The Doors Archives - The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit

Nov142011 by Chris Holmes2 Comments

Jimmy Fallon channels Jim Morrison, awesomeness ensues

This is the coolest thing you'll probably see all week, which is a bit depressing since it's only Monday. Still, you need to see this. It's Jimmy Fallon (as Jim Morrison) and some random white guys performing the theme to Reading Rainbow as the Doors. I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that his house band, The Roots, were really the ones playing on this. Pretty brilliant. The recreation of the Doors' look from their Ed Sullivan Show appearance is damn good, and I guess now we know which way Jimmy wears his leather pants. Between seeing this and his Barry Gibb Talk Show sketches, I'm thinking maybe Saturday Night Live should've kept Jimmy and dumped Seth Meyers.

Oct182011 by Chris Holmes1 Comment

Road Trip! — Ten Songs Inspired by Real Places

Sep142011 by Chris Holmes5 Comments

So Fresh — 10 Doors Songs That Will Never Get Old

Music

Maybe it's the part of me that remains eternally 13 years old, but I can say without apology that I love the Doors and probably always will. It's not even a matter of separating the band's mystique and Jim Morrison's penchant for pomposity from their music -- to me it's all part of the same entertaining package. But I understand that as popular as the Doors are, they're an incredibly polarizing band. Like another of my favorites (Steely Dan), there doesn't seem to be a lot of middle ground for them. People seem to either embrace the group wholeheartedly or reject them as posturing clowns with bad poetry. So for those people -- well really for anyone -- I've put together ten Doors ditties that are musically satisfying and belie the group's tarnished critical reputation. Put on you...

Jun122011 by Chris HolmesNo Comments

Sunday Jazz: Curtis Amy on ‘Frankly Jazz’

Music, Sunday Jazz

Man, I could watch these Frankly Jazz clips on YouTube all day. Here's another excellent one -- it's tenor saxophonist Curtis Amy and his sextet performing the perennial classic "Summertime." I can't be sure who the other members of the group are, but the album that "Summertime" appears on is Tippin' On Through (Pacific Jazz ST-62). Many of you may not have heard of Curtis Amy, but you've probably heard him play at least once. He performed the sax solo on the Doors' 1968 Top 10 hit, "Touch Me." Here's a clip of the Doors (and Amy) performing the song on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour in December of that year.

Apr112011 by Chris HolmesNo Comments

Album Cover of the Week: Morrison Hotel

Album Cover of the Week, Music

The Doors' 1967 debut LP is easily the most popular and acclaimed record they released, but my favorite has always been Morrison Hotel. It has the most substance and the least weirdness of any of their releases to date. It also features perhaps the most iconic album cover of any Doors record. The building that gave the album and Side B their name, the Morrison Hotel, was located at 1246 South Hope Street in Los Angeles, California. According to photographer Henry Diltz, he and the band asked the desk clerk if they could shoot some pictures but were told they couldn't without the owner's permission. Since the owner wasn't around to give permission, they had to improvise. When the clerk left and got in the elevator, Diltz told the group to run into the hotel and pose. He managed to...