A Brief introduction to The Doors

The Doors
Vocals - Jim Morrison 
Piano & keyboard - Ray Manzerak 
Guitar & vocals - Robbie Krieger 
Drums & percussion - John Densmore 

The Doors were the quintessential 60s rock-band. At a time when British music was dominating the charts with such bands as The Beatles, The Who, The Kinks and The Stones the Americans answered with The Doors who would offer something entirely different to the mix. The Doors were aggressive, raunchy, controversial, unpredictable and completely versatile. Not that other bands weren't but that Doors had all of that and were enigmatic in the process. 

I've only been a Doors fan for 5 years or so. I invited myself round my friends house once during "Film time" which meant I had to sit, shut up and watch the film...I had great friends. The film was Oliver Stone's "The Doors" which featured Val Kilmer who was essentially a Carbon copy of Jim Morrison and I really enjoyed it as I knew that if this portrayal was accurate then The Doors were obviously an incredible band. I was not wrong either. I remember hating the name "The Doors" because I generally thought it was an idiotic name but then I found out the origin of the name which was lifted from the William Blake quote "If the Doors of perception were cleansed everything would appear to man as it is, infinite". So needless to say I was the one who felt the idiot after finding this out. Jim Morrison 1 Kelsey 0.

The first album I listened to of theirs was their debut self titled album "The Doors" and I loved it. I was literally in aw at the amazing songs included on the album, songs that I had heard before and could never put my finger on it. Sounds that literally griped me like a warm hand (Excuse the relevant pun) and they inspired and motivated me. "The End" is 11 minutes of atmospheric, poetic musical brilliance and is a certain recommendation for anybody who is not familiar with The Doors. "End of the night" is perfect after a drunken night out when you come home and reflect on the night you had however brilliant/crap.

Strange Days is arguably their second best album along with LA Woman which was released shortly after the death of Jim Morrison. The Soft Parade was arguably The Door's worst album in their 8 years of being a complete quadruple but it still performed fantastically commercially which was symbolic for the disintegration of Jim Morrison as he surrounded himself with controversy (See Miami indecent and the New Haven indecent).

Jim Morrison was arguably the major selling point of The Doors. He was artistic, charismatic, good looking, creative and most importantly Poetic which was evident in his lyrics and the album "The American Poet". Jim Morrison was not the most important member of the band however as everyone of them had contributed in some way. Ray Manzaerak the pianist had helped provide a very particular sound that helped distinguish the band from most guitar orientated bands. Robby Krieger was an incredibly gifted guitar player but he could also write music. He wrote "Touch me" and "Light my fire" which is arguably The Most famous Doors song there is.

The Doors were incredibly important to American music, The sixties and Rock as a genre. So if I haven't sold you The Doors yet maybe this song will:

Some Doors Trivia for you:

• Jim Morrison was the first rock artist to be arrested on stage during a performance
• The Band have sold over 100 Million albums worldwide
• "Light my fire" was almost never released as a single as it lasts 7 minutes in total. The song was then edited down to create a 4 minute version which allowed for it to be aired on the radio.
• The Doors were banned from The Ed Sullivan show. When performing Light my fire Jim Morrison refused to change the lyrics from "Higher" to "Better" as it conflicted with the bands artistic views. 
• Johnny Depp narrates the 2010 documentary "When you're strange" about The Door's time as a band.
• Jim Morrison referred to himself as "Mr Mojo Risin" which is an anagram of  "Jim Morrison" 
• The Doors entered the Rock & Roll hall of fame in 1993

Coming soon: The top ten songs of The Doors. 

Here are some great films I don't rate

Apart from music and radio the other genuine passion I have in life is film. I'm the type of person who would disregard a Saturday night out on the town in order to stay in and watch a movie. That may be a testament to my somewhat boring personality but the fact still remains, I just fucking love films. Classic films mostly though, I like to watch a film that has been around for years and kind of challenge it in my own mind and every now and then I'll give a new film a try although many of them let me down. This is what motivated me to write this blog entry, you see many'o times I have been let down by films in the sense that they don't live up to expectations or I find that they are all hype. An example of this would be Stanley Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey" which I thought at the time would be a thrilling horror about a crazed machine in space, what I got was hour long surreal cinematic sequences. Although I would never include that film in my list because it was a complete game changer, it still proves my point. Films can let you down despite the hype, and the following have let me down in the past and certainly did not live up to my expectations.

