30 years ago...

[den]

Jim Morrison died 30 years ago.

I really like the music of The Doors. It's great stuff! I like the lyrics and the poetry.

But I don't understand the deification that is being done to Morrison's memory. He wasn't the master poet snatched away from us. If there was ever the title "Master Poet Snatched Away From Us" then it belongs to John Lenon.

But even Lenon doesn't have the same level ot worship that Morrison seems to earn.

I had to agree with Ron 'Hitler' Barassi of This Is Serious Mum when he sang "Grandfather to a generation of Depression Worhipers" in 'Morrison Hostel.'

And I laughed when I read the last paragraph on the BBC Online's article about Morrison. "And in Paris, beneath the graffiti-strewn slab, the candles and the fading blooms, lies not the decaying body of an alcohol-raddled narcissist, but an ideal of perfection - as ancient as human life itself."

Perfection for depression worshippers.

Comments

[lonita.livejournal.com]

Morrison was overrated. He only has the titles he has, because they were "door openers", and because people always show a distinct lack of perception in choosing their heros.

No pun intended.

It's akin to why most people like Shakespeare or Tolkien; not because either of them are any good, but because they are told to like them; they are socialised to like them; they are brainwashed into liking them... by school, by peers, by snobs, by the media...

Morrison's "poetry" for the most part, was crap. I think he was a pseudo-intellectual, if such thigs exist. Those who didn't like him were equated to the level of ignoramus. You know the type I mean? Art snobs?

Lennon's work always had a message; though I'd never suggest that a heavy-duty message was a requirement of being good. Lennon had a brain. Morrison had drugs. There seemed precious little honesty in anything Morrison ever did. (I guess I'm trying to imply that Lennon had far more depth than Morrison did.)

Don't get me wrong, I enjoy The Doors myself. (Though I find it ironic that the song they are most famous for, wasn't one that Morrison wrote. Actually, I find it very funny.)

[i.livejournal.com]

for someone who hasn't even read tolkien, methinks thou dost protest too much. (mixed literary reference intended) i read tolkein before any of my friends did and loved it. it is classic, like nothing before or since, and worth your effort if you ever take a long plane trip.

shakespeare never impressed me until i saw james earl jones play king lear in central park. he blew me away. shakespeare isn't for reading, he is for watching. there is a reason why some of our best actors are trained in the shakespeare tradition.

morrison had a brain, too. lennon had drugs too.
more on them above.

[lonita.livejournal.com]

Ahh, with that comment I wasn't at all trying to imply that Tolkien and Shakespeare were bad; I was just using them as easy examples of "famous persons" that may not be as hot as a lot of people would like to think they are.

There are, and I'm sure you realise this, people who like things because it is popular to like them; not out of their own perceptions.

Re:

[i.livejournal.com]

absolutely. one of my other favorite sayings is "most people buy the art they are told they should like, instead of the art they would actually enjoy living with"