"I go to BlackPOLL for my holidays,"-- ILM Artist Poll #17 -- The Kinks RESULTS THREAD

http://drbristol.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/god-save-the-kinks.jpg

well chosen thread title imho

I love results.

Woo-hoo!

I love The Kinks.

Let me start off by acknowledging this two collections, which both got votes in the album election even though comps weren't eligible. However I'll throw listing logic out the window just this once for a weirdo #10 for the albums countdown.

10. (comps special entry)

http://images.wikia.com/lyricwiki/images/5/5d/The_Kinks_-_The_Great_Lost_Kinks_Album.jpg

The Great Lost Kinks Album, 1973

http://i542.photobucket.com/albums/gg431/soydelmonton3/KinkKronikles_320.jpg

The Kink Kronikles, 1972

9.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51BBpVXu9CL._SS500_.jpg

Low Budget, 1979 -- 5 Points (2 Votes)

8.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51YFk2y4dmL._SS500_.jpg

Kinda Kinks, 1965 -- 11 Points (5 Votes)

7.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/518-x9aI%2BxL._SS400_.jpg

The Kink Kontroversy, 1965 -- 14 Points (5 Votes)

I think Low Budget is my least favorite of the Arista years, but I did vote for a track from it.

6.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51da1susz5L._SS400_.jpg

Lola versus Powerman and the Money-Go-Round, Part One, 1970 -- 17 Points (8 Votes, 1 #1)

Kinda Kinks and Kontroversy should probs be higher, but it's only a top 10 anyway so I can live with those placements.

Lola Vs... should be lower. ;)

Kinda surprised Low Budget made the list. It definitely sounds like a "comeback" album, but the more I think about it, the more it strikes me as a less-ambitious/less-tuneful Schoolboys.

Love the cover of Lola vs Powerman even though it hasn't figured much in my ballot.
Have been quietly anticipating these poll results, will admit that.

I was so tempted to post this as the image for #7:

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41VZX3D11AL._SL500_AA300_.jpg

One of my fave vintage ILM memes from Cover Connections threads.

5.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51Y9c7fL5GL._SS500_.jpg

Muswell Hillbillies, 1971 -- 20 Points (8 Votes, 1 #1)

4.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51-uNPUblhL._SS400_.jpg

Face To Face, 1966 -- 53 Points (18 Votes, 2 #1's)

3.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51hnMnS-goL._SS400_.jpg

Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire), 1969 -- 53 Points (16 Votes, 5 #1's)

2.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51boryEV27L._SS400_.jpg

Something Else By The Kinks, 1967 -- 67 Points (19 Votes, 5 #1's)

can't believe schoolboys in disgrace took the top spot

Quick question: What's up with the blue Something Else? I've been posting the Castle/Sanctuary covers (non-deluxe) when applicable, but my copy of their edition of the album is gray.

I used to like Muswell more than I do now, but this is a solid top 5.

I think the blue Something Elses are just cruddy scans.

I didn't vote in the albums poll, but would have voted "Arthur" for #1 (also let me be the first to say "Lola vs Powerman" is too low).

xp I've only ever seen gray Something Elses. First US Kinks album artwork not to be fucked with by Reprise, though.

1.

http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/ciu/a8/4c/0c5581b0c8a037ecd0b0c110.L._AA300_.jpg

Think Visual, 1986 -- lol Points (haha Votes, yuckyuck #1's)

har har

yuckyuck #1s ftw

I wonder if a single track from that album even got a vote from anyone. The band's nadir? Possibly.

No really,

1.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51rWPP0EAEL._SS400_.jpg

The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society, 1968 -- 73 Points (20 Votes, 7 #1's)

xp "Working at the Factory" might've made my top...50.

BTW, this was up as a customer image on the amazon Think Visual page:

http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/ciu/b6/a0/66bc810ae7a0d30be5a31210.L.jpg

heh yukyuk

xp "Working at the Factory" might've made my top...50.

Yes. That's a real good song, although it gets tiring listening to Ray whine about the music industry.

I remember liking "The Video Shop" too, but thinking it was twice as long as it needed to be.

I think other people must enjoy the Kinks differently from me, because "Village Green" is easily my least favorite of the 1966-1971 Kinks albums. It sounds like de-clawed Kinks to me.

random Kinks catalog question: how many songs has Ray Davies written about/referencing his sister emigrating to Australia. 10? 20?

Now the "Most Hated"

5 (Three-Way Tie)

http://www.spirit-of-rock.com/les%20goupes/T/The%20Kinks/A%20Gallon%20of%20Gas/A%20Gallon%20of%20Gas.jpg

"A Gallon of Gas"
Low Budget, 1979

http://www.demotivationalposters.org/image/demotivational-poster/small/1009/destroyer-paranoia-poster-day-cubby-kinks-tribute-demotivational-poster-1284127934.jpg

"Destroyer"
Give The People What They Want, 1981

http://www.techxplode.com/wp-content/uploads/white-people-stole-my-car.png

"Somebody Stole My Car"
Phobia, 1993

Each 3 Points (2 Votes)

i voted for "Destroyer" -- i will try not to troll this thread too much but in the course of putting together my ballot and listening to a bunch of songs (I'm mostly familiar with them from the Ultimate Kinks 2xCD comp) i realized that i kinda sorta hate this band, or at least RD's voice/sense of humor.

4.

http://userserve-ak.last.fm/serve/252/6039781.jpg

"Harry Rag"
Something Else By The Kinks, 1967
6 Points (3 Votes, 1 #1)

3.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/be/Lazy_Lester.jpg/220px-Lazy_Lester.jpg

"Naggin' Woman"
Kinda Kinks, 1965
6 Points (2 Votes, 2 #1's)

Harry Rag is so weird. never heard this euphemism for weed anywhere else.

BTW, That's Lazy Lester, who did the original. (xpost)

2.

http://img.wax.fm/releases/1572018/kinks-come-dancing-1310276.jpeg

"Come Dancing"
State of Confusion, 1983
7 Points (3 Votes, 2 #1's)

Weird. Had no idea that song was hated by Kinks fans at all. Always thought it was widely seen as a resounding return to form.

well, 3 votes. and one of 'em is me, who just came out as a non-fan.

1.

http://images.45cat.com/the-kinks-a-rock-n-roll-fantasy-1978-s.jpg

"Black Messiah"
Misfits, 1978
9 Points (3 Votes, 3 #1's)

I was 8 when Come Dancing came out, but I thought it was great if not a little confusing thanks to the video, which I watched over and over and over while we were on vacation because I had MTV for the first time in my short life. Had nfi what a Pally was, that's for sure.

I didn't know anyone hated it either.

some people need to listen to 'art lover'

And that's it for today.

Will be back to begin the "Top 50" Rollout tomorrow.

well, 3 votes. and one of 'em is me, who just came out as a non-fan.

haha, no, I wasn't saying "Grr, you're not a fan if you don't like this." I'm just surprised is all.

idg hating "Come Dancing", at least not enough to give it a hate vote.

"Come Dancing" is great. video with the old cleaning ladies dancing with mops = A+

I didn't vote for hated songs because I don't hate any enough to put my loathing on record.

i remember first hearing it while watching a block of random videos on MTV2 or VH1 Classic like 15 years ago and just being horrified by it

I DO get hating "Destroyer"...can totally understand that impulse. I don't though.

People, what is wrong with Come Dancing? It's a great song. How can it get more hate than Rock n' Roll Cities?

it's way more famous obviously, for one

I didn't vote for any hated tracks. There's a whole gob of shit on things like Soap Opera or Think Visual, but I don't guess I honestly hate any of it. Even the more famous tracks that can be overplayed are still underplayed by virtue of them being Kinks songs.

I mainly voted for hated tracks because of "Black Messiah." Has Ray ever been called out on that song's racism?

I'd say 95% of Ray's whole repertoire is sung from a character pov, so "Black Messiah" is a slippery one.

I hate "Harry Rag", even tried to sell Something Else once because of it before a friend kindly intervened

Harry Rag is so weird. never heard this euphemism for weed anywhere else.

― Jilly Boel and the Eltones (Shakey Mo Collier), Tuesday, April 17, 2012 1:25 PM (3 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

doesn't Harry Rag = Fag = Cigarette?

yah I always thought it was about cigs, lyrics definitely imply hardcore addiction

"Village Green" is easily my least favorite of the 1966-1971 Kinks albums. It sounds like de-clawed Kinks to me.

― o. nate, Tuesday, 17 April 2012 20:16 (Yesterday)

I agree with this challop.

ha! i put come dancing on my best-tracks ballot! oh well.

i voted for arthur as the best kinks album.

also tbqh i'm pretty sure ray davies is a racist.

he's an asshole, anyway. he just got the holy spirit for a few years there.

"Harry Rag" almost made my top 20.

I'll save my defense of "Destroyer" for whenever it shows up in the top 50 (I'm assuming it will?). But I think it's a pretty great song for a lot of reasons.

