Rockers Speak Bluntly About Pot in New Book

Posted on May 23rd 2008 4:20PM by Steve Baltin
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If you've ever wondered what your favorite artists listen to when smoking out or how they score in foreign cities, you can now read all about it. 'Pot Culture: The A-Z Guide to Stoner Language & Life' features several musical contributors, from Melissa Etheridge on medicinal marijuana to Redman's 'How to Roll a Blunt,' as well as stoner tours of music by the Beatles, jam bands, Bob Marley (of course) and, arguably the stoner holy grail, the synchronization between 'The Wizard of Oz' and 'Dark Side of the Moon.'

Shirley Halperin, co-author of the book with Steve Bloom, tells Spinner that Rob Thomas, who educates readers on 'The Art of Scoring,' was the first artist to sign on. "He was the first person I actually talked to about this idea. And he came up with that idea of how to bring up weed in a casual conversation without being completely obvious about it," Halperin says. "He had this in his mind already, this little tap dance of what happens if you don't have any weed, you're in a foreign country or a city that you're not from and you really want to get stoned -- how do you bring it up?"

Among the other musicians offering toking tips are the Doors' Ray Manzarek, who recalls his first time getting stoned, Fall Out Boy's Joe Trohman, who talks about 'Pot on Tour,' and 'Music to Smoke To' by both Maroon 5's Adam Levine, whose list ranges from Phish to Notorious B.I.G., and Guided by Voices' frontman Bob Pollard, who goes a little more avant-garde with albums by the likes of prog-rock bands Hawkwind and Cromagnon.

Halperin says who did what was a decision reached by both the artists and the authors. "We wanted to do a Top Ten list of the best pot-themed songs, but we thought it would be cooler if Bo Bice did it than we did it," she says. "Obviously, [with] Melissa Etheridge, I just wanted to get her to talk about the whole medical marijuana thing because she had personal experience with it."

There were some obvious artists who are conspicuous in their absence. "The people who are most affiliated with pot are the ones we couldn't get, like Snoop Dogg and Willie Nelson and Woody Harrelson," Halperin says. At least in the case of Snoop Dogg, she understands why he couldn't participate. "Snoop had all kinds of legal problems at the time and I really couldn't push it. When you have a court date coming up, it's probably not the smartest idea to go talk about how great pot is in a book," she says, laughing.