aotw mardi gras 2015: the kinks

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dime in the gutter
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Re: aotw mardi gras 2015: the kinks

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cortez the killer wrote: 3. Education
Image
Black skin, red skin, yellow or white
Everybody needs to read and write
Everybody needs an education

The band members reassert themselves as a rock band. Dave’s guitar soars. It starts out slows and builds over the course of seven-plus minutes. A grandiose, stretched-out mid-70’s rock track. Female chorus belting it out.
just walked into my 14 yo daughter's room, as she studied. this song was playing. she knew who it was and had actually put it on a playlist. winning.


thank you, steve jobs.

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Re: aotw mardi gras 2015: the kinks

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dime in the gutter wrote:kudzu mia addition.....

Image
kinks/sleepwalker

released: february, 1977

stripped down and polished up. yet another sound from a crazy diverse band....perhaps more kinks than any other record of theirs.

hard rock and roll alert, btb. including massive power ballads and the like.

4sooner turned me on this beauty several years ago...hat tip.

18th album in 12 years (ish)
recorded at konk studios
1st release for arista records
produced by ray davies

amazing chops from the band and beautiful, dark character driven songs from ray.

right hand and right brain.

clive davis clean sheen that takes a little acclimation. production actually benefits the listener in hearing all the kick ass guitar runs and chord stranglers that are contained, herein. shit ton of great rock and roll beneath the shine.

don't read the reviews, don't pay attention to the negative hype about the production. jump in and rock balls to one of the great rock and roll bands of all time ripping it up and laying it down.

i love this record...without hesitation.

because i am tired of my own words....let the music speak for itself.
Sometimes less is more. Nice job, dime.

I've listened much closer to Sleepwalker in recent weeks and concur with your assessment of its underrated greatness. Currently, I can't enough of the closer. Dave shines.

A friend of mine just had a real bad time.
You see, his life was shattered and he lost his mind.
His girl ran off along with his best friend,
And through emotional stress he brought his life to an end.
It was such a tragedy,
But that's the way it's got to be.
Life goes on.

Life goes on.
It happens ev'ry day.
So appreciate what you got
Before it's taken away.
Life will hit you
When you're unprepared,
So be grateful and take all
That you can while you're there.
Get that frown off your head,
'Cause you're a long time dead.
Life goes on and on and on.
Life goes on and on and on.

No use runnin' 'round lookin' scared,
Life could get you when you're unaware.
One day it's gonna come, so you better accept it.
Life will hit you when you least expect it.
And one day when you are gone,
You know that life will still go on.
But no one'll care if you've been good, bad, right or wrong.
Life will still go on.

My bank went broke and my well ran dry.
It was almost enough to contemplate suicide.
I turned on the gas, but I soon realized
I hadn't settled my bill so they cut off my supply.
No matter how I try, it seems I'm too young to die.
Life goes on and on and on.
Life goes on and on and on.

Tornado, cyclone and hurricane
Can batter the houses with the thunder and rain.
Blizzards can blow; the waves hit the shore,
But the people recover and come back for more.
Somehow the people fight back, even the future looks black.
Life goes on and on and on.
Life goes on and on and on.
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cortez the killer
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Re: aotw mardi gras 2015: the kinks

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dime in the gutter wrote:
cortez the killer wrote: 3. Education
Image
Black skin, red skin, yellow or white
Everybody needs to read and write
Everybody needs an education

The band members reassert themselves as a rock band. Dave’s guitar soars. It starts out slows and builds over the course of seven-plus minutes. A grandiose, stretched-out mid-70’s rock track. Female chorus belting it out.
just walked into my 14 yo daughter's room, as she studied. this song was playing. she knew who it was and had actually put it on a playlist. winning.
Cred through the ceiling.
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Re: aotw mardi gras 2015: the kinks

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Could've passed as an outtake from Aja. Obvious influence is obvious.
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Re: aotw mardi gras 2015: the kinks

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dime in the gutter wrote:have we mentioned that ray is a masterful singer? he is. sleepwalker is proof.
No doubt. I'm not certain if it is production, confidence, wisdom, better healthy habits, or whatever, but, in general, Ray's voice during the Arista years is incredible.
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Re: aotw mardi gras 2015: the kinks

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A couple of excellent non-album tracks from the Sleepwalker era:



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Re: aotw mardi gras 2015: the kinks