Harry Rag did make my top 20. Always loved it. Had no idea anyone would dislike it. Sorta Threepenny Opera-ish.

Surprised someone else besides me voted for "Naggin' Woman". But Lazy Lester didn't sing the original, although it's probably him playing harp on Jimmy Anderson's Excello 45 from 1962, which is pretty great....here.

Also, it's hard to argue that the any of the albums outside of the span from Face to Face -> Muswell Hillbillies are better than those inside the span. It's more about the order one would rank them. The order we got for top four would be the order you'd get if the sample size was 50 or 1000, though.

Harry Rag is so weird. never heard this euphemism for weed anywhere else.

― Jilly Boel and the Eltones (Shakey Mo Collier), Tuesday, April 17, 2012 8:25 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Well, firstly, it's not a euphemism for weed. It's also cockney rhyming slang, so it's pretty exclusive to one part of the UK.
'Harry Rag' = fag, and fag = British slang for 'cigarette', except in the North-East. It's just a song about smoking cigarettes, really.

Anyhow, no surprise to see which Kinks album topped the 'best album' poll. My #1 (Lola Vs Powerman And The Moneygoround) was 6th, and 'Come Dancing' also made my "worst tracks" ballot. Never liked it. That keyboard lick is pure cheese.

It's the last verse that saves it, and also that Its The Kinks! In the Charts! Yay!

(although the next single "Don't forget to dance" seemed a lazy)

You all know that the Davies' sister died at a local dance when Ray was 13, right?

:-(

i'd say kink kronikles might be better than lola (the LP).

It's the last verse that saves it, and also that Its The Kinks! In the Charts! Yay!

Clive Davis didn't want it released as a single in the US, but Ray convinced him. Turned out to be their biggest hit since "Tired of Waiting for You" (same peak, #6).

Ok I didn't think I had a least favorite Kinks song, but that's it -- "Tired of Waiting" is so boring!

I'm not a fan of "Tired Of Waiting For You", but I do love that it takes him three tries to get that whole line out. He's too tired to just sing it all at once.

You all know that the Davies' sister died at a local dance when Ray was 13, right?

I had no idea! this does sorta change the tone of the song

Okay, I just sent out belated confirmations to all voters whom I received ballots from. Check the account you sent from to make sure you got one.

Now give me a few minutes and I'll begin the tracks rollout.

Excellent.

http://991.com/NewGallery/The-Kinks-Do-It-Again-59025.jpg

50. "Do It Again"
Word of Mouth, 1984
100 Points (5 Votes)

Music Video: http://youtu.be/wEw0ZYlpYXE

Yeah, that was an excellent single. Maybe my favorite from that era.

http://gallery.e2bn.org/assets/0901/0000/0565/artillery_officers_medium_mid.jpg

49. "Yes Sir, No Sir"
Arthur Or The Decline And Fall Of The British Empire, 1969
101 Points (5 Votes)

the track: http://youtu.be/ECq1njEC1Gs

Yaaay -- I think Arthur would make a good small town musical production, esp this song.

Arthur!

i had a hard time voting for Arthur songs, even tho it might be my favorite kinks album! just kind of think of it as one big (awesome) song.

i love how super theatrical yes sir, no sir is

http://images.45cat.com/dave-davies-death-of-a-clown-1968-2.jpg

48. "Love Me Till The Sun Shines"
Dave Davies Solo Single/Something Else By The Kinks, 1967
104 Points (5 Votes)

BBC Version: http://youtu.be/KUBSZJCASdQ
Lyres cover: http://youtu.be/4n-yU3XEFeY

I'm with tyler - I had surprisingly few tracks from Arthur despite my love for the record.

Voted for "Do It Again" though. Made my top 10.

I can pretty much picture the choreography during "Australia"

Hooray Do It Again. Love that song even though I always forget it exists. (did remember it for the poll, tho)

A Dave song! It's kinda gross, but I love it anyway.

'arthur' is prob my fav album of that entire decade, not just my fav kinks album. have never, ever gotten sick of it. love how convincingly weary the vocal is on 'yes sir, no sir.'

Love his style on that cover too!!

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_3fmbmaLi718/TN5u092JcfI/AAAAAAAADps/QZmQXiroNA4/s1600/Jean+Shrimpton+3.JPG

47. "She's Got Everything"
Non-LP B-Side, 1968/The Kink Kronikles, 1972
106 Points (5 Votes)

The Track: http://youtu.be/bKTZhyY5-VM
Old 97's Cover: http://youtu.be/VJm2vbY2YZ4

*meow*!

http://i.ytimg.com/vi/FlM52fUrNz4/0.jpg

46. "Apeman"
Lola Versus Powerman And The Moneygoround, Part One, 1970
112 Points (6 Votes)

Promo Film: http://youtu.be/FlM52fUrNz4
TV Performance: http://youtu.be/eEep67akIn4

I love the promo film for "Apeman" but would rather never hear the song again.

oh c'mon that song is great

and i didn't even vote for it

Re: Do It Again, this is a classic "60s veterans struggling to maintain dignity in the 80s" album cover.

http://crocmusic.com/images/albums_large/544/the_kinks_word_of_mouth.jpg

struggling indeed

Over the years I've grown to dislike all the Kinks songs where Ray does his white boy calypso voice.

http://bashfulbadgersblog.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/raydave.jpg

45. "Two Sisters"
Something Else by The Kinks, 1967
114 Points (5 Votes)

The Track: http://youtu.be/eMHtQciJG-k
Ray Solo Storyteller: http://youtu.be/YUAXNWcj-LE

none of this shit is on spotify! :(

looks like i'll be making an mp3 mix

http://images.45cat.com/the-kinks-set-me-free-1965-2.jpg

44. "I Need You"
Kinkdom, 1965
115 Points (5 Votes)

The Track: http://youtu.be/2y96iiKgBuU
Zakary Thaks cover: http://youtu.be/dOLWg14ccDw

EZ otm about Apeman/calypso voice. The Lola LP is such a mixed bag.

hmm don't think I've ever hear I Need You

also Apeman is great wtf! I voted for it. sentiment is very David Byrne.

Sentiment is fine; accent is not.

i wish i voted.. this band rules

Ray went a little nuts with that accent on tour; about half of the Everybody's In Show-Biz live record is in that voice.

http://www.cduson.com/img/posters/B72472.jpg

43. "Where Have All The Good Times Gone"
The Kink Kontroversy, 1965
116 Points (4 Votes, 1 #1)

The Track: http://youtu.be/0v34aT2jQb0
Live in '82: http://youtu.be/_rzyvozcD2o
Van Halen "": http://youtu.be/3CHbFI2Ovc0

Quite happy to see this place. A very late and painful cut from my ballot.

Sentiment is fine; accent is not.

I honestly don't even know what accent you're talking about. have never noticed it.

being American, all Kinks songs sound like they're sung in a funny accent to me lol

RD always sounds like he's using some kind of ironic affectation in a way that most of his contemporaries do not, though

I don't mind the irony, but the songs with the "banana boat" inflections like "Apeman" and "I'm On An Island" wear on me very quickly.

http://charliehill.com/melville/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/percy.jpg

42. "God's Children"
Percy OST, 1971
117 Points (4 Votes, 1 #1)

The Track: http://youtu.be/doEvOL2NtWU

in my top ten I think

Great song. Thanks Kinks Kronikles!

never really listened to God's Children until yesterday and was really struck by how the appeal of the "don't tell me what to do!" sentiment is immediately undercut by a very unappealing conservatism

http://www.recordsale.de/cdpix/t/the_kinks-face_to_face.jpg

41. "Rosie Won't You Please Come Home"
Face To Face, 1966
124 Points (7 Votes)

The Track: http://youtu.be/JwLwfodh9T0

First one from my ballot to place. One of my faves from FtF.

http://www.esquire.com/cm/esquire/images/hynde-davies-WI-2009-lg-79157272.jpg

40. "Stop Your Sobbing"
The Kinks, 1964
126 Points (7 Votes)

The Track: http://youtu.be/GZQUKN5G9xk
The Pretenders' cover: http://youtu.be/5zzlROBMTlo

And that's it for now. MUST...EAT

Let me guess...you'll have some clam chowder, followed by beef steak on rye, pumpkin pie, whipped cream and coffee?

Stop Your Sobbing and I Go to Sleep both done far better by Pretenders than by The Kinks.

I dunno the latter but def agree about the former

The Pretenders have never made anything better.

I Go to Sleep (Kinks): http://youtu.be/n6gMS7aiMLk
I Go to Sleep (Pretenders): http://youtu.be/6yoR7fg2pE0

The Pretenders have never made anything better.

They made those Kinks tracks better. As for their cover of "Thin Line Between Love and Hate", er, I'd agree with you.

