Jim Morrison

[Zetterberg is God]

Florida historians have discovered a 40-year-old film clip of a clean-cut Jim Morrison that will give fans a different view of the Doors singer before his wilder days as a drug-using rock legend who drank hard and died young.

 

The 1964 black-and-white public relations film, shot at Florida State University (FSU) shows a nerdy-looking Morrison, a rock bad boy who died in 1971 at 27 years old, acting the part of a young man whose university application has been rejected.

 

The 16-minute video has Morrison among wholesome scenes of college life, parades and football, a sharp contrast to his image as a long-haired, leather-clad rebel poet accused of exposing himself and simulating a sex act at a Miami concert in 1969.

 

"It's incredible. He's so clean-cut and soft-spoken," said Jody Norman, archives supervisor at the State Library and Archives of Florida, and a Doors fan.

 

The website ifilm.com, which features video of all kinds, posted the clip under the heading "Jim Morrison: College Dork."

 

In the film, the Florida native plays a dejected would-be university student who reads a rejection letter from a school and then earnestly questions a school administrator as to why he can't go to college.

 

"But what happened? How come my parents and the state and university didn't look ahead?" he said.

 

The Doors were one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s whose hits included Light My Fire and Riders on the Storm. They broke up a few years after Morrison died.

 

He was found dead in the bath of his Paris apartment on July 3, 1971, apparently of a lethal mix of alcohol and drugs. The French coroner's verdict of death by natural causes and his hurried burial sparked cover-up theories for years.

 

Norman said the film was among many turned over by FSU to the state archives and contained no identification or credit for Morrison, who would have been around 20 years old when it was shot. He was spotted by a sharp-eyed archivist who was reviewing the films.

 

"We know he was at FSU for a period of time and he did some acting when he was there," Norman said.

 

"It preserves some historical backdrop and background for some people who have made the state of Florida ... what we are today."

 

The film was incorporated into Florida's archives and the part featuring Morrison, runs 1 minute and 17 seconds.

http://www.ifilm.com/ifilmdetail/2665896

[Murmuring Beast]

Jim had a degree.

[Nighthawk]

Film isn't a real degree.

[Guest Vitamin X]

[NoCalMike]

Umm, wasn't this covered in the Doors movie? The movie seemed to potray him as an indy film geek, and dabbled a bit in drugs, and could write good lyrics. This isn't anything new.

[1234-5678]

Whatever could possibly discovered can still not contain his influence on any cool band or singer since 1971.

 

Morrison is God.

[2GOLD]

Film isn't a real degree.

 

Neither is communications. But dammit, I have one of those things.

[Guest Undertow]

Haha, this Morrison is so much different than the one everyone is used to seeing.

 

"The 16-minute video has Morrison among wholesome scenes of college life, parades and football, a sharp contrast to his image as a long-haired, leather-clad rebel poet accused of exposing himself and simulating a sex act at a Miami concert in 1969. "

 

That part hits the nail on the head.

[Murmuring Beast]

According to Ray Manzarek, the film does not mention Jim getting a degree.

[Special K]

NEWSFLASH: Doing a bunch of acid made you a poet back in the day. Even if you rhymed 'liar' and 'fire' more than once. I did some acid and all I got was this:

 

^Not me.

[Nighthawk]

Jim's muse was the drink. Which is in the poetic tradition, indeed.

[godthedog]

Film isn't a real degree.

of course it is, you're learning a craft. if it's a production-heavy major, you learn how to set up a camera and shit. if it's a studies-heavy major, you learn how to write academic word-porn.

 

somebody told me about a recent new york times article titled "is film studies the new MBA?" i responded "i hope not, i don't want these stupid practical-minded motherfuckers crowding up my major."

[Nighthawk]

Hey, I know how it is. I have a bachelor of basket weaving. People are always giving me shit, but something's gotta send my kids to the dentist.

[1234-5678]

Jim's muse was the drink. Which is in the poetic tradition, indeed.

I like drinking. And the man had good taste too, Bushmill's Irish Whiskey and Tecate or Dos Equis being two favorites.

[Nighthawk]

Write me some poetry, tough guy.

[1234-5678]

I've written plenty (I call em lyrics, poetry is for fags) and received nothing but accolades because I am a creative genius.

[Nighthawk]

You calling your hero a fag?

[1234-5678]

You misquoted me!

 

 

Actually though, have you ever tried to read most of his poetry? It doesn't come across as well as it does when it is spoken, or sung. I do recommend his poetry album, "An American Prayer" though. That's very good, tells a very good story, and the other Doors do some of the best instrumentals they had ever done.

[Nighthawk]

I was never a poetry fan.

