Whatever happened to great "reference" songs like this one?

Question

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LdwGUXoXyA&feature=related

White Rabbit - Jefferson Airplane

One pill makes you larger
And one pill makes you small
And the ones that mother gives you
Don't do anything at all
Go ask Alice
When she's ten feet tall

And if you go chasing rabbits
And you know you're going to fall
Tell 'em a hookah smoking caterpillar
Has given you the call
Recall Alice
When she was just small

When men on the chessboard
Get up and tell you where to go
And you've just had some kind of mushroom
And your mind is moving low
Go ask Alice
I think she'll know

When logic and proportion
Have fallen sloppy dead
And the White Knight is talking backwards
And the Red Queen's "off with her head!"
Remember what the doormouse said:
"FEED YOUR HEAD

Fozie: lol, yeah you are thinking like me.

(typo) Fonzie T

Geez...do I have to spell it out? Yes drug refs. made in music that coincides with so called "children's literature".

Answer 1

You know the band says that this song is not about drugs, just like the Beatles say Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds is not about LSD. But I think we all know the truth :]

Answer 2

Not sure. Maybe they all got wrote up!
You still see references made but the approach is much more subtle.

Here's another Airplane brain cell buster.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILL1tXpZVrw

The electrical dust is starting to rust
Her trapezoid thermometer taste

Answer 3

That song is basically a summary of "Alice In Wonderland" which was pretty clear to me that it was written by someone who was very high on drugs at the time.

Answer 4

You mean specifically drug references?

edit*

aha ok- drugs. I think it's simply because times have changed. In rock music, drugs are no longer the social, 'glamorous' thing it was in the 60s & 70s.

Answer 5

What do you mean?
btw I love the Patti Smith cover of this song.