I have written about the “27 Club” several times in the past and I have got a lot of hits in the last 30 days on these blog posts below that deal with Rock and Rollers and drugs.
I’m In A Rock ‘N’ Roll Band – The Singer (Part 1) Jim Morrison – books on tape – w subtitles Light My Fire – The Doors The Rolling Stones – Satisfaction ________________________ The Rolling Stones – The Breakthrough The Rolling Stones – Brian Jones The Rolling Stones- Paint it Black Nirvana – Smells Like […]
I’m In A Rock ‘N’ Roll Band – The Singer (Part 1) Jim Morrison – books on tape – w subtitles Light My Fire – The Doors The Rolling Stones – Satisfaction ________________________ The Rolling Stones – The Breakthrough The Rolling Stones – Brian Jones The Rolling Stones- Paint it Black Nirvana – Smells Like […]
It was so sad to lose these people so soon. The Curse of 27 This page is in response to my most frequently asked questions – is there really a Curse of 27, how many musicians actually died at that age, and who are they. When legendary Blues man, Robert Johnson, was killed at the age […]
Amy Winehouse died last week and she joined the “27 club.” Pete de Freitas of Echo and the Bunnymen is also a member of the “27 Club.” This is group of rockers that have died at age 27. A tribute to the amazing drummer of one of our biggest influences, Echo & The Bunnymen. We […]
cc ‘Janis Joplin’ 2/5 from True Hollywood Story (Janis was having affair with Pigpen) Jerry Garcia (guitar, vocals), Ron “Pigpen” McKernan (vocals, harmonica), Bob Weir (guitar, vocals), Phil Lesh (bass), Mickey Hart (drums), Bill Kreutzman (drums). Grateful Dead “Don’t Ease Me In” Live @ Canadian National Exhibition Hall Toronto, CA June 27th, 1970 Grateful Dead […]
Amy Winehouse died last week and joined the “27 club” which is a group of rockers that died at age 27. Gary Thain also joined that same group long ago and I wanted to look at his life today. Uriah Heep – Wizard bb By Sean Nelson, Special to MSN Music , July 23, 2011 […]
Recently Amy Winehouse joined the “27 Club” when she died of a drug overdose. The “27 Club” is a group of rockers that died at age 27. Unfortunately Jimi Hendrix died at age 27 in 1970 and Janis Joplin did the same three weeks later. Today we are going to look at her life and […]
JIMI HENDRIX : FINAL INTERVIEW . The other day when Amy Winehouse died she joined the “27 Club” which includes other famous rockers who died at age 27. Most of them died because of drugs. Unfortunately Jimi Hendrix joined the club for the same reason. Something special for all music and Beat Club-Lovers on YouTube: […]
Amy Winehouse died at age 27 and unfornately joined the “27 club” which is made of famous rockers that died at age 27. Pete Ham was a member of Bad Finger which was one of my favorite groups that I followed. “Come and get it” was my favorite song of theirs. ___________________________________ Badfinger perform a […]
Brian’s Blues, Brian Jones on guitar in the early stones years. unreleased track Brian Jones died at age 27 just like Amy Winehouse did. I remember like yesterday when I first heard the song “I can’t get no satisfaction” by the Rolling Stones. I immediately thought about Solomon’s search for satisfaction in the Book of […]
Jim Morrison – Feast Of Friends – (The Doors Documentary) (1969) (Paul Ferrara) 1/4 I was saddened by the recent death of Amy Winehouse and her inclusion into the “27 Club.” This series I am starting today looks at the search that each one of these entertainers were on during their lives. Today I look […]
The Rise And Rise Of Kurt Cobain part 1/3 Amy Winehouse joined the “Club 27 the other day with her early death. I am going through the others one by one. Today is Kurt Cobain. 7. Kurt Cobain very rarely does an artist come along and not just upset the “apple cart” but drops […]
I have written about the “27 Club” several times in the past and I have got a lot of hits in the last 30 days on these blog posts below that deal with Rock and Rollers and drugs.
