The Very Best of the Doors

I spent the day “rocking out” to the Doors. The Very Best of the Doors was one of the most coveted Christmas presents in our household: Other Family Members would not allow me to listen to it on my new Sony CD Walkman. “We want to hear it, too.” Even the animals seemed to like it. So we spent the day listening to “Break on Through (to the Other Side),” Light My Fire,” “The Crystal Ship,” “Waiting for the Sun,” and other brilliant old songs.

As Rolling Stone said,

"At its best, the Doors’ music — “Light My Fire,” “L.A. Woman” — has come to evoke a noirish view of ’60s California that contrasts sharply with the era’s prevailing folky, trippy style.”

One great thing about the counter-culture era: seasonal depression was never an issue. Christmas belonged to our parents’ culture and we simply didn’t take it very seriously. We’d go out for a walk, have a feast, exchange a few gifts (books),and see a movie. Oh--and we did like the Alistair Sims version of A Christmas Carol. That was as Christmasy as we got. Now we have more responsibility for the day and less fun. The religious aspect doesn't dominate the day, though of course that should be the focus. Instead, I get twice as many presents as I did a decade ago and why? Sure, they're mostly books, but the pressure is on to give more--and it should slow down over the years, one would think. But people just ignore me when I say we shouldn't exchange gifts anymore.

It used to be so simple!

As are these lyrics (back to the Doors):

Now, I'm gonna love you
Till the heavens stop the rain
I'm gonna love you
Till the stars fall from the sky for you and I

Jim was either trying to be cool, or did not know that the preposition “for” governs a direct object--”for you and me," "not for you and I."

Love ya anyway, Jim!

By the way, couldn't someone write a noirish mystery about the following: am I the only one who thinks some of those rock stars, Jim Morrison included, might have been murdered? Yes, it’s a crackpot theory, but how can so many of them have died so young? Other people took drugs, too, but stayed alive!

Okay, enough about that.