I have a visceral loathing of Chrissie Hynde. Her voice is one of those nails on a chalkboard things for me.

god's children is not a great sentiment but boy what a song.

I've got to catch up some..."Where Have All the Good Times Gone" was my #1. I once tried to talk a grade 8 teacher into using it as the grad slide-show music for our school, but they stuck with the corny "Forever Young."

God's Children does kind of make me sick because I don't really believe in He/Him or God, but it was my #1 because the song itself, and the melody, are just TOO MUCH for my brain to handle. It makes me feel a love for all of humanity, even the part I can't seem to reach, and that makes me happy. Magic.

So hooray for that.

Also Chrissie Hynde is my hometown sister, back off homies!

Kinks didn't even do a version of "I Go to Sleep," right? Just a Ray demo? That's quite a song.

Yeah, it's really just an early demo of Ray's. But it's been appended to some Kinks reissues.

never heard that pretenders version, pretty nice. love the kinks/ray version though, i voted for it!

wow 6 out of 11 so far are on my ballot.

Seek out the Peggy Lee cover of "I go to sleep", I reckon it 'informed' the Pretenders' version

You all know that the Davies' sister died at a local dance when Ray was 13, right?

I had no idea! this does sorta change the tone of the song

― iatee, Wednesday, 18 April 2012 13:41 (Yesterday) Permalink

I knew about this, and it does add a certain weight to the song, but even with that in mind it still remains one of my least favourites.

EZ otm about Apeman/calypso voice. The Lola LP is such a mixed bag.

― rob, Wednesday, April 18, 2012 7:25 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Ray's 'calypso voice' is definitely one of my least favourites of his vocal styles, but I couldn't agree about 'Lola Vs Powerman...' being a mixed bag at all. In fact, I'd go as far as saying that if there's one Kinks albums I'd take to the 'desert island' with me, that one would be it!

*album, even.

So far, only one of my tracks has polled; 'Rosie Won't You Please Come Home', which was my #11. Like 'Come Dancing', this is yet another song inspired by Ray's family, specifically his sister who moved out to Australia. Definitely one of my favourites from the Face To Face album; it's a beautiful song, so full of feeling. I can also relate to it, because I also have a sister who moved out of England to live in Australia!

The best version of "I Go to Sleep" -- and (I think) the first one released: youtu.be/bHIwBObW21M

never really listened to God's Children until yesterday and was really struck by how the appeal of the "don't tell me what to do!" sentiment is immediately undercut by a very unappealing conservatism

― Jilly Boel and the Eltones (Shakey Mo Collier), Wednesday, April 18, 2012 8:51 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Hence Ray Davies's career in miniature.

damn, God's Children is disgusting. I knew Davies is insane but he's usually more subtle.

like on Two Sisters, which is disturbing but beautiful

I haven't seen Percy in years but isn't the song meant to be in character? Pretty sure it stems from the movie rather than RD's own beliefs.

Then again, I can quite believe that Ray Davies was only looking for a "Quiet Life"..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eevhpfOjyKg

xp but he is a conservative, no?

Yeah, God's Children is a character song and not -- it's a moving target, which is part of why i love it. If I'd gotten my ballot in, there'd be two number one votes for it.

He's socially conservative (in the UK rather than US sense) but I've never considered him especially religious. This is very different from his 70s lyrics, which tend to resemble letters to the Daily Telegraph set to music. The boxset that came out a few years ago was increasingly dispiriting listening.

yes, it's certainly a character song but I find Davies's irony and misanthropy a lot harder to take than Newman's or Fagen's. I always feel like he REALLY is a prick (not to say that Newman and Fagen are not but it's a different kind)

maybe I'm just talking shit

A special moment of praise is in order for Bruce Springsteen stemming the tide of zillionaire groupie-groped rock stars complaining about their taxes.

Speaking of the Boss, check out this awkward interview with Bruce and Ray for the Kinks tribute album a couple years back. I don't think the Boss realizes that it was Ray's estranged brother who came up with the riff.

xp but he is a conservative, no?

from a 2008 Rolling Stone article:

Another reason I wanted to move to New Orleans was to escape Tony Blair. I'm a socialist, and Labor is not socialist anymore. The working man is still downtrodden and unheard. And now they're vanishing. Blair came in and it became uncool to be working class. ...when you forget your origins -- that's bad. That's why I don't fit into this culture anymore. I take the side of the underdog.

That's interesting. No way was he a socialist in the 60s and 70s, grumbling about taxes and trade unions and low-cost housing schemes. I alwyas thought that part of Davies's "I'm not like anybody else" deal was the refusal to sign up to any political platform. I interviewed him once and asked about his politics and he said they were ever-changing and impossible to define so to see him baldly define himself as a socialist is unexpected.

Judging by "Preservation" especially, RD Davies' political thinking was a bit confused in the 70s... or, better still, RD Davies' political thinking was a bit confused in the 70s

But, yeah, obviously a small 'c' conservative - not that unusual for someone from his background

Lots of people were confused in the 70s! That's part of what made it such a marvelous time.

The character Ray obv. most identifies with in "Preservation" is the Tramp, which is a bit of a cop out really

Crossposted from one of the Sandinista! threads --

Last week while I was thinking about my Kinks ballot, I started hearing "Washington Bullets" in my head set to the music of "Come Dancing." Can't get it out...need a new earworm.

Ray Davies has a classic case of the Morrisseys: is it possible to mourn the passing of a certain England without sounding a bit racist? Answer: no.

being American, all Kinks songs sound like they're sung in a funny accent to me lol

I pretty much agree with this. I guess I can hear a bit of calypso in the "Apeman" voice if I listen hard, but it doesn't bother me and anyway Ray's voice is always pretty unmistakably his own - he's not exactly Meryl Streep with the accents. If I didn't like British people putting on silly accents that would eliminate a lot of good music, from Exile on Main Street to Lily Allen.

holy shit @ that socialism quote. who'd have thought?

Kinks were ruined for me in 93 at Glastonbury; still by some distance the worst concert by a major act i've ever seen in my life. makes me queasy just to think of it.
hopefully this thread can bring me back round cause i really did love the hits as a kid.

props for that Quiet Life clip Mark G; best bit of the film.

Ray Davies has a classic case of the Morrisseys

I have to admit that I am not attuned to that pov at all. I get it, but from a very remote and unemotional place. A lot of my exposure to this band has been radio - library - store where i worked - walking to work my first year in Chicago and the songs just have personal reminders to me in them, but not like LOADED WITH XXXTRA RACISM or aaaaanything like that.

Honestly, I have always just heard The Kinks music and that's it. I have liked them since I was a kid even when I couldn't figure out how all of these weird songs were all by the same band.

I didn't think too hard about it either until ploughing through the 70s material on the boxset and discovering the (understandably excluded) Black Messiah. It's not a massive issue, but it does slightly change the tone of Village Green and Arthur when you know where this nostalgia was leading. Doesn't he also do a Shylock voice on the Lola album? There's definitely a weird line about Jews on When I Turn Off the Living Room Light as well, which he defends on his 2005 Livejournal (http://ray-davies.livejournal.com/):

Okay, a few of my managers and business associates in the 60s were overbearing cockney Jews. Believe me, growing up in Muswell Hill - I knew the type. I come from the Bagel Belt after all. Because a few people who screwed me over in life were Jewish and I like to make fun of them, does not make me a Nazi.

None of which means I don't love the Kinks, just that I'm fascinated by the weirdness of his politics and his tin ear for causing offence (cf the Apeman voice).

xp It blows my mind that the Kinks didn't split until 1996. The artist Jeremy Deller says that one of their 90s gigs is the only show he wishes he could wipe from his memory because it was so upsettingly bad.

By 1996, it was just Dave and Ray anyway, wasn't it? I mean they had some hired hands who may have been around for a little or a long time, but The Kinks ceased to be "The Kinks" a long long long time before 1996.

Ray's first wife Raisa was Jewish iirc. I referred to that line in "When I Turn Off the Living Room Light" on the nominations thread cuz I've had arguments with another Jew about whether or not it's antisemitic (I am firmly in the NOT camp)

his tin ear for causing offence (cf the Apeman voice)

I don't see why the Apeman voice is offensive - the song is pretty clearly not mocking islanders or whatever - it's clearly sung from the perspective of a liberal, middle-class educated person.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/timeline/e1a0ca078af39ab7116570a620b58ab9.png

The one Kinks show I saw, in 1993, was great. I felt bad for Dave, though; during his solo spot in the middle of the show (whatever his song on Phobia was), the aisles were filled with people rushing off to the bathrooms. The only seriously questionable moment was the extended set-piece of "Aggravation," with a couple of dancers and some pre-taped Ray commentary ("it was 50 years ago this year...that the aggravation started" or something).

Ray's first wife Raisa was Jewish iirc. I referred to that line in "When I Turn Off the Living Room Light" on the nominations thread cuz I've had arguments with another Jew about whether or not it's antisemitic (I am firmly in the NOT camp)

well...it's stupid at least

I don't think so...? it's about feeling insecure, and the different things people feel insecure about, particularly their bodies.

