A few weeks back, Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter and guitarist Aaron Lee Tasjan announced his next album Stellar Evolution with a horror-movie-themed music video for “Horror of It All.” Thursday, he followed that with new single “The Drugs Did Me” and an accompanying visual directed by his frequent collaborator Curtis Wayne Millard.
The song tells the story of Tasjan's drug experiences and his journey to sobriety against the backdrop of the video’s kaleidoscopic, alternate-reality art direction and homemade VHS-style aesthetic, enhanced by simple transitions and green-screen effects. As the catchy, synth-kissed, reggae-influenced beat rolls along, Tasjan sings in a slow, slurred voice about the increasingly grim consequences he noticed around his recreational drug use.
At the start, it’s almost silly: “Dirty feet, long greasy hair / Jesus Christ goes heroin chic / Checking the mail in my underwear / Singing her name ’cause I couldn’t speak,” while other voices repeat his inner thoughts between lines, singing “I did the drugs / Till the drugs did me.” But conditions deteriorate, and near the end of the song he recognizes he’s in a truly rough spot, mentally and physically: “Shakin’ hands with a fallen angel / Took me for all I thought I had / I saw love but imagined danger / Ready to die just for a laugh.”
While the narrative unfolds, Tasjan appears in a variety of absurd situations, including a tiny version of himself dancing on a piano keyboard. Millard’s cat Otis Wayne Millard makes an appearance, and Tasjan is haunted by a couple of dancers played by fellow musicians Erica Blinn and Heather Gillis (whose appearance might put you in mind of the video for Beck’s “Loser”).
Stellar Evolution is out April 12 and preorders are available now. Follow Tasjan on Instagram for more updates — and to see him play a solo version of “The Drugs Did Me.”
