Rainbow Room

Crusin' the Sunset Strip. Visiting Lemmy at the Rainbow Bar and Grill, checking on the ghost of Jim Morrison at the Whiskey A Go-Go and visiting my beloved at the sidewalk of the Viper Room. Live and breathe LA. 

Otherside

Every summer I read the same four books. They are considered classics close to my heart. The summer doesn't feel quite complete without reading them. Since August is quickly soaking up the sun and time, it's about time that I've divulged about these reads:

1)I'm With the Band- Pamela DeBarres

This is a decadent look back to a young groupie coming of age in the late 60's and early 70's. Miss P knows how to kiss and tell and this book is full of honest recollections about rock stars sexual escapades. However, Miss P's sincerity shines though out the book and it is an excellent read for lying around the pool.

2) No One Here Gets Out Alive- Jerry Hopkins and Danny Sugarman

The story of Jim Morrison's short but powerful life. It's a detailed account of the lizards king rise to fame and also his untimely demise. He really just wanted the world to admire his poetry and not try to grab at his crotch. I read this every summer which sends me deep into a Doors induced depression. At times I think that I am Jim Morrison frolicking in the desert with a Shaman. Other times, I think that Jim lead a fascinating life and we are lucky to have such a transparent account of his life.

3) Scar Tissue- Anthony Kiedis

One of my favourites. I usually read part of this during my annual trip to L.A. There is something about that city that is so fitting to read this post drug and sexual ride of the Red Hot Chili Peppers frontman's life. Kiedis tells it straight and at times he has you questioning whether if he is stretching the truth. Keidis has lived life in the fast lane on Sunset Blvd and Mullholland Dr. He is and LA vet and his autobiography is the perfect read to transport you to the land of Californication.

4) Catcher in the Rye- J.D. Salinger

I acquired this book last summer. Something about the title drew me in since last summer I was slaving away on a farm. Catcher in the Rye is a short read and kind of an easy one, but I think if you look under the layers, it is one of the most complex modern day novels. Reading about teenage anarchy is a perfect sun soaked read. Put on some Clash, lie down on a blanket and read to your hearts content.

Scattered Sun

Waiting for the sun, just like Jim Morrison

We at Sweethart of the rodeo went on a desert trip of sorts.

We were wandering the sandstone hills, quoting Doors lyrics

and out pops a snake, slithering and hissing.

(ride the snake man)

It was meant to be.

True paradise.

Save Me

Teaparty- "Save me"

For some unexplained reason, I have been really digging the Tea Party and other late 90's rock. In this track/video in particular you can tell the film The Doors just came out, almost as if this is homage to the film. It has Jim Morrison's shamaness along with some of Jimmy Page's bowing of a guitar and lots of owls and native art imagery. So fucking epic, I'm in love. The lead singer even has Jim's sultry voice and diction.

The Rock and Roll Myth

I couldn't figure out what was so appealing to me about Rock and Roll for the longest time. It wasn't my childhood. I was raised on country music. It wasn't the music itself. Some of it, I could do without.

So I dug and dug into my soul and I have finally figured it out: it's the myth, the legend that accompanies each band that I worship that draws me in.

When I listen to Led Zeppelin, I am convinced Robert Plant is singing to me, telling me that he wants to be my "backdoor man."

When I hear the Stones, I buy into their excessive boozy image. I buy into the heroin mythology of Keith and the mystery that surrounds Brian Jones death.

When Freddie Mercury hits those insanely high notes, he is sharing in my search to find "Someone to Love."

When Iggy Pop carouses around the stage freaking out on drugs, and rubs peanut butter on his chest, he embodies my sense of adventure.

Rock and Roll says everything I want to say. It says "I fucking hate you", "I love you", "I want to sleep with you", and "I want nothing to do with you". It says everything that is hidden deep below the surface.

So when I put on a Who track, like "Behind Blue Eyes" I really do mean, what is going down behind my blue eyes. I connect with it more than any other type of music no matter how carnal it is.

It's much like what Penny Lane says in Almost Famous (see previous post) when you get lonely, you go to a record store and visit your friends. I really do feel like Mick Jagger is a friend of mine. That I understand the inner workings of Gram Parsons, that Jimmy Page and I connect on a spiritual level.

Rock and Roll myth is that the Rock Stars get you. They understand you. They are your friends. So when I listen to the Doors, I say to myself: "He may not love me but Jim Morrison sure as hell does..."

Waiting For the Sun

Jim Morrison

Eternal Rock God.

The sad part is that he just wanted to be

known as a poet.

A few of these images are how

the world chooses to iconicize him.

And the others are as he truly was

a bearded man who wanted

to write poetry and make films.

Not dance around in leather pants

and be a "drunken buffoon"

as Lester Bangs called him in Almost Famous.

Bat Country

The desert is my home

I dream of driving the American Dream trail paged out by Hunter S. Thompson.

The land of cacti, big skies, cowboy boots, turquoise, and head dresses.

I want to go to Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, and Tennessee.

I want to drive from L.A. to Las Vegas, Fear and Loathing style.

Enter bat country

I want to go to Joshua Tree and live like Keith and Gram with my bestie.

I want to go out in the desert and take peyote like Jim Morrison and The Doors.

