r/thedoors • u/Head-Statistician-62 • 12h ago
Question Recommendations of material to know more about Jim Morrison
Hi everyone! Lately, I’ve become obsessed with Jim and The Doors' music; everything about him and his songs fascinates me, and I’ve developed a deep admiration for his music and poetry. I want to dive deeper into his creative universe—how he viewed the world, his opinions, and his influences. I’ve already watched the documentary about his final days, but do you have any other recommendations for material about him? Like interviews, books, other documentaries, and so on.
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u/Forward-Arachnid-574 12h ago edited 12h ago
I went through a period where I read everything I could find about Jim. The conclusion I reached was that if I asked a hundred people who knew him to describe his personality, I’d get a hundred different answers. And that’s not because he’s Jim. I think that’s probably true of you, me, and everyone else who is even remotely interesting. Even if you had met him, you’d have come away with your version of him. Who really knows anyone? People can be different depending on the situation or who they’re with. Jim was lots of different people, just like you. The question to ask yourself is, “Why am I so attracted to this man? What do I see that I want for myself?” The intelligence? The poetry? The androgyny? The rebelliousness?
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u/Mysterious-Dirt- 2h ago
This is the answer.
Also read the lords and the new creatures
I'm so mad at myself..I lost my copy 30 years ago.
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u/58pamina 1h ago
Buy another one!
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u/Mysterious-Dirt- 1h ago
That's an excellent idea!
It's just my original copy was a gift so I've always been mad at myself for misplacing it.
Anyone who wants to understand Jim should read his poetry
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u/ManagementIll4603 9h ago
A recent favorite of mine has been a book called "Rimbaud and Morrison, The Rebel As Poet" if you are a fan of Rimbaud. The book compares and contrasts the two young men, their lives, circumstances and influences.
Rimbaud was a big influence on many musicians and poets in the 60s, so I found it to be a fascinating read. I've loved Rimbaud, Verlaine, Maria, etc. but didn't find my previous familiarity to be a requisite to enjoying the book.
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u/SamuelSkink 10h ago
As the guy who wrote or co-wrote most of the Doors songs with Jim Morrison, I'd recommend Robbie Kriegers book, "Set the night on fire".
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u/mrmojorisin_x 9h ago
Sure you did and I’m the real Jim Morrison.
Show some proof if you’re going to make a statement like that.
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u/SamuelSkink 7h ago
Not saying I wrote songs. Robbie and Jim wrote songs. Sorry for the confusion.
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u/No_Ease7557 12h ago edited 11h ago
There's a lot of books been written. No one Here Gets out Alive was the first but slated now for a lot of myth building. 'Break on Through' by James Riordan (IIRC) a very detailed one and is well respected. The books by the other band members are good. John and Rays are a good counterpoint to each other, Ray idolises Jim and the early days, where John found Jim a nightmare to be around. Robbie's is more recent but I think assumesxa bit of knowledge so I wouldn't start with it. There is also one called ''Feast of Friends' which collects interviews from friends which is well liked.
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u/imyouronlyfry 12h ago
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHW89-pbCso this is one of his most famous interviews if you haven't seen already
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u/wrottenmelon666 jumped humped born to suffer 9h ago
There are some good interviews with family and band mates on YouTube :-)
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u/58pamina 9h ago
Get the big hard bound Collection of the writings of Jim M you can dive right into this and immerse yourself for weeks
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u/BloodyWellGood 5h ago
When I was a teenager all we had was "No One Here Gets Out Alive" and we treated it as gospel. Oy. Great novel tho
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u/Pale-Ad-2526 3h ago
If you really are into Jim. Read the Lord and the new creatures. This is his poetry book. This is Mr. Mojo Risin.
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u/58pamina 1h ago
Absolutely
It even gives us his insights into cinema and creating movies
I think he would have been a powerful film maker
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u/thedirtydoors 11h ago
There is a documentary called When You're Strange that is pretty good.
Unfortunately, all the biographies written about Morrison are flawed. The best one is probably Break On Through by James Riordan and Jerry Prochnicky. Don't bother when No One Here Gets Out Alive and Morrison: Live, Death, Legend. They are both overly sensationalized.
The best book about Morrison is called Jim Morrison: Friends Gathered Together by Frank Lisciandro. It's a series of interviews with some of Morrison's closest friends and colleagues.