The Doors

More recently, I kinda became obsessed with Jim Morrison/The Doors. I'm on a Joseph Campbell FB group and someone mentioned that Jim Morrison was influenced by Joseph Campbell's Hero With A Thousand Faces. So I just kinda dived in after that, I immediately downloaded all their albums from Apple Music and I watched The Doors movie with Val Kilmer.

This obsession got to the point where I was experiencing synchronistic moments, like I'd be thinking about a song, and then it'd be on the radio. I was also in the process of literally losing my mind because of bipolar reasons. I was in an ambulance on my way to the hospital and oddly enough "Break on Through" came on the radio. So my psychosis was stimulated pretty intensely for the 5 days I was in the hospital. I kept writing every day, like I was channeling something. Wrote some pretty out there stuff with a golf pencil. I made time to watch the sunrise and sunset, both lit the Chicago skyline on fire in different ways.

Needless to say, their first album was stuck in my head pretty much the whole time I was in there. I don't want to say it saved my life, but it made me feel less crazy. Or more crazy...but with a soundtrack.

It's inspired me to use music as a method of healing, like shamanism.

Also, Lana Del Rey references Morrison in her song "Gods and Monsters"

 

I know The Doors can get the side eye from some circles, but they had legit great songs. For my part, I'll take Morrison Hotel and LA Woman over their earlier stuff, but to each their own. Love their cover of "Gloria" too.

 

It's so weird. I mean I can prolly understand why, Morrison's personality is not for everyone. I for one, have always enjoyed poetry and I think he wrote from another world.

 

Yeah, I see it too, especially now that I'm a bit older. Morrison could go over the top, but you can say that about a lot of people. Think their saving grace was that they were very much a band. I think Rolling Stone had a piece awhile back chronicling their early days, and the band basically played a residency 6 nights a week or something. The musicianship always was tight for them allowing Morrison to chase his muses.

 

I had no idea people hated them until a few years ago, one of my dad's favorite bands and I like them, I think Jim was more self aware than people think

 

This thread has existed for a whole day and I didn't know?? They're one of my favorite bands! I obsessed over them for like a six month long period, got to know everything about them, visited Morrison's grave like the whole nine yards haha. I totally second that Morrison was more self aware than he gets credit for and I think the perception of him as some sort of off the rails rock star type is a posthumous characterization fueled by the Kilmer movie (which I hate but I'm not going to get into) and the stigmatization of drug use.

Anyway I came here to say The Doors are the best because no one during their time could improvise as a band the way they did. Their musicianship was also largely unmatched, particularly in LA, except for Morrison who was really more of a poet than a musician. Manzarek is a god amongst men. I think that's all I wanted to say lol

 

They are simultaneously overrated and quite good.

"Touch Me" is hands-down one of the best songs of the 60s.

 

I love the Doors.

I was lucky enough to see Riders On The Storm before Ray passed away. They were incredible live

 

I would like to know a little more about their sound and the scales Krieger uses. There is some mysterious sounding riffs. I love the way he weaves through a song. You think that's Phrygian or Mixlodian? I know there were a couple songs that frequently used the 7th chords.

 

I know he was a flamenco player prior, and his father was big on classical music, but I'm not musically inclined enough to tell how much that influenced his work with The Doors.

EDIT: Reading up on it, looks like he was big into fingerpicking, which seems to be right in line with a lot of his influences. And the timeline of The Doors would suggest he was one of the early adopters of this among his contemporaries.

 

Can you feel it
Now that Spring has come
That it's time to live in the scattered sun

 

The blue bus is calling us...

No better song represents death or the eschaton than "The End". I'll be humming it on my way out. Just the guitar parts alone makes my spirit want to jump out.

 

Spent yesterday watching a Doors doc on Netflix. Pretty good stuff, really hits how quickly Jim fell apart.

 

Currently doing a discog run…halfway through. Just finished Waiting for the Sun (not gonna listen to any of the post-JM albums)

Such a great band. I grew up listening to their Best Of…stuff as my parents were big fans, but I don’t recall a lot of the deeper cuts so I am enjoying going through all their albums top to bottom.

 

It's been a while, and I've got some time today, so I might join you on that. I should listen to the post-JM albums, but I know I won't.

 

Don’t think I’ve ever done an album ranking before.

Waiting For The Sun
The Doors
LA Woman
Morrison Hotel
Strange Days
The Soft Parade

 

the doors
la woman
waiting for the sun
strange days
morrison hotel
soft parade

amazing band. i was obsessed with them when i was a teenager.