Petar Janjatović MOLOTOV COCKTAIL
M iami was a completely di erent place back then. Unlike what you may think of regarding this city today – bus- tling with beauties in bikinis, beach parties, gambling and vice. Back then, 50 years ago, it was the true‘South’, consumed by Christian restraint, and Jim Morrison had long since bid farewell to the small town attitude of his native Florida. And yet this sleepy city on the beach would remain remembered for one of The Doors’worst ever concerts, and it would also be remembered by Jim, for whom nothing was ever the same again. On that 1 st March 1969, all the indicators suggested that a ca- tastrophe would happen. A rearranged aircraft hangar with around 7,000 seats was haphazardly converted into a hall to accommodate almost twice as many. The seats were cast aside and a crowd was al- lowed to enter. The crowd standing around during the hot evening hung from the beams, mostly in some sort of drunken state. Insu - cient security, an excessive crowd and oppressive humidity. All the ingredients for ruination. When he nally arrived, it was obvious that he was too drunk even for his own standards, but Jim was not a man with whom one ar- gued, especially when there were 13,000 angry fans who’d turned into a mass of sweat and confusion in a hangar without a cooling system as they waited for Morrison to nally appear on the stage. And while The Doors repeated the introduction to their hit Break on Through, he stood beside the stage and then nally jumped onto it, grabbed the microphone and began mumbling. He sung a few verses, got bored, and then began: “Now listen here, I ain’t talking ’bout no revolution and I’m not talkin’ about no demonstrations. I’m talking about hav- ing a good time, I’m talking about having a good time this summer. And you all come out to L.A., you all get out there, we’re gonna lie down there in the sand and rub our toes in the ocean, and we’re gon- na have a good time, are you ready, are you ready?” And then he started insulting the audience, calling them idiots and slaves. Angered and frustrated by stupidity, pressure and misun- derstanding in this petty-bourgeois area, he vented his accumulated bitterness on stage upon returning to his hometown, which he ob- viously wasn’t ready for. Morrison had actually been trying for some time to nd an exit - not from the band as much as from the hysteria that had been created around him. He was fed up of the fame and his status as a sex symbol that had overshadowed his songs, and he was primarily a poet. A keen-eyed chronicler would probably be able to follow all the signi cant moments of Morrison’s short but brilliant life according to his ultimate demise, but Miami was the moment when pressure expelled any hope he could restrain himself. His contempt for his image as a sex symbol increased as he ma- tured. He hoped that the audience would follow this development and redirect their focus towards his beloved words, to that which he was talking about. He had no idea that his concepts existed only as predictions of what was to come and that decades would pass be- fore people would accept his perceptions of life. He experienced only frustration and disappointment at their indi erence. And that’s why, on that steamy night, Jim gave his audience what they’d sought of him... Someone jumped on the stage and doused him, and the Liz- ard King took o his shirt. “I ain’t talking about revolution, I ain’t talking about weapons and unrest, I’m talking about love. We love each other. Love your brother, hug him. You didn’t come here for music, did you? You came for some- thing more, didn’t you? You didn’t come for rock ‘n’ roll, you came for something else, didn’t you? What is it?” The audience quickly recovered from their initial shock and be- ing shouting all kinds of options. They weren’t sure what they want- ed, but Morrison knew. “See? Did you see?”The audience continued to “see” precisely what they wanted to see, but the reality was nev- er de ned, because Ray Manzarek, for example, always claimed that Morrison didn’t show anything that he shouldn’t.
ON STAGE Words: Dragana Nikoletić
How did The Doors arrive in Yugoslavia, which radio stations played their songs and how did the public react? “I rst heard about them thanks to the show “Evening with the ra- dio” and the Radio Belgrade programme hosted by Nikola Karak- lajić. His colleague, Peca Popović, in the “Bulletin”, a broadcast list, wrote emotional texts about the heroes of that time, including Morrison. I remember precisely where I was when I heard on Radio Belgrade’s news that he’d died. The public also found out about him thanks to Radio Luxembourg, which was listened to religious- ly. The Doors also resounded in the rst discotheques. They were also written about in the rare music pages of popular magazines.” The Doors broke through in America, destroyed taboos, per- formed on beaches, while Woodstock changed the face of music at a time when we were still conservative to a certain extent... “That was a very romantic time. America had liberated itself from its post-war conservatism, the new generations clearly opposed the war in Vietnam, drugs provided an unprecedented eld for ex- perimentation, and there The Doors leapt out as one of the leading bands. That was especially so due to all their mysticism about ex- panding consciousness, Huxley and the Doors of Perceptions... To the kids of the world all of that proved irresistible.” What made the sound of The Doors so unique, did Morrison’s voice play a role in that? “Ray Manzarek, the band’s keyboardist, wad educated as a classical musician. And he made abundant use of that. The Doors represent- ed a combination of infectious pop sounds, but with very evident classical in uences. Morrison’s persuasive voice provided that with a genuine upgrade.” How much did his death contribute to the myth? “Goran Bregović once said: “All I’m missing is an e ective death”. I visited his grave long ago, back in 1982. And did so in a really hippie way, by bike. Then I visited the grave of another unfortunate hero- ine - Édith Piaf.” Are The Doors obligatory listening for anyone who wants to deal with music and listen to it more seriously? “Sure, though the obligatory listening is extremely voluminous.” How would you describe Morrison? “A wild child who was struck by talent. And who didn’t really know what to do with it.”
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