The Doors
One of the things I remember about middle and high school was that a few of the artsy, pretentious kids around me discovered The Doors. You would’ve thought that they had discovered some poetic genius. Instead, they found a band whose lead singer possessed enough artsy pretension to make these kids look like rank amateurs. I’ll give The Doors props for having terrific musicianship. Ray Manzarek could play some keys. Despite that, Jim Morrison was so obsessed with his own cleverness that most of the band’s output comes across as silly and ridiculous today. The worst thing about Morrison is that he doesn’t sound like a rock star. Instead, his vocals put forth the image of a smarmy lounge singer. I can’t help but imagine that he would be doing a lounge act in Vegas if he were alive today.