Tag Archives: The Doors

“No longing for the moonlight, no longing for the sun. No longer will I curse the bad I’ve done.”

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If you feel like you belong in this world, that you were born at the right time then you are so lucky. If you don’t feel empty when you see what your generation are into, then you are lucky. If you can relate, then man..how do you do it? Reality shows are fake and pointless. Books are being turned into devices. Record stores are closing. And I don’t understand why people use Instagram. Why do people take photos of their food? If I wanted to know what you ate, I probably would’ve asked if you wanted to go for dinner. I don’t get it. I don’t hate everything around me; far from it. I just don’t really hold much hope, love or like even towards modern life. I hate that I was born when I was, and grew up to see cultures turn cold and reliant on things that can break instantly.

Some bands are hell-bent on recreating a sound that was done in the 70s/80s. Some do it really well without making it obvious. However some just look silly. It’s like that time everyone thought neon paint and “bringing back” the 80s was a good idea. I guess current times are so shit, we must stay in the past. Again, I don’t get it.

I don’t really understand people who claim to only listen to music that isn’t current you know? Do you have ANY idea what you’re missing out on? From 2:54 to Crocodiles to King Dude to Warpaint and all in-between. There’s so much good music that you’re missing out on. I know, I know we will never have an album as powerful as Psychocandy or as creepy as Seventeen Seconds or as wonderful as Viva Hate. It’s okay. Trust me, it’s alright.

But modern life (aside from some music) is a drag. It’s a chore to get up and carry on, I know. I fully understand. If I didn’t force myself to go to the gym every morning I’d probably stay in my room and not go out. Not because modern life is toss, but for many other reasons. You have to force yourself to carry on and do what you can. You just have to. The alternative isn’t exactly something that appeals.

You twist, you turn. You fight with yourself, you fight with anyone who will listen. You declare you’re not good enough. You know why? Because your surroundings make you believe that you’re worth nothing. Thing is, we’re all worth something. Maybe not to ourselves but to one person for sure. I know I should pay attention to what I write; but I just can’t. I don’t think I could ever fully believe in myself and not carry some self-doubt you know. I just think, if I ever thought I was good at something I would never do it again. If I thought I was a decent Music Writer, I’d stop. I’m not looking for a pat on the back or for someone to say I’m any good. Far from it. This is my venting my frustrations at life and how we are becoming more numb to all we see, and all we are. People are caring less and less. My problem is that I probably care too much. I don’t care what people think about me because 1 or 2 people truly know me. As you get older, you realise what matters. You slowly see that people are as cruel as school kids in the playground. They will stab you in the back, and through the heart too. Whilst trying to fuck with your mind. People aren’t as loving as they once were.

Where I live everyone looks the same. I try not to look up when I leave the house. If I look up and around, my self-hate will go through the roof. Eye contact just doesn’t happen. The pavement is my friend. The cracks are the tales of fury. They cracked because they couldn’t take it anymore. I fully understand.

I hate where I am, and the harder I try to get out; the further I am knocked back.

So I play music as loud as I can in my ears. Just to drown out everything, and everyone. It’s working. I’ll get out, even if I have to fucking crawl.

I’m using music to drag me through.

The Doors- The Doors.

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I cannot remember the first time I heard The Doors, but I know I was very young. I’ll pass responsibility onto my mum for my love for this band. She used to play them around the house a bit. I’m pretty sure she’d play their songs to get me to sleep too. Except, I wouldn’t sleep. I’d just listen to the music and want to hear it. So in my head I thought, “If I pretend I can’t sleep, I’ll get to listen to music.” It worked. And I guess it was why, when I got older I used to only be able to fall asleep after I’d listened to John Peel on the radio before bed. I’d sacrifice sleep just to hear something that would blow my young mind.

Music should always, I feel, take you to a place that you’d never go yourself. It should carry you off to a magical and warped place. When a piece of music can fuck with your mind, body and soul- you know you’ve found something worth gripping onto as firmly as you can. With a band like The Doors, they have the grip on YOU. They’re a band that when you first hear, you never look back. They become a sanctuary. They are the blood in your veins. They cover you in goose bumps. 40 years plus, and they are STILL one of the best bands to have ever existed. No other band has ever had what they had. They had something no other band possessed, but you can tell they try to. Try all you want though, how could you not be influenced by such a band.

For me, I hold their debut record so very dear to my heart. If I could find the right word to describe it, I would. But no word seems to be good enough. No word can actually capture a description of this record. No word can actually fully state what this record means to me, and so many more. There is something entirely magical and lucid about this record. You do not feel like you are on this planet  when you listen to it. It’s a straight up fact that Jim was a poet. He wasn’t just one of the best frontmen EVER. He wasn’t just a singer. He was just a perfect poet. His words set your soul off. His words made your heart flutter. They still do. I listen to his words, and I feel as if I’m falling in love. And I’m not even sure if I know what love truly is you know? But I really really feel it when I listen to The Doors, especially their first record. Break On Through (To The Other Side) is just from start to finish so very very hypnotising. Jim’s words can be taken as poetry, take away the music and just read the words- and you have some delicate, vulnerable and astounding poetry. One of my favourite things Jim ever wrote is found in this song :

“I found an island in your arms,
Country in your eyes.
Arms that chain.
Eyes that lie.
Break on through to the other side.”

This is just..man, if I had the words to sum up that verse I would. But I just can’t. All I know is that it still blows my mind.

Their debut record is enough to arouse a Nun. Seriously, it is THAT sexually charged. I mean, Robby is for serious, THE most underrated guitarist I’ve ever heard. He creates such magic. The whole record gives you that, “Come and get it” vibe. I just don’t know if any record since this has ever created such a feeling in me, or anyone. Was it ahead of its time? Yes. Will a record ever be this vital again? No. How can you even try to replicate something as eerie and sensual as this? The Doors were the band you wish you were in. Or, they are the band you wish you could play like. Hell..if I was musically talented I’d want to be like them. I’d want to give people this feeling. That feeling of, “I want this..but what is happening to me as I’m listening to it?! WHAT IS GOING ON INSIDE OF ME RIGHT NOW?!”

End Of The Night is a song that gives me something so powerful. So powerful that all I can do is just shut my eyes and go some place I don’t want to be bothered. It makes me want to sit on a beach in L.A. in the pitch black staring at the sky and the stars hitting the water. I’ll ignore the sounds of people and cars passing me by. I’m just sitting on the beach falling into my own sense of freedom, euphoria and a general state of bliss.

The loner, the outsider, the reckless fool, the one that people dismiss-if this is how you feel then The Doors will send you in the right direction. Jim’s lyrics provide a sense of comfort and the music just makes you glad you’re alive. That’s what you want. It is what you need. Their debut record was the soundtrack for so many when it was released, and 45 years on- I can safely say it is the soundtrack to mine. There is something about this record that just makes you feel something so soulful, deep and spiritual that you know you’ve been waiting so long to feel.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZGAXBdxgss&feature=relmfu

When I feel like I need something to remind me about how it may just get better, I play The Doors. Mainly the first record. Jim’s words give me reassurance and hope. That’s what one needs to get through this life, and to possibly carry it on into the next one.

Love, hope, vulnerability and desire; this is what this record fills me with. There’s much more but you can only feel it when you listen to this record. When I first heard this record I felt like I was having some weird, outer-body experience. It is almost like an epiphany. I was so young when I first heard this record, but I remember feeling this. As I listen to it now, it is just like the first time I heard it.

This record still causes my heart to skip,leap and flutter. It causes my mind to trip. It wakes up my soul. It goes beyond being just a record.