Comments on: Film Noir and The Doors

By: Tony D'Ambra

Tony D'Ambra — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 21:15:54 +0000

Thanks Analiese for your comment. Morrison was a true poet.

By: Analiese Z

Analiese Z — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 18:00:54 +0000

As most of the people that leave comments on this webpage, i was not born in the 60′s, 70′s or 80′s. I am 17 years old and really enjoy music by the doors. I mostly listen to music from the 60′s and 70′s, and one of my favorite bands would have to be the Doors. I love the pure poetry and life that Jim Morrison puts in his songs,a Lyrical genius. Out of the many many songs the Doors made my favorite would be between “Queen of the Highway” and “People are Strange”

By: Tony D'Ambra

Tony D'Ambra — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 22:42:35 +0000

Thanks MovieMan. Morrison was a mad beat poet and yes his live act was over-the-top, and as you rightly say, so what! His irony was in-your-face but deeply profound:

Cancer city
Urban fall
Summer sadness
The highways of the old town
Ghosts in cars
Electric shadows

from Poems – The New Creatures (1970)

The recent live albums reveal his humor and that he was not above self-parody. His most resonant outburst for me at a concert: “I don’t know about you but I’m gonna get my kicks before the whole shit-house burns down…”.

By: MovieMan0283

MovieMan0283 — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 03:53:17 +0000

I too love the Doors. What do you think of the fact that many music critics (particularly those tilted more towards the punk scene and wary of sixties bombast) disparage the Doors as over-the-top? My response has always been yeah, but so what? And I don’t buy Morrison as completely un-ironic in his morbidity; not that it was a put-on either.

Though The Doors has the most famous songs, I’d say Strange Days is their best, most interesting album, it’s got a marvelous sonic quality and overarching mood (and you gotta love the cover art).

By: Sam Juliano

Sam Juliano — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 19:23:25 +0000

Well ,Tony, I will say this: The Doors are high up on my list of favorite bands, and i can’t blame anyone who puts them on top. The Beatles would be tops for me, with the Who the runner-up. After that the Doors, the Stones, and the Beach Boys next in no certain order. Needless to say I was utterly fascinated by the fantastic comments here from Alexander and Guy! This is a great thread.

By: Guy Budziak

Guy Budziak — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 03:38:39 +0000

Hey, I stand corrected,it’s Ajax, not Mr. Clean.

By: Tony D'Ambra

Tony D'Ambra — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 01:37:15 +0000

Thanks guys! Your posts have really made this thread. Much appreciated!

By: Guy Budziak

Guy Budziak — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 21:06:14 +0000

My musical tastes have taken a lot of twists and turns since the late Sixties. In the early Seventies, after Morrison was gone, I got into the best of the Glam era, Bowie, Lou Reed, Roxy Music, Brian Eno, Iggy, The Velvet Underground, Nico, then in the late Seventies it was Punk and New Wave. I was pretty selective, but what I liked I liked a lot. As for biopics of bands and musicians, I’m not a big fan either. I don’t much care for Val Kilmer as it is, in the Doors film or any other for that matter. I did get a kick out of seeing Crispin Glover as Andy Warhol though, he’s such a nut, but in a way that I truly enjoy. I have been to see some concerts in recent years, but those already mentioned, Roxy Music (twice in the past ten years), Iggy and The Stooges (again, twice, I won free tickets the second time), as well as The Pixies, The Breeders, Ray Davies (I read that Morrison was also a Kinks fan, some say the riff from Hello I Love You was a lift from All The Day [And All Of The Night]). I also became a fan of Elliott Smith after hearing Needle In The Hay in the film The Royal Tenenbaums, his album From A Basement On The Hill is a masterpiece. And I love Johnny Cash’s music, especially the last four Rick Rubin-produced albums he made late in life. My enthusiasm for music these days takes a back seat to my love of film, but I haven’t turned my back on it totally. Yesterday I was listening to a Radiohead concert and a new album by a band called Animal Collective, both from the NPR Music site on the net. The latter sound much like The Beach Boys when they went psychedelic, incredible harmonies. Oh, one last thing, if you listen very closely to the very end of Touch Me, you’ll hear these words: “Stronger Than Dirt!” Swear to God, just like the old TV commercial for Mr. Clean. It’s there, check it out.

By: Alexander Coleman

Alexander Coleman — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 19:47:47 +0000

As Tony and Sam know from past discussions at Coleman’s Corner, I love The Doors. They are one of the few bands for whom I become defensive when they are attacked by someone who clearly does know what they are talking about. (See? There I go already.) Everything Tony, Guy and Sam say is inarguable–The Doors’ equally moony and moody melodies, the poetic lyrics, the atmospherically subterranean attitude of their music and the singularly cinematic quality of their work, all combine to create, at the very least, one of the greatest rock bands of all time.

As I likewise expressed in the “W.” thread over at Coleman’s Corner, I am no fan of Stone’s “The Doors.”

By: Tony D'Ambra

Tony D'Ambra — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 22:57:48 +0000

Sam, I would also say that The Doors was the greatest US rock band, and I would go further and say of all time. Their music is quintessentially of it’s time yet beyond it: the lyrics are poetic milestones, and the melodies and musical innovations as fresh as ever. Listen to The Doors with quality earphones and you will rediscover a world of infinite permutations. Also their live act was raw and unpredictable, and included many rock and blues standards.

To be honest I have avoided Stones’ biopic, just as I have avoided the movie bios of Elvis and Johnny Cash. Jim Morrison, Elvis, and Cash, were larger than life, and no movie can do justice to their personas, their music, or their angst.