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Image
kinks/misfits

Look at all the losers and the mad eyed gazers
Look at all the loonies and the sad eyed failures
They've given up living 'cos they just don't care
So take a good look around
The misfits are everywhere



some facts, mostly opinions. you figure out which is which. lazy format criticisms accepted.

released: may, 1978
recorded at konk studio
2nd arista record.
written and produced by ray davies....except where noted.
19th lp in 13 years. (ish)
elvis died august, 1977.
most personal kinks record. if i already said that about another record kinks record, i meant it then also and i still mean it.
album artwork and title frame the mindset.
every character on this record is an outcast of some sort.
ray twists the songwriting lens inward. unto himself. but still political. fucking clever ray.
lyrically the most direct record. not inuendo. yet duality still prevades. fucking clever ray.
dreamscsape of power chords and twisty synth.
nola style horns abound. reggae too.
sheen.
album contains at least 3 or 4 of the best songs of the 70s. deal with it.
as with every kinks album before it, completely different than any other kinks album before it.
i'm the only honkey living on an all black street
sonic diversity and excellence of the highest order.
guitar licks everywhere. beaming back at you.
sad wisdom.
2nd kinks album i ever listened to.
another brilliant otherworldy masterpiece.
i never mention kinks bass lines and percussive talents. i should. weird tempos and time shifts or whatever.
a song about getting laid if you get a perm.
more typically great harmonies and vox.
love this album.
maybe my most listened to kinks record.
trust your heart...should have been on the 1st ace frehley solo record. except by the kinks. dave writing, singing and ripping rock star poses.
sinister riffage on live life. maybe the greatest kinks song ever, and it's not even the best song on the record. #teamdave for the youngsters.
out of the wardrobe might be the sweetest song ever. gender shape shifting. spirit lifter, for sure.
very most excellent in the pool or on the lake/river record. but sounds even better thru headphones.



Hello you, hello me, hello people we used to be
Isn't it strange, we never changed
We've been through it all yet we're still the same
And I know it's a miracle we still go, and for all we know
We might still have a way to go

Hello me, hello you, you say you want out
Want to start anew, throw in your hand
Break up the band, start a new life, be a new man
But for all we know, we might still have a way to go
Before you go, there's something you ought to know

There's a guy in my block, he lives for rock
He plays records day and night
And when he feels down he puts some rock 'n' roll on
And it makes him feel alright
And when he feels the world is closing in
He turns his stereo way up high

He just spends his life living in a rock 'n' roll fantasy
He just spends his life living on the edge of reality
He just spends his life in a rock 'n' roll fantasy
He just spends his life living in a rock 'n' roll fantasy
He just spends his life living on the edge of reality
He just spends his life in a rock 'n' roll fantasy
He just spends his life living in a rock 'n' roll fantasy

Look at me, look at you
You say we've got nothing left to prove
The King is dead, rock is done
You might be through but I've just begun
I don't know, I feel free and I won't let go
Before you go, there's something you ought to know

Dan is a fan and he lives for our music
It's the only thing that gets him by
He's watched us grow and he's seen all our shows
He's seen us low and he's seen us high
Oh, but you and me keep thinking
That the world's just passing us by

Don't want to spend my life living in a rock 'n' roll fantasy
Don't want to spend my life living on the edge of reality
Don't want to waste my life hiding away anymore
Don't want to spend my life living in a rock 'n' roll fantasy






to be continued.....
Last edited by dime in the gutter on Fri Apr 10, 2015 10:11 am, edited 3 times in total.

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Re: aotw mardi gras 2015: the kinks

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Image

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Re: aotw mardi gras 2015: the kinks

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Bravo! Per usual, excellent job, dime.
dime in the gutter wrote:album contains at least 3 or 4 of the best songs of the 70s. deal with it.
Misfits, Rock and Roll Fantasy, Live Life & Out of the Wardrobe?
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Re: aotw mardi gras 2015: the kinks

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dime in the gutter wrote:out of the wardrobe might be the sweetest song ever. gender shape shifting. spirit lifter, for sure.

You see, he's not a faggot as you might suppose
He just feels restricted in conventional clothes
'Cos when he puts on that dress he feels like a princess


First ballot entry in the Don't Be Afraid to Fly Your Freak Flag Hall of Fame.
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Re: aotw mardi gras 2015: the kinks

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cortez the killer wrote:
dime in the gutter wrote:album contains at least 3 or 4 of the best songs of the 70s. deal with it.
Misfits, Rock and Roll Fantasy, Live Life & Out of the Wardrobe?
that'll work, but you could have easily selected trust your heart also....darling fool, i was with you all the way....

unrelated....

love the steam powered paddle boat pipe organ on black messiah.