I’m In A Rock ‘N’ Roll Band – The Singer (Part 1) Jim Morrison – books on tape – w subtitles Light My Fire – The Doors The Rolling Stones – Satisfaction ________________________ The Rolling Stones – The Breakthrough The Rolling Stones – Brian Jones The Rolling Stones- Paint it Black Nirvana – Smells Like […]
I’m In A Rock ‘N’ Roll Band – The Singer (Part 1) Jim Morrison – books on tape – w subtitles Light My Fire – The Doors The Rolling Stones – Satisfaction ________________________ The Rolling Stones – The Breakthrough The Rolling Stones – Brian Jones The Rolling Stones- Paint it Black Nirvana – Smells Like […]
It was so sad to lose these people so soon. The Curse of 27 This page is in response to my most frequently asked questions – is there really a Curse of 27, how many musicians actually died at that age, and who are they. When legendary Blues man, Robert Johnson, was killed at the age […]
Amy Winehouse died last week and she joined the “27 club.” Pete de Freitas of Echo and the Bunnymen is also a member of the “27 Club.” This is group of rockers that have died at age 27. A tribute to the amazing drummer of one of our biggest influences, Echo & The Bunnymen. We […]
cc ‘Janis Joplin’ 2/5 from True Hollywood Story (Janis was having affair with Pigpen) Jerry Garcia (guitar, vocals), Ron “Pigpen” McKernan (vocals, harmonica), Bob Weir (guitar, vocals), Phil Lesh (bass), Mickey Hart (drums), Bill Kreutzman (drums). Grateful Dead “Don’t Ease Me In” Live @ Canadian National Exhibition Hall Toronto, CA June 27th, 1970 Grateful Dead […]
Amy Winehouse died last week and joined the “27 club” which is a group of rockers that died at age 27. Gary Thain also joined that same group long ago and I wanted to look at his life today. Uriah Heep – Wizard bb By Sean Nelson, Special to MSN Music , July 23, 2011 […]
Recently Amy Winehouse joined the “27 Club” when she died of a drug overdose. The “27 Club” is a group of rockers that died at age 27. Unfortunately Jimi Hendrix died at age 27 in 1970 and Janis Joplin did the same three weeks later. Today we are going to look at her life and […]
JIMI HENDRIX : FINAL INTERVIEW . The other day when Amy Winehouse died she joined the “27 Club” which includes other famous rockers who died at age 27. Most of them died because of drugs. Unfortunately Jimi Hendrix joined the club for the same reason. Something special for all music and Beat Club-Lovers on YouTube: […]
Amy Winehouse died at age 27 and unfornately joined the “27 club” which is made of famous rockers that died at age 27. Pete Ham was a member of Bad Finger which was one of my favorite groups that I followed. “Come and get it” was my favorite song of theirs. ___________________________________ Badfinger perform a […]
Brian’s Blues, Brian Jones on guitar in the early stones years. unreleased track Brian Jones died at age 27 just like Amy Winehouse did. I remember like yesterday when I first heard the song “I can’t get no satisfaction” by the Rolling Stones. I immediately thought about Solomon’s search for satisfaction in the Book of […]
Jim Morrison – Feast Of Friends – (The Doors Documentary) (1969) (Paul Ferrara) 1/4 I was saddened by the recent death of Amy Winehouse and her inclusion into the “27 Club.” This series I am starting today looks at the search that each one of these entertainers were on during their lives. Today I look […]
The Rise And Rise Of Kurt Cobain part 1/3 Amy Winehouse joined the “Club 27 the other day with her early death. I am going through the others one by one. Today is Kurt Cobain. 7. Kurt Cobain very rarely does an artist come along and not just upset the “apple cart” but drops […]
Jim Morrison’s picture above. He died way too young and many of our young people turn to drugs and suicide because of loneliness. It is sad that this is such a pressing problem. I think of songs that point this out: Adam’s Song, The Last Resort, etc.
There are two usual approaches to this problem that young people take.
First, you have the worm approach. They crawl into the ground because they don’t want to be close to anyone.
Second, the puppy approach. They do anything they can to get people to like them.
The better approach is to act like the child of God that you are. Feeling loved and accepted starts with your relationship with Christ who is the only one able to meet the deepest needs of your life. (Fast forward to the end of this post if you need a relationship with Christ.) Talking to Jesus and reading his Word- The Bible – are steps to strengthening your friendship with him. He laid down his life for you, so it is obvious that he regards you as a friend worth dying for (John 15:13) That is powerful comfort when you wonder if anyone cares.
Portions of the above post were taken from the excellent devotional book by Josh McDowell, and Ed Stewart “Youth Devotions 2,” published in 2003 by Tyndale. Back then my kids were 17, 14, 9 and 7 and we went through several of these devotions together. Just recently I got the book out of the garage and three of my kids have been meeting with me at 5:30 am every morning and we are going through some of these same devotions again. I thank God for kids who came to me and asked to start meeting with me every morning to spend 30 minutes studying Bible applications and praying together. To God be the glory.
The band’s place in the pop music landscape was established with the release of their breakout single, “Last Resort,” which was quickly picked up by MTV and nominated for a “Best New Artist Video” award at the 2000 Video Music Awards. The song is a gut-wrenching first-person chronicle of hopelessness that’s gone so deep the singer is seriously contemplating suicide. But the band is adamant about the fact that the song is about fighting to survive by overcoming depression, rather than allowing it to lead to suicide. “It’s not saying I can’t go on living. It’s saying I can’t go on living this way,” says Dick (Spin, 10/00).
