I was a week away from getting LASIK to correct my near-sightedness when I caught wind of a recent study on the use of calming music before medical procedures. The University of Pennsylvania researchers found that soothing music was just as effective as sedative medication to reduce patients' anxiety. They studied 157 people about to [...]
Having analyzed how LSD influenced The Beatles, my understanding of psychedelic rock music may appear sophisticated. But I have a confession to make: my favorite psychedelic rock band is actually Panic! At the Disco. Yes, you heard me right. I just called Panic! At the Disco a psychedelic rock band. This discovery started my freshman [...]
When you think of sex, drugs, and rock and roll, cocaine is probably at least one of the drugs you think of. Celebrities, musicians included, have a reputation for snorting coke at their Hollywood parties, as well as in their daily lives — and they’re not afraid to sing about it. Here are some of [...]
Two weeks ago, I was checking out a yoga class in Ubud, Bali when the sole other student observed that I kept tripping on steps. "Not a good step day for you, huh?" he asked. We got to talking, and I asked what he did. "I help people find their life purpose." "Sounds like something [...]
“This life is just a dream. It’ll be over in the blink of an eye. Remember who you are. Remember what you are.” Omkara’s “Remember” filled the dimly lit, sand-colored living room of my Venice Beach apartment. I was on the cusp of a discovery, or perhaps a rediscovery. The following day, I’d hop on [...]
The male gaze is practically part of our collective cultural definition of a music video. Even videos by seemingly progressive bands, like The 1975's "Girls" and The Chainsmokers' "Beach House," present women as props, dancing scantily clad in the background. But recently, female artists have been taking back the medium by creating videos that speak [...]
A weekend of partying at a music festival may leave you feeling like the human equivalent of these overflowing Glastonbury trash cans. Most people don’t spend music festivals worrying about how they’ll feel after all the shouting, head-banging, and (if you're into that sort of thing) drug use is over. That’s something you [...]
NYC electronic artist Von not only writes about female masturbation, she literally creates songs from her orgasms. Over the past few years, female masturbation has gone from a total taboo to a popular topic among those looking to add a little ~edge~ to their art. We haven’t made it all the way to [...]
An at-home drug testing kit available via DanceSafe If you grew up in the US, you probably heard “say no to drugs” in middle school health class, but you probably didn’t learn how to reduce harm if you did use drugs. And, chances are, you didn’t follow DARE’s advice. The majority of American [...]
I’m all about gaining insight from altered states of consciousness. But I’m also all about putting your body through as little duress as possible. So, I’m always interested in learning new ways to expand my mind without substances. After achieving altered states through hypnosis, breathwork, and ecstatic dance, I thought I’d look into binaural beats [...]
