“Real poetry doesn’t say anything; it just ticks off the possibilities, opens all the doors. You can walk through any one that suits you.”
Jim Morrison
One of the great things about the soundtrack to Oliver Stone’s “The Doors” is that there is a great balance between diegetic and nondiegetic music throughout the entire scene. A benefit to this being a biopic of the timeline of the band is that throughout the movie there are many different scenes of performances and shows. In these moments we can capture great examples of diegetic music as the band knows they are performing that song and the crowd is there listening to the music being played. We also get scenes of non-diegetic music where the songs are being played simply in the background and are added outside of the film’s world to add to the setting or context. The soundtrack consists of some of the bands most popular songs including “Light my Fire”, “Riders on the Storm”, “People are Strange” and even some of their more controversially viewed songs like “The End”. One of the only songs we get throughout the movie that is not one by Morrison and the fellow Doors is The Velvet Underground’s “Heroin”. This being the main outlying song not performed by the band being followed in the movie, fit perfectly into the scene as when it is played, we are being thrown into the party of Andy Warhol, making perfect sense with the artist’s strong connection to the band. One of the scenes I found fascinating was the introduction scene, where we see Jim and his family driving through the desert after witnessing the native’s car crash. In the background, we hear a non-diegetic use of “Riders on the Storm”. The eerie and calming sound of the song plays extremely well with the unsettling events and the tranquility of the open desert. I also found it extremely fascinating that because this event takes place in Morrison’s childhood (the only scene from this period) they are using a song by The Doors but at this point, the band has yet to even be created. This establishes the importance of the nondiegetic and diegetic uses. My favorite parts of the soundtrack within this movie are the diegetic uses of songs within the live performances throughout the film. One that stands out particularly to me is the Whiskey a Go-Go scene where Morrison and The Doors perform “The End”. This song is filled with emotions and is a roller coaster of sound. It’s an extremely interesting song for a soundtrack due to its length and style but it fits perfectly into the film because it’s them performing the song. Using a song with as much emotion as this one in a diegetic scene, where you can see the feelings and actions of the performer wraps you right into this movie and you become sucked into the emotions of the band. For me, the most important part of Oliver Stone’s soundtrack is not just the choice of music and the particular songs selected, but his general attention to when each song is used and how the emotions and lyrics of each amazing song fit within every scene and performance throughout the entire film.