Looking at that chart you think, jeez, all those former Kinks could probably form a band of their own.

And they did: http://kastoffkinks.co.uk/

damn, God's Children is disgusting. I knew Davies is insane but he's usually more subtle.
― gospodin simmel, Thursday, April 19, 2012 6:29 AM (4 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

The weird thing is that it's such a non-sequitir. "We're all God's children, so I hate the welfare state."

It's uncomfortably close to--hell, it's the same as--the bizzaro "logic" of the Christian right.

Either that means that Davies is uncannily perceptive on how a certain layer of the middle class feels about things, or… he is that person. I suspect the truth is kind of in between.

I kind of suspect that Davies doesn't really understand what it means to be a "socialist." For seem it seems a totem of his identification with the working class, but I doubt he's big on nationalized public services and higher taxes.

wait why is god's children anti-welfare state

i think davies is confused about the kind of person he is tbh -- have you ever read X-Ray? he basically sees his life as one detachment after the next.

Yeah, the o_O nature of the lyrics and association with the far xtian right is a good explanation of why I like it + add the most churchy melody of all time, and you have a song that I would be horrified to hear coming out of the mouths of babes at a school that does not teach children about evolution. It's intense!

also i like davies' cod-calypso voice. most of the time.

been listening to this bonnie raitt track recently (calypso arrangement by van dyke parks):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLZVJ-lVmVA

i can see how someone would think this was kind of a minstrel act, although knowing the scope of raitt's career i don't think anyone would seriously level that charge. on some level it's terribly misguided (and her vocal rhythms are off a few times) but i think it works. it helps that it's a song about women's sexual independence.

back to the kinks...

wait why is god's children anti-welfare state

― iatee, Thursday, April 19, 2012 11:01 AM (1 minute ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

the whole "they have no right to turn us into machines" echoes a common right-wing criticism of "left-wing social engineering"--also consistent with POV in a lot of other davies songs, no?

that line can be taken different ways tho - turning people into machines is also common language of socialist critiques of capitalism

the whole "they have no right to turn us into machines" echoes a common right-wing criticism of "left-wing social engineering"--also consistent with POV in a lot of other davies songs, no?

it was a soundtrack for this:

Percy (1971) is a British comedy film directed by Ralph Thomas starring Hywel Bennett, Denholm Elliott, Elke Sommer and Britt Ekland.

Edwin (Bennett), an innocent and shy young man, is hit by a nude man falling from a high-rise building while carrying a chandelier. Edwin's penis is mutilated in the accident and has to be amputated; the falling man is killed.

Edwin becomes the recipient of the world's first penis transplant: he receives the very large, uncircumcised penis of the womanizer killed in the same accident. With his new bit of anatomy (which he names "Percy"), Edwin follows the womanizer's footsteps, meeting all his women friends, before settling happily with the donor's mistreated widow.

The film is based on a novel of the same name by Raymond Hitchcock (father of musician Robyn Hitchcock), and is today remembered for its soundtrack by The Kinks. It was followed by a 1974 sequel, Percy's Progress.

wtf at Hitchcock connection

what's your point?

xpost

'turn us into machines' = 'penis transplant'

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7k0jO2lJ8fQ
looks hilarious?

That's what I thought the song was about at first, honestly. I knew it was from that movie, and I knew the plot of the movie.

maybe. i guess i'd have to see the movie? which i kind of... don't want to do.

Also cf. "20th Century Man" - I think Ray is perhaps distrustful of modern technological society, though I wouldn't equate that with conservative politics.

At the time I first heard it, I had a friend who also was making this movie, so there must have been something in the air
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oi4ywfamd3I

You are not required to actually watch that trailer btw, I think the title says it all. But it was pretty funny iirc.

I keep thinking about "Uncle Son" (re: Ray's politics):

Liberals dream of equal rights,
Conservatives live in a world gone by,
Socialists preach of a promised land,
But old uncle son, was an ordinary man.

Bless you uncle son,
They won't forget you, when the revolution comes.

Unionists tell you when to strike,
Generals tell you when to fight,
Preachers tell you wrong from right,
They'll feed you when you're born,
And use you all your life.

deeply cynical all the way around

xp I think "o_O" is the most accurate description of RD's politics.

the idea of there being an "ordinary man" who is somehow completely outside politics is kind of o_O itself. it's a really condescending conceit, like he imagines his "ordinary man" to be some kind of naïf.

haha but the thing is ray davies is kinda a good example of an 'ordinary man who is somehow completely outside politics' who basically is some kind of naif w/ this stuff

^^^

heckuva songwriter, though, right?

it's weird that the first two kinks albums (and contemporaneous singles etc) are full of these optimistic songs (something better beginning, wait til the summer comes along, etc.) and then with "where have all the good times gone" there's this shift to rueful nostalgia that never goes away and just becomes deeper and more cynical.

haha but the thing is ray davies is kinda a good example of an 'ordinary man who is somehow completely outside politics' who basically is some kind of naif w/ this stuff

― iatee, Thursday, April 19, 2012 11:27 AM (1 minute ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

that's not true, really. he's just embodied a lot of contradictions and swung back and forth. he

heckuva songwriter, though, right?

― tylerw, Thursday, April 19, 2012 11:28 AM (1 minute ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

^^^

that's not true, really. he's just embodied a lot of contradictions and swung back and forth

that's like the epitome of your average 'not that political' person when politics comes up!

i like that on village green much of the nostalgia is more of an existential variety: we get old, we are forgotten and forget, it's sad. i wonder if that's why this is their most appealing album to a lot of folks? the sentiments seem relatively benign and universal? well, that, and the awesome songs.

sounds about right. the "village" can stand in for a child's view of the world just as easily as a real place.

Speaking of Nostalgia and Penis Transplants...

http://www.trashfiction.co.uk/hywel_bennett.jpg

39. "The Way Love Used To Be"
Percy OST, 1971
129 Points (6 Votes)

The Track: http://youtu.be/xuGsXGPtBVQ
Pain Teens cover (Houston Represent!): http://youtu.be/ELlKJDOX0b0

sorry for the extra youtube but a really condescending conceit, like he imagines his "ordinary man" to be some kind of naïf.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzjoqpTqSR4

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e22/JCodling/thekinks.jpg

38. "20th Century Man"
Muswell Hillbillies, 1971
131 Points (7 Votes)

The Track: http://youtu.be/mrmQB38aT5U
"One From The Road" version: http://youtu.be/Z-usL5eBrdg
Ray solo on "Austin City Limits": http://youtu.be/XD14kdgQEe8

otm. again, these are largely awesome songs (to one degree or another) but there's definitely a way that davies's admirable empathy for the "common man" can bleed over into condescension.

xpost

haha eerily appropriate!

lol at the eternal sunshine video for the way love used to be. man, that song is gorgeous, forgot about it for the poll. no one tell me it's about the welfare state!

I guess I should listen to the entirety of Percy then eh

percy is great, i even dig the "filler" instrumentals.

Also cf. "20th Century Man" - I think Ray is perhaps distrustful of modern technological society, though I wouldn't equate that with conservative politics.

The technology part, no. This part, yeah, pretty much:

I was born in a welfare state
Ruled by bureaucracy
Controlled by civil servants
And people dressed in grey
Got no privacy, got no liberty
Cos the twentieth century people
Took it all away from me.

their -- both ray and dave -- tonedeafness about women is also not particularly agl (love me til the sun shines, for another example in addition to juke box music)
but whatever -- i have managed to not care about that much because i like the songs a lot

Little Miss Queen of Darkness is a notable exception though.

It's funny, fucked as those lines are, they're the most beautiful part of that song for me. In the 80s, though, they had an annoying habit of not playing huge parts of their older songs: they'd play "20th Century Man" without that bridge, and "Sleepwalker" was three verses and out, no bridge, no breakdown.

xp

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3288/3386311386_2118f79117_z.jpg

37. "Dedicated Follower of Fashion"
Non-LP Single/The Kinks' Greatest Hits, 1966
137 Points (7 Votes)

The Track: http://youtu.be/KXaO3zgaf5Q
Live on TV in '73: http://youtu.be/xXpkt6revK0

Ray's first wife Raisa was Jewish iirc. I referred to that line in "When I Turn Off the Living Room Light" on the nominations thread cuz I've had arguments with another Jew about whether or not it's antisemitic (I am firmly in the NOT camp)

Was she? Not sure about that. Lithuanian certainly. What about Ray's comedy Jewish accent (obv. a dig at Larry Page) on "Top of the Pops" - "And now you can make some rrrreal money"

xps

Not defending RD's entire worldview, but I'm not sure complaints about the dour, prying bureaucracy of the welfare state are entirely off the mark. (And were a staple of '60s New Leftism anyway.)