Beetlejuice 
I like Tim Burton, I enjoy his films and it took me a while to get round to watch what was called by many "His finest work" but when I ended up watching it I thought was a pile of shit. I enjoyed the zany humour,  the complete sense of surrealism throughout the film and and younger, thinner Alec Baldwin but to me it seemed like it was trying too hard to be "out there". Despite this it is arguably Tim's most creative film to date  but it just wasn't for me.

Ice Age
Everybody loves Raymond, but I don't like him in this film. I don't enjoy the Ice Age franchise and to this day I can't really understand why. Its your standard animated family film and I like most films in its genre but just not this one. I felt the squirrel detracted from the main story too much that it became more annoying than funny. The only good thing about the film is the fact that everybody knows somebody that looks like Sid the Sloth (pictured above) and it can fill you with endless hours of entertainment.

Signs
I love a good film about Alien invasions and I also like M.Night Shyamalan films but I hated this film with a passion. It had a slow build up, which I don't mind as long as there is some kind of climax towards the end of the film but there wasn't. Turns out the Alien didn't like water, The End. I thought it was a genuine insult to films from the same genre and I really felt that M.Night should have took a second glimpse at Mel Gibson's original script, which was essentially the same thing just with Jews instead of visitors.

Apocalypse Now
Francis Ford Coppala is a fantastic director, Marlon Brando and Martin Sheen were both brilliant so what's the problem here? Not a lot really but I just felt like the film was really long winded especially after such a strong start. I didn't feel that the end result was worth the length of the film. This is the case with a lot of films.

The Birds
So you're going to shred an Alfred Hitchcock film are you? Yes I am. I paid a fair amount for this classic film and I was thoroughly disappointed. I can appreciate how innovative the techniques used were back in the 1960s but the overall story-line/lack of story-line left me completely bewildered. It made me wonder how such a poor film became so iconic and if you think about it Birds aren't really that great of an antagonist for a film are they?

Nightmare before Christmas
Tim Burton fans are really going to hate me after this but I must stress at this point that I do in fact like Tim Burton and his films, I just didn't like BeetleJuice and this film right here. I found one song to be rather catchy  but overall that was about it. The story failed to hook me in and I just generally wasn't interested.  I don't think its the worst film ever made, I can see why people like it. It just did not appeal to me.

Superbad
Again, I can see why people may like this I just don't see how it lives up to its hype. All I heard consistently was "You have to see Superbad man!" and I saw it and I barely chuckled which is a bad thing because it doesn't take much to make me laugh. My interpretation of the film was that it was just Micheal Cera being awkward (Surprise) and Jonah Hill was swearing a lot for about 90 minutes. It's certainly worth a £1.50 buy from Play.com  to add to your collection but its not worthy of any top ten list, says this observer.

Reservoir Dogs
Again, I like Quentin Tarantino and I like both Steve Buscemi and Tim Roth but there was just something missing...Oh yeah! Like real suspense. It just didn't engage me and I'm admittedly easily reeled in. Like the other day parent was watching "Cash in the attic" and I just thought to myself "Boy this would be a real treat" and I genuinely sat down and watched the entire programme. Not to say that this film doesn't top Cash in the attic but it just didn't grip me like it has so many other people.

I'm not going to be using my blog for the next couple of weeks in fear of vengeful Tim Burton fans but if you like you can tweet me as always. Coming soon: a list of films I actually like. 

www.twitter.com/citizen_kelbel

The Best of the Beatles...Post Beatles

"I don't believe in Beatles, I just believe in me". This is from The John Lennon song "God" in which John Lennon denounces his faith in everything, except himself. Yoko & himself. The quote however essentially announces his intention to distance himself from The Beatles furthermore. Obviously there was never to be a Beatles reformation with the original line of the Fab four but the music that they had made Post Beatles was spectacular and Beatles fans tend not to appreciate what fantastic music they created individually. So what's happening is, I'm going to show you some of my personal favourites from the Post Beatles era in the hope that you can appreciate that the end of the Beatles really wasn't the extent of their talent.

