The Doors are often most remembered for the songs they should probably be least remembered for, and for the simple reason that those songs are the most accessible. Songs like “Hello, I Love You” and “Light My Fire” are far from being their most interesting work either musically or lyrically. They are basically darker interpretations of the popular genre of empty-headed 60s love songs.

Still, those are the Doors' “pop hits.” They got the most air-play back then on rock radio, and they still get the most airplay now on oldies radio. If you listen to either of them, they're pretty silly. The lyrics are far less poetic and nuanced than songs like “Crystal Ship” or “LA Woman.” In fact, they almost verge on being parodies of the genre- how moronic would you have to be to tell a girl you loved her without even knowing her name?

Still, they do have an underlying emotional energy of dark, menacing sexuality, a seductive Dionysian force that is unique to the Doors. And that's why they still work as effective pop songs, despite being much less than the fullest expression of what the Doors had to offer. Both songs can usually be found on any Doors compilation album, and I'm not really sure I'd purge them from the list. If these are the Doors' pop songs, they act to balance out the more avant garde and occasionally pretentious pieces in the Doors canon.

I just wish the folks who put together radio play-lists would open their minds a little, and realize there are a lot of Doors songs they could choose to play- not just these two.