I may be reading those lines through a present-day lens.

never been that nuts about dedicated follower actually!
off topic a bit but has anyone ever read this book? it was my favorite as a kid, and reading it now to my daughter it strikes me as the children's book ray davies never wrote.

http://www.fictionalfood.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Giant-Jam-Sandwich-550x419.jpg

I love "Dedicated..." (second of my votes to place so far, I believe)

http://andrewbales.files.wordpress.com/2011/07/party-line-2.jpg

36. "Party Line"
Face To Face, 1966
143 Points (7 Votes)

The Track: http://youtu.be/2pSbUEdTyW8
Independence Hall cover (H-Town Represent Again!): http://youtu.be/nDsorr3IxBU

I missed this entire poll!!!! Never liked "Party Line".

one of my faves that didn't quite fit in my 20. nice to see it here. i love the damn melody and energy on this one

Not defending RD's entire worldview, but I'm not sure complaints about the dour, prying bureaucracy of the welfare state are entirely off the mark. (And were a staple of '60s New Leftism anyway.)

OTM. I think it's possible to be distrustful of government without being a conservative - cf the many varieties of anarchism.

Was going to mention that RDD was a sorta Tory Anarchist upthread

http://derclown007.free.fr/clown_deathofaclown.jpg

35. "Death of A Clown"
Dave Davies Solo Single/Something Else by The Kinks, 1967
154 Points (8 Votes)

The Track: http://youtu.be/nvYiUydIDAs
To The Bone version: http://youtu.be/ZVN0vw6UsOU

Good song.

Party Line is a metaphor for the spread of communism

Communist Party Line

http://www.memoire60-70.be/Images/Chronique_1966_1972/Kinks_Regina_01.jpg

34. "Fancy"
Face To Face, 1966
161 Points (9 Votes)

The Track: http://youtu.be/k_meqar1M3c
Live '69: http://youtu.be/_EQ8x_-b8IE

They played this live?! (rushes to grab headphones)

Aaaaaaaaalwaaaaaaaays

Blimey that looks a bit fascist rally! (xxp)

too much plaid for fascists imo
(now someone will post an image of fascists in uniform plaid won't they?)

http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2557/4198203515_ea893790f4_z.jpg

33. "People Take Pictures of Each Other"
The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society, 1968
168 Points (9 Votes)

The Track: http://youtu.be/sqGOOmR0krY

Bit Fiddler on the Roof that track. This is a good thing imo.

Live version of "Fancy" is pretty cool. Would've been interesting to hear the Kinks develop more along those lines, but their pit orchestra days put an end to that.

tyler I read the Giant Jam Sandwich a ton as a kid, awesome book

http://cache2.allpostersimages.com/p/LRG/28/2812/1WJOD00Z/posters/ray-davis-lead-singer-of-the-kinks-with-his-wife-rosa-and-newly-born-baby-louise-clara-may-1966.jpg

32. "Too Much On My Mind"
Face To Face, 1966
172 Points (7 Votes)

The Track: http://youtu.be/aOSe53DzLP4

Was she? Not sure about that. Lithuanian certainly

over the course of arguing about that song previously I remember finding a newsclipping of Ray and Rasa's wedding that noted that she was Jewish. can't seem to find it now tho :(

http://991.com/newGallery/The-Kinks-Better-Things-Dbl-53728.jpg

31. "Better Things"
Give The People What They Want, 1981
182 Points (8 Votes)

The Track: http://youtu.be/cXioctDPGn0
Bouncing Souls cover: http://youtu.be/MjIU0fw0i3s

this is why I was arguing for fewer voters, surely a hardcore fan voterbase would have that top 15

We had a party line when I was a kid so the song brings up good memories. It was always weird to pick up the phone and here your neighbors talking. Whenever my mom need to call anyone she would put me on the line so I could be all cute and say, "I wanna call my Nana." Nobody wants to disappoint a pre-schooler so they'd wrap up their conversation.

I consider myself a pretty hardcore Kinks fan and didn't vote for anything post-1972 except for Come Dancing.

so nyah

which song you talking about iatee?

it seems p obv to me that that is one of the best songs ray davies has ever written

better things!

Really? I always thought it was a bit shit. Good lyrics, crap melody and music.

xp
if it makes you feel better iatee, I abstained in order not to simply reinforce the F2F-Muswell canon (the only era I know)

i had better things on my ballot originally, but it got the boot! it's a good late-period tune, but not top 20 for me.

http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2291/2464913117_20879d99df_z.jpg?zz=1

30. "This Is Where I Belong"
Non-LP Single, 1967/The Kink Kronikles, 1972
190 Points (8 Votes, 1 #1)

The Track: http://youtu.be/0woPvO8qAgs

Same here. I like it, but I think it seems better than it is after trudging through the crapulence of Give The People What They Want.

xp

lol, now it's my turn (re: where i belong): surely a hardcore fan voterbase would have that top 15

crap melody and music

Really? Better Things has always struck me as one of Ray's most melodic melodies.

"This Is Where I Belong" is my #1

But wait, now that I think about it, Better Things sounds a lot like a Pretenders-style song. I could totally hear Chrissie Hynde singing it...which may be why EZ hates it.

This Is Where I Belong came really close to making my ballot. Hurt deep to cut it.

it's weird, i think the first version of that i heard was at a frank black concert (1994-ish?) and i was blown away, just like "FRANK BLACK HAS WRITTEN HIS BEST SONG EVER" and then found it was a cover, ha.

But wait, now that I think about it, Better Things sounds a lot like a Pretenders-style song. I could totally hear Chrissie Hynde singing it...which may be why EZ hates it.

― Johnny Fever

I hadn't cottoned to that either! I betcha that's at least part of my problem with it.

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3005/3008954455_77b4e7951f_z.jpg

29. "Celluloid Heroes"
Everybody's In Show-Biz, 1972/One For The Road, 1980
200 Points (9 Votes)

The Track: http://youtu.be/rTJVclgwS5g
Old Grey Whistle Test, 1977 : http://youtu.be/eSR7nfn-acs
One For The Road version: http://youtu.be/u555wjy4uQI

Better Things intro and guitar tone definitely Pretenders-ish. But I love it. Was a mixtape/mix-disc favorite for years, it's a good way to sign off. I like the lyrics -- "hoping all the verses rhyme/and the very best of choruses, too" -- and then the rush of the chorus totally delivers, "it's really good to see you rocking out and having fun..."

"This Is Where I Belong" top 5 for me, love that song. I think it transcends whatever place it came from to include anyone who is glad to belong anywhere.

this is why I was arguing for fewer voters, surely a hardcore fan voterbase would have that top 15

So strongly, strongly disagree with this.

the first part or the second

http://hilobrow.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/rushmorepool29a.jpg

28. "Nothin' In The World Can Stop Me Worryin' 'Bout That Girl"
Kinda Kinks, 1965/Rushmore OST, 1998
208 Points (9 Votes, 1 #1)

The Track: http://youtu.be/hj9671V_UxA
Rushmore pool party scene: http://youtu.be/Fn68zL6nukk
Mark Lanegan cover: http://youtu.be/qz0So4RMsxY

Ooh! I was worried this one wouldn't make it. (And again, I forgot it was used in a Wes Anderson film.)

So strongly, strongly disagree with this.
ha, i disagree too, but "this is where i belong" so low! kind of thought that would be a Sway-like song for this poll.

wow you guys REALLY like some late period stuff

xxxp

Love Better Things and Celluloid Heroes, although the lyrics of the latter are pretty klutzy. There's a Fountains of Wayne cover of Better Things which underlines what a perfect power-pop record it is.

Dedicated Follower is the first Kinks song I remember hearing as a kid. Now it always reminds me of this clip, starting at 2:55:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qud3CzBToss&feature=watch_response

my dad would always cite "Dedicated Follower" when discussing fashion-plate students of his

http://img.wax.fm/releases/2751948/kinks-come-dancing-2236398.jpeg

27. "Come Dancing"
State of Confusion, 1983
217 Points (11 Votes)

Music Video: http://youtu.be/gs2kFrGluKs
Top of The Pops: http://youtu.be/z-RT6ZA6lEE
"Extended Version": http://youtu.be/kwCuTzNcolg

I considered voting for this in 'best song' and 'worst song' but I did neither

this was probably higher on my ballot than it should be tbh

27 seems about right.

http://www.kindakinks.net/discography/images/img00171.jpg

26. "Mindless Child of Motherhood"
Non-LP Single, 1969/The Kink Kronikles, 1972
217 Points (7 Votes, 2 #1's)

BBC Version: http://youtu.be/tIu2tHAmA9I
Live '69: http://youtu.be/as9LqFqDC30

...and that's it for today.

good one to finish on

Oh noes, I was (foolishly) hoping that would crack the top 10. ;_;

I'm starting to get used to the feeling of my favorite songs placing in the 35-50 category. That's just how it is. Life goes on and on and on.

the thing is that I'm not really sure outside of Waterloo Sunset what the consensus Kinks favorites are. Lola? You Really Got Me? Days probably.

you really got me is inevitably top 5 I think

well respected man and sunny afternoon prob top 10

david watts and victoria top 10

Sorry, posting on the run. Strongly disagree that fewer voters is ever better. Anyway, a subject for another thread.