I know there are some curse words in the following song. I have eliminated both times the curse word is used. I really think that there needs to be a response to the young people who are saying things like the words in this song Here are some of the words:
Do you even care if I die pleading, Would it be wrong, would it be right, If I took my life tonight, Chances are that I might, and I’m contimplating suicide, ‘Cause I’m losing my sight, losing my mind, Wish somebody would tell me I’m fine, Nothing’s alright, nothing is fine, I’m running and I’m crying, I never realized I was spread too thin, Till it was too late andI was empty within, Hungry, feeding on my chaos and living in sin, Downward spiral, where do i begin, It all started when i lost my mother, No love for myself and no love for another,Searching to find a love upon a higher level, finding nothing but QUESTIONS AND DEVILS, I can’t go on living this way, Cut my life into pieces, This is my last resort.
My response to these words:”Do you even care if I die pleading, Would it be wrong, would it be right, If I took my life tonight, Chances are that I might, and I’m contimplating suicide” is that you should plead to someone who can do something about your situation and that is Christ!!!!
Below David Powlison asserts:
How do you get the living hope that God offers you in Jesus? By asking. Jesus said, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened” (Matthew 7:7-8).
Suicide operates in a world of death, despair, and aloneness. Jesus Christ creates a world of life, hope, and community. Ask God for help, and keep on asking. Don’t stop asking. You need Him to fill you every day with the hope of the resurrection.
In a day and age where the walls are crumbling between what had been a variety of distinctive popular music genres, Papa Roach is like many other chart-topping bands whose music combines sounds that were once distinct. Coby Dick’s raspy and throat-wrenching vocals join with music that incorporates sounds of rap, rock, thrash, funk and metal. Listeners familiar with popular music will hear the influence of Faith No More, the band Dick cites as one of his early favorites. Similar contemporary bands include Korn, Limp Bizkit, The Deftones and P.O.D.
Reviewer Tim Kennedy of Spin describes the resulting sound as “an amalgam of below-the-belt guitar riffage, punk-rock urgency, and half-sung, half-rapped vocals (10/00). Rolling Stone’s Anthony Bozza says listening to Papa Roach is “like standing on a precipice—sustained tension and the threat of a tumble” (8/31/00).
The sound combines with Dick’s lyrics in a powerful and emotional blend that addresses the reality of life for kids who have been burned over and over again. Tobin Esperance says, “We write about things that have happened to our singer, specifically, and friends around us. It’s real life stuff. We’re not writing about s___ that we don’t know about, like girls and cars and money … we only know real life bulls___ that happens” (nyrock.com). Coby Dick says of his autobiographical music, “I’m venting my emotions. It’s blunt” (Rolling Stone, 8/31/00). He says “Papa Roach, lyrically, is my counseling” (Billboard,6/10/00).
Infest (2000)
Papa Roach released the album they now consider their first in April of 2000. The album quickly began to sell as a result of radio and MTV exposure, went gold after two months thanks to scoring with MTV’s Total Request Live audience, and had gone double platinum by September 2000.
Papa Roach offers an introduction to their music, mission, message and intentions on the album’s title cut. After introducing himself to his listeners, Coby Dick informs them his “God-given talent is to rock all the nations.” In this, the band’s “first manifesto,” the group lays out their plan to “infest” the world and young minds (“wrap you in my thoughts”) with an angry musical message of anarchy and rebellion against a messed-up world that’s let them down: “We’re going to infest/We’re getting in your head/What is wrong with the world today/The government, media or your family.” Institutions and people are not to be trusted. In fact, “First they shackle your feet/Then they stand you in a line/Then they beat you like meat/Then they grab you by your mind … people are the problem today.” Dick admits the struggle so many young people feel: “the game of life is crazy.” Alone in this sea of brokenness and hopelessness, Dick asks, “Would you cry if I died today/I think it be better if you did not say.”
The band’s place in the pop music landscape was established with the release of their breakout single, “Last Resort,” which was quickly picked up by MTV and nominated for a “Best New Artist Video” award at the 2000 Video Music Awards. The song is a gut-wrenching first-person chronicle of hopelessness that’s gone so deep the singer is seriously contemplating suicide. (See lyrics on page 7.) The fact that “Last Resort” is part of the mainstream pop music landscape indicates it is connecting with more and more kids who see it as an expression of their own inner struggles. For casual listeners, the song is very confusing. Listening to the song reveals the criticisms claiming the song promotes suicide could certainly be warranted. Kids who are riding the fence because of numerous other problems in their lives could interpret the song in a way that would give them permission to go over the edge, especially if they don’t know the story behind the song. But the band is adamant about the fact that the song is about fighting to survive by overcoming depression, rather than allowing it to lead to suicide. “It’s not saying I can’t go on living. It’s saying I can’t go on living this way,” says Dick (Spin, 10/00). He also says, “Last Resort” has “a positive edge to it, as far as like, ‘Don’t succumb to it. Keep yourself afloat.’ With these problems in your life, find a friend you can confide in” (Sonicnet.com). Based on the band’s resolve to survive like a roach, one would have to take them at their word. The song chronicles the suicide attempt of one of Coby Dick’s former roommates. After his “unsuccessful” attempt, the young man “turned to God” … Dick claims the attempt was what killed the rotting part of his roommate’s soul. The song has definitely connected. “We’ve gotten so many e-mails from people who tell us ‘Last Resort’ saved their lives,” says Dick. “It makes some people feel less alone” (Rolling Stone,8/31/00).
