12 replies to this topic

[johnny white]

this is a good book..he has a great memory of things they spoke about. not a waste of money. its only on kindle plus there are alot of never before seen photos of morrison while at ucla

http://www.amazon.co...657&sr=1-1-spel

[queenhwy]

johnny white, on 15 December 2011 - 09:19 AM, said:

this is a good book..he has a great memory of things they spoke about. not a waste of money. its only on kindle plus there are alot of never before seen photos of morrison while at ucla

http://www.amazon.co...657&sr=1-1-spel

Great post!  Thanks!  Wish I had a kindle now.  I want to see those pictures and continue reading the story
from the preview!

[johnny white]

queenhwy, on 15 December 2011 - 04:57 PM, said:

Great post!  Thanks!  Wish I had a kindle now.  I want to see those pictures and continue reading the story
from the preview!

your welcome. amazon has kindle free for your computer you can download it. look for kindle for pc. the books will be transferred to your kindle fast. also i found a site that has the pictures. i posted it below. enjoy!

http://lorenamorrison.blogspot.com/

[Silver Forest]

This is a small but extremely interesting book.
I strongly recomend it to anyone who has some interest in another dimension of James Douglas Morrison.
Besides singer he was a very intelligent youn man. Dennis Jakob had the privilege of hosting Jim on his rooftop during the summer of '65 and share his passion for books so they had oportunity to discuss extensively their phylosophy notions.
Francis Ford Coppola met Jim in this period and said about him: "he was an extremely quiet introspective young fellow, very sweet, well read, he was a big Nietzsche fan, he knew all about Nietzche, he was a poet".
In my opinion you can read on this book stuff you will not find anywhere, including some aspects of the relationship between Jim and Mary Werbelow.
Real nice book!

Edited by Silver Forest, 21 December 2011 - 11:07 PM.

[jymwrite]

Dennis Jakob's My Summer with Morrisona review by The Doors Examiner.

Jim

Edited by jymwrite, 12 January 2012 - 05:06 PM.

[Shelby68]

johnny white, on 16 December 2011 - 09:20 AM, said:

your welcome. amazon has kindle free for your computer you can download it. look for kindle for pc. the books will be transferred to your kindle fast. also i found a site that has the pictures. i posted it below. enjoy!

http://lorenamorrison.blogspot.com/

Thank you very much for that info & also for finding that excellent web site - she has a number of photos that I've never seen before (besides the Dennis Jakob ones I mean). Dang, makes me wish I kept up with my Spanish lessons

P.S. For those who've read the book, will you please clarify this point for me: Jim is legendarily said to have "lived on Dennis Jakob's rooftop in Venice." When I went to see this building a few years ago, there is actually a rooftop apartment there. So is that where Jim had lived? 'Cause I had previously gotten the impression that JM had been living on a frigging roof, exposed to the elements.

Edited by Shelby68, 13 January 2012 - 03:19 PM.

[Shelby68]

queenhwy, on 15 December 2011 - 04:57 PM, said:

Great post!  Thanks!  Wish I had a kindle now.  I want to see those pictures and continue reading the story
from the preview!

You can buy a softcover book online from the publisher (Ion); that's what I'm doing. Mama don't like too much technology!

[jlo]

this book *is* interesting and i like the fact that jakob discusses jim as the intellect. you do get a glimpse into the human being. this book really illustrates how complex he is.

but, there is one thing that bothers me. and that is the minutia that jakob goes into regarding the conversations between he and jim. maybe it's just that i am not wired to remember exact conversations the way he does but, one thing is for sure, these are 2 smart guys! and this is an very interesting read.

anyway, just my 2 cents...

[roybatty]

jlo, on 29 January 2012 - 10:34 PM, said:

this book *is* interesting and i like the fact that jakob discusses jim as the intellect. you do get a glimpse into the human being. this book really illustrates how complex he is.

but, there is one thing that bothers me. and that is the minutia that jakob goes into regarding the conversations between he and jim. maybe it's just that i am not wired to remember exact conversations the way he does but, one thing is for sure, these are 2 smart guys! and this is an very interesting read.

anyway, just my 2 cents...

I'm reading it now and I'm pleased. Jakob is a good writer. It definitely lends credibility to his story of being an avid reader. Good writers are always good readers.

I was wondering about the level of detail he was able to recall from what must be 30 (or 40) years ago. I've concluded this: if I had a college friend that went on to become hugely famous, all my memories of that friend would stay sharp as I would be more inclined to reflect on them over the years.

