Thirty-eight years ago today (as it says above), Jim Morrison, lead singer of The Doors, died. (And yes, I do believe he's dead, no matter how much hypemasters like Ray Manzarek would have you believe otherwise... when the mood hits him, that is.)
I'm a big fan of his, and theirs. I differentiate between "his" and "theirs" because I appreciate Mr. Mojo Risin' as a poet, and I appreciate The Doors as a group, even after he died and they came out with two Jim-less LPs... which I own.
When the Jerry Hopkins and Danny Sugerman bio of Jim, No One Here Gets Out Alive, came out... I devoured it. He'd only been gone about ten years at that point. But reading that book sent me into several creative avenues. All of them were good, except for my Morrisonesque poetry of the time. That sucked big ones, fellow babies. (Trust me on that, 'cause you'll never see that crap here!)
So, at this point, you probably expect me to fill your little head full of "I'll-bet-you-didn't-know-that!" Doors trivia, and/or embed a bunch of appropriate YouTube videos, right?
Not this time.
Instead I'm going to embed one YouTube video, and it's not even by The Doors! It's the new one by "Weird Al" Yankovic, entitled "Craigslist." Al does an incredible parody of The Doors' style, rather than one song (although there are obvious similarities to both "When the Music's Over" and "Twentieth Century Fox," among others).
And if you're wondering how they got the keyboards to sound so close to Ray Manzarek's style... Ask Ray Manzarek. He's playing them!
Thanks for your... Oh, hell, I said I wasn't actually going to include anything by The Doors, but here goes:
Happy now? Good. (So am I.)
Thanks for your time.
love the doors. have a book of morrisons poetry i like to break out every once in a while.
ReplyDeletefun vid. lol.
have a greaet weekend!
In my opinion, The Doors were the most overrated band of the 60's, followed closely by Dylan! Just because their lyrics fit the scene of the time, did not make them great musicians, the Doors never had a coherent sound, it was like 3 guys tuning their instruments or playing different songs. Morrison was not much of a vocalist,he was a much better poet than dylan though! Strip away the context of the times,and compare them musically with some of their contemporaries, and there is really not much there! Just my Otinious opinion LMAO!
ReplyDeleteWeird Al...have not seen this one.
ReplyDeleteI have always liked The Doors!
Otin: Well... Obviously I disagree, otherwise I wouldn't have devoted an entire post to him and them. But everyone's entitled to their opinion... even DUMB ones! (Jusssst kiddin', dude!) Seriously, though, I agree that the band was a bit pretentious at times, in keeping with the excesses of the 1960s in general... but to me, that's part of what makes them fun.
ReplyDeleteWell, "No One Here Gets Out Alive" was my first big dose of Doors lore. If you check out the book's Wikipedia entry, you'll see that a lot of people had problems with the book... but at that time, it was all we had. Danny Sugerman's contribution gave it a whole "Morrison was a god" feeling. (Sugerman, whose character is referred to as "Denny" for some strange reason whenever he's actually mentioned in the book, was a fan/gofer for the group from its earliest days until years after Jim died, even! He ended up as their manager.)In fact, that line ab out Jim being "a god" was actually in the introduction! "Or at least a demigod," they add! Not exactly onjective. Which is why I don't quibble with anyone (like Otin) saying they're over-rated. Between Sugerman and Manzarek themselves, the group's been hyped into a "legend" status I certainly don't recall being all that huge when they were around, during my childhood.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking (again) of Otin's comments: Musically, I must agree as well, at least part of the time. There were songs where they seemed to be all of one mind, but far too many other songs where they seemed to be playing in their own little worlds.
I don't think they ever could have been as big if they were a product of any other decade.
Damn, maybe I should've tried to get TWO posts out of this.
Hahahahaha! I like your post. You know, even if he is alive, who cares? I mean, if he wants to disappear, that's fine.
ReplyDeleteI didn't do this week because I couldn't think of a thing I wanted to write about that's funky. I hated that term when I was a teen and now I only associate it with music by George Clinton. Soooo. I don't think the Doors were overrated tho'. They were wonderful. Morrison was out there, no question. My one girlfriend saw him perform on stage toward the end of their days and he did something lewd, can't remember what exactly. Probably somethiing that would be taken for granted nowadays.
Hi! Silver Fox,
ReplyDeleteNice post, but I'am not familiar with music...Yet!
Silver Fox, you may have to point me in the direction of this article. Because I'am unable to locate it!
http://silverfoxlair.blogspot.com/2009/05/im-it.html -- and scroll down to #3, for a full explanation.
Thanks,
DeeDee ;-D
Oops!...Typo alert!
ReplyDeleteNice post, but I'am not familiar with The Door's music...Yet!
Hello there!
ReplyDeleteI tagged you on my blog! Come and collect your award of awesome-ness :)
xoxo
DeeDee: That link gets you to a post called "I'm... It?" Scroll down to the list of "6 things about me" -- each number and "thing" is in bold print -- and the third one states that I'm a "male slut." That's the section I wanted you to read.
ReplyDeleteMarianna: I truly appreciate the award -- although I'm not thrilled with being designated as a "queen" for some strange reason, ha ha -- but I can't think of seven awesome things about myself... plus, if I were to pick seven people for the award, I'd feel like I was slighting all the people I left out.
That's basically the same reason I never followed up on the last award ("Ewe" Rock) I got. I feel like I'm giving a slap in the face to people who are complimenting me!
Now I don't know what to do...
So...where can I find your personal Morrison-esque poetry?
ReplyDeleteNot even YOU have that much money! ;-)
ReplyDeleteI'd rather try to re-construct "The Grandson of Dracula" from memory!
Yes Jim was Amazing.Much underrated in The Scheme Of Things.It's a pointless game but what would he have become had He lived.? I Wonder.
ReplyDeleteHave you ever heard of the British Singer KEVIN COYNE?.I also liked his work but was surprised to read this recently........
."...........Kevin's refusal to compromise was shown early in his career when he turned down a meeting with founder of Elektra Records Jac Holzman (Coyne's band Siren were on Elektra in America) to discuss replacing Jim Morrison in The Doors. "I didn't like the leather trousers!" was Coynes' alleged reason."
.Do you know anything of this rumour?
Waiting
ReplyDeletewaiting
waiting
waiting
waiting for you to..
Apologise Otin!
Just kidding LOL :D
Ah many thanks Mr foxy!:)
[edited to clarify, and delete typo]
ReplyDeleteTony: Never heard the Kevin Coyne story. Thanks for including it!
In the last few years, a few vocalists have been associated with The Doors, or rather, their offshoots.
Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam performed with the three surviving members at The Doors' 1993 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Doors drummer John Densmore said he might consider forming/joining a Doors reunion band with Manzarek and Krieger, IF they could get someone of Eddie Vedder's quality as their lead singer.
Manzarek and Krieger formed The Doors of the 21st Century (which became D21C, and then Riders on the Storm, after a lawsuit by Densmore and Morrison's estate). Ian Astbury of the Cult handled the vocal chores from 2002-2007. Brett Scallions of The Fuel has been Riders on the Storm's lead singer since 2007.
Hey, I blogged about Jim's death that year too but I did it on myspace. lol
ReplyDelete