, the lead singer from Black Sabbath just came out with a solo album. You gotta hear this one song called Crazy Train.”
AJ’s ears and mind were both blown, so much so that he went out and bought Blizzard of Ozz the very next day. He was thinking maybe it sounded so amazing because he was so stoned, but it turned out, the song (and the entire album) sounded just as incredible straight.
Atomic Punk, by Van Halen
According to AJ, when he first bought Van Halen, he thought Atomic Punk was the suckiest song on the album (his words, not mine). Then one night, he was home alone smoking himself out and decided to listen to the album with his super killer headphones on. It was a life-changing experience because, under those conditions, Atomic Punk was one of the most bitchen songs he'd ever heard. Try it for yourself some time.
Children of the Sun, by Billy Thorpe
One night, AJ and some buddies decided to consume some psychedelics. At some point, somebody played this song on the stereo and it got stuck in AJ’s head. The next morning, still buzzing and without any sleep, AJ decided he wanted to go to the beach. But it was early in the summer and AJ still had his winter Casper complexion. How could he get a tan between Mission Gorge Road and Mission Beach? Hmm … that’s it! Walk to the beach! And that he attempted, with Billy Thorpe strumming g in his head all the way.
AJ reached a point of total exhaustion at the corner of Friars Road and Napa Street, so he decided tom take a bus the rest of the way. When he finally got to the beach, he was indeed a glowing red, but it was so late, just about everyone had left. In fact, he barely made the last bus home.
Comfortably Numb, by Pink Floyd
AJ says that any song from The Wall sounds great when you’re stoned, but if you have to pick one when you’re feeling comfortably numb, well, then, the choice is obvious.
Incidentally, Nancy Wilson recently guest DJ’d on SiriusXM’s limited engagement Guitar Greats channel. David Gilmour was one of the guitar greats she highlighted, and this was the song she chose to showcase his mad skills.
Kashmir, by Led Zeppelin
I’m going to have to play my Wayne’s World card on this and say, no Stairway to Heaven! AJ and I agree on this one. Stoned or straight, if you can only listen to one Zeppelin song, this is the one. After all, Jimmy Page said it was the most important song Zep ever recorded and Robert Plant said he wished he was remembered for Kashmir instead of Stairway. Who are we to argue?
