mitchables
04-08-2006, 10:19 PM
Well, a week has passed already and we're moving along with this clash of composers, this tournament of tunesters, this battle of beatmakers. We opened up the proceedings last week with gloom-rock extraordinaires THE CURE who, despite some strong scores, only managed an above-average 69. I'm sure they won't be hurt too badly, as long as they keep telling themselves that BOYS DON'T CRY!!!! I crack myself up.
Moving along.
This week we head back to a band who did it all and more in a blaze that lasted all of 7 years. And then again for a short while in 2002, before being silenced by a former bandmate and the estate of a dead one. But mostly the 7 years. That was when our contestants for this week, The Doors, really shone.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/98/TheDoorsTheDoorsalbumcover.jpg
(Note: Following is a somewhat-brief-yet-still-longwinded biography of the band. If you already know what you wanna know about them, just skip it, otherwise you will be mad and tired by the end of it.)
Formed in 1965 by vocalist/lyricist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger and drummer John Densmore, The Doors quickly became the darlings of the underground and counter-establishment cultures with their critically acclaimed debut album, the creatively titled "The Doors". The album hit #2 in the US in a relatively short period of time, and by the recording of their second album, Strange Days, in 1967, The Doors had well and truly cemented their status among the greats of the day such as The Grateful Dead and Jefferson Airplane. Songs off these albums such as "Break on Through", "Light My Fire", "When The Music's Over" and the epic "The End" were fuelling kids' drug and makeout sessions like none before them, and their music was touching an entire generation.
Between the second and third albums, there was a fair bit of criticism slung the band's way, accusing them of abandoning their underground roots, and the articles in Sixteen magazine portraying them as teen sex idols didn't really help the counter-argument. In 1968 their third LP, "Waiting For The Sun", rocketed to #1 and showed a noticeable departure from their previous style, becoming more erratic and much less unified than their previous musical outings.
Around the time of their fourth album in 1969, the band started swirling into a decline as Morrison went off the deep end a little bit with his philosophy of freedom and his increased controversial actions which consistently found him in trouble with the law. However, they had a return to form with "Morrison Hotel" in 1970, which was even more celebrated after how mediocre their previous effort was. The celebrations continued still when the band released what was considered the album to catapult the band back into the spotlight, "L.A Woman"; however, shortly after the album was recorded, Morrison moved to gay ol' Paris with his girlfriend where, in 1971, he would die under mysterious circumstances. The official reason was a heart attack, though no autopsy was performed. The band continued for a short period after with Manzarek and Krieger on vocals, but nobody liked that so much and the band split up in 1972, having solidly left a lasting impression in a very short time.
Manzarek and Krieger reformed with Ian Astbury (of The Cult) in 2003 as "The Doors of the 21st Century", but Densmore and the estate of Morrison put a quick stop to that, and they were forced to continue playing as "former Doors" or "members of the Doors" or "Riders On The Storm", which, in a pathetic-sad kind of way, is actually the name of a Doors tribute band in America.
Wikipedia was referenced heavily for facts in the above tirade, though construction of sentences was all me, baby.
So get voting. The Doors: Gateways to Greatness or Openings to Ordinariness?
<SELECT><OPTION selected>RTM by week</OPTION> <OPTION>Week 1: The Cure (69)</OPTION></SELECT>
<SELECT><OPTION selected>RTM by score</OPTION> <OPTION>The Cure (69)</OPTION></SELECT>
Moving along.
This week we head back to a band who did it all and more in a blaze that lasted all of 7 years. And then again for a short while in 2002, before being silenced by a former bandmate and the estate of a dead one. But mostly the 7 years. That was when our contestants for this week, The Doors, really shone.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/98/TheDoorsTheDoorsalbumcover.jpg
(Note: Following is a somewhat-brief-yet-still-longwinded biography of the band. If you already know what you wanna know about them, just skip it, otherwise you will be mad and tired by the end of it.)
Formed in 1965 by vocalist/lyricist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger and drummer John Densmore, The Doors quickly became the darlings of the underground and counter-establishment cultures with their critically acclaimed debut album, the creatively titled "The Doors". The album hit #2 in the US in a relatively short period of time, and by the recording of their second album, Strange Days, in 1967, The Doors had well and truly cemented their status among the greats of the day such as The Grateful Dead and Jefferson Airplane. Songs off these albums such as "Break on Through", "Light My Fire", "When The Music's Over" and the epic "The End" were fuelling kids' drug and makeout sessions like none before them, and their music was touching an entire generation.
Between the second and third albums, there was a fair bit of criticism slung the band's way, accusing them of abandoning their underground roots, and the articles in Sixteen magazine portraying them as teen sex idols didn't really help the counter-argument. In 1968 their third LP, "Waiting For The Sun", rocketed to #1 and showed a noticeable departure from their previous style, becoming more erratic and much less unified than their previous musical outings.
Around the time of their fourth album in 1969, the band started swirling into a decline as Morrison went off the deep end a little bit with his philosophy of freedom and his increased controversial actions which consistently found him in trouble with the law. However, they had a return to form with "Morrison Hotel" in 1970, which was even more celebrated after how mediocre their previous effort was. The celebrations continued still when the band released what was considered the album to catapult the band back into the spotlight, "L.A Woman"; however, shortly after the album was recorded, Morrison moved to gay ol' Paris with his girlfriend where, in 1971, he would die under mysterious circumstances. The official reason was a heart attack, though no autopsy was performed. The band continued for a short period after with Manzarek and Krieger on vocals, but nobody liked that so much and the band split up in 1972, having solidly left a lasting impression in a very short time.
Manzarek and Krieger reformed with Ian Astbury (of The Cult) in 2003 as "The Doors of the 21st Century", but Densmore and the estate of Morrison put a quick stop to that, and they were forced to continue playing as "former Doors" or "members of the Doors" or "Riders On The Storm", which, in a pathetic-sad kind of way, is actually the name of a Doors tribute band in America.
Wikipedia was referenced heavily for facts in the above tirade, though construction of sentences was all me, baby.
So get voting. The Doors: Gateways to Greatness or Openings to Ordinariness?
<SELECT><OPTION selected>RTM by week</OPTION> <OPTION>Week 1: The Cure (69)</OPTION></SELECT>
<SELECT><OPTION selected>RTM by score</OPTION> <OPTION>The Cure (69)</OPTION></SELECT>