Not me. I hate them.
I find it really hard to get beyond them and into this film.
But the question is:-
Does anyone really, truly like this band? Or is it just the sort of band that people perceive of as supposedly being cool or whatever and say they like?
I think it's the later. No-one really enjoys listening to them. Surely.
Sure, I like them. I have Oliver Stone's The Doors soundtrack, which is enough for me. The end and Riders of the storm, those are their two best songs.
shareThe Greco-Roman deity Dionysus loves them.
shareThe Doors were before my time, but I always appreciated the weird & moody "The End," which is the only Doors song on the soundtrack of the film.
They were the hit American band from 1966-1971 and so Coppola used their most fitting song to establish the setting and atmosphere. I'm sure glad he didn't use a hit from the late 70s when the movie was made & released, like "Dancing Queen" or "My Sharona."
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"The End" is just the perfect song for this film.
I can see where newer generations find The Doors pretentious and a little weird. The group was a product of their time.
That's the danger of putting a popular group/song into a classic movie. Sometimes the groups popularity will not transcend generations.
I can deal with pretentious and weird - I've listened to, and enjoyed, ELP!
The Doors on the other hand are quite nauseating. There's nothing innovative / melodic / fun / inspiring about their music, just an incessant drone. I'd rather put a manual hand drill to my skull and start cranking it rather than be forced to listen to the whining.
I seriously doubt anyone gets beyond the first couple of hits mentioned here. There can't be anyone who truly loves them.
The Doors sounded dated in 1979, let alone today. But they had some worthy songs, like "The End," "Riders on the Storm," "L.A. Woman" and "Roadhouse Blues" (as well as some really offbeat ones, e.g. "People are Strange").
Meanwhile Morrison's vocals were unique, commanding and seminal.
Hate it all you want, but "The End" fit the time period and the mood of "Apocalypse Now" perfectly. What song from that era do you think would've been more appropriate?
To be honest I'd rather hear your previous suggestion of Dancing Queen!
But I think you're reinforcing what I'm trying to say - go beyond the songs you listed (not Roadhouse Blues) and I don't think anyone's giving your the name of any other Doors songs. I doubt anyone enjoys now (or ever did) listening to their albums.
If I had to put a bleak 70s song in there, I guess I'd go with Neil Young - On The Beach.
"But I think you're reinforcing what I'm trying to say - go beyond the songs you listed (not Roadhouse Blues) and I don't think anyone's giving your the name of any other Doors songs. I doubt anyone enjoys now (or ever did) listening to their albums."
I can name more hits from The Doors than let's say Rolling Stones (another rock group in Apocalypse Now). That's an achievement considering the sort time span The Doors was active (and before I was born).
"Dancing Queen" is a catchy song from the late 70s, no doubt, but it wouldn't fit the mood of "Apocalypse Now" or its era (the late 60s).
"On the Beach" fits the atmosphere, but it came out in 1974, at least five years after the events of the film. Coppola needed a weird, moody song from the late 60s that fit the zeitgeist of the late 60s along with the going-mad-without-a-mission-in-a-Saigon-hotel sequence.
The melancholy "Paint it Black" would fit except it's too fast-paced for that slow hotel sequence.
I think the song fits thematically with the movie. For instance, "The End" certainly fits a movie called Apocalypse Now, the Apocalypse being the End Times. Also, the song references ancient mythology, specifically Oedipus Rex. This myth is very similar to The Golden Bough mythology. The Golden Bough is a book about mythology which is seen on Kurtz's desk when he is killed by Willard. Coppola has mentioned in interviews the significance of that book to the movie.
shareNot really.
I like Five to One a lot.
I love the Doors. Been listening to them since I was a kid in the 70s. My older brother listened to the Doors quite often.
I have all of their releases and revisit them from time to time.
They were an awesome band. At least four of their albums (The Doors, Strange Days, Morrison Hotel, and L.A. Woman) are among the greatest rock albums ever recorded. HOWEVER, they did go overboard at times and did some things even I have a hard time being an apologist for, such as the Soft Parade album and most of Waiting for the Sun. They could also be absurdly self-indulgent in live performances.
shareEvery major band has their good albums, bad/mediocre albums, hits, experimental stuff, okay songs and filler (failures).
shareThe Doors were miles above all that hippy-dippy peace-and-love garbage that most of their contemporaries were excreting at the time.
shareI respect your perspective, but I think there's enough room in any genre of music for both light and dark, frivolous and heavy. Life itself includes each, after all. "Happy Together" and "Paint it Black" are good examples of both sides. Meanwhile songs like "Turn! Turn! Turn!" shot for a balance; and arguably "California Dreamin'."
Whilst The Doors were often moody and dark, e.g. "Riders on the Storm," even they had their fun, light ditties, like "Hello, I Love You" and "People Are Strange."