Gothtober - Gothfathers The Doors Top 10 Darkest Songs

It was not until after high school that the Doors clicked for me. Their radio songs do not always paint the best picture of what these guys were about . I knew they were obviously and influence on many artists I liked but the thought was why listen to those hippies play circus music when I can hear the Cult or Danzig do it harder. I think smoking pot while depressed made things click more and I began to delve into the actual albums and undercover a wealth of songs that supports the fact that these guys might be the first goth band.  Jim Morrison was obsessed with both death and the occult at various points. Sonically when you listen to these songs you can hear how these guys influenced bands like the Cure, Bauhaus, Swans, Nick Cave and others .So here are the top 10 darkest songs this band has to offer to cast a shadow on their status along side the likes of Bowie, Leonard Cohen, and Iggy Pop as the godfathers of goth. 

10-"Indian Summer"

This one is at the bottom of the list for a reason. There is more of a moody introspective longing, lost in a cloudy haze than the kind of  end of the world bleakness they are capable of delving into.  

 

 

9-"Five to One"

This is a darker song for them in how angry it is. These guys were hanging more with the beat poet jazz crowd than hippies so this one clearly shows they were not about just peace and lover. 

   

 

8-"Queen of the Highway"

The keyboards are a little too happy for the lyrics,  then there is also that break towards then end, but if you get really high the reason it is here will make more sense 

   

 

7-"Waiting For The Sun"

The chorus of this song is a little on the happy side, but every thing else on the verses are there like those ominous punches.  That chorus does not do the lyrics on the verses justice. 

   

 6-"Riders on the Storm"

This song does sound like a brooding storm feels, I think all the jazz influence and the jammy bits are what kept it from making it higher up on the list. 

   

5- "Strange Days"

I am surprised this one did not rank higher like in the top three , but there are some happy chords that slip up here and there and take them back to that more circus like place. 

   

 4- "Not to Touch the Earth" 

The lyrics to this song certainly gave it an edge. The are pretty grim. Perhaps not as creepy as "Strange Days'  but I think overall the combination of factors and dynamics makes this one win out. ,

   

3- "You're Lost Little Girl"

Is this girl lost in a horror movie? These sounds are creepy as fuck and Morrison's stalker like delivery sounds like the Snake from the Jungle Book. 

   

2-" the End" 

There is a shimmering brightness to this song, but when you listen closely you can hear how it influenced Swans. The song takes a nightmarish turn. It fought in my head hard for first place, but sonically this one might be more intense than the number one slot, but it is not darker.   

 

 

2-" People Are Strange "

I get it you know this one because of "Lost Boys" ... but I weighed it hard against the bleaker lyrical content of  "the End" and sonically this one won out.  The lyrics are almost Morrissey like in the sense it's not other people who are the outsider it is the fact he is and is isolated by being himself, which is one of the most goth themes there is.