Got high hopes for Art Lover but no idea if its greatness is widely acknowledged.

Only 3 of mine have placed so far, all from Face to Face ("Fancy," "Rosie," "Too Much"). Not too confident that "Full Moon" will place.

Shangri-La and Village Green Preservation Society should crack the top ten.

I think Sweet Lady Genevieve will be the Kinks version of Sway.

art lover is pretty catchy but also reprehensible

don't forget "Days"

Feel very badly about not submitting a ballot for this, timing was really bad (especially after the heavyweight Bowie and Stones polls, just couldn't take the hit at work to do this one justice).

Gonna enjoy the rollout as best I can though.

"Mindless Child" was around #5 in my list when I gave up and failed to submit...my bad, guys--should've been higher!

>:[

it's interesting to me that Ray professes to have "missed" the 60s - never did acid/weed/etc. What is the substance abuse history of this band anyway? Seem to recall there were drunken fights in the 70s

kinda hoping for a surprise 'shangri-la' victory.

me too

I had it at #1 without a second thought. Probably the easiest part of the ballot...

I forgot to vote for Shangri-La, and I totally love that song!

why u braek heart

it's interesting to me that Ray professes to have "missed" the 60s - never did acid/weed/etc. What is the substance abuse history of this band anyway? Seem to recall there were drunken fights in the 70s

― Jilly Boel and the Eltones (Shakey Mo Collier), Thursday, April 19, 2012 6:09 PM (3 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

i imagine many pints of guinness were had.

I always thought that it was ray's father who was the uh 'character' in 20th Century Man.

OK, while there is a pause in procedings, take a listen to "Nobody's Fool" by "Cold Turkey"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTSB2b-nFKY

The Theme song to Adam Faith's "Budgie", written by Ray Davies, early seventies.

Now, is this
1) The Kinks, i.e. Ray Singing
2) Dave singing
3) Session Band.

Surprised "Celluloid Heroes" is so low -- I find it pretty moving.

Also, for those of us not familiar with the backstory to "Come Dancing," here's Wikipedia's entry:

"Come Dancing" is a tribute to Davies' sister Rene who bought him his first guitar, with the song's lyrics affording Davies' sister a happy life denied her in reality. Living in Canada with her (reportedly abusive) husband, the 31-year-old Rene was visiting her parental home in Fortis Green at the time of Ray Davies' thirteenth birthday — 21 June 1957 — on which she surprised him with a gift of the Spanish guitar he'd tried to persuade his parents to buy him. On the evening of the same day, Rene — who had a weak heart as a result of a childhood bout of rheumatic fever — suffered a fatal heart attack while dancing at the Lyceum ballroom.

Personally, I think it makes an already moving song even more so.

As you can see, I'm very moved by these songs.

Celluloid Heroes would be even better if the lyrics weren't so crass: all the dead male stars are portrayed as embodying their tough, roguish screen images while all the female ones are fragile basket cases. Cracking tune though.

it's interesting to me that Ray professes to have "missed" the 60s - never did acid/weed/etc. What is the substance abuse history of this band anyway? Seem to recall there were drunken fights in the 70s

And a fair amount of Bolivian marching powder from the 70s onwards... allegedly

Celluloid Heroes would be even better if the lyrics weren't so crass: all the dead male stars are portrayed as embodying their tough, roguish screen images while all the female ones are fragile basket cases. Cracking tune though.

^^ naive about teen idols

xpost. It's been a while since I read the day-by-day accounting of the Kinks, but I recall an awful lot of Ray going to the hospital to get his stomach pumped type entries, probably more in the 70's.

This book: http://www.amazon.com/The-Kinks-Recordings-Broadcasts-1961-1996/dp/087930765X/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1334928168&sr=1-4

^^ naive about teen idols

Aren't we all?

naive about teen idols
naive about the cause of teen idols

Sorry, are you implying that a song called "Celluloid Heroes" is not about the artifice of fame?

I hate Shangri-La btw, def didn't vote for it. too much bombast.

i didn't vote for it either -- i loooooove the beginning, quieter part, but am not nuts about when it starts rockin'.

Oh come on -- the "Shangra La, la-la la-la la-la la-la-la-la-LA!" section is great.

My number one as well.

http://www.rapidonline.com/catalogueimages/module/M082908P01WL.jpg

25. "Animal Farm"
The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society, 1968
221 Points (9 Votes, 1 #1)

The Track: http://youtu.be/o9sY3NKP7is

My #1 and my favorite R.D. vocal performance. He really opens up and projects his voice in a way I haven't heard on any other track, and it gives this song great emotional heft imo.

Agreed -- love this song. My #6. Deceptively peppy, as the half-time chorus makes the whole thing feel slower than it actually is.

http://991.com/newGallery/The-Kinks-Sweet-Lady-Genevi-493765.jpg

24. "Sweet Lady Genevieve"
Preservation Act I, 1973
237 Points (8 Votes, 2 #1's)

The Track: http://youtu.be/GqgNyYXTK4s
Ray alone on the Phobia tour (audio only): http://youtu.be/LXC1x9oN5c4

TOO LOW

Didn't know this song until the ballot thread. Definitely in the top 30 or so for me now.

http://img.wax.fm/releases/1474896/kinks-well-respected-man-2164716.jpeg

23. "A Well-Respected Man"
Kinkdom, 1965
247 Points (12 Votes)

The Track: http://youtu.be/-yATZTFkczs
Live on TV in '66: http://youtu.be/eq5WmHBSVa0
Live medley w/"Death of A Clown" (from the late '70s?): http://youtu.be/ckYGgmoB7Rs

Sadly couldn't find the Juno scene w/this^^

I am not so sad about that tbh

great song. near the bottom of my ballot

Got To Be Free isn't gonna place is it

would be surprised

sure things?

david watts
victoria
you really got me
sunny afternoon
waterloo sunset
tired of waiting for you
all day and all of the night
something better beginning
days
lola
do you remember walter
last of the steam powered trains (?)
till the end of the day
set me free (?)
shangri-la
autumn almanac

Sorry for the big image, but I think I'm in love with this ep sleeve (Also iatee right on one count):

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iZ511_Hex3s/TZoI12N512I/AAAAAAAACq8/rjT7jjizJnI/s1600/kinks%252520fr24160724.jpg

22. "Till The End of The Day"
The Kink Kontroversy, 1965
271 Points (14 Votes)

The Track: http://youtu.be/BIc-RnqjwWA
Live on TV in '66: http://youtu.be/utiosGC7RKc
Alex Chilton & Yo La Tengo live cover from '07: http://youtu.be/YAQ8gqb3Zxk

"I'm on an island" is great

Sweet Lady Genevieve & Animal Farm were my 1 & 2 votes. I was hoping they'd both be higher.

http://images3.wax.fm/kinks_kinks_are_village_green_preservation_society-CLVLXPY298-1292249500.jpeg

21. "Picture Book"
The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society, 1968
279 Points (13 Votes)

Mimed on TV in '69: http://youtu.be/4BGjaL5329Q
HP commercial: http://youtu.be/TOnif6BC0kc
Green Day "Warning" music video: http://youtu.be/eebfMFzJHNs

Green Day... why?

listen to the riff.

Hearing that in the HP ad was pretty disconcerting. It was like my cat had run away and appeared in a commercial months later.

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_9rQKX6cLKd8/RYZxMJVr-zI/AAAAAAAAAPE/89NJltWR25w/s400/vincentyeo_88-img600x442-1094665886the_kinks_mirabelle_mag1970.jpg

20. "This Time Tomorrow"
Lola Versus Powerman And The Moneygoround, Part One, 1970
281 Points (12 Points)

The Track: http://youtu.be/ONd4qSs5B5k

^^I saved you guys from a Ray w/The Mumfords clip this time

nice! didn't think this would place

listen to the riff.

yeah I don't really hear it. similar tempo/drum part but it's in a different key and the melody is totally different, the rhythm pattern is different...? eh whatever.

Back-to-back Wes from the same movie!

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/67/Dave_Davies_1971.jpg

19. "Srangers"
Lola Versus Powerman And The Moneygoround, Part One
281 Points (13 Votes, 1 #1)

The Track: http://youtu.be/omd1IwCNJj4
Norah Jones live cover (audio only): http://youtu.be/DugdwGyw9OE

another great song, dave davies' best

There go my #2 and #4

Strangers was towards the bottom of my ballot. love it tho

Wait, both of these songs are better than "Picture Book"?