The album’s third cut is equally powerful. Released as a single and put in heavy rotation on MTV, “Broken Home” (See lyrics) is an overt lyrical, sonic and visual cry from the heart of one whose young life has been shattered by family breakdown. Written by Dick about his feelings after his parents’ divorce, the song offers listeners an emotional window into the reality of kids beaten up by our current culture of divorce. Every parent considering divorce should sit and watch this video. It is powerful.
“Dead Cell” has been called “a darkly sarcastic paean to Columbine kids the world over” (Alternative Press, 10/00). If that’s the case, the sarcasm is not easily heard. The dead cells are described as “born with no soul/lack of control/cut from the mold of the anti-social … sick in the head/living but dead.” Loud, angry and fast, the song could be interpreted by some who are young and angry as a call to arms: “I’m telling ya the kids are getting singled out/Let me hear the dead cells shout.”
“Between Angels and Insects” is an insightful rant against American greed and materialism. Dick says he wrote the song to remind himself that the things the band’s success will bring are not the things that make one happy. The lyrics are powerful and excerpts could serve to spark discussion with teens about the false promises of materialism: “Diamond rings get you nothing/But a life-long lesson/And your pocketbook stressin’/You’re a slave to the system/Working jobs that you hate/For s___ that you don’t need/It’s too bad the world is based on greed/Step back and stop thinking ‘bout yourself … ‘cause everything is nothing/And emptiness is in everything … Possessions they are never gonna fill the void … the things you own, own you.” When discussing the message of the song Buckner says, “all the worldly things that people equate with happiness—do they necessarily make you happy? You can have Rolexes and diamond rings and cars and houses … but really the things that make you happy are peace of mind and passion in your life” (Alternative Press, 10/00).
Relational selfishness and greed are the subject of “Blood Brothers,” a song offering powerful evidence of the depth of sin’s hold on humanity: “It’s our nature to destroy ourselves/It’s our nature to kill ourselves/It’s our nature to kill each other/It’s in our nature to kill, kill, kill.” The song speaks about allegiance in a world where you can’t trust anybody and you’ve got to watch your back. The lyrics leave one thinking the song could serve as an anthem for a street gang or other fringe subculture: “Blood brothers keep it real to the end.”
Themes of severe relational breakdown and the resulting pain continue in “Revenge,” a song about a girl who was “abused with forks, knives and razorblades” and who finally left the man who abused her in fits of rage. Listeners who have been abused will identify with the song’s mention of the ever-present and visible emotional scars they so often feel: “Chaos is what she saw in the mirror/Scared of herself/And the power that was in her/It took over and weighed heavily on her shoulders/Militant insanity is now what controlled her.” The song indicates that she exacts revenge on him, although the method and outcome is unclear.
Backstabbers are the subject of “Snakes,” an angry and threatening rant at those who betray friends. The song reflects the distrust so many kids feel because of the parade of letdowns they’ve experienced. The chorus asks, “Do you like how it feels to be bit in the neck by the snake that kills?/Do you know how it feels to be stabbed in the back then watch the blood spill?/I don’t like how it feels.”
Coby Dick chronicles his wrestling match with alcohol on “Binge,” a song that serves as a personal confession. “All I need is a bottle/And I don’t need no friends/Now wallow in my pain/I swallow as I pretend/To act like I’m happy when I drink till no end/I’m losing all my friends, I’m losing in the end … When I’m sober, life bores me/So I get drunk again.” The song is a heart cry about what drives the binge drinker, how he really feels inside and his desire to see it end. In the song’s final lines, Dick sings, “I wish things would change/Wish they’d rearrange.”
“Never Enough” is another cry for help from a confused and tortured young soul that is deeply longing for redemption. “Life’s been sucked out of me/And this routine’s killing me … somebody put me out of my misery,” Dick sings. The song will resonate with kids who are lost, purposeless and without peace. The song’s conclusion is a loud cry for help: “I feel as if I’m running/Life will knock me down.”
“Thrown Away” offers a view of life through the eyes of a kid struggling with ADD, something Coby Dick knows well as he watched his brother’s personal struggle with the disorder. “My heart is bleeding and the pain will not pass … I want to be thrown away … I am a mess, I’ve made a huge mess/I can’t control myself/I’m losing it, I’ve lost it/I’ve spilt all my marbles … sometimes I want to be thrown away.”