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Re: aotw mardi gras 2015: the kinks

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Image
The Definitive Ray Davies
Candy Darling ("Walk on the Wild Side") interviews Lola's creator.

Image
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Re: aotw mardi gras 2015: the kinks

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Image
Low Budget (1979)
Was the first Kinks album recorded outside of the U.K. Ray had recently moved to New York City to soak in the culture and had the band come over to crank out the record in twelve days. According to both Ray and Dave, Low Budget was made during one of the band’s most tranquil periods. The end result was The Kinks' top-selling, non-compilation album, peaking at #11 on the U.S. charts. Like Everybody's in Show-Biz was, Low Budget is an American-centric record. Some of themes addressed on it include gasoline shortages, chronic inflation, unemployment, and the country’s shrinking international stature. Much of the album possesses a punk/new wave vibe that was the hot sound at the time. Rumor has it members of Blondie were semi-frequent guests in the control room during the recording of the album. The Kinks were hip again, in the U.S. at least. Across the pond, British critics were horrified that the band, once responsible for hits like “Waterloo Sunset”, “Days”, “Victoria”, “A Well Respected Man”, “Sunny Afternoon” and “Autumn Almanac”, recorded an album like Low Budget.

1. Attitude
Image
The '80s are here, I know cuz I'm staring right at them
But you're still waiting for 1960 to happen

Ray opts for yelling instead of singing. A rude, crude opener to an album showcasing a far less pleasant vibe than previous records. No trace of nostalgia here.

2. Catch Me Now I’m Falling
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I bailed you out when you were down on your knees
So will you catch me now I'm falling

The Kinks steal the “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” riff and reconstitute it into their new wave anthem. We have our first superhero appearance on the album – Captain America. Ray sympathizes with America’s declining status in global matters, making the plea for other nations pick up the slack and assist the great nation that once helped them.

3. Pressure
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I get it driving in my motor car
I get it when I'm drinking in a bar
I get it riding on the subway
I get it regular every day

Another up-tempo, guitar-driven song, yet with a softer, poppy beat. Ray railing against the stress brought on by pressure. Perhaps someone from that era can better interpret some of Ray’s intentions, but it seems like he simultaneously takes a swipe at the prevailing wisdom of the time that AIDS was a highly-contagious disease – “I don't really want to give it to you, ‘cos it's really contagious. You can pick it up anywhere and it can be quite dangerous. You can spread it mouth to mouth. You can even get it when you're alone. But I can always live with it whenever I am close to you.”

4. National Health
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Nervous tension, man's invention
Is the biggest killer that's around today

This mean old world creates so much tension and stress. How does Ray deal with it? Masturbation, of course. Musically, the band gets their white-boy reggae-dub on.

5. (Wish I Could Fly Like) Superman
Image
Dissatisfied is what I am
I want to be a better man

Best song on the record. Disco Kinks. Times are so tough, you need to have superpowers just to get by and/or escape. In the past Ray went driving or took a ride in a supersonic rocket ship. Now he can fly away like Superman. Those in the know maintain inspiration hit Ray after seeing Christopher Reeves play the superhero on the big screen.

6. Low Budget
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I'm shopping at Woolworth and low discount stores
I'm dropping my standards so that I can buy more

Saturated with sleaze. Oh, to have been a fly on the wall when some of the high-brow British critics first heard this one. Ray move to NYC shows up here stylistically as he aligns himself with New York Dolls, The Dictators and The Ramones.

7. In a Space
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In a space allocated by the human race
Somewhere in outer space it's far away and I like it that way

Electric guitars share the same space as some new wave-inspired synthesizers. Between the guitars and Ray's snarl, a bit of a Some Girls vibe on this track.

8. Little Bit of Emotion
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See all the people
With hatred in their eyes
I can't help thinking that
It's only a disguise

Ray indulges his tender side. The band unplugs and Ray sings a melancholic song about how people today seem reluctant to express any real emotion. Love the Raphael Ravenscroft-styled (“Baker Street”) saxophone that dances in and out of this one.

9. A Gallon of Gas
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I can score you some coke and some grade one grass
But I can't get a gallon of gas

Pretty bland, detached blues song about the gas shortage that was gripping the U.S. at the time.

