I know that Morrison is the epitome of the pretentious rock star, and Ray Manzerick is pretty much a douche, and normally I'd hate a band with those qualities, but dammit, Morrison was so earnest that I kind of can't help but admire him a little bit for his Lizard King / drunk poet / tribal chief schtick. (By the way, I mentioned Morrison in passing when discussing this curious tendancy of some lead singers to inexplicably reinvent themselves as Native American, made even stranger by the fact that fellow pseudo-Indian Ian Astbury of The Cult toured with the remainder of the Doors recently)
"Break On Through" is the first song on thier first album, but the first time I heard it was on that red double CD "Best of the Doors", which I think came pretty much standard issue in any white kid's music collection (along with probably Bob Marley's "Legend" and later, Pearl Jam's "Ten"). Back then in ninth grade, I only knew The Doors from a few radio hits, like "Light My Fire", "Touch Me" and "Riders on the Storm", although I remember MTV sometimes playing "Unknown Soldier" and "Wild Child" videos in the 80's for some odd reason.
Someone you knew had this
In this song I like the quiet beginning leading up to the loud chourus (that quiet verse / loud chorus dynamic would be populaized by many an alternative act in the 1990s too). My favorite part (and it's a really short song, so there's not much from which to choose) is the last verse where Morrison gets really rolling around the 2:00 mark ("day to day / week to week / hour to hour") - that's good right there, and he's really selling it. Say what you will about the guy, but he really had a hell of a great voice, and one of the greatest howls in rock & roll history (check about 1:50 in)
7 comments:
Probably my favorite song when I was 16. I got my first CD player for my 16th birthday; here are the discs I had at the time:
1) Abbey Road
2) Rolling Stones Hot Rocks
3) Best of the Doors
4) The Wall
I am white.
1. The second time I joined BMG, the 12 tapes/cds for a penny mail order company, I got the 2 tape Best of the Doors.
2. In my 11th grade English class, I did a presentation on some of Jim Morrison's poetry. As mentioned in a previous comment, I had done the same thing with Going to California the year before.
3. I had a poster of Jim Morrison hanging in my freshman dorm room. It hung right next to a Jimi Hendrix poster.
4. I always liked the L.A. Woman album. Some pretty good urban bluesy California rock. I haven't listened to it in a long time but'll probably do so today after writing this. I remember MTV having a video for the title track.
5. B. Mo, I agree with you about Morrison's emotive presentation. I think that is one of the reasons why so many of us middle class crackers were drawn into their music. Here was this dude who would begin a song all smooth-like and then begin screaming his head off (Love Me Two Times?). Screaming seems to hold some mystic appeal to the white adolescent.
6. Speaking of screaming... I also had a Hendrix "import" cd called Bleeding Heart. It was recorded at some club in NYC but contained a few songs with Morrison drunkenly singing/ranting. My favorite part on it was when Morrison begins screaming, "Fuck her in the ass." To a sheltered suburban kid, that was pure gold.
7. What about Oliver Stone's Doors movie? When it came out, it was the only dramatization of 60s rock life I'd ever seen. I haven't seen it since I was in high school, but I remember how much it added to my perception of the Morrison mystique.
Best Doors song ever?
Roadhouse Blues as performed by Blue Oyster Cult on Extra Terrestrial Live. Brilliant.
A cousin of mine, Bill, was a Doors freak growing up and whenever we stayed at his folks' beach house, he spent nearly every breath trying to convince me and anyone who would listen, why the Doors were the greatest and why Morrison was God. He was a dork so I figured the Doors sucked. I came into my Doors phase in my late 20s.
Then there was the friend of another cousin, Leanne Metzcus. She introduced me to the Rolling Stones. She was hot so I listened to her.
Soft Parade is my favorite album.
The End is my favorite song.
Shit, Y'Shua! What about the Bruce McCulloch (Kids in the Hall) song about The Doors? If you haven't heard it, you should. Cousin Bill would appreciate it.
Link:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=l-XXgQY6xKA
While you're at it, check out this related anti-Communist, rock testimonial:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=fnyCJDYONSU
Side note: The entire McCulloch album is high-larious.
I don't know if it has the ass fucking, but here is a link to the Hendrix / Morrison bootleg I have.
I gotta say it is pretty un-listenable. This, of course is before I knew of possible tradesmen entrance references.
ah, shit:
here it is.
Great comments, people.
Merk: You, like most of us suburban white boys in the 80's, sounded like a 96 Rock devotee.
Cookie:
"Fuck her in the ass" vs. "Father, I want to kill you. Mother, I want to fuck you."
Can't go wrong either way.
And I loved that Doors movie. When was that, 1991? That really sparked a huge resurgence in their popularity. Val Kilmer was awesome as Morrison.
The "Doors Fan" and "Can't Kill Rock" videos? I just completely missed Kids in the Hall in my pop culture background. So, they're....OK. Liked the flute playing, though.
Y'Suea: Incredible how you worked a BOC reference in a Doors thread. Well played, sir.
And I agree with you on "The Soft Parade". That's a great album.
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