The album concludes with an unlisted hidden cut called “Tightrope.” The track is stylistically unlike any other cuts on the album as it is done in reggae style. The lyrics are a confusing mix of thoughts where Dick calls his words “weapons in which I murder you.” The song offers a confession regarding the ethical dilemmas faced by kids in these confusing times: “there is a thin line between what’s good and what is evil/I will tiptoe down that line/But I feel unstable/My life is a circus and I’m tripping down the tightrope/There’s nothing left to save me now so I will not look down.”
It’s easy to see the risk factors for suicide—depression, suffering, disillusioning experiences, failure—but there are also ways to get your life back on track by building protective factors into your life.
Ask for help
How do you get the living hope that God offers you in Jesus? By asking. Jesus said, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened” (Matthew 7:7-8).
Suicide operates in a world of death, despair, and aloneness. Jesus Christ creates a world of life, hope, and community. Ask God for help, and keep on asking. Don’t stop asking. You need Him to fill you every day with the hope of the resurrection.
At the same time you are asking God for help, tell other people about your struggle with hopelessness. God uses His people to bring life, light, and hope. Suicide, by definition, happens when someone is all alone. Getting in relationship with wise, caring people will protect you from despair and acting out of despair.
But what if you are bereaved and alone? If you know Jesus, you still have a family—His family is your family. Become part of a community of other Christians. Look for a church where Jesus is at the center of teaching and worship. Get in relationship with people who can help you, but don’t stop with getting help. Find people to love, serve, and give to. Even if your life has been stripped barren by lost relationships, God can and will fill your life with helpful and healing relationships.
Grow in godly life skills
Another protective factor is to grow in godly living. Many of the reasons for despair come from not living a godly, fruitful life. You need to learn the skills that make godly living possible. What are some of those skills?
Conflict resolution. Learn to problem-solve by entering into human difficulties and growing through them. (See Ask the Christian Counselor article, “Fighting the Right Way.”)
Seek and grant forgiveness. Hopeless thinking is often the result of guilt and bitterness.
Learn to give to others. Suicide is a selfish act. It’s a lie that others will be better off without you. Work to replace your faulty thinking with reaching out to others who are also struggling. Take what you have learned in this article and pass it on to at least one other person. Whatever hope God gives you, give to someone who is struggling with despair.
Live for God
When you live for God, you have genuine meaning in your life. This purpose is far bigger than your suffering, your failures, the death of your dreams, and the disillusionment of your hopes. Living by faith in God for His purposes will protect you from suicidal and despairing thoughts. God wants to use your personality, your skills, your life situation, and even your struggle with despair to bring hope to others.
He has already prepared good works for you to do. Paul says, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10). As you step into the good works God has prepared for you—you will find that meaning, purpose, and joy.
Papa Roach – Last Resort (Censored Version) This series of posts concerns the song “The Last Resort.” Amy Winehouse died today and it was a tragic loss. That really troubled me that she did not seek spiritual help instead of turning to drugs and alcohol. This post today will give hope to those we feel like […]
I am in the middle of a series on the Papa Roach song “Last Resort” which deals with suicide and then today I hear this sad story about Amy Winehouse. Inside Amy Winehouse’s troubled life With the news that British R&B star and tabloid target Amy Winehouse has died from as yet undisclosed causes, […]
Papa Roach – Last Resort (Censored Version) Today I am starting a series of posts on this song “The Last Resort” by Papa Roach. The band’s place in the pop music landscape was established with the release of their breakout single, “Last Resort,” which was quickly picked up by MTV and nominated for a “Best […]
Jim Morrison – Feast Of Friends – (The Doors Documentary) (1969) (Paul Ferrara) 1/4
I was saddened by the recent death of Amy Winehouse and her inclusion into the “27 Club.” This series I am starting today looks at the search that each one of these entertainers were on during their lives. Today I look at Jim Morrison of the Doors.
From: James Riordan, Stone: The Controversies, Excesses, and Exploits of a Radical Filmmaker, Hyperion: New York, NY (1995), page 340:
[Val] Kilmer’s reaction seems to be one of relief that the project [The Doors] was over, but as far as Morrison goes, he too gained a more profound understanding. “He had a sincere search,” he says of Morrison. “He may have chosen some of the wrong tools, but I think he tried to keep open an avenue of hope through spirituality. But I also think he was a bit of a cop-out because he was deathly frightened of committing to a practice, a condition, a way to behave, something to live for or live out of. I think cool was very important to him, and I’ve always battled that vanity. I think I’ve found through playing this character an opportunity to reexperience some of my life, to reevaluate. It seems to have strengthened things I have always believed . . . in God, and a reality that’s a foundation for living. To put yourself on the line, to confront that . . . that fear.”