10. Misery
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You're such a misery, why don't you learn to laugh
Look in the mirror and
Don't take yourself so seriously

Ray is back to screaming and snarling. The band sounds like a punked-up Chuck Berry cover band.

11. Moving Pictures
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Life is only what you make out
So make the verses rhyme and all the pieces fit

New Wave/Disco Kinks return. Maybe some of the members of Blondie sat in on this one. Lyrically, Ray ties the ever-changing nature of life to that of movies, aka moving pictures.
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Re: aotw mardi gras 2015: the kinks

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dime in the gutter wrote:
cortez the killer wrote:
dime in the gutter wrote:album contains at least 3 or 4 of the best songs of the 70s. deal with it.
Misfits, Rock and Roll Fantasy, Live Life & Out of the Wardrobe?
that'll work, but you could have easily selected trust your heart also....darling fool, i was with you all the way....
"I see," said the blind (deaf) man. Another under-the-radar Dave classic. Dave sounds a little like Paul McCartney when he opts to yell. The Kinks continue to blow my fuckin' mind.
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Re: aotw mardi gras 2015: the kinks

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Image
Give the People What They Want (1981)
As I’ve mentioned several times before, this is the first album I ever purchased. I was nine or ten at the time and my mother brought me down to the local record store (“Strawberries”). After strolling around the store for about an hour, I finally reached through the hole in the plexiglass (old-school security measure) and pulled the cassette out onto the conveyer belt. The Kinks were flying high when they cut Give the People What They Want, an album inspired, in part, by early reality-TV spectacle That’s Incredible!. Like Low Budget, it was recorded quickly, although this time back on the home turf of Konk Studios in London. As the band headed into the studio, a tour was already booked to sold-out stadiums that the new songs were designed to be played in. To achieve the proper the mix best heard in the far reaches of the stadiums they would soon play, Ray had the studio walls covered with corrugated metal that reverberated and amplified the drums and gave the album a raw, compressed tone. The lyrical tone was laced with biting sarcasm, as the subject matter ranged from domestic violence (“A Little Bit of Abuse”), sociopathic killers (“Killer’s Eyes”), mental illness (“Destroyer”), monotony (“Predictable”), to the public’s thirst for debauchery (“Give the People What They Want”). Give the People What They Want was the record The Kinks made after they finally conquered America. It also added another color to their ever-changing, chameleonic existence/sound.

1. Around the Dial
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You never gave in to fashion,
You never followed any trends
All the record bums tried to hack you up
But you were honest to the end

Radio feedback & static usher in the record. Strong punk vibe a la The Replacements, with Ray’s Beach Boys pop sensibilities popping up halfway through – “Around and around and 'round and 'round... Woo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo…” Like they did on Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, The Kinks tackle the music business again. This time it’s the radio corporation guys upstairs whom, despite great ratings, seem to have fired a popular, strong-willed DJ.

2. Give the People What They Want
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Blow out your brains, and do it right
Make sure it's prime time and on a Saturday night

Covers the same ground as Don Henley’s “Dirty Laundry”. The Kinks did it a year earlier and much better. I hear the "Hey, hey, hey's" throughout the song as a hat tip to Van Halen & the "Hey, hey, hey's" in "Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love". Van Halen helped reintroduce the American public to The Kinks with their cover of "You Really Got Me" which appears just before "Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love" on their self-titled album.

3. Killer’s Eyes
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How could we know what it was like inside a killer's mind
It never really showed, you kept the secret deep inside

Ray takes on the mind of a serial killer. "Killer's Eyes" was written on the bus to Scotland after Ray saw a newspaper picture of the fanatic who tried to shoot the Pope. It also alludes to the Yorkshire Ripper's history and John F. Kennedy's assassination. A final reference point was to John Lennon's murder, and according to Ray, the line "Why'd you go and do a thing like that?" was an unconscious attempt to replicate Lennon's vocal phrasing.

4. Predictable
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Go to my office, sit at my desk
Predictably just like all of the rest

Harkens back to Soap Opera’s “Nine to Five” and its main character, Norman – the soul-crushing, nowhere-to-go monotony of working-class life. Where is the Starmaker when you need him?

5. Add It Up
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Money can't cover up the fact you're getting older every day
And you can't disguise your sad little eyes that give your loneliness away

Ray rails against one of his favorite targets, materialism and greed – “Ah, Gucci, Gucci, Gucci.
Cartier, Cartier. Gucci, Gucci, Gucci. Cartier, Cartier.”
Ray hams up his British accent big time on this track. The band is in fine punk form.