[snuffbox]

NEWSFLASH: Doing a bunch of acid made you a poet back in the day. Even if you rhymed 'liar' and 'fire' more than once.

Morrison didn't write the lyrics for Light My Fire.

[Guest Vitamin X]

somebody told me about a recent new york times article titled "is film studies the new MBA?" i responded "i hope not, i don't want these stupid practical-minded motherfuckers crowding up my major."

Ditto!

[The Czech Republic]

I've written plenty (I call em lyrics, poetry is for fags) and received nothing but accolades because I am a creative genius.

Reading your posts, I can't disagree.

[1234-5678]

Here's two I enjoy. They were tough to put to music though.

 

DO YOU LIKE IT?

 

I'm just here to ask a few questions

And learn for myself a simple lesson

So sit back, relax, puff away on that blunt

I'm a little bit pissed, so prepare for the brunt

Planes crash down our symbols of freedom

Did you ask yourself what the hell have we done?

Cops, firemen with families burn, it's a little rotten

Our desensitized asses have already forgotten

So tell me, do you like it?

 

Now, onto the old assholes

 

Schools have warped kids minds to the point of homocide

Force feeding them bullshit, it's their brains you have fried

Giving up their lives and taking others with them

Just for a couple of days in a newspaper column

Hey Mom and Dad USA, why do your 16 year olds give in?

Instead of at home, they wanna be fucked up, dead or in prison

So tell me, do you like it?

 

Now for years, political lies have held many in frustration

Yet you keep electing figureheads to your corporation

Many people cry for change, it'll never be

America will never learn from the mistakes of history

So the terrorists want us dead, they've picked out a plot

And until we give a shit, we all continue to rot

And tell me, do you like it?

 

Now, back to the young assholes

 

So as your nation collapsed, you continued to lag

I saw you, you fuck, on the way to your next bag

You don't get life, come and read my directions

And start respecting women, goddamn walking erections

And like your dick, your life usually comes up limp

But it don't matter, right, in your eyes, you're a pimp

And tell me, do you like it?

 

 

SWEET DISTRACTION

 

I'm still not sure how I became one of her selections

I just sat back and fell for her perfect imperfections

She was my sweet distraction, good for headaches and a kiss

Perfection? My God, even the woman's flaws were flawless

 

I craved her attention for my every action

Every move I made begged for her reaction

To this day, still I struggle to replace her

And end up with girls who couldn't even face her

 

We talked about the thin line between love and hate

As I realized that night I had found my perfect mate

But for us, that line didn't exist, see

Cause we loved and we hated each other equally

 

I'm still not sure why she even looked in my direction

I just laid down and worshipped her perfect imperfections

She was my sweet distraction, good for sexy, subtle hints

Perfection? My God, even the woman's guilt was innocence

 

In those two years, I think we both grew ten

And learned that it will never be like that again

People still love to put her down to this day

But on that pedestal, she will always stay

 

And I can't say I don't miss my partner in crime

And I can't say I don't miss being challenged all the time

I can say you're the one of whom I never grew tired

I can say I miss feeling so fucking inspired

 

I'm still not sure how I became one of her selections

I just sat back and fell for her perfect imperfections

She was my sweet distraction, good for feeling mellow

Perfection? My God, even the woman's goodbye was a hello

[Nighthawk]

Wait, you wrote that or Jim Morrison did?

[1234-5678]

Those are mine.

[Your Paragon of Virtue]

At first I thought you were talking about Morrison's poems too, till I got a little further.

 

Take that as a compliment I think.

[Nighthawk]

Sorry, buddy, but I was saying "I haven't read much of Jim's stuff but I remember it being better than this..." I'm sure they're better as lyrics, though.

[Your Paragon of Virtue]

Sorry, buddy, but I was saying "I haven't read much of Jim's stuff but I remember it being better than this..." I'm sure they're better as lyrics, though.

Talkin to me?

 

I was saying that reading Jaxl's poem, I thought it was Morrison's, till I got further and saw certain things. I was telling Jaxl to take it as a compliment that I confused it with something his idol would write.

[1234-5678]

I will, but I've always figured I wrote more in the Axl Rose style. Easy rhymes, relatable themes, a liberal dose of the word "fuck" and not much of the strange/hypothetical/allegorical stuff that only Morrison could explain.

[Nighthawk]

Sorry, buddy, but I was saying "I haven't read much of Jim's stuff but I remember it being better than this..." I'm sure they're better as lyrics, though.

Talkin to me?

 

I was saying that reading Jaxl's poem, I thought it was Morrison's, till I got further and saw certain things. I was telling Jaxl to take it as a compliment that I confused it with something his idol would write.

No, talking to him. A roundabout way of saying they weren't great. Holding it up to Axl Rose standards though, that's better.