I love the desert. It's my next stop.

The Crystal Cave

I move in to my new apartment today, hopefully. There are a few things I'm going to do to christen the place which I will call affectionately from here on "The Crystal Cave", which is, for now, a working title.

1)Christen it with some wine, preferably white this time, and blast Led Zeppelin as loud as I can just so the neighbours know there is a new person in the suite.

2)Take a Jim Morrison and The Doors bath. Light some candles. Think "I'm a lost little girl" and drift, drift away...

(See post titled: I am the lizard king, I can do anything)

3)Smoke a cigarette on my leather couch and watch Factory Girl. Channel Edie Sedwick and Warhol all at once.

4)Cook the deluxe vietnamese meal. Or order in the deluxe meal. I can't decide. A food coma is sure to be enduced.

You Can Call Me On The Telephone

Day 16 of 28 Days of Warhol

We're getting a little behind I see...

Warhol was not only obsessed with Polaroids. He was also very much into talking on the phone, which is why the gift to Jim Morrison of a telephone was so fitting.

Warhol loved to spend hours talking on the phone. He would record some of the conversations he had with friends on the phone. To Warhol the phone is, what the voice recorder was to Hunter S. Thompson. It was the crucial communication device that bound the genius to his work and the public. If Warhol did not love the telephone, he would have been quite the isolated man.

Connections

Day 15:

Here is a connection.

Back in the 60's, Andy Warhol at one point requested to meet Jim Morrison from the Doors. As history has it, Warhol gave Morrison a telephone as a present that night.

Re-imagined on the Silver Screen

There is nothing I romanticize more- other than music- than films. The following is a make shift list of my top picks for films, not in any particular order

1) Rebel Without a Cause- Live fast, die young with James Dean. Classic.

2) Dear Wendy- Indie film about Dandies, guns and a fabulous Zombies soundtrack

3) The Doors- Bio pic about Jim Morrison.

4) The Bride of Frankenstein- One of my favorite horror/sci-fi films.

5) Almost Famous- The coming of age story of

a rock journalist. Based loosely on the life of Cameron Crowe.

6)East of Eden- Another James Dean classic. Epic Story.

7) Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas- the Hunter S. Thompson epic come to life courtesy of Johnny Depp.

8) Willy Wonka and the Choclate Factory- The childhood classic with a sinister Gene Wilder.

9) The Wristcutters: A Love Story- A love/suicide story that ends the opposite of Romeo and Juliet.

10) The Beach- The one movie where Leonardo DiCaprio is not annoying. It's a savage film about true human nature.

11)Chitty Chitty Bang Bang- Disney Classic next to Marry Poppins. It turned me on to Dick Van Dyke.

12) Blow- Johnny Depp as legendary drug dealer George Jung.

13) Four Brothers- Mark Wahlberg is bad ass and makes us forget Marky Mark while protecting his brothers.

14)Lords of Dogtown- Semi historical film of the upstart of skateboarding.

15)Factory Girl- Bio pic of Edie Sedgwick's life. Very Warhol.

16)I'm Not Here- Bio pic of Bob Dylan's life told by 7 personalities.

17)A Clockwork Orange- A Stanley Kubrick classic.

18)Kill Bill Vol 1 and 2- Quintin Tarantino duo films with Uma Thurman as an assasin and Lucy Lu kicking butt.

19)Singing in the Rain- Best musical of all time.

20)The Graduate- Dustin Hoffman's first film. Mrs. Robinson is so naughty.

21)I Love You Man- One of the most genuine comedies, filled with bromance.

22)Across the Universe- The Beatles soundtrack re-imagined, visually stunning, it's the ultimate trip.

23)Fight Club- Brad Pitt looking buff, Edward Norton taking your mind on a trip.

24)Metropolis- One of the first science fiction films ever made. Fritz Lang imagines female robots taking over society.

25)The Virgin Diaries- a Kirsten Dunst classic. It's about suicide hint.

26)There Will Be Blood- The thirst for blood and oil. Outstanding film of the 2000's.

27)C.R.A.Z.Y.- Indie flick about a boy coming of age to the soundtrack of Bowie and Patsy Cline.

I am the lizard king, I can do anything

Every once and a while I have the urge to bust out The Doors and take what I call a Jim Morrison bath.

Directions:

Turn off the lights in the washroom and light some candles and incence. Let the smoke fill up the room while the tub fills up with frothy bubbles. Cue the Doors, probably "The Crystal Ship" or "Lost Little Girl." Now that the ambience has been created, you can now emerse yourself and drift away listening to Mr. Mojo Rising while you soak.

It's quite magical really. Try it sometime when you feel mystical or are in the mood for a "sound bath."

Hop aboard the Crystal Ship...

#9- The Doors

Gateway Song: "Light My Fire"- classic

Love Affair: "Spanish Caravan", "You're a Lost Little Girl", "Waiting For the Sun", and "Love Street"

Fav. Album- Waiting For the Sun

Read:

No One Here Gets Out Alive- The Biography of Jim Morrison.

Watch: The Doors (1991)- Val Kilmer plays Jim.

Random fact: The name the Doors comes from the Book- The Doors of Perception by Aldous Huxley.