The Doors Are My New (second!) Favorite Band

 

But I think that little Jimmy Morrison and his squad of killer lizards has finally taken residence in that place. And I want to tell all the people just why...because the Doors are an American band.

 

LET ME ELABORATE! The Doors aren't just an American band; they are, quite possibly, the greatest American band ever. Better'n Ween even. Yeah, I said it...hmm though, Ween IS pretty good...WAIT! Lemme get back on track.

 

The Doors do something for me that no other American band can, or ever has. They have made music that is appropriately epic. It's easier for a British band to be "epic" (I mean, if Led Zep could do it, anyone could), because British bands can fall back on their medieval folk history to create that kind of sound. American bands therefore had two options: either ape the British acts, or stick with "American" music, which is fairly unepic, even when traced to the roots.

 

The Doors, however, were able to forge a golden compromise, and make American epics. Convincing ones too, and without having to do British sounding stuff. Their fusion of blues and Goth is fairly unique, and I can't really think of an American band that's done better (if you can, please tell me! I'll eat that crap up). I mean, stuff like "Maggie M'Gill" and "Riders on the Storm?" It's all very epic, but at the same time, very American (blues and Western influences respectively). And "The End" is certainly epic and American in its lyrical imagery ("Ride the King's Highway," "The west is the best," the infamous "weird scenes inside a gold mine").

 

Oh, and, the Doors actually "take me there." I know some people rave on and on about the weird scenes inside a wolfhound that "Close to the Edge" does for 'em, but Strange Days is a complete trip for me from start to finish. And that's something that's kind of rare for me; the only thing that comes to mind so vividly was the aquatic Ainglish imagery of "The Poet and the Painter" from the "Thick as a Brick" suite.

 

So, that's my story...why did I post this again?

 

Heh. You know I love that. All Angeleno bands are great by default.

 

Hey, whatchu mean "SOMEHOW make good music?" How could a rampaging frontman who was hated by his band possibly NOT make "good music?"

 

Ghost Rider: the only other band I can possibly think of (in my, largely inadequate theorizing, I'm sure) is Kansas, but alls I know 'em for is "Carry On My Inward Truck." Uneven bands are great! It means they ain't afraid to experiment. As my pappy (God rest his soul) always used to say, "It takes a great band to make a bad album."

 

And, c'mon...feeding duckies? Those ain't my Doors. Oh well, at least Robbie looks kinda suspicious about it.

 

(Coincidentally, I didn't start with Days, but Hotel. Which means that I'm divided over what to get next: the debut, for its extreme popularity here and at allmusic (although they HATED Strange Days by comparison, the bashtahds), or LA Woman for the town...so I'll probably end up getting a "pop" album, since I got a Goth and a Blues one anyways.)

 

Yeah, I know man...I saw the movie. Pack o' lies that it was...gods, if I saw that Indian one more time, I was gonna strangle Oliver Stone...