I knew a guy at a university who was heavily into "math rock." He also loved Bob Marley. I think he took Humanities or Communication or some other uselessness. He would get stoned and sit for hours on his couch watching TV or checking out something on his Fender Strat electronic specification printout on the wall. His nickname was "Daze" (I swear I couldn't make this shit up if I tried). On the other wall (his place only had two walls), there was a Periodic Table of the Elements. He took some pride in knowing a bit about the atomic numbers and weights on the table and asked you to quiz him on these every now and then. He was basically a knob who, in addition to offering Grade-A pot by the barrel, would spout what he thought were need-to-know facts about our friends on his Periodic poster. This quick learning session would invariably be followed by a scheme to use said element to get high. One of his favorites was about zinc. The brief conversation always went something like this:
Daze: Hey man [of course], did you know zinc isn't generally poisonous, but if you inhale ZnO you can get 'the oxide shakes' or 'zinc chills?'
Me: Oh?
Daze: Hey man, do you wanna maybe see if I can get my hands on some zinc…
At which point I would normally stand up and politely say, "Thanks for the times. I forgot I have somewhere to be…"
I'm not such a weak-kneed uni student anymore. When I'm jonesin' for zinc shakes, I get the purest form possible: The Zincs. Always go to source, that's what I say. The Zincs will be pushing Black Pompadour, their third album of handsome tunes with dark tongue, through the always reliable middle-man Thrill Jockey on March 20. Keep your windows closed while playing for optimum results, man.