6. Destroyer
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Met a girl called Lola and I took her back to my place
Feelin' guilty, feelin' scared, hidden cameras everywhere

Dipping into the past with an arrangement similar to “All Day and All of the Night” and the reappearance of an old character, Lola. Also revisits much of the paranoia dime brilliantly details on Muswell Hillbillies. Obvious influence on Quiet Riot’s “Metal Health” is obvious.

7. Yo-Yo
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Ah, you thought you knew me pretty well
But with people like me you never can tell

Ray details a decaying marriage with the boredom and monotony (“Predictable”) chipping away at the bedrock of it. An underrated Kinks gem.

8. Back to Front
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I don't fit in but I don't stand out,
I should stay cool but want to shout

Another common theme in Ray’s writing resurfaces – his inability to find his niche in society. It was addressed in songs like “I’m Not Like Everybody Else”, “20th Century Man”, “Last of the Steam-Powered Trains”, “Animal Farm”, “Apeman”, “Supersonic Rocket Ship” and “Misfits” to name a few.

9. Art Lover
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Come to daddy,
And I'll give you some spangles

Ray really plays up his British accent again. Might be the creepiest song in the band’s catalog. A sweet, innocent-sounding song that details a child stalker/molester who justifies himself as an “art lover” with the “art” being young girls. Or is it Ray detailing the pain from not be allowed to see his daughters as result of his divorce, alcoholism and general mental instability? Ray’s trademark dualism certainly blurs the lines here.

10. A Little Bit of Abuse
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You wind him up, but you're living in fear
You keep going back but it ends in tears, oh

A tragic tale about the cycle of abuse that the title, purposely, doesn’t do justice to.

11. Better Things
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Here's wishing you the bluest sky,
And hoping something better comes tomorrow

The sequencing of The Kinks’ albums frequently has them ending with the best and/or most upbeat song – Waterloo Sunset, Celluloid Heroes, Muswell Hillbilly, Salvation Road, You Can’t Stop the Music, No More Looking Back, Life Goes On. It also follows a recent trend of Ray laying out the brutal ugliness of the human condition and life in general, but offering a positive, forward-looking song at the end to tie a neat bow on the shit nestled inside the package. I think I hear Ms. Hynde harmonizing in the background. Clams thinks it’s one of their best songs. He speaks the truth and should not be faulted in this situation. This song & "Strangers" are currently dominating my listening space these days.
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Re: aotw mardi gras 2015: the kinks

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cortez the killer wrote:Image
Give the People What They Want (1981)
this is the first album I ever purchased.
street cred.

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Re: aotw mardi gras 2015: the kinks

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A couple of very good, but long, articles on The Kinks. Click on the pictures to read.

Image
Image

I stole liberally from both.
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Re: aotw mardi gras 2015: the kinks

Post by John A Arkansawyer »

cortez the killer wrote:Perhaps someone from that era can better interpret some of Ray’s intentions, but it seems like he simultaneously takes a swipe at the prevailing wisdom of the time that AIDS was a highly-contagious disease
I can't interpret Ray's intentions, but I can tell you that AIDS was first reported on (by the CDC) in the summer of 1981, so no.
The sooner we put those assholes in the grave&piss on the dirt above it, the better off we'll be

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Re: aotw mardi gras 2015: the kinks

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John A Arkansawyer wrote:
cortez the killer wrote:Perhaps someone from that era can better interpret some of Ray’s intentions, but it seems like he simultaneously takes a swipe at the prevailing wisdom of the time that AIDS was a highly-contagious disease
I can't interpret Ray's intentions, but I can tell you that AIDS was first reported on (by the CDC) in the summer of 1981, so no.
Is the CDC the prevailing expert on these matters, or was "the community" ahead of the curve?
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Re: aotw mardi gras 2015: the kinks

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cortez the killer wrote:
dime in the gutter wrote:kudzu mia addition.....

Image
kinks/sleepwalker

released: february, 1977

stripped down and polished up. yet another sound from a crazy diverse band....perhaps more kinks than any other record of theirs.

hard rock and roll alert, btb. including massive power ballads and the like.

4sooner turned me on this beauty several years ago...hat tip.