Jim Morrison – Feast Of Friends – (The Doors Documentary) (1969) (Paul Ferrara) 2/4
was there anything that morrison lacked? the epitome of rock stardom, perfect symmetrical chiselled features, insanely cool, leather pants and pirate shirts, a big beautiful bellicose baritone of a voice, unparalleled charisma and a wild side of pure unfettered freedom that unfortunately led to a very short career and an early death. a creative visionary who led the doors, which could go down as the quirkiest “big band” of all time. if you listen to the instrumentation and their very peculiar songwriting style it almost sounded as if “the carnival was in town”. yet they could be the “pound for pound” choice for bands with the most hits in ratio to their short career. they were only around for a few years but they contributed so much to our musical landscape.
as much of a creative collaborative force as the doors were, it was morrison that made them cool. he was also a sex god for the ages, and must have enjoyed his short time here immensely what with the freewheeling, free lovin 60′s in full flight.
a drug and alcohol user of copious amounts which will certainly become a common thread throughout this list, james douglas morrison flamed out in a bathtub in paris at the tender age of 27.
truly one of the most iconic front men to ever pick up a mike, a pure pagan, the lizard king will never be forgotten. long live the king!
essential listening: debut album, LA woman, strange days (the doors)
Jim Morrison – Feast Of Friends – (The Doors Documentary) (1969) (Paul Ferrara) 3/4
Thanks for writing and sharing your opinions. I hope your heart is open to our response. I read your email and still have no doubt in my mind, that Jim Morrison was steeped in the occult; he was being manipulated by demonic forces to do Satan’s bidding. Personally, I believe the evidence is more than overwhelming. Even Morrison’s biographers admit that Jim Morrison was involved in the occult and in the spirit world.
Jane, you wrote:
“As far as The Doors’ exposé is concerned, to begin with, you were not entirely forthright with the quotation from Wilderness. You posted “…an appearance of the devil on a Venice canal. Running, I saw Satan.” In actuality it reads “…an appearance of the devil on a Venice canal. Running, I saw a Satan or Satyr, moving beside me, a fleshy shadow of my secret mind. Running. Knowing.”
Before I comment on this, later on in your email you acknowledged that Morrison believed that spirits possessed him. His repeated identification with Satan and satanic imagery, whether it is in regard to the inspiration of his music or antichrist position, is quite revealing. The fact that he mentions a “Satyr” along with “the devil [and] Satan” does not detract from our point that he identified with dark satanic forces, but accentuates it all the more. Morrison’s usage of a Satyr reveals more than a poetic flair, but reflects Morrison’s knowledge of Bacchius occult ritual and his own experiences, along with how he interpreted them.
Jim Morrison, Hell & the Resurrection
Jim Morrison knew the truth and rejected it; he preferred temporal fame, power and eternal torment in hell, the house of detention, rather than eternal life and the resurrection of the righteous. Morrison sings:
“Cancel my subscription to the.. resurrection. Send my credentials to the house of detention I got some friends inside…”
Demonic spirit entities possess human beings not only in an effort to destroy them, as was the case with Jim Morrison, but to also influence the masses. The Scripture reveals that Satan himself was created with musical abilities, as were the angels (Isaiah 14; Ezekiel 28; Job 38 and Revelation 5 ). Such spirits use music to seduce us and teach demonic doctrines:
“Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons,” –1 Tim. 4:1
The apostle Paul warned:
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” –Ephesians 6:10-12
Morrison’s music, sadly, was used to seduce and indoctrinate his audiences into utter tragic lifestyles. Along with other rock gods, Morrison led millions of impressionable youth into destruction through his advocacy of drugs, sexual perversion, the occult and violence. When describing the Doors’ music, Morrison said, “Right now I’m more interested in the dark side of life, the evil thing, the dark side of the moon, the night-time.” Morrison also said, “I am interested in anything about revolt, disorder, chaos, especially activity that seems to have no meaning.” At times, Morrison would tell his young impressionable fans while in concert, “There are no rules; there are no limits.” This was a mere echo of Satanist Aleister Crowley’s satanic maxim, “Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law.”
