When you're strange, faces come out of the rain

The Doors - Strange Days - 1967

The first time I ever heard about The Doors (or Jim Morrison), I was leafing through an Argentinian music magazine called Pelo (Hair), and I saw a picture of this guy, standing by a wall, a dog by his side and something called my attention. I read the whole article right away, and became instantly fascinated by the story of that troubled and talented man, his life and death. The article included an excerpt from the (translated) lyrics of "People are Strange". I remember rereading the lyrics again and again until I knew them by heart.
Now, keep in mind that this was the 80s so, for a very long time, all I knew about The Doors was that article. At some point, as I mentioned before, I saw a video of "Light my Fire", but for a long while that was it. Their albums either hadn't been released in Argentina, or were nowhere to be found, and buying imported albums was painfully expensive. There's even the chance that the first time I actually heard that song whose lyrics I had learned so long ago, was a good few years after, when at some bar someone decided to play the movie The Lost Boys and i heard the Echo & The Bunnymen cover. Whatever the case might be, I was obsessed by this album for years.
And this was the first ever CD I bought. I didn't even have a CD player by then, but I knew someone who was travelling abroad and asked them to get it for me.
Listening to it again, this is definitely an album I still love but, maybe because this is the album I have listened to the most by The Doors, it doesn't surprise me as much as their debut album did and, in retrospect, this does feel at times as if the best songs had ended up in the first one, and this album only had a few great songs and quite a bit of filler. It's still a great album, but it's way too much of a continuation of the previous one for me to say too much that I haven't said before.

• Apparently, "Love me Two Times" was banned from airplay in New Haven for being "too controversial". If anybody can figure that one out, I'd love to know what could possibly be controversial about it.
• "Moonlight Drive" was one of the first songs ever written by Morrison. Story has it that he recited some lines from it to Ray Manzarek one day, and he was so impressed that they decided to form a band at that moment.
• Not only is "People are Strange" in the soundtrack of Lost Boys, but there's also a Jim Morrison poster somewhere. I always thought Jason Patric looked strikingly like Morrison in that movie and, years later, when the Doors' movie was released, I was surprised, at first, that he wasn't cast for the role. 

I am he as you are he as you are me and we are all together

The Beatles - Magical Mystery Tour - 1967

In 1967, The Beatles decided to make a new film, which would be a psychedelic, unscripted story about some people riding a tour bus in England, in which "strange things begin to happen". The film was released on TV, mostly in black & white, and it was received with scathing reviews. It was the first big failure by The Beatles. I've often wondered if it wasn't because of this, that this album has always been considered a bit of a "lesser" one for most people.

In retrospect, this one feels like a natural continuation to Sgt. Pepper's, and they are very similar in spirit. Both albums start with an energetic song inviting the audience to tag along for the ride, both have a slightly goofy, "old times" song by Paul ("When I'm 64" then, "Your Mother Should Know" now), both take us into a nostalgic and psychedelic trip, that was the world of "Lucy..." in the previous album and will be "Strawberry Fields Forever" in this one. There's the Eastern George's song in each of them. I could probably continue, but you get the gist. 

Thing is, I actually think that this one has a larger amount of great and unforgettable songs than the previous one, and that while there's nothing like the genius of "A Day in the Life" here, there's more than enough to enjoy a lot. 

•  This album contains the first ever instrumental song included in a Beatles album, "Flying". It's also the first one to be credited as written by the four members of the band.
• The video (from the movie) of "Your Mother Should Know" is endearingly ridiculous, with them four coming down a staircase dressed in white tuxedos. They're wearing carnations on their lapels, with all of them being red, except for Paul's which was black. This was interpreted by some as a "clue" in the whole "Paul is dead" conspiracy theory. 
• John Lennon wrote "I am the Walrus" in an attempt to write the most nonsensical song he could come up with after finding out that The Beatles lyrics were being analysed in Literature classes at the University. 
• Apart from the nonsensical (and, in a way, brilliant) lyrics, "I am the Walrus" contains excerpts from Shakespeare's King Lear, spoken by John.
• "Strawberry Fields Forever" / "Penny Lane" was actually released as a "double A-side". They had done that before with "Day Tripper"/"We can Work it Out", and "Eleanor Rigby"/"Yellow Submarine". Another band that would do that a couple of times years later was Queen.
• "Strawberry Fields" was the name of a Salvation Army home close to where John spent his childhood. Much like the "other Side A", it's full of nostalgic imagery, although this one is closer to "Lucy..." in its psychedelic atmosphere. 
• "All you Need is Love" would, pretty much, become a sort of anthem for the hippie movement back then. Of course, it wasn't too long until the more radicalised groups would criticise the song (and John Lennon) for it being too naive, unrealistic, and not what a time of revolution needed.

A few extras

• I have heard "I am the Walrus" quoted a few times. This one must be my favourite ever, though.

• Just take a quick look at this, and tell me if Jason Patric doesn't look an awful lot like Jim Morrison. And while we're at this, watch this movie, it's brilliant and so much fun!