Jim Morrison was more of a legend than a loser

I was beginning to think that the world was no longer that into the legendary "Shaman prophet" anymore. But here as you are, to his rescue and defence, allow me to commence. "Artistic OutputWhile Jim died in Paris at the young age of 27, and had the reputation of a heavy partier, his artistic output with the Doors and individually was extraordinary (and he even graduated from UCLA on top of this). He published two books of poetry, and wrote the lyrics to the vast majority of the six Doors' studio albums. ""Heavy partier" does't even begin to cut it, Pro. Morrison was constantly criticised by band-mates, producers and fans who truly had his best interests at heart about how he constantly placed the much glorified "long, prolonged derangement of the senses ' above everything else. But he never paid heed? Did he ever listen to a single piece of advice despite obvious proof that he was crumbling? He did not. This lead to his death at the age of 27, when he reportedly overdosed on heroin. His undertakers estimated his age to be around 56 as he clearly appeared to be a man that age. All due to his, as you put it, "heavy partying". Only someone, having been destined to fail would behave that way. And he did. That's a loser by definition. As far as his artistic output go, you mention him in association with The Doors. I fully support that view, and consider the rest of his band mates as extremely talented, yet one of the most under-rated musicians I have ever come across. In fact,it is a not very well known fact, but some of The Doors' most popular songs like 'Touch Me' and 'Light my Fire' were written by guitarist Robby Kreiger. On the other hand, Morrison's poetry seems to be the work of someone so strung out on drugs and booze that he had no idea what he was coming up with. 'The End', ironically ending with his apparent fantasies to murder his father and have sex with his mother reflect this argument of mine well enough. Most of his lyrics are alleged to be rehashed and recycled versions of writers and philosophers, which I will talk about later. As far as graduating from UCLA goes, Morrison had taken up his dream of movie making inspired by idol James Dean. But he never really followed it up, which, objectively seen, was a waste of not only his time and effort, but also of an admission seat in the school, which any other student, of that time, would have been desirous of. Sure, this one sounds far-fetched, but you cannot deny it all the same. "Innovations in Rock and Roll Moreover, Jim applied an intellectualization to his influences that was unprecedented by rock and roll musicians before then. Most musicians in the 60's were primarily influenced by other musicians and other genres. Morrison's lyrics draw less on prevailing trends in pop music, and more on obscure and eccentric poets and philosophers. The influence of poets and novelists like Arthur Rimbaud, Celine, William Blake, Jack Kerouac, and Charles Baudelaire is overwhelming in Jim's lyrics and poetry. One can even see the influences of anthropologists and philosophers like James Frazer and Friedrich Nietzsche in Jim's work. In addition to the unique spectrum of influences Jim brought to his art, his innovation to the roll of the front man is legendary as well. His baritone voice, shamanic dancing, and psychotic antics, took the Doors from a small band formed in 1965 to a world famous rock band, selling out shows on both sides of the Atlantic only two years later. Even Jim's craziest moments, ie. the New Haven arrest show and the Miami arrest show, are the mark of a good front man: extremely entertaining. "The only reason, as is apparent now, that Morrison chose to model his work after, or, to put it politely, 'draw inspiration' from, obscure and unknown poets and philosophers was that he wasn't too keen on getting the fact that he had, in fact, plagiarized, out into the open. Plagiarizing and gaining inspiration are two different ideas, I agree, but 'original' wasn't exactly how you could describe Morrison's philosophy. As far as his lyrics go, it would not be unfair to call them unintelligible words which meant something to Morrison alone; much like the work of a drug-addled lunatic to say the least. And about his showman tactics, I can say only this. One stoned man projecting himself as the ultimate know-it-all to a crowd full of stoned people. That's entertainment. And if the said stoned man is sexy, smart, has the baritone you mentioned and dances around like a shaman (I bet he was making that dance up as well; I mean, how many in the crowd would know what a shaman danced like? ), the chances of the masses eating him up as a legend increase tremendously. But then people have always had this problem. Of being strange. :)"LegacyWhile my first two arguments attempt to show why Jim has gained the status of legend, the mere worship and respect people still hold for him is the greatest testament to Jim's legacy of a legend. If anyone has been to the Pere Lachaise cemetery in Paris, and seen the hundreds of people who flock to be in the presence of Jim's remains daily, Jim's status as a legend is pretty secure. The sheer number of visitors deems Morrison almost a sort of secular saint. Almost 50 years later, Jim Morrison is a folk hero to thousands of people, which by nature makes him a legend. "Morrison's legacy, though popularized far and wide, is built on a foundation of lies. And the reason for this popularity is that most people are unaware of the lies Jim lied about various things. In fact, the very fact that he had to lie, proves that he, himself thought that he would never hit it big, by sole virtue of his musical and poetic talent. The defining moment in his life, as claimed always by Morrison, was the incident as a child, when he claims to have seen "Indians scattered all over the highway, bleeding to death" This, in fact, was grossly overstated. In the book 'No one Here gets out alive" , his sister is quoted to having said this, "He enjoyed telling that story and exaggerating it. He said he saw a dead Indian by the side of the road and I don't know if that's true". His father, in the same book said, "We went by several Indians. It did make an impression on him. " No mention did the two make of "Indians scattered all over the highway". If there was a siilar scene, they would have remembered. Concluding Thoughts: Jim was by no means perfect. He was often very bad to his long time girlfriend, Pamela, we was a violent alcoholic, and favored the drugs that ultimately killed him. But this, I would like to assert, does not make him a loser. When someone's life is defined by their infidelity, that may make them a loser. But Jim's contributions to rock and roll, and his legendary life were achieved in spite of his personal flaws. This strange relation between his personal problems and his public successes, almost makes him a tragic hero. His infamy makes his status as a legend even stronger. It does make him a loser, unfortunately. When asked about doing drugs he replied "I was testing the bounds of reality. I was curious to see what would happen. That's all it was, curiosity. " Fine. Accepted. Once, maybe. But 250 mg of LSD everyday is not curiosity. It's a habit. A HABIT WHICH HE ALLOWED TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF HIM. That's a loser by definition. The floor is yours Pro.