Jim Morrison & Satanist Aleister Crowley
Aleister Crowley
It is not hard to surmise where Morrison’s loyalties lie when we realize that he paid homage to Satanist Aleister Crowley on the cover of the Doors 13 album. On this cover, we see Jim Morrison and the other members of the Doors huddled around a bust of Satanist, Aleister Crowley. Crowley was a confessed Satanist who hated the Lord Jesus Christ declaring, “with my hawk’s head I peck out the eyes of Jesus as he hangs upon the cross,” and giving his allegiance to Satan:
“I bind my blood in Satan’s hands, all this that lieth betwixt my hands, too thee, the Beast, and thy control, I pledge me; body, mind, and soul” –Aleister Crowley, Satanic Extracts, Black Lodge Publishing, The Estate of Aleister Crowley, 1991, p. 1
Jane, I am not sure how you would even attempt to exonerate Morrison’s exaltation of Aleister Crowley and his teachings. Crowley taught repeatedly the sacrifice of children to Satan. He stated:
“For the highest spiritual working one must accordingly choose that victim which contains the greatest and purest force. A male child of perfect innocence and high intelligence is the most satisfactory and suitable victim.” –Aleister Crowley, Magick: In Theory and Practice, 1973, p. 219
In our exposé, we show an audio clip of Morrison speaking of sacrificing to the gods, which we have seen really are demons. This is not to say that Morrison ever made such sacrifices, but he glorified the idea and participated in a Wiccan wedding ceremony, wherein he smeared blood all over his girlfriend. Incidentally, Gerald Gardner, who started Wicca was a member of Crowley’s O.T.O., and met with Crowley for guidance when he organized the ceremonial magick of Wicca. He developed the Wiccan rede. “An it harm none, do what thou wilt,” which was a kinder, gentler form of Crowley’s earlier slogan, “Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law”; it was sure to gather more adherents under the guise of a kinder and gentler form of Satanism, at least from Gardner and Crowley’s perspective. Crowley also taught that one was to sacrifice little girls to Satan, and mutilate them by dismembering them and writing the names of different demon gods on their lifeless limbs.
Jane, you state of a clip we use of Morrison:
“The media is the message, and the message is me,” [that we use it] as if Jim was referring to himself. He said that during an interview with Tony Thomas of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in 1970 (Available on CD at The Doors website). The two of them were discussing music; Jim was saying he enjoyed blues and early rock and roll.”
Jane, I am sorry, but this is another example of where you misjudge us while not having all of the facts. First of all, we simply play a clip without any of our own comment there. We found the clip from a pro Doors video that only plays that part of the clip. Moreover, the context in the interview itself bares out that Morrison applies the saying to himself and believes others should do the same. He says,
“What everyone should say is, ‘the medium is the message, and the message is me.’ That’s the answer, is for everyone to…uh…you’re asking for an answer, the answer is for everyone to stand up and say, ‘I’m me,’ and be fully aware of that fact and let everyone else know it, that you are yourself and express it.”
Obviously, Jim Morrison concurs with the statement and is pushing his own personal philosophy on others. Obviously, Morrison knew he was an icon and that he himself was a message and in many ways he played this role to the hilt and preached his diabolical and destructive views from his shaman pulpit which was the concert stage. Morrison was well aware that he and the Doors were a huge influence upon his fans, and in the same interview states, “they’re being programmed by their radios,” and to the degree that the Doors were getting airplay was the degree in which they too were programming their fans along with albums, concerts, and interviews. Sadly as we shall see such programming by so many rock stars, Morrison included has had a devastating affect on our culture.
Jim Morrison & the Family
I just talked to a dear sister in the Lord, named Rosalind, who last week shared her heart wrenching story with me. She grew up in Watts in Los Angeles and was abandoned by her mother who she has seen, sadly, only a couple of times in her life. She told me that her mother was deluded into actually believing that Jim Morrison was a prophet. I could not help but think this was interesting timing in light of your letter defending him. She said that her mother bought into the lifestyle that Jim Morrison was glorifying to the impressionable and easily led hippie youth culture. Morrison’s lies and Crowleyan philosophy ended up destroying her mother and would be family. This should not be a great shock as Satanist Aleister Crowley who influenced Morrison said that “The family” is “public enemy number one.” Thankfully, Rosalind’s grandmother raised her and led her to the Lord Jesus Christ. Rosalind ended up becoming a social worker in Los Angeles and has since gone on to marry and begin a family of her own. Thankfully, she did not follow Jim Morrison but rather found true freedom that comes through knowing Jesus Christ, the Son of God! I hope and pray her mother finds that same freedom and they are united in the future.
No doubt, as Crowley taught Morrison in many ways treated his immediate family as public enemy number one. Morrison shut his parents totally out of his life. Even though his father had paid for his schooling at UCLA, he refused to talk to him after he became a rock star. In a dire attempt to talk to her son, Jim Morrison’s mother attended one of his concerts, which Jim Morrison closed by singing “The End.” According to Doors biographer, Jerry Hopkins, in No One Gets Out of Here Alive, when he sang the words about wanting to kill his father and have sex with his mother, “Father, ‘Yes son’, I want to kill you, Mother…I want to…f@#$ you”, Morrison “gave his mother a vacant stare, and then he screamed again, this time showing his teeth” (Jerry Hopkins, No One Gets Out of Here Alive).
