Mario:
"In my view, "pretentiousness" occurs when the material
exceeds the musical ability of the group. This happened even
to The Beatles (sacred pop icons, but far more inept
musicians than The Doors)."
I'm not sure the naysayers about the Doors are claiming they
did not have great musical ability. As you note, all were
accomplished musicians. We, for I am a naysayer too (except
for a handful of their pop "songs" like 20th Century Fox),
are saying that Jim Morrison's lyrics were far from the
poetry he always pronounced them to be (what's wrong with
"lyrics"?). Nor was he satisfied to be a mere showmen,
envisioning himself a shaman. To me, that is "material far
exceeeding talent."
However, I don't believe great ability precludes pretension.
Taking it back to hardboiled fiction, I have learned to
become very wary of literary authors writing genre fiction.
They have great writing ability, but their genre work too
often exhibits a disdain for their slumming work. Either that
or they are so busy displaying their ability that they forget
to tell a story. (Musically, the Doors were not immune to
doing the same.) For instance, as much as I like some of his
other work, I have never been able to get through Madison
Smartt Bell's Straight Cut. (This does not apply to all
literary writers; Paul Benjamin (Auster)'s Squeeze Play was
quite good.)
"A local radio station decided to have an all-Beatles set
that lasts several hours. I listened to it once and was
appalled at how primitive and silly a lot of those songs
are."
You say that like it's a bad thing. To me, that sounds like
an endorsement. For instance, "Louie Louie" is primitive and
silly, you don't get much more primitive and silly, and it's
a deserved classic -- and the best recordings of it,
particularly the Kingsmen's, are the most primitive. I would
think that silly and primitive could describe a number of the
pulp writers you often praise.
And near Morrison's end, the Doors were getting more
"primitive," stripping away some of the pretension and
returning to simpler blues structures.
"The great bands were those that could play good music,
including improvisation, not just "songs"."
What's wrong with "just songs"? This is rock, not jazz.
Different skill set.
I once saw Sonny Sharrock perform. Now Sharrock plays guitar
on some of my favorite jazz recordings, including Tribute to
Jack Johnson, Tauhid and Supernova, along with some of his
own recordings. I was psyched for the chance to see him. It
was one of the most disappointing concerts I've ever seen. He
showcased his great musical ability -- he played lots of
notes amazingly fast -- but it was empty technique, in
service of nothing.
Similarly, what's wrong with "just stories"? Someone recently
quoted someone (Westlake? Gorman?) as describing Lionel White
as a poor writer, but great plotter. I finished Hostage for a
Hood the other day. Yes, the plotting was its strong point.
But what was wrong with the writing? It did not call
attention to itself, but it carried that plot along. It never
got in the way. That's a good thing. As much of a fan as I
once was of Ellroy, I can no longer read him. A big reason
(but not the only one) for this is because his writing
ability has increasing gotten in the way of the story.
"The Doors is one of those bands (with the Grateful Dead,
Cream, the various combinations of Crosby, Stills, Nash and
Young and their bands, et a few al.)."
No Zappa? Boy do you and I have very different taste in '60s
rock. Although I appreciate the Beatles, I always preferred
the more primitive Stones, Who and Kinks. Even more, though,
I align myself with the Velvet Underground/Stooges axis (I do
like CSN & especially Young). I bet you hated punk.
"I think music should be separated from pop culture (at least
for musical analysis)."
It has been said, usually dismissively, that the lives of
Warhol, WS Burroughs, Kerouac, among others, were their
greatest works. Maybe, maybe not, but those lives cannot be
separated from their art. Can Chet Baker's music be separated
from his public persona and the addiction from which if grew?
And why should it be? All sorts of extra-musical elements do
factor in our musical choices. The enjoyment of music is a
social phenomenon, even when consumed alone. Same for taste
in reading.
Yes, I'm willing to admit that Jim Morrison's public persona
is a factor in my attitude towards his band (that only would
have improved if Iggy had taken over after Morrison's death,
as was considered), just as Ellroy's is a factor in my
disaffection with his writing. And I feel no reason to
apologize for that, even if both hadn't worked so hard to
make those personas parts of their works.
Mark
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