DrugsAndMusic

Quora Answer : Were drugs the integral part of Rock music, allowing barely educated musicians create seemingly well-crafted songs? Or it is correlation without causation, the feature of the times facilitated by ability to afford them?

Aug 23, 2018

There's some weird contentious assertions lurking in your question.

What's the difference between a "seemingly well-crafted song" and a song that actually IS well-crafted?

I don't think anyone can seriously claim that the rock songs which tend to be considered "well-crafted" somehow aren't. It's not just that drug-addled listeners don't notice the difference.

Did the drugs help otherwise incompetent musicians to achieve "well-craftedness"? Probably not.

More likely, despite the hype, most rock musicians who achieved success are actually more skilled, hard-working and dedicated than the image they present would lead you to believe. It's often the unkempt laid-back and dissolute image of rock (and pop, and hip-hop etc.) musicians which is the the facade.

Young musicians love to present themselves as couldn't give a fuck rebels with attitude. It's only when you look a bit harder you discover that the kid who dresses like a crack addict and snarls at you from under his dyed red hair has been diligently practising the piano for hours every day since he was twelve.