[Silver Forest]

Dennis Jakob was (is?) also involved in writing on films.
He knows how to tell a story.
I wonder if he took notes about his experiences and impressions while dealing with Jim. The details provided in the book are sometimes quite... detailed.
I guess that last part exposing several episodes of discussions the two guys maintained about their intelectual notions was the real focus of interest for Dennis while writing the book. No doubt that the first part is the one that is most atractive for most of the fans. Yet the second part is the most original one considering everything already available (either lie or true) on Jim's published biographies.

[Defiance]

Silver Forest, on 28 June 2012 - 09:51 PM, said:

Dennis Jakob was (is?) also involved in writing on films.
He knows how to tell a story.
I wonder if he took notes about his experiences and impressions while dealing with Jim. The details provided in the book are sometimes quite... detailed.
I guess that last part exposing several episodes of discussions the two guys maintained about their intelectual notions was the real focus of interest for Dennis while writing the book. No doubt that the first part is the one that is most atractive for most of the fans. Yet the second part is the most original one considering everything already available (either lie or true) on Jim's published biographies.

It is said that Jim upset his college room-mates/classmates in Florida circa 1962 by taking notes on them as if they were test-subjects in a study he was conducting. They got their revenge by cutting the cord to his electric blanket. Jim realized then that he had to leave for CA.

Jim tried to get along with people early on and be part of the group, but as some point, perhaps after this incident, he realized that he was on a different mode of operation than pretty much everyone else. He stopped including people in his art and thus withdrew. He emerged with what would become The Doors debut record.

As for Dennis taking notes on Jim, it sounds creepy... and quite possibly gay. No one back then could have imagined what Jim would be today. It seems that Dennis and perhaps a few others could see that Jim's music/art was something to be taken seriously, but many music industry people in 1965/66/67 outright dismissed Morrison and considered themselves to be above him. This could be because Jim had no musical training (though he did study Blues records) and he could not play an instrument.

Many Rock players and Singer-songwriters resented the fact that Jim could just go out there and sing and easily have a hit when they themselves had to spend years learning thier instrument and 'craft', and even then, they were not guaranteed the type of big audiences that Jim could attract.

Those critics (many of whom were fellow Rock n Rollers) were not justified in their critical analysis of Jim.

Based on my experiences today in the Rock world, and from what I have read about the 60s and 70s, there is a certain contingent in Rock who feel that the music needs to have super complicated chords and must follow certain technical rules, and these are the types who looked/look down on Morrison and devalue what he did simply because Jim didn't bother with musical training. The skills Jim had were those he obtained from God.

You can identify the aforementioned contingent in Rock by their 'influences list'. The bands and artists that are missing from one's 'influences list' is more telling than who is actually listed.

What I mean is that many young people today will go out of their way to distance themselves from the real Rock that actually did influence the music. Pick any new Rock band and look at their 'influences' and you will not be familiar with anyone that is listed. It is as if young people refuse to acknowledge music made more than 10 years ago.

In the 60s, there were these same types of bands who followed current trends and formed circles and cliques within their geographic regions. Jim was not invited to join them. We hear all this talk of the Sunset Strip bands, but in reality, The Doors never jammed or played with any of them.

Jim Morrison was kept from participating in Woodstock and Monterey, and it is because Jim was not part of this Singer-Songwriter circle.

Bringing it back to modern day, this same trendiness manifests itself when some punk kid who is starting a band will be proud of the fact that he doesn't listen to The Doors and Bob Dylan. I often hear the line "The Doors are oldies.... I don't do old music, I am all original". Ha ha ha. I would even go so far as to say that young people aren't even influenced by Nirvana anymore in the way that a new artist should be directly influenced by that early-mid 90s power trio. The youth are more likely to name Katy Perry as their musical hero as opposed to mentioning Cobain/Shannon Hoon/Bradley Nowell....

I have news for those young music students: There is nothing original about any Rock music being made today. No one is gonna change that fact. It has all been heard and done. It isn't possible to be original in the 2010s.

Edited by Defiance, 29 June 2012 - 04:54 AM.

[Silver Forest]

Gay? Creepy? Well, maybe... but it didn't occurred to me.
I have a different perspective. We know there's people deeply interested on human behaviour, their contrasts and extremes. We're not talking about taking photos from Jim's bathroom use but taking notes about discussions on shared interests on phylosophy, philosophers and their theories and life perspectives. We're talking about people that were a little more well instructed, rationale and articulated than the common citizen.
Without taking notes it's easy to forget details ond loose good clues to develop ideas. Also, taking notes it's something that is quite common, particularly on organized and sistematic people. I work on a very different field and I'm used to take notes about things I listen, read and I see. I guess for a writer and a fanatic on Phylosophy it's not that strange.

