Pop Quiz: Ian Brown

Pop Quiz: Ian Brown

Aidin Vaziri | Ian Brown was the lead singer for the Stone Roses, one of the most influential British guitar bands of all time. When the band split in 1996, Brown decided to give up music and go into gardening. When that didn't work out, he launched a solo career, only to have record company troubles and a brief spell in jail for an air-rage incident combined to prevent most of his releases from reaching America. But that's changed with his fourth and latest, "Solarized," which hits stores this week.



Ian Brown
Q: Does 95 percent of your life revolve around weed?
A: Me and my girl met through weed. I was in New York and I went up to this apartment to buy marijuana and that's where she was. It was a hunt for marijuana that led me to her.
Q: Tell me honestly. What's No. 1: weed or music?
A: Well, you know, both come together. They're inseparable. It's all about vibes. When you're in the studio, you're playing songs over and over and they've got to have vibes, otherwise they're getting binned.
Q: OK then, what are the albums everyone should listen to when they're high?
A: "Electric Ladyland" by Jimi Hendrix. The Bob Marley box set. The James Brown "Star Time" box set. "Black Caesar" is also pretty good. And then "The Best Dressed Chicken in Town" by Dr. Alimantado.