John Lennon - Jealous Guy
I thought starting at perhaps the most famous Beatle was too easy but fuck it. Jealous Guy is universally relatable, whether you're man or woman, whether you've been in a relationship or you're just a creepy onlooker waiting for the day that you'll finally pluck up the courage to talk to someone you like its just easy to relate to this song because everybody gets jealous at one point in their lives. "Imagine" is considered to be the highlight of John Lennon's solo career but this song begs to differ.

George Harrison - I'd have you anytime
I loved this song the second I heard it. It's perfect for those who are in a relationship or are aspiring to be in one. It's a very romantic song and this is coming from somebody who is romantically crippled. I love the Country music vibe it gives off randomly and I just really love the album "All things must pass" altogether because its just such a complete album from start to finish. There are no dull moments and arguably his finest solo work

Paul McCartney & Wings
I can never understand why this song is the highlight for me off the entire Band on the Run album but it is. It's one of those songs that stick to you and you can't even comprehend why. It;s a fantastic song to listen to at night. Give it a try.

John Lennon - How do you sleep?
An incredibly angry and hostile single from such a humble human being. This song, if you didn't know was written about Paul McCartney following the break up of the Beatles as it showed an angsty side to John Lennon we had never seen before. In the original recording he even went as far as to say "How do you sleep ya cont?" which if you didn't know was Liverpublian for "Cunt". Proving yet again that John Lennon could write a great song about any emotion.

Paul McCartney - Here today
From an incredibly angry John Lennon to the other side of the spectrum. Paul McCartney sings about his love for John Lennon after he was murdered in 1980. It's very touching from the perspective of a Beatles fan and especially if you are aware its about John Lennon. Take John out of the equation and its still a very moving song but the fact its about John Lennon makes it more Bittersweet.

More Great songs: 
John Lennon - Instant Karma
John Lennon - Imagine
John Lennon - Oh my love
John Lennon - Just like starting over
Paul McCartney - Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey
Paul McCartney - Maybe I'm amazed
Wings - Jet
The Travelling Wilburys - Handle with care
George Harrison - Isn't it a pity
George Harrison - My Sweet Lord
Ringo Starr - It don't come easy

Wish to commend my choices or call me names because of the lack of Ringo in this blog post? You can do so by tweeting me : www.twitter.com/citizen_kelbel

My Top Ten songs...ever.

In no particular order the following ten songs are essentially my favorite songs ever. They may not be the best songs ever written, I don't even feel that most of them deserve that title but they mean a lot to me personally. They remind me of times and moments in my life that became integral to the person I turned out to be. According to my I-Pod I had listened to this collection of songs over 2000 times since I've owned an I-Pod which is remarkable, even for me because I didn't even know I listened to music that much. So if you have a wee bit'o time on your hands have a scroll down and enjoy the music and hopefully you may empathize with my admittedly strange musical preference:

Radiohead - Let Down
I love this song more than words will ever permit me to say. At one point in my life I had to physically refrain from listening to it because I was in such a shitty place and I knew that it would leave me in tears. I can wave goodbye to whatever masculinity I had prior to that last sentence but I'm not too concerned because this song is beautiful. These are facts.

Radiohead - Knives out
This song isn't even Radiohead's finest work. It featured on possibly their worst album and it's a song about cannibalism. Who can relate to that? Apparently I can although I've never eaten anybody in my life..yet. The music video is directed by Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the spotless mind) who is a fantastic directer but not only that, what I love about this song is Johnny Greenwood's almost distorted Guitar riff which eventually becomes the focal point of the song. I could listen to it for days and never get bored

Arcade Fire - The Suburbs
I heard this song at a very strange time in my life. I was literally in Limbo, in the sense that I was neither happy or sad and then this song came along and reflected that. It's very somber in its message but very uplifting in its musical content. It's no secret I love the Piano and this song emphasizes that.
"So can you understand why I want a daughter while I'm still young. I want to hold her hand and show her some beauty before this damage is done. But if its too much to ask then send me a son". These are very agreeable and relevant lyrics. The video was also directed by Spike Jonze (Being John Malkovich) who is incredibly talented.

R.E.M. - Nightswimming
This is another Piano orientated tune that I simply am in love with. The riff is irresistible and It's one of those songs you can never skip when it comes on shuffle. It's a song about skinny dipping and teenage adolescence, one that I can not really relate to but a man can dream. A man can dream.

