Music and Pipes

Does the music you are listening to determine the pipe tobacco you are smoking?

Or, does the tobacco you are smoking affect your choice of music? Maybe it’s sort of a chicken or the egg type of question and therefore meaningless.

Here’s the thing. My taste in music is eclectic – Classic Rock, Oldies, Old Country, Classical and various genres of Blues. My preference is pre-1990s music for some reason – probably because I’m old. I don’t listen to rap, hip-hop, and current pop. I also seldom listen to what passes as current country music.

At one time, I mainly listened to country music stars like Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, Charlie Daniels, Tom T. Hall, Johnny Cash, etc. I used to watch Porter Wagoneer and Dolly Parton on TV. I remember hearing the Grand Ole Opry on the radio. (Minnie Pearl was so much more funny than female comedians are today.)

I even admit to liking rock, pop and Motown music from the 60s. There’s a reason why the Beatles are still selling music today. Janis Joplin, Jimmy Hendrix, The Doors… no one is making music like they did.  In my opinion, most music prior to 2000 was just easier to listen to and more enjoyable. What is really surprising to me is that some of the music I didn’t get “into” back then – Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Molly Hatchet – are more enjoyable to me now.

1980 rolled around and The Blue Brothers spiked an interest in Blues. Actually, it connected the dots to the music I grew up with along the bayous in southeast Louisiana – Fats Domino, B.B. King, Howlin’ Wolf, Muddy Waters, Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown – to other types of Blues. I also became “aware” of how much Blues influenced other types of music like rock and country. The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, The Animals, Fleetwood Mac, Whitesnake are just some of the great English Blues bands. Rod Stewart, Eric Clapton, Eric Burdon, Mick Jagger, Jack Bruce, Keith Richards are just some of the great Blues musician to come out of England.

And listen to some of the traditional country music of the 50s and 60s. The general subject matter – drinking, heartbreak, somebody done me wrong, etc. – is the same whether it’s to a 12-bar beat and cord syncopation or whether it is less rhythm-driven and relies heavily on string instruments like guitars and fiddles.

I think the musical connection between the three is why I can easily move between the three for my listening pleasure. The same with my tobacco choice for smoking to each. Honestly, I find myself picking English blends for listening to classic rock. It tends to bite less when I occasionally get caught up in the beat and start puffing faster. And, there is something about traditional country that sends me to lighting up a good Burley or Virginia/Perique blend.

The blues come in so many different types – Chicago, Delta, Memphis, Swamp, Texas, English, etc. – that it’s hard to match one tobacco with it. I do tend to smoke blends containing perique with Swamp Blues (Tab Benoit, Smokin’ Joe Kubek, Brian Langlinais) and aromatics when listening to Samantha Fish, Hugh Laurie and Doctor John.

If you are interested in exploring the blues, let me recommend my favorite blues podcast, http://roadhousepodcast.com/ hosted by Tony Steidler-Dennison. I’ve been a subscriber to the podcast for a number of years and he’s always introducing new artists.

(© J. Gibson Creative Services)