THE DOORS' "PEOPLE ARE STRANGE" AND DETACHMENT FROM SOCIETY
During the 1950s and early 1960s, pop music and
rock'n'roll were the two most popular musical genres in the U.S. and England.
During this historical period, they were the genres that played a collective entertainment
role.
They functioned as a means of aggregation for young
people and as a celebration of sociality in general. The personal dimension was
also touched by this music. In fact, it accompanied the moments of joy and
melancholy of individuals.
The themes of the lyrics at the turn of the two
decades were mainly about moments of personal sadness caused by disappointments
in love or about the happiness aroused by romantic relationships.
Several artists changed this picture from 1963, when
the two genres mentioned above were joined by two new musical forms that found
wide public acceptance. These were singer-songwriting format derived from folk as
interpreted and modernized by Bob Dylan, and the pop-rock of the Beatles.
From here on, we speak conventionally of modern (or
contemporary) music, within which numerous different artists and genres
flourished during the 1960s.
The latter musical evolution also brings with it a
greater complexity of the lyrics accompanying the songs, which also begin to
deal with deeper social issues.
Such is the case with "People Are Strange", which appeared on The Doors' second LP,
"Strange Days," released in September 1967. Here, Jim Morrison's
lyrics speak of how, at certain times in his life, we feel uncomfortable with
the presence of other people.
In the words that the poet/singer writes for the tune,
this theme expands to embrace the whole of society with its bitter reflections.
Above all, the difficult and sometimes contradictory relationship between the
individual and the people around him emerges here.
Morrison was not the only artist to explore these
reflections and difficult themes in his compositions.
About a year earlier, a songwriter with strong folk
influences, but projected into the modern era, also recorded a song with
similar themes.
This was the case with Fred Neil and one of his
most famous songs, "Everybody's Talking", released in December
1966 as part of the album "Fred Neil". The song will be much more
successful in Nilsson's 1968 version, but the original is characterized
by the naked emotion that Nilsson’s more commercial and famous arrangement lacks.
Fred Neil essential musical arrangement is well handled
in its simplicity, featuring an airy acoustic guitar arpeggio in the
foreground, accompanied by double bass and the author's passionate voice.
As well as being a beautiful song, the lyrics develop several
points in common with "People Are Strange".
The most important is the feeling of being an outsider
compared to the mass of people that make up society. We see this clearly in the
lyrics of "Everybody's Talking": "Everybody's talking at me /
I don't hear a word they sayin’ / Only the echoes of my mind".
We can also see it in the words, "People stoppin’,
starin’ / I can't see their faces / Only the shadows in their eyes”.
Similarities to the alienation from community also
expressed by Morrison in "People Are Strange" are evident here,
underscoring how a proliferation of reflective lyrics and problematic themes
was taking place in 1960s music.
Hand in hand with the developments and setbacks
experienced by modern music in the following decades, the relationship between
the individual and society will be analyzed and explored from additional
perspectives.
The latter have their roots in the 1960s and
especially in the pen of artists of immense artistic importance, as in the case
of Jim Morrison and "People Are Strange".
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