Anti-social working hours, touring schedules and an 'always on' mentality

driven by oversupply of music and lack of boundaries

The Psychedelic era was the time of social, musical and artistic change influenced
by psychedelic drugs, occurring from the mid-1960s[1] to mid-1970s
Dude in the picture: first major underground LSD factory established

"Hotel California" is the title track from the Eagles' Hotel California album, released
as a single in February 1977.[6] Songwriting credits go to Don Felder (music), Don
Henley, and Glenn Frey (lyrics). Welsh and felders cover the guitar sections and
henley was the vocal for the song
The song is considered the best-known recording by the band, and in 1998 its
long guitar coda was voted the best guitar solo of all time by readers of Guitarist.[2]
[8] The song was awarded the Grammy Award for Record of the Year in 1978.[9] The
lyrics of the song have been interpreted by fans and critics alike, the Eagles themselves
describing the song as their "interpretation of the high life in Los Angeles."[10] In the
2013 documentary History of the Eagles, Henley said that the song was about "a
journey from innocence to experience ... that's all."[11]

Conext for the song: at the time, Los Angeles, California was the most desired place to
live in for many, including artists, musicians… it was like a big melting pot of ppl 
title is about the melting pot of everyone in America
The song is about the loss of innocence, as people started to become more famous,
they get more involved in drugs, money and fame, becoming corrupted by it
The 1st few lines set up an unease atmosphere and put us in the mind of the character

There she stood in the doorway

I heard the mission bell
And I was thinking to myself
"This could be Heaven or this could be Hell"
Then she lit up a candle
And she showed me the way
There were voices down the corridor
I thought I heard them say

Hesistancy to come in the “hotel”, afraid of what it could brinng

In the next lines, the author creates a sharp contrast to the eerie and confusing
atmosphere in the beginning:
"Welcome to the Hotel California
Such a lovely place (such a lovely place)
Such a lovely face
Plenty of room at the Hotel California
Any time of year (any time of year)
You can find it here"

It seems like california was a heaven for people (musician), where everything is
beautiful and anyone can join. This is further supported by:
Her mind is Tiffany-twisted
She got the Mercedes Benz
She got a lot of pretty, pretty boys
She calls friends

She is in love with money and power  common sight in los angeles
 The glamour, wealth and party of california  looks like an ideal place to live

So I called up the Captain

Please bring me my wine
He said, "We haven't had that spirit here
Since 1969"

Interpretation 1: America imposed a ban on drinking alcohol for people in drug

rehabilitation. It would make sense why they hadn’t had anyone order wine or alcohol
as a whole, since the character was new to the california landscape and wasn’t as
heavily involved in drugs as others  early innocence
Interpretation 2:
- This can be referring to the music industry in 1969 – the same time the hippie
era started. Then
- “wine”: symbolises pleasure, nature; “spirit” is used in its spiritual meaning
- He is mentioning how rock’n’roll started off pure with its hippie related topics
and meaning, but then drugs became involved, especially now that more heavy
psychedelics were created.  the loss of the 60s spirit

Mirrors on the ceiling

The pink champagne on ice
And she said, "We are all just prisoners here
Of our own device"
And in the master's chambers
They gathered for the feast
They stab it with their steely knives
But they just can't kill the beast

This part highlights the dark underbelly of los angeles and america as a whole.
Everyone here chose to get involved in drugs… and could not escape from it. They
tried to stay away from it and be clean, but “they just can’t kill the beast”. Their
addiction prevented them from leading a better life
Last thing I remember, I was
Running for the door
I had to find the passage back
To the place I was before
"Relax, " said the night man
"We are programmed to receive
You can check-out any time you like
But you can never leave!"

The character now tries to run away from the hotel, from the dark side of california,
but he cannot “leave”. This could be commonly seen in addicts, they try to quit drugs
and to avoid fame and glory getting to their head, but they cannot.