18th album in 12 years (ish)
recorded at konk studios
1st release for arista records
produced by ray davies

amazing chops from the band and beautiful, dark character driven songs from ray.

right hand and right brain.

clive davis clean sheen that takes a little acclimation. production actually benefits the listener in hearing all the kick ass guitar runs and chord stranglers that are contained, herein. shit ton of great rock and roll beneath the shine.

don't read the reviews, don't pay attention to the negative hype about the production. jump in and rock balls to one of the great rock and roll bands of all time ripping it up and laying it down.

i love this record...without hesitation.

because i am tired of my own words....let the music speak for itself.
Sometimes less is more. Nice job, dime.

I've listened much closer to Sleepwalker in recent weeks and concur with your assessment of its underrated greatness. Currently, I can't enough of the closer. Dave shines.

A friend of mine just had a real bad time.
You see, his life was shattered and he lost his mind.
His girl ran off along with his best friend,
And through emotional stress he brought his life to an end.
It was such a tragedy,
But that's the way it's got to be.
Life goes on.

Life goes on.
It happens ev'ry day.
So appreciate what you got
Before it's taken away.
Life will hit you
When you're unprepared,
So be grateful and take all
That you can while you're there.
Get that frown off your head,
'Cause you're a long time dead.
Life goes on and on and on.
Life goes on and on and on.

No use runnin' 'round lookin' scared,
Life could get you when you're unaware.
One day it's gonna come, so you better accept it.
Life will hit you when you least expect it.
And one day when you are gone,
You know that life will still go on.
But no one'll care if you've been good, bad, right or wrong.
Life will still go on.

My bank went broke and my well ran dry.
It was almost enough to contemplate suicide.
I turned on the gas, but I soon realized
I hadn't settled my bill so they cut off my supply.
No matter how I try, it seems I'm too young to die.
Life goes on and on and on.
Life goes on and on and on.

Tornado, cyclone and hurricane
Can batter the houses with the thunder and rain.
Blizzards can blow; the waves hit the shore,
But the people recover and come back for more.
Somehow the people fight back, even the future looks black.
Life goes on and on and on.
Life goes on and on and on.
DBT covering this as a limited-release single seems to me to be an excellent way to raise funds for Nucci's Space. A great song, by a great band, covered by a great band, about rising above the option of suicide.
You are entitled to your opinion, but you are not entitled to your own facts.
- DPM

John A Arkansawyer
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Re: aotw mardi gras 2015: the kinks

Post by John A Arkansawyer »

cortez the killer wrote:
John A Arkansawyer wrote:
cortez the killer wrote:Perhaps someone from that era can better interpret some of Ray’s intentions, but it seems like he simultaneously takes a swipe at the prevailing wisdom of the time that AIDS was a highly-contagious disease
I can't interpret Ray's intentions, but I can tell you that AIDS was first reported on (by the CDC) in the summer of 1981, so no.
Is the CDC the prevailing expert on these matters, or was "the community" ahead of the curve?
I had this discussion a few years ago with someone local who I rapidly grew to dislike, then really dislike, both for her inability to admit she'd fucked up on something, even when pointed directly at the facts, and her slash-and-burn rhetorical style when someone disagreed with her. She'd made a claim (as I recall this--it's been awhile) that Reagan was anti-gay throughout his political career* and that AIDS panic had helped him get elected. Both those claims were demonstrably false, about which she bloviated ignorantly. You, on the other hand, can face facts.

The Sunday after that discussion, our church had a book trade/giveaway table. In a weird coincidence I picked up a copy of the first history of the AIDS epidemic, Randy Shilts' And The Band Played On, which I'd read just after it came out. It's mostly still reliable, especially on early history. Shilts was a reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle and, before that, the Examiner, and he was on the AIDS beat as early as anyone. I'd read his biography of Harvey Milk, The Mayor of Castro Street, which became one of my political bibles. It, too, is really good.

There was one story before the CDC report on June 5, 1981, an article in the New York Native, a gay weekly, which had a report on "rumors of a new killer pneumonia striking gay men". (Ironically, the Native later became one of the primary outlets for AIDS denialism and then crank theories about AIDS.) Somewhere in the book--I think it was in the book, but I can't find it easily--there's a mention of a hand-made sign in a store in the Castro District of San Francisco saying that "something" was going on which predated the CDC report. So far as I know, that's it.