My favorite song on Lola.

statistically speaking, it appears so

I think so

http://gallery.rgroden.com/graphics/00000001/OklahomaLRG.jpg

18. "Oklahoma USA"
Muswell Hillbillies, 1971
282 Points (13 Votes)

The Track: http://youtu.be/hQcf6qRMZMo
Ray solo live: http://youtu.be/YKWckkQ1GbQ

whoa, is "See My Friends" not gonna place?

http://www2.sk-static.com/images/media/img/col6/20090802-190306-460012.jpg

17. "Do You Remember Walter?"
The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society, 1968
286 Points (12 Votes)

The Track: http://youtu.be/cA5bcZeGqwE

wow, "Walter" at only 17. kinda shocked!

We remember him, but not as fondly as he would like to think we do.

"golden age" period stuff is getting the shaft imho

well there are only so many spots

I think vgps prob had a lot of vote splitting

Don't Worry, Euler:

http://www.chartstats.com/images/artwork/2418.jpg

16. "See My Friends"
Kinkdom, 1965
305 Points (11 Votes)

The Track: http://youtu.be/ZCSzxkbMri8
Mimed on TV: http://youtu.be/S2Al7u0cKRk
Mimed on "Shindig!": http://youtu.be/HueiKoc1jmU

I have to say, Kinkdom is doing pretty well for a long OOP cash-in album.

fabulous; the song that opened my mind to the genius of this band. They were soooo ahead of the curve, so many times; still can't believe this song came out in 65.

their first gay subtext song...?

is it? ha, i have no idea what that song is about. but i love it. voted it pretty high I think. mission of burma did a cool version of this back in the 80s. can't find it on youtube tho.

no one left to love
'cept my friends

richard thompson's recent-ish version is pretty ace too
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0f7EdYT7_eU
though i wish there was a fairport version, i can kind of hear it in my head.

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_CiE_xz40zik/St00qZyzOpI/AAAAAAAABC0/cfQaqJNwsAg/s400/Kinks_helmfrid-sofa3.jpg

15. "The Village Green Preservation Society"
The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society, 1968
321 Points (14 Votes, 1 #1)

The Track: http://youtu.be/zL9tyzE83nc
Live on TV in '73: http://youtu.be/e3nvJ2hmaUI

I like that Richard Thompson version! Thanks tyler.

VGPS just squeaked onto my ballot.

yeah it's pretty nice, part of the 1000 Years of Music set I think. xp

Geez, I was sure this would finish in the top ten. What popular songs from Village Green are left?

I don't think any others will make it

I'll close today w/the one that gave us a thread title:

http://images.45cat.com/the-kinks-autumn-almanac-1967-3.jpg

14. "Autumn Almanac"
Non-LP Single, 1967/The Kink Kronikles, 1972
321 Points (12 Votes, 2 #1's)

Mimed on Top of The Pops: http://youtu.be/p_u0gn1I8xQ

Baker's dozen on Monday to close!

I'm hoping for Big Sky.

Autumn Almanac is so great. the chord structure is stunningly weird and complex, but it sounds so effortlessly catchy.

really marveled at its construction when I sat down to learn to play it

for reasons lost in the mists of time, my kids always sing this as My Automatic Cat

What weird results. There are about 8 ringers left, but as for the rest, I have no idea.

Catching up...

Always liked the lyrics on "VGPS" more than the music.

"See My Friends" was my #2 for no other reason than I find it seductive as hell. Maybe it's the gay subtext.

"Autumn Almanac" surprised me most in relistening. Must have just blended in with stuff like "Mr. Pleasant" and "Wonderboy" too much for me in the past, but considering it on its own, I finally realized exactly how good a single it was. Had it number four when I thought originally that it would be in my bottom ten.

for reasons lost in the mists of time, my kids always sing this as My Automatic Cat

I always thought Big Sky was the one people would vote for from VGPS, so curious to see if it's upcoming.

If Mr. Pleasant finishes ahead of Sweet Lady Genevieve and Animal Farm I will barf.

I'm getting the distinct impression everyone likes different things about that record. There's at least a quarter of it I have no use for, to be honest, and I don't really rate it any higher than Something Else or Face to Face, which have similar hit-to-miss ratios. For some reason VGPS seems to hang together a bit more stylistically and thematically than the other two... my favorite songs on it aside from the title track are All of My Friends Were There and Sitting by the Riverside. Starstruck, Picture Book, Walter are all aces too

big sky was my highest VGPS vote.

totally baffled at how any of u could dislike "Shangri-La", but then again I dislike lotsa Kinks tunes that others seem to rate like "Sunny Afternoon", so to each their own.

This might be odd, but I tend to link Arthur with Who Sell Out, in the sense that they both feature a pretty incredible string of great songs, in very different styles, all leading up to (possibly) the band's best single right around the middle of the album. Have to say that going from Shangri-La to Mr. Churchill Says always seems kind of jarring, though I don't know what else they could have done. I Can See For Miles into Atlas/Can't Reach You is a much better transition.

i think my #1 isn't going to place. :-(

Autumn Almanac and See My Friends were my #1 and #2, and in large part that's due to seeing him play them live on recent tours. They seem to have more resonance and poignancy when sung by 67 year-old Ray.

It's been hard to keep up with this at work. Very glad to see "Nothin' in This World...", "See My Friends," and "Love Me Till the Sun Shines." There's a chance everything on my list (of only 10) may place, although there's one where I have no idea at all if it's considered a significant song.

"See My Friends" is another song about Rene Davies' death.

found a nice copy of UK Jive that was recommended upthread. i agree it's some very good Kinks i'd never heard of before. thx for the rec whoever that was!

John Lennon cited Wonderboy as his favourite Kinks song. When I first heard them as a teenager, I only liked the rockers. The subtlety of his 'light' songs has crept up on me through the years.

xp That was probably me, but I know there's one other person on ilx who reps for UK Jive (unfortunately, can't remember who...) One song from it made my ballot ("War Is Over").

it pleases me that people like UK jive because that means that some of the copies out there are being appreciated. so i respect that in a utilitarian sense. even though the album is horrid.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utiosGC7RKc
This is so awesome, if it dosen't make top 10 I'm Lord Kitchener's valet

I'm also a UK Jive partisan. hi fives, tarfumes and outdoor miner!

Woo-hoo! I thought that was you, JFever!

Shorn of its arena-rock trappings, this is a really beautiful song:
http://youtu.be/xpbFPA19Axg
(although the version on UK Jive is still nice in a we're-taking-back-the-metal-we-invented kind of way)

I saw them on the UK Jive tour and they were amazing.

This is so awesome, if it dosen't make top 10 I'm Lord Kitchener's valet

― Dr X O'Skeleton, Saturday, April 21, 2012 12:44 PM (3 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Hello Lord Kitchener's valet...

22. "Till The End of The Day"
The Kink Kontroversy, 1965
271 Points (14 Votes)

!

oh wait I was confused

lol.

Let me be clear: THE REVEALS CONTINUE ON MONDAY.

I'll probably do a recap before then so people who haven't been able to keep up can catch up.

Damn I hope Wonderboy places. That song is so beautiful.

I'm just dying to find out if Ducks On The Wall was #1 or #2.

SPOILER: All-MCA top ten.

^ (fingers crossed for "Welcome To Sleazy Town")

rooting for "Moments" here as my dark horse of choice

1.

http://images.45cat.com/the-kinks-black-messiah-arista-2.jpg

"Black Messiah"

Misfits, 1978

500 Points (35 Votes, 20 #1s)

poll over, thanks for voting!

You hacked the email, didn't you?

Oh well, onward to Depeche! (kicks can, grabs copy of Catching Up With...)

oops, scrolled up the list but must have missed it, Dubious. 22 is too low.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utiosGC7RKc&feature=related

from this 2008 Montreal Gazette article:

Close call?: The Kinks played a poorly attended show at the Illinois State Armory in Springfield, Ill., on June 23, 1965. After the show, the Jaycees vice-president who organized the event drove them back to his place for a few drinks. Somehow, bassist Pete Quaife recently told Mojo magazine, the whole thing didn't feel right and the group left abruptly. Years later, they found out that their host had been John Wayne Gacy, who was convicted and executed in 1994 for raping and murdering 33 boys and young men.

When I saw Yo La Tengo do The Sounds of Science last night, the guy who was opening, Chris Cummings (local), did an excellent "Too Much on My Mind."

Ready for more....