Morrison’s Tragic End
The fifth commandment is to honor our parents and with it comes the promise of long life:
“Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you” –Exodus 20:12
Tragically, so many rock stars have died young because of their rebellion against authority, whether it be God’s or parental. God’s Word declares:
“But You, O God, will bring them down to the pit of destruction; Men of bloodshed and deceit will not live out half their days. But I will trust in You.” –Psalm 55:23
Sadly, Jim Morrison bought into Satan’s deception and his life ended at the young age of 27. Jesus Christ said that Satan is a murderer and the father of lies (John 8:44 ). Morrison died confused, tormented and depressed. His biographers point out that he drank continually to quell the voices of the evil spirits that continually tormented him. Satan promises freedom, but leads his followers into bondage and destruction. In Hungry for Heaven, Steve Turner, describes Crowley’s last days and death this way:
“Crowley finished his life as a sick, wasted heroin addict given to black rages and doubts about the value of his life’s work. His last words as he passed into a coma on December 1, 1947, were, “I am perplexed…”
–Steve Turner, Hungry for Heaven, pp. 92,97,98
Jim Morrison’s life before his death was characterized by wanton destruction. There is no evidence that he ever renounced his involvement in the occult and turned to the Lord Jesus Christ for forgiveness and eternal salvation. Whether it was beating and bludgeoning his “girlfriends,” stealing from even his “friends,” blaspheming God, repeated LSD inebriation, public nudity, endangering the lives of others while running several red lights on Sunset Boulevard at 100 miles per hour, Satan had his way with Jim Morrison. Sadly, as the electric Shaman, the demonic world used him like so many other rock stars to influence millions of young people toward destruction as well. Jane, in your email you state:
“My moment came about three years ago and I never felt such a sense of relief as I did then and still do. So much of what Jim Morrison wrote and spoke speaks volumes to me and helped me to break free from my chains.”
Genuine Freedom verses Counterfeit Freedom
Jane, I believe that you have substituted Jim Morrison with the place in your heart that only God should truly occupy. Jesus said that He is the one who has come to set the captives free (Luke 4:18-19 ). Jesus is the fulfillment of the message that God gave through the Old Testament prophets; that the Coming Savior would deliver those who are lost and enslaved to sin from death, the devil and eternal damnation. Jesus declared:
“Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free….”I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed…..You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies….if anyone keeps your word, he will never taste death.” –John 8:32, 34-36, 44, 52b
Jane, I was sorry to read about your experience when you stated:
“I resolved myself to the fact that I was never truly called and just figured I should have been because everyone around me seem to believe it with every fiber of their being. But after a while I just couldn’t pretend anymore.”
I thank God that we don’t need to pretend but can have a relationship with God through the shed blood of Christ that was poured out as payment for our sins. Jesus rose from the grave and conquered sin, death and the satanic forces that would hold us bound. The evidence all around us of the spiritual world and its affects on the masses is just one more confirmation to the veracity of Scripture; only the Bible reveals the darkness in the spiritual world for what it is, and the evil eschatological designs as to just where these spiritual rulers of darkness are leading the world. My hope and prayer is that you will realize that you are incredibly loved by God (John 3:16-17 ) and that perhaps God has allowed us to dialogue to reveal the truth to you. Jesus declared:
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” –John 10:10
I believe the Lord wants you to know that if you turn to Him, He has open arms to receive you to Himself. Jesus, who cannot lie, promised, “whoever comes to me I will never cast out” (John 6:37b ). Jane, our sin has consequences. Sin is transgression of God’s moral law. All have sinned (Romans 3:23 ) and the wages of sin is death, but thanks be to God that the free gift of God is eternal life to those who turn to Him in repentant faith (Romans 6:23 ). Jane, you only need to come to Him in faith. The prodigal son returned to His father’s house expecting to be rejected as a son but hoping to perhaps be accepted as a servant. Much to his great surprise and eternal delight, he was treated as a son and forgiven and blessed beyond his wildest dreams:
“But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.”‘ And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate.” –Luke 15:17-24
Jane, the Lord’s arms are open and he is ready to forgive you. The question is, will you turn from the broad road that leads to destruction and receive His eternal love and grace? I have already prayed for you a few times, and we are here to help you if you have sincere questions and desire our help. I hope this response clarifies our position. May the Lord draw you to Himself and I pray that you will respond:
“And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself” –John 12:32
Third — though in many ways first — in the trifecta of ’60s icons who died within a year of one another at the same tender age, Jim Morrison is the one whose death remains the most mysterious. This much we know (or think we know): The Doors’ frontman died in a bathtub in his Paris apartment. He had been drinking whiskey. He had been shooting heroin. His girlfriend Pamela Courson was in the apartment with him. She found his body. No autopsy was performed. The conspiracy theories attending his death run a staggering range from “he was murdered” to “he never actually died.” We’ll never be sure. One thing was certain: When his death was reported to the world, on July 3, 1971, Morrison was 27 years old.
The Daily Hatch 