*The only thing I hated worse than defending, to some small extent, Ronald Reagan, was...actually, I can't think of anything I hated worse just then. Not this woman--if indeed she was a woman; she wrote under a pseudonym--for her, it was more like disgust. But it was true. Reagan was not the biggest champion of the gay and lesbian community, but when the 1978 Briggs initiative tried to make it illegal for homosexuals to teach in the California public schools, Reagan opposed it, even writing an op-ed in a Los Angeles newspaper just before the election.

My contention was that Reagan's earlier support for lesbians and gays, and his friendship with so many of them from the Hollywood scene, made his later culpability for ignoring AIDS till 1980-fucking-6! all the worse, because he'd turned on his friends and because he knew better. I guess that's kind of a nuanced view. Some folks want pure heroes and pure villains--especially villains. They simply cannot or will not understand that people are mostly a weird blend of good and evil, and that people change, both for the better and for the worse, and sometimes both ways at once.

So fuck 'em if they can't take a change.
The sooner we put those assholes in the grave&piss on the dirt above it, the better off we'll be

beantownbubba
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Re: aotw mardi gras 2015: the kinks

Post by beantownbubba »

FWIW, I remember the very first time I first heard of AIDS and it was in October '81. While I'm sure I wasn't on the cutting edge of anything, chances are I was no further behind the curve than the "average person." And at that time there was still no knowledge of HIV, the disease was most often referred to as "the gay cancer" and Haitians were considered to be a high risk group. So I think JohnA has got the timing right on this one.
What used to be is gone and what ought to be ought not to be so hard

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cortez the killer
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Re: aotw mardi gras 2015: the kinks

Post by cortez the killer »

Thanks for the information on the timeline of the AIDS epidemic, John A & bubba. My assumptions for "Pressure" jumped the gun by a couple years. It's good to see someone is still paying attention.
You are entitled to your opinion, but you are not entitled to your own facts.
- DPM

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Flea
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Re: aotw mardi gras 2015: the kinks

Post by Flea »

beantownbubba wrote:FWIW, I remember the very first time I first heard of AIDS and it was in October '81. While I'm sure I wasn't on the cutting edge of anything, chances are I was no further behind the curve than the "average person." And at that time there was still no knowledge of HIV, the disease was most often referred to as "the gay cancer" and Haitians were considered to be a high risk group. So I think JohnA has got the timing right on this one.

The quite ugly joke that went around my mostly white high school that year:

Q: What's the worst part about contracting AIDS?

A: Convincing your parents that you're Haitian.
Now it's dark.

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dime in the gutter
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Re: aotw mardi gras 2015: the kinks

Post by dime in the gutter »

massive job on both low budget and gtpwtw. nailed them. nuggets everywhere.

somebody needs to update the trifekfta thread.

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dime in the gutter
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Re: aotw mardi gras 2015: the kinks

Post by dime in the gutter »

cortez the killer wrote:A couple of very good, but long, articles on The Kinks. Click on the pictures to read.

Image
Image

I stole liberally from both.
great reads. fantastic.

their shit was fucked up. how did they record so much music with all that mayhem?

you win kinks dick measuring for the weekend.

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RolanK
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Re: aotw mardi gras 2015: the kinks

Post by RolanK »

For some reason, I thought it appropriate to wait until this beast of a thread had swollen into double digit number of pages before starting the devouring. Only about halfway with the reading (and listening) and fully aware there are still lots of material to digest. Been very entertaining this far. I can't remember not ever being aware of this band, and a lot of the bands I was listing to in my formative years (that would be some 30+- years ago) were always citing Kinks as a huge influence (Mainly British and Scandinavian New Wave and Post Punk stuff). Still, apart from the classic riffs of the early days it never really stuck when people made attempts to warm me up to their catalogue, and unfortunately I think I was introduced to songs like Lola and Waterloo sunset before I was ready.

I then came across this



that despite the (I would say) "dated" guitar and drum sound (and Ray's attire and mullet) has opened my eyes to a Kinks I never knew existed.

