Listening to the fabulous ‘Pisshead’ by The Miserable Rich got me thinking about drinking songs. Alcohol must surely be the drug of choice in the sex and drugs and rock n roll trinity. Heroin has inspired some good songs, from the Stranglers to Lou Reed, but it doesn’t speak of a common experience with most listeners. The same is true of 1960s LSD fuelled psychedelia. Oasis and Eric Clapton are both living proof that cocaine and good music making seldom mix.
Drinking is a subject that is part of the common experience of songwriters and music fans alike. It is often a troubled relationship between artists and the demon booze. Lots of songs about drink are part of the singers struggle with it. Rarely are songs about alcohol in any way celebratory more often they are showing up the bad side. Revellers must see the irony when they drunkenly sign along to ‘Born Slippy’ or ‘Too Drunk to Fuck’.
And it isn’t just drinking as a subject for, or as a catalyst in, song writing. It is also the environment of music. From jazz to heavy metal the music has always been played in clubs and bars, accompanied by a drinking crowd. Even dance music, more closely associated with pills and powders, is part of the drinking culture. Look at the streets of Ibiza or Falaraki for evidence of that.
So it is no surprise that drinks and drinking are the subject of so many songs. Here is a selection of some of my personal favourites.
Camper Van Beethoven – ‘(We’re a) Bad Trip’: Taken from the Californian bands confusingly titled second album II & III. This typically snotty and atypically punky song tells of some dude-hating party crashers who drive up on the lawn and drink all the beer.
Tom Waits – ‘I Hope That I Don’t Fall In Love With You’: Waits has written many booze driven songs, but my favourite is from his 1973 debut album. A beer drenched love ballad set at closing time in the bar.
Grandaddy – ‘Jed The Humanoid’: What could be sadder than the story of a beloved robot, Jed, who meets his downfall when he discovers and drinks all oh his crteators booze?
The Magnetic Fields – ‘Love is Like A Bottle of Gin’: Sophisticated witty song from the peerless 69 Love songs album. “It turns a genius into an ass and makes a fool think he is wise”. Indeed.
Bad Manners – ‘Special Brew’: Bad Manners were always the least cool of the ska revival bands, but in 1980 they were second only to Madness in my eyes. I’m not sure if this is a love song that just uses the words special brew as a metaphor, or a love song to the drink, but I don’t suppose it matters.
The Hold Steady – ‘Party Pit’: A very large percentage of Hold Steady songs are about drugs and drink and partying. With it’s “gonna walk around and drink some more” refrain this is one of the most anthemic.
Guided By Voices – ‘How’s My Drinking?’: Robert Pollard is a legendary heavy drinker who has written some great songs on the subject. This mournful, but unapologetic, number ends with the simple message “I won’t change”
Hefner – ‘The Hymn to the Alcohol’: Hefner produced some of the best lovelorn bedroom indie of the 1990s. This booze drenched ode to lost love is one of the highlights of their second album.
I’ve put together a Spotify playlist of these songs* and a few more so that you can give them a listen. I’m also keen to hear your selections. Please post them below and I’ll add them to the playlist.
*I couldn’t add all the songs because Spotify didn’t have them all (No Hefner? No Grandaddy?? – poor show Spotify) so some substitutes were picked.
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