dr. good bud: the 420 cult — movies, music and more
by Dr. Good Bud
I see you’re back for more, eh? Damn! You must be hard core. Well, the good news is that you’re getting closer to finishing this training program and getting to the good stuff; the bad news is that you’re not there yet. Like I said, I’m not just going to hand over all my juicy little secrets to any Tom, Dick or Mary; you’re going to need to prove your worthiness to me. So let’s start with a question:
What does 420 mean?
The answer is C and if you didn’t get that right I highly suggest you stop reading right now — face it you’re not going to get your Dr. GoodBud diploma! 4:20 a.m. is what is known to all serious smokers as the best — and for some, the only real — time to enjoy that sweet ganja lovin’. If you are going to be a hard-core toker you’ve got to get on our schedule. You see, we like to sleep through most of the morning (as that’s a really sunny time of the day and our chronic red-eye can’t handle the light), wake up to a late brunch/lunch/dinner, and start working (rolling, filling the bong, making room in last night’s ashtray).
When all the hard stuff is done you start to feed yourself: joint, bag of chips, blunt, two cans of Coke, doobey, ham sandwich, spliff, and chocolate, chocolate, chocolate! This process should take you close to four or five hours at the end of which it may already be close to 4:20 but if it isn’t just phone me up and I’ll come over and help you find something to do to kill that leftover time. Remember: only the real hip-hop partiers, rap artists, true herbal smoke lovers and four-twenty potheads will enjoy partaking in their favourite buzz at this time. Four hundred twenty is fast becoming the secret underground code to anything to do with marijuana terminology and cannabis culture. And just in case you didn’t notice: all the clocks in Pulp Fiction are stuck on 4:20
Now that that’s settled let’s get on to your homework of the week. Here is a list I have compiled of all the necessary research you’ll need to look into. Luckily, you don’t need to go down to the library, but you will need to get out your local video card. You’ll need about three ounces of grandma’s best (may I recommend a skunk to really bring out the laugh potential), some good hard-core friends and 70 hours of free time to watch them all….my personal favorites are marked with stars.
| The Beach (2000) | The Big Lebowski (1998) | The Breakfast Club (1985) |
| *Cheech & Chong’s Up in Smoke (1978) | Nice Dreams (1981) | *Still Smokin’ (1983) |
| Clerks (1994) | *Dazed and Confused (1993) | Detroit Rock City (1999) |
| *The Doors (1991) | *Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982) | *Friday (1995) |
| Hair (1978) | *Half Baked (1998) | *Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle (2004) |
| Woodstock (1970) | Platoon (1986) | *Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998) |
| *Midnight Express (1978) | National Lampoon’s Animal House (1978) | Natural Born Killers (1994) |
| *Pulp Fiction (1994) | Reefer Madness (1936) | Repo Man (1984) |
| The Royal Tenenbaums (2001) | Slackers (2002) | The Stoned Age (1994) |
| Where the Buffalo Roam (1980) | 8 Mile (2002) | *American Beauty (1999) |
Done? Excellent! Don’t you feel more like a smoker now? I tell ya, the only thing better than getting wasted is watching someone else do so — good times! Now let’s kick it up a notch. 420 isn’t just about the drugs, movies, laughs, munchies and good times with friends, it’s also about the music. So let’s take a look into the history of smokin’ songs.
Traditional — “La Cucaracha” (1910)
The Mexican Revolution of 1910 forced thousands of Mexicans north, with the weed in their luggage and Pancho Villa’s battle hymn, La Cucaracha, on their lips. The tune, the original lyrics to which concern a stoned cockroach, was to become a jazz standard.
“La cucaracha, La cucaracha ya no puede caminar, por que no tiene, por que no tiene marihuana por fumar” translates into: “The cockroach can’t walk anymore, because he doesn’t have any marihuana to smoke.”
Frankie “Half-Pint’ Jackson — “Willie the Weeper” (1927)
This could be one of the oldest pot songs out there. “Weeper” probably refers to chronic red-eye…ah, the days before Visine.
Baron Lee and the Blue Rhythm Band – “Reefer Man” (1932)
The second-oldest song, and the first whose slang survived to current times. Reefer — nothing says it quite the same. Check out the video on YouTube
Bob Dylan – “Rainy Day Woman” (1966)
“I would not feel so all alone, everybody must get stoned.” I truly believe that the world would be a better place if we all lived according to Bob Dylan’s lyrics.
Black Sabbath – “Sweet Leaf” (1971)
Black Sabbath gave a concert in New York in 2004 with a huge clock up on the stage which struck 4:20 as they began to sing the song. Sweet!
Neil Young – “Homegrown”
Short and simple: “Homegrown is all right with me / Homegrown is the way it should be / Homegrown is a good thing / Plant that bell and let it ring”
Muddy Waters – “Champagne and Reefer”
“Bring me champagne when I’m thirsty / And reefer when I wanna get high / Well you know I’m gonna get so high / The next morning it’s gonna be a crying shame.”
I could go on and on forever like this but 4:20 is coming up fast and I’ve got other plans if you know what I mean, so here’s a quick list of a random goodies:
Well, I guess that concludes my babbling. And for those of you who have taken the time to read all my shit, you will soon be rewarded for your patience. We are approaching the end of this year’s Dr. GoodBud’s-gotta-get-some-shit-off-her-chest beginner’s class, and I don’t know about you but I feel better. Next month is March and you all know what that means: Pre-Planting Pot Party (seeds, soil and sun)! You may now call me Master GoodBud and I will show you the way….
declared in dr good bud