Music (and the Internet) works in mysterious ways.
Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa

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cortez the killer
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Re: aotw mardi gras 2015: the kinks

Post by cortez the killer »

RolanK wrote:For some reason, I thought it appropriate to wait until this beast of a thread had swollen into double digit number of pages before starting the devouring. Only about halfway with the reading (and listening) and fully aware there are still lots of material to digest. Been very entertaining this far. I can't remember not ever being aware of this band, and a lot of the bands I was listing to in my formative years (that would be some 30+- years ago) were always citing Kinks as a huge influence (Mainly British and Scandinavian New Wave and Post Punk stuff). Still, apart from the classic riffs of the early days it never really stuck when people made attempts to warm me up to their catalogue, and unfortunately I think I was introduced to songs like Lola and Waterloo sunset before I was ready.
Swollen is the perfect word for this thread. Especially when you consider all the fuckin' pictures used to beef up the album write-ups. Then again, a picture is worth a thousand words. Hopefully the bandwidth won't bankrupt jonicont.

I think you hit the nail on the head/get it, RolanK. Why/how is it that people like you, me, dime, etc only knew of The Kinks through their hits and how they were credited as a pioneering British Invasion band?* I feel as if many serious music fans appreciate and acknowledge The Kinks, but they don't truly know and love The Kinks. It is a vast and diverse catalog with varying degrees of hits and misses. They were a prickly bunch and their ban in the United States during the height of the 60's British Invasion absolutely negatively impacted their legacy in the US and the world. But the songs.... Wow! Ray & company could pen incredible songs and then they could fuckin' deliver the goods.

* I can't & won't speak for dime, but my view on The Kinks has significantly changed over the past 9 months. I used to like/appreciate them, but now I am a fully converted, true believer in the magic of the Davies brothers and their various incarnations.
You are entitled to your opinion, but you are not entitled to your own facts.
- DPM

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cortez the killer
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Re: aotw mardi gras 2015: the kinks

Post by cortez the killer »

The Kinks - You Really Got Me
Kinda Kinks - Nothin' in the World Can Stop Me Worryin' 'Bout That Girl
Kinks Kontroversy - Where Have All the Good Times Gone
Face to Face - Dandy
Something Else by the Kinks - Waterloo Sunset
The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society - Animal Farm
Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire) - Shangri-La
Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround - Strangers
Percy - Animals in the Zoo
Muswell Hillbillies - Muswell Hillbilly
Everybody's in Show-Biz - Celluloid Heroes
Preservation Act I - Sweet Lady Genevieve
Preservation Act II - Money Talks
The Kinks Present a Soap Opera - You Can't Stop the Music
Schoolboys in Disgrace - No More Looking Back
Sleepwalker - Life Goes On
Misfits - Misfits
Low Budget - (Wish I Could Fly Like) Superman
Give the People What They Want - Better Things
State of Confusion - Come Dancing
Word of Mouth - Do It Again
Think Visual - Lost and Found
UK Jive - How Do I Get Close
Phobia - Scattered
You are entitled to your opinion, but you are not entitled to your own facts.
- DPM

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RolanK
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Re: aotw mardi gras 2015: the kinks

Post by RolanK »

cortez the killer wrote:
RolanK wrote:For some reason, I thought it appropriate to wait until this beast of a thread had swollen into double digit number of pages before starting the devouring. Only about halfway with the reading (and listening) and fully aware there are still lots of material to digest. Been very entertaining this far. I can't remember not ever being aware of this band, and a lot of the bands I was listing to in my formative years (that would be some 30+- years ago) were always citing Kinks as a huge influence (Mainly British and Scandinavian New Wave and Post Punk stuff). Still, apart from the classic riffs of the early days it never really stuck when people made attempts to warm me up to their catalogue, and unfortunately I think I was introduced to songs like Lola and Waterloo sunset before I was ready.
Swollen is the perfect word for this thread. Especially when you consider all the fuckin' pictures used to beef up the album write-ups. Then again, a picture is worth a thousand words. Hopefully the bandwidth won't bankrupt jonicont.

I think you hit the nail on the head/get it, RolanK. Why/how is it that people like you, me, dime, etc only knew of The Kinks through their hits and how they were credited as a pioneering British Invasion band?* I feel as if many serious music fans appreciate and acknowledge The Kinks, but they don't truly know and love The Kinks. It is a vast and diverse catalog with varying degrees of hits and misses. They were a prickly bunch and their ban in the United States during the height of the 60's British Invasion absolutely negatively impacted their legacy in the US and the world. But the songs.... Wow! Ray & company could pen incredible songs and then they could fuckin' deliver the goods.

* I can't & won't speak for dime, but my view on The Kinks has significantly changed over the past 9 months. I used to like/appreciate them, but now I am a fully converted, true believer in the magic of the Davies brothers and their various incarnations.
With such a catalogue, entry-point is crucial.
Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa

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