I agree with your pespectives about music today, the amount of ignorance about the true origins of most we listen. I also think about the artistic jealousy that some people feel/felt about Jim and The Doors. It's funny to think that someone might think that Riders, L.A. Woman, The End, and many others are songs that suffered the erosion of the years. Also much of Jim's lyrics sound so true and actual today. Talent is not necessary destructive but intelectual minority and personality mediocrity is. Some people were afraid from Jim's imprevisibility and jelous about his talent. He may not have been the best ever existed but for sure is among the best. And time is doing justice. I still see some graffitis and young people surprised about how good this band sounds. For some critics it was easy to emphatize Jim's excesses to cheaply vilify his image. And in some occasions I believe Jim helped those guys. The fact is is work still sounds great to many people and it's aging much better than most of other artists from his time.

Edited by Silver Forest, 29 June 2012 - 09:11 PM.

[Defiance]

Silver Forest, on 29 June 2012 - 09:09 PM, said:

Gay? Creepy? Well, maybe... but it didn't occurred to me.
I have a different perspective. We know there's people deeply interested on human behaviour, their contrasts and extremes. We're not talking about taking photos from Jim's bathroom use but taking notes about discussions on shared interests on phylosophy, philosophers and their theories and life perspectives. We're talking about people that were a little more well instructed, rationale and articulated than the common citizen.
Without taking notes it's easy to forget details ond loose good clues to develop ideas. Also, taking notes it's something that is quite common, particularly on organized and sistematic people. I work on a very different field and I'm used to take notes about things I listen, read and I see. I guess for a writer and a fanatic on Phylosophy it's not that strange.

I agree with your pespectives about music today, the amount of ignorance about the true origins of most we listen. I also think about the artistic jealousy that some people feel/felt about Jim and The Doors. It's funny to think that someone might think that Riders, L.A. Woman, The End, and many others are songs that suffered the erosion of the years. Also much of Jim's lyrics sound so true and actual today. Talent is not necessary destructive but intelectual minority and personality mediocrity is. Some people were afraid from Jim's imprevisibility and jelous about his talent. He may not have been the best ever existed but for sure is among the best. And time is doing justice. I still see some graffitis and young people surprised about how good this band sounds. For some critics it was easy to emphatize Jim's excesses to cheaply vilify his image. And in some occasions I believe Jim helped those guys. The fact is is work still sounds great to many people and it's aging much better than most of other artists from his time.

You have now changed it to notes on discussions, interests, and philosophy, when originally you said "wonder if he took notes about his experiences and impressions while dealing with Jim".

Those are clearly two different things. The latter of the two seems to be placing too much attention on Jim.

If someone is looking that closely at Jim, then it would leave no room for God in that person's life. It is a sign that the person should spend more time thinking of Jesus.

Even if I were alive back then, my only concern would be for keeping Jim safe. I wouldn't waste time taking notes or risk getting distracted by such activity. I would be his real security....

That bodyguard that Jim did have ended up getting Jim into situations that he shouldn't have been in. For instance, Jim went to visit two women and the bodyguard came along and decided to take one of the women. Both men went into different rooms. Soon after, Jim and his woman were alerted to the screams from the room where the bodyguard and the other woman were. The bodyguard had thrown the woman's cat out of an upper floor window.

The bodyguard seemed to think it was funny.

Movin on, Jim completed his art. He gave us the music. Therefore, I don't need anything more. Whatever Jim may have discussed or thought is his own concern.

I would say that anyone who releases music today must have some talent, otherwise they wouldn't be there to begin with. Talent isn't really something I look too far into since a little goes a long way. Talent will get someone on TV, but it won't make them into an influential artist.

I prefer to notice skills of a player. Skill can't be faked, but talent can indeed be faked with recording techniques meant to disguise a vocalist's voice. Skill is the point where the fingers hit the strings and the fretboard. With someone like SRV, his skill was so great that it was the first thing someone noticed about him.

Many musical artists have a more subtle skill. Take George Harrison for instance. He wasn't Clapton, so thus his skill went somewhat unnoticed.

Harrisons' skill is a hidden thing within Beatles music.... one must listen for it.

Jim wasn't Jazz, so therefore he could not be the best. The best always gravitate towards Jazz.

If you break it down into the best in Rock, it is Van Morrison, Jim Morrison, Jack Bruce, Janis Joplin, and Robert Plant.

Edited by Defiance, 30 June 2012 - 07:10 PM.