Listening to Arthur - which alternates with Village Green as my favourite Kinks album - and found this on the Wikipedia page:

Reprise Records, The Kinks' US label, devised an elaborate, multi-levelled promotional campaign for Arthur in early 1969. The most famous branch of the programme involved a promo package entitled God Save The Kinks. The set featured various items, including a consumer's guide to the band's albums, a bag of "grass" from the "Daviesland village green", and an LP entitled Then, Now and Inbetween.[19] The set was accompanied by a positive letter from Hal Halverstadt of creative services at Warner/Reprise, part of which read, "... [We are led] to believe that The Kinks may not have had it at all ... The Kinks are to be supported, encouraged, cheered. And saved."[19] The campaign was officially launched on 3 July, at a meeting between Ray Davies and Reprise executives in Burbank, California.[26] Reprise considered seeding false stories in the press to create an "outlaw" image for the group as part of the campaign, including pieces about marijuana possession and income tax evasion.[27] Ray called the idea "mad", and the programme was dropped. Several pieces, however, were used in the press kit for Arthur's release, with titles like "English Pop Group Arrested on Rape Rap".[27]

Phony "rape rap" tops the list of promotional strategies you don't see any more.

Not looking at a summary yet. But is it just me or are there very few songs placing from Something Else?

Three so far: Death of a Clown, Love Me Til the Sun Shines and Two Sisters. Waterloo Sunset and David Watts are guaranteed too so it's likely to be the same amount as Face to Face in the end.

is there a Spotify playlist for this yet? just heard 'This Time Tomorrow' for the first time ever; brilliant that one.

by the way is Davies *in favour of* a 'Village Green Preservation Society' or is he taking the piss a bit? i'm sure the answer is well known/obvious amongst Kinks fans but i'm never sure.

It was the "god save Donald Duck" line that gave me pause (being an american construction)

Haven't been around so much recently, so I'm just playing catch up. So far, eight of mine have appeared: 'Animal Farm' (my #3), 'This Time Tomorrow' (#5), 'Strangers' (#9), 'Celluloid Heroes' (#10), 'Rosie Won't You Please Come Home' (#11), 'Party Line' (#12), 'Too Much On My Mind' (#14) and '20th Century Man' (#15). Still waiting to see if much of my selections for my Top 10 will appear!

Re: 'This Time Tomorrow' / 'Strangers'

Wait, both of these songs are better than "Picture Book"?

― Naive Teen Idol, Friday, April 20, 2012 6:21 PM (3 days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Yup! Well, I think they are, anyway. 'Picture Book' had absolutely no chance of making it onto my ballot.

If My Number One Selection, [xxxxx], Does Not Chart...

I will be having a word.

If My Number One Selection, [xxxxx], Does Not Chart...

I will be having a word.

― Mark G, Monday, April 23, 2012 2:29 PM (8 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

The very same!! If there's any song that's left on my ballot that is certain to chart, it's my #1.

I'm not saying "Certain", obv. That's the thing.

Previously on Your Kinks Kountdown:

50. "Do It Again"
49. "Yes Sir, No Sir"
48. "Love Me Til The Sun Shines"
47. "She's Got Everything"
46. "Apeman"
45. "Two Sisters"
44. "I Need You"
43. "Where Have All The Good Times Gone"
42. "God's Children"
41. "Rose Won't You Please Come Home"
40. "Stop Your Sobbing"
39. "The Way Love Used To Be"
38. "20th Century Man"
37. "Dedicated Follower of Fashion"
36. "Party Line"
35. "Death of A Clown"
34. "Fancy"
33. "People Take Pictures of Each Other"
32. "Too Much On My Mind"
31. "Better Things"
30. "This Is Where I Belong"
29. "Celluloid Heroes"
28. "Nothin' In The World Can Stop Me Worryin' 'Bout That Girl"
27. "Come Dancing"
26. "Mindless Child of Motherhood"
25. "Animal Farm"
24. "Sweet Lady Genevieve"
23. "A Well-Respected Man"
22. "Yil The End of The Day"
21. "Picture Book"
20. "This Time Tomorrow"
19. "Strangers"
18. "Oklahoma USA"
17. "Do You Remember Walter?"
16. "See My Friends"
15. "The Village Green Preservation Society"
14. "Autumn Almanac"
13. ? (Stay Tuned)

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_comnmI6_FcM/RySCeLqshQI/AAAAAAAAAOI/cgAVMu6VsAQ/s400/thekinks.jpg

13. "I'm Not Like Everybody Else"
Non-LP Single, 1966/The Great Lost Kinks Album, 1973
330 Points (14 Votes)

The Track: http://youtu.be/RCmnnCXfzbk
On "The Sopranos": http://youtu.be/-yMEi0I3eNo
Chocolate Watchband cover: http://youtu.be/txeeFNoix8Q

wow that's pretty high for a glka song

that has got to be the earliest pic of a flying V I've ever seen

They've been around since the late 50s. Albert King was one of its first adopters.

http://ring.cdandlp.com/capricordes/photo_grande/114752126.jpg

12. "Dead End Street"
Non-LP Single, 1966/The Kink Kronikles, 1972
366 Points (15 Votes)

The Track: http://youtu.be/yK8Bk__ENKU
Promo Film: http://youtu.be/i0WPC-N3UYE
Live in '84: http://youtu.be/j4S0PLriI2Y
Ray solo in '94 on "Don't Forget Your Toothbrush" (!?!?): http://youtu.be/DnomicEZXlY

x-post: Lonnie Mack too.

xpost:

wow that's pretty high for a glka song

― iatee, Monday, April 23, 2012 4:55 PM (9 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Admittedly, this is probably the best known song that made it onto that collection. Probably even better known than 'Plastic Man', which I'm sure was a single.

GLKA?

great lost kinks album

Ah! "I'm Not Like Everybody Else" was a b-side. "Plastic Man", a (not very good) single

So happy Dead End Street made it! I was worried slightly it wouldn't.

I prefer the b-side! "Big Black Smoke"

I almost prefer House in the Country myself... amazing that Ray could churn out b-sides and cast-offs that would have made lesser bands' entire careers.

(feel like somebody must have already said that lol)

Not Session Man though. That would be pushing it.

that song is so weird, can't imagine that Nicky Hopkins was flattered

What does he care, he got paid for it

http://www.magnetmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/Kinksvillagegreen550.jpg

11. "Big Sky"
The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society, 1968
406 Points (17 Votes, 1 #1)

The Track: http://youtu.be/wiyrFSSG5_g
Live in '70 (audio-only): http://youtu.be/iOJzAUAIQcQ
Yo La Tengo live cover: http://youtu.be/7To2V2S2AbY

YES!!! :D

'Big Sky' was my #6, and one of my all-time favourite Kinks songs. I'm absolutely thrilled to see it charted so highly.

I posted this on the noms thread, but this heavy live version bears repeating:
http://youtu.be/iOJzAUAIQcQ

http://ring.cdandlp.com/rockinronnie/photo_grande/114825221.jpg

10. "All Day and All of The Night"
Kinks-Size, 1965
434 Points (17 Votes, 1 #1)

The Track: http://youtu.be/mMWNwHof0kc
Mimed on "Hullaballo", intro by Annette Funicello: http://youtu.be/FvLqQ3EueFU
One For The Road version: http://youtu.be/Rkad60aHA28
Legos: http://youtu.be/SEm3qDxm8jo

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3435/3385495281_46eb1422c6_z.jpg

9. "David Watts"
Something Else by The Kinks, 1967
462 Points (20 Votes, 1 #1)

The Track: http://youtu.be/WhElCQLpCPo
The Jam cover on "Top of The Pops": http://youtu.be/4l9J9kx6cYA

Oh Germans.

have a feeling David Wadds exam performance was less memorable

AD/AN top ten, phew
said it before, will say it again: that song is super tuff

David Watts and Two Sisters would top my ballot. Something Else is the only Kinks album I love.

http://991.com/NewGallery/The-Kinks-Sunny-Afternoon--120896.jpg

8. "Sunny Afternoon"
Face To Face, 1966
473 Points (20 Votes, 2 #1's)

The Track: http://youtu.be/pIKsHh3BFPI
Promo Film: http://youtu.be/1h1oRP7FfBw
Mimed on TV: http://youtu.be/uMpkY0P_JGs
Live in '70 (incomplete): http://youtu.be/biDwCS_h6Xw

xp actually no, Days would top my ballot. that song is something else.

That's a fancy Buick.

tbh I thought fatigue would've left "Lola" out of the top ten, but I'd be wrong.

yeah seen pics of that car before. amazing.

gotta say all the images on this poll are delightful. nicely done, c grisso!

who's ready to interpret the politics of Sunny Afternoon?

tbh I thought fatigue would've left "Lola" out of the top ten, but I'd be wrong.

― Johnny Fever, Monday, April 23, 2012 6:03 PM (5 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Yeah, I was thinking this. It could easily place at any position between now and #1. I really hope my #1 is #1, though, because it truly deserves to be.

http://ring.cdandlp.com/kawa84/photo_grande/114701997.jpg

7. "Tired of Waiting For You"
Kinda Kinks, 1965
513 Points (21 Votes)

The Track: http://youtu.be/QkBvsBpgGbo
Mimed on "Shindig!": http://youtu.be/ffDhEdCELT0
Live in '69 (audio only): http://youtu.be/TrquunhEQzU