Type and hit ENTER

Commonly used tags...

2026 Anna Calvi Ash Badly Drawn Boy Big Boutique Brighton Brighton Festival Brighton Fringe Brighton Pride British Sea Power Cinecity Editors Eliza Skelton FatBoy Slim Lewes Psychedelic Festival Lime Garden Locally Sourced Lost & Found Love Supreme Festival Maccabees Melting Vinyl Miles Kane Mutations Festival Nick Cave On The Beach Passenger Poets Vs MCs Politics Rag'n'Bone Man Record Store Day Sairie Save Our Venues Six Of The Best Source Virgins Streets Of Brighton Street Source Tattoos The Great Escape Thursday Tru Thoughts Unsung Heroes
  • Home
  • News
  • Previews
  • Reviews
  • Features
  • Food
  • Tickets
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Advertise
  • Home
  • News
  • Previews
  • Reviews
  • Features
  • Food
  • Tickets
  • Contact
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Advertise
Features

Six Of The Best Stoner Anthems

Sep 6, 2011
-
Posted by SOURCE Writers

PRIMAL SCREAM
‘Higher Than The Sun’

Given the band’s non-prescription propensity at the time, this could actually be a paean to any number of uppers, downers or hanging-arounders as it announces “I’ve glimpsed, I have tasted, fantastical places”. But any song presented as a ‘dub symphony in two parts’, as it re-appears later on ‘Screamadelica’, is going to suggest more supine appreciation than its more up-tempo album companions. Production by The Orb, purveyors of some fairly spliffy 90s moments themselves, seals the stoner deal. A lengthy and classic highlight of a truly epoch-making album. (NC)

BOMB THE BASS
‘Bug Powder Dust (La Funk Mob Remix)’

We’re not sure precisely when La Funk Mob got their hands on ‘Bug Powder Dust’ [er, on the 1994 single which also included a great Kruder & Dorfmeister mix – Ed], an unremarkable spurt of rap rock from Bomb The Bass’s ‘Clear’ album, but it was the sound of countless afternoons on beds and hills, staring into hazy abysses. Justin Warfield’s mumbo-jumbo lyrics (there’s at least one website devoted to deciphering them) are based on William S Burroughs’ ‘Naked Lunch’, replete with endless drug references. And as a zoned-out hip hop reworking, it’s a tune in its own right. (BM)

PINK FLOYD
‘The Dark Side Of The Moon’

Well, we couldn’t not put it in, right? You’ll notice that it’s the only entire album on the list – this simply isn’t a record you can pull tracks out of willy nilly. Even the band knew this; when we saw them at Earls Court in 1994 they did a bunch of new stuff and old hits, then came back on and played this. The whole album from start to finish, with lights and lasers and strobes and dry ice and an actual crashing plane. We watched on from our regal box, with some particularly potent cannabis oil as we recall. (NC)

TRICKY
‘Overcome’

In typical slacker behaviour ‘Overcome’ is a remake of Massive Attack’s ‘Karmacoma’ from the year before that Tricky hadn’t got around to writing the lyrics for. But this outclasses his former bandmates’ production with smoker-friendly, low-slung beats and bedroom-sultriness (the ‘Maxinquaye’ LP was the only thing that got stoners off the sofa and into bed in 1995). Multi-layered – letting your head wander off – there’s a fug of smoke drifting through the whole thing even before teenage singer Martina drops a reference to “Jamaica aroma”. (JK)

JEHST
‘Return Of The Drifter’

This very British rapper brought the gritty real life of a London hip hop chap to the mainstream in 2002 with ‘Return of the Drifter,’ with witty lines about “living with benefit cheats and no-hopers/deadbeats who sleep on their sofas” and “bunnin’ zoots of skunk” enlivening many a smoky bedroom. Designed to make you nod throughout and really, like, get what he’s saying man, this track embodies the beatification of setting the world to rights after a few more cans of lager. (JMM)

CYPRESS HILL
‘Hits From The Bong’

This ‘Son Of A Preacher Man’-sampling, ‘Black Sunday’ album track is less of a song and more a public information advert for weed smokers. “There’s water inside don’t spill it/It smells like shit on the carpet,” B-Real suggests in a nasal voice that we don’t remember grating so intensely while we were baked. Pretty lazy lyric writing but it persuaded three million teenage boys to finally get their shit together and get down the record shop with money they’d normally have spent on a ‘teenth. (JK)

More Six Of The Best: Click Here6best

WORDS BY NICK COQUET, BEN MILLER, JAMES KENDALL, JESSICA MARSHALL MCHATTIE

Six Of The Best
Sep 6, 2011
Email
SOURCE Writers
Sometimes an article is a bit of a team effort, and those are tagged SOURCE Writers. If you’d like to be part of that team, hit the Contact link at the top and get your work on this website.
← PREVIOUS POST
Club Review: Vice Issue Launch
NEXT POST →
Interview: JFB
Mailing List

Recent Posts
  • Ouse Valley Folk Festival, 28-29th August
    Aug 4, 2026

    Goblin Band and Paul Hartnoll to appear in an exciting folk festival along the coast in Newhaven.

  • Depot Dance DJing in Trafalgar Street at the Carnival Against Fascism
    NetPol ‘One Day in Brighton’ report launch, Friday 7 August
    Aug 3, 2026

    Report into the Carnival Against Fascism policing released this Friday

  • Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds Preston Park Review
    Aug 3, 2026

    Nick Cave's homecoming show was a thrilling and moving masterclass in stagecraft and showmanship.

  • Rachel Love, Exploding Flowers and Telecom, Friday 8th August.
    Jul 30, 2026

    The wonderful Rachel Love headlines a triple bill of gorgeous guitar pop at The Albert.

  • Charlie Keen's Silver Birch
    Port of Cool, Review
    Jul 26, 2026

    A brilliantly bonkers afternoon of sunshine, good beer and inescapably cool shit in the Sussex sunshine at the first chapter of the Newhaven festival.

  • The Maccabees On The Beach Review
    Jul 26, 2026

    The Maccabees returned to Brighton for a massive rock festival On The Beach this Saturday. Words and Pictures here from Brighton Source.

  • Madness On The Beach Review
    Jul 25, 2026

    The Nutty Boys delivered a set of pop ska classics with superb support from old mates The Blockheads and The Selecter.

  • Three people smiling together
    Brighton Bash Carnival, Saturday 25 July
    Jul 20, 2026

    "This is an invitation to the whole city to come together, connect and move forward as one." - BARCO

Website developed in Brighton by Infobo
Copyright © Brighton Source 2009-2023
Six Of The Best Stoner Anthems - Brighton Source