The Beatles - And I love her (Take two)
This was the first Beatles song I ever heard. It came free with a Packard bell MP3 player I received for Christmas almost ten years ago. The Guitar Solo simply astounds me and ten years later it still does. I prefer it to the original version and I can't quite understand why it isn't the original version.

The Doors - People are strange
"Women are wicked, when you're alone" This is a lyric you can relate to if you've been single for 2 and a half years. Although that point in my life is almost over I will always be able to relate to this song in one way or another. Jim Morrison's unique and genuine voice creates an amazing atmosphere as you can genuinely believe what he is singing about to be true.

The Verve - Bittersweet Symphony 
This is the ultimate walking song, for obvious reasons I may add. The Verve were one of the first real musicians I became interested in at a young age as I transcended from a little dickhead listening to my local commercial radio station to the more open minded, musically inclined man you're reading from now. It's very symbolic in that sense from a personal perspective. Yeah the song may have been lifted from The Andrew Oldham Orchestra's cover of The Rolling stones "Last time" and yes its now becoming a commercial ploy for ITV Football but fuck, it's still such a brilliant song and very symbolic of the 90s British music scene.

Tom Waits - Goin out West

Okay this song is lifted from The Fight club soundtrack but that isn't why I like it. The way I interpret the song is that Tom is very aware of his own shortcomings, but hes essentially saying "Fuck it, here are some reasons why I am a winner". It's very positive in that sense and its almost empowering.
"My friends think I'm ugly, I've got a masculine face" pretty much emphasizes the point I am making. The guitar riff is insanely brilliant and Tom's voice is raw and extremely powerful. It's a manly song for those who are very conscious of their own faults.

The Pixies - Where is my mind?
Ahh shucks, another song from Fight Club. This song is just a brilliant piece of song writing from such an unappreciated and underrated band. If it wasn't for songs like this then there would never have been a Nirvana. That was a bold statement I agree but the song in general is a bold statement in itself. Remove Fight club from the equation and what do you have? A song about somebody losing their mind and literally singing about nonsense which is accompanied by a brutally awesome guitar riff.

Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody 
Unlike the other songs prior to this, I can honestly say that I think that this is one of the best songs ever written. It's indescribable. So much so that I refuse to add superlatives to this song because nothing I say will ever do it justice. It just appeals to me on so many levels, plus I can sing every Freddy bit on Karaoke. Beat that.

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Scrubs: The music

If you were to ask me what the most underrated show on Television is, it's easily Scrubs. Sure it's very successful especially amongst teenagers but it's very unappreciated in my books. It can make you laugh, cry and feel empathy for characters you can never relate to, like a Janitor for instance. One of the shows many unique selling points is its use of soundtrack. The soundtrack is compiled by the Show's star Zach Braff & it's creator Bill Lawrence and usually features during the conclusion of an episode or on some occasions towards the beginning to introduce the show.
They feature during pivotal moments which will inevitably alter the way you perceive both the scene and the song itself. The music itself tends to be brilliant, a stroke of genius almost. Anyhow, here are a couple of my favourites.

The Shins - New Slang: Episode 13, Series 1. 
It's no secret I love The Shins and its Scrubs I have to thank for that. I heard it first on the show and I fell in love with it. It's fantastic and acoustically driven  and reminiscent of Jose Gonzalez's version of "Heartbeart" only arguably better.

The Fray - How to save a life : Episode 20, Series 5
It's a pop song but a fairly special pop song. There will never be a better use of this song and if you watch this episode in full and feel nothing, you'd have to be some kind of android. As a viewer it's hard to make me cry, but this has come close I can admit that.

Buzzcocks - Ever fallen in love? : Episode 15, Series 1
I loved this song long before I ever watched Scrubs but I sincerely love the way they've used the song to add to the scene. I couldn't picture the scene without it.

R.E.M. - Half a world away : Episode 12, Series 6
I've always been a fan of R.E.M. as they were literally the first real band I got into growing up. I had never heard this song before but I knew the second I heard Michael Stipe's crisp voice that it was R.E.M. and that I would end up falling in love with the song. And finally..

The Cast of Scrubs - Guy love: Episode 6, Series 6
I know all the words to this song. It's not gay. You're gay!

What's your all time favourite Scrubs moment/song? Tweet me: Twitter.com/Citizen_Kelbel