Today, July 3rd marks
the 41st death anniversary of the legend Jim Morrison, lead singer and lyricist of The Doors.
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| Photo from The Doors' facebook page |
For those who doesn’t know who the
hell is this hunk of a man flashing his bare chest and flowing mane in a classic
black and white pose, here’s a few things about him.
Of course I am not that old to have
lived during his time and be a witness of his genius and overflowing charisma.
But as I have mentioned earlier, he is a legend. And anyone who is interested
in the past can dig up a few things about legends.
Born James Douglas Morrison, Mr. Mojo
Risin’ (an anagram of his name) has influenced generations of rock stars and
fans. His songs and poetry lived so much longer than his 27 year existence.
He is the man behind
the classics Break on Through, People are Strange, Riders on the Storm and of
course Light My Fire.
He is so much ahead of his time. He
lived in an era where music should follow a certain pattern which he so refused
to conform to. He sings/performs in a manner and attitude that he appears
possessed by an entity or something. His poetry is deep and meaningful but very
modern and sensual. Who would have thought that time that such an artistic take
on expression will be the trend for rock musicians after three four decades? He
is a f****** genius I tell you.
And he is goddamn hot! He has slept
with a handful of groupies, had short lived flings with celebrities and graced
several steamy photo sessions. He has a wife Pam (common-law marriage) but they
didn’t have any child, but soon after his death there are twenty or so claims
of paternity though none of them were proven. I wonder where his offspring are
and whatever happened to them, if there are any.
He is part of what rock culture
considers “27 club” or the “forever 27” like other rock icons such as Jimi
Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Kurt Cobain and last year Amy Winehouse joined. Like him, they
all died at 27.
His death was reported as a cardiac
arrest but most speculate that it may be associated with substance overdose. An
autopsy was not performed hence up until now, nobody knows the real reason of
his death.
He lies forever remembered in a
grave in France, which later became a tourist attraction. Too bad the bust made by a Croatian sculptor was stolen in 1988.
I have dug a treasure!
Last Saturday, I attended a rock
event in Dasmariñas, Cavite. One of the sponsors was Paper Monster Press, an
indie transgenre publishing outfit based in Cavite. They set up a booth of for
sale whatnots. This includes some artworks, a few CDs and some old books on
various literary works. Being the bookworm of a person that I am, I browsed through
the books and found a vintage one: Jim Morrison’s poetry book, The Lords and
The New Creatures Poems. Here's a snap of the book from my office computer.
I have yet
to read the book, maybe set this week but I have previewed some verses. They
are modern and realistic. Poetry can be really boring to read but not his. They
are expressive as well as entertaining. Poems usually have meaning hidden
somewhere in the outer space and you have had to have a rocket brain just to understand
them, but his works aren’t those kind.
They are
not shallow, they are deep and meaningful but wouldn’t stress your brain out.
In
short, they aren’t for nerds.
I found
out that The Lords and the New Creatures Poems is his first published poetry book and
was published just before he died. Making it the only book of his poetry ever printed during his
lifetime. And I am so goddamned lucky to have a vintage copy!
Actually,
what really happened is that I don’t have any money for the book that night ‘cause
I only have enough for a liter of beer. Miss Ayn of Paper Monster Press had
been so kind to trust me and let me pay it the next time we see each other.
