Like the avant-garde composer Philip Glass, I was totally changed by the music of Ravi Shankar. Glass’ exposure to the techniques of Indian music helped inspire him to redefine the parameters of Western music. As for me, way back in 1977, I happened upon a used eight-track of George Harrison’s Concert for Bangladesh, and about three minutes into Shankar’s spacey sitar schtick, I realized that what I needed to do was start smoking pot—lots of it. So while the minimalist Glass went on to write operas (Einstein on the Beach and the CIVIL warS), soundtracks (Koyaanisqatsi and The Thin Blue Line), and concert works (the Low Symphony, based on motifs from David Bowie’s Low), I went on to, well, smoke lots of pot. Which, while it didn’t improve the quality of my life much, did make it a lot easier to sit through Koyaanisqatsi. With Foday Musa Suso at 8 p.m. at George Washington University’s Lisner Auditorium, 730 21st St. NW. $22-$35. (202) 432-7328. (Michael Little)