Preserve the Village Green

Preserving the old ways from being abused
Protecting the new ways for me and for you
What more can we do?

There are very few lyrics in rock 'n' roll that are better and more chilling than Ray Davies' in "The Village Green Preservation Society." They mean as much as now as they did 1968—although I can't really imagine how much of a shock it must have been when the Kinks' Village Green came out, due to how different it sounds from their previous material like "You Really Got Me" (although there was a sign of their changing style with songs like "Waterloo Sunset,” another of the finest rock songs ever). I suppose said shock must have been similar to the one given by Bob Dylan with the release of John Wesley Harding, almost exactly a year before.

Instead of indulging on overblown rock, the Kinks (and Dylan, for that matter) took themselves back to a place where they were asking God to "save little shops, china cups and virginity." Not very rock 'n' roll, but the Kinks were in the for long haul, meaning that their albums sound better and less dated now than most from that time period.

While all of Village Green is fantastic, the truly standout songs are the title track, "Picture Book," and "Village Green." The last of those songs shouldn't be confused with "Preservation Society," although they do have similar themes.

In "Village Green," Davies sings:

And now all the houses are rare antiquities
American tourists flock to see the Village Green
They snap their photographs and say, "Gawd darn it,
Isn't it a pretty scene?"

Again, it's a song about the preservation of the old, a rare theme in rock. But it goes to show that Ray Davies (and the rest of the Kinks) could write a song for the ages about the ages.

That's something to preserve.

Five Best…Songs from The Village Green Preservation Society

#5. “Johnny Thunder”

Though everybody tried their best,
Old Johnny vowed that he would never, ever end up like the rest.
Johnny Thunder rides the highway, moves like lightning.
But sweet Helena just says, "God bless Johnny."

#4. “People Take Pictures of Each Other”

You can't picture love that you took from me,
When we were young and the world was free.
Pictures of things as they used to be,
Don't show me no more, please.

#3. “Picture Book”

A picture of you in your birthday suit,
You sat in the sun on a hot afternoon.
Picture book, your mama and your papa, and fat old Uncle Charlie
Out boozing with their friends.
Picture book, a holiday in August,
Outside a bed and breakfast in sunny Southend.
Picture book, when you were just a baby, those days when you were happy,
A long time ago

#2. “Village Green”

I miss the Village Green,
And all the simple people.
I miss the Village Green,
The church, the clock, the steeple.
I miss the morning dew, fresh air and Sunday school.

#1. “The Village Green Preservation Society”

We are the Village Green Preservation Society
God save Donald Duck, Vaudeville and Variety
We are the Desperate Dan Appreciation Society
God save strawberry jam and all the different varieties

Five Best...Kinks Albums

#5. Something Else by the Kinks



Released: September, 1967

Best Songs: "Waterloo Sunset," "David Watts" and "Death of a Clown"

"Waterloo Sunset" is one of the finest songs ever written, and quite possibly my favorite song not written by Bob Dylan or one of the Beatles. Its the album closer, and perfectly sets up the next three albums: Village Green, Arthur and Lola.


#4. Face to Face



Released: December, 1966

Best Songs: "Dandy," "Session Man, "Sunny Afternoon" and "Mr. Reporter"

The Kinks first great album, Face to Face began to showcase a new kind of writing from Ray Davies, drifting away from "You Really Got Me"-lyrics to character songs that still haven't been matched.


#3. Lola versus Powerman and the Moneygoround



Released: November, 1970

Best Songs: "This Time Tomorrow" and "Strangers"

For my write-up of Lola that appeared in the New School Free Press, click here.


#2. Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire)



Released: October, 1969

Best Songs: "Victoria," "Mr. Churchill Says" and "Arthur"

Sure, this album has a few hiccups (the guitar solo on "Australia" is kind of lame) but "Victoria" is the best album opener outside of "Like a Rolling Stone," and the album has a perfect mixture of the solemn ("Yes Sir, No Sir") and the rockin' ("Arthur").


#1. The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society



Released: November, 1968

Best Songs: "The Village Green Preservation Society," "Picture Book" and "Village Green"

Pristine, vintage, beautiful. Just three of the many words that could be used to describe Village Green, an album that probably feels as much of a throw-back then as it does now.

Rock 'N' Roll Revisited, Vol. VI

(As will appear in tomorrow's issue of the New School Free Press)

The Kinks
Lola versus Powerman and the Moneygoround

It's sad how little the Kinks are known, at least in comparison to two of their contemporaries they inspired, the Who and the Rolling Stones. But recently the Kinks got a much-needed boost of popularity thanks to Wes Anderson's The Darjeeling Limited. In the movie, "Strangers" and "This Time Tomorrow" are used during climatic scenes, and in choosing the songs to play instead of actual dialogue, it goes to show just how poignant the Kinks are.

Both of those songs are on 1970's Lola versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, which outside of being the longest named album by someone other than Fiona Apple, is also a rock 'n' roll masterpiece.

It's also an album that's particularly relevant today. Much of Lola deals with Ray Davies, lyricist and lead singer, and his utter frustration at record companies and the music industry as a whole. In "Moneygoround," he sings, "There's no end to it, I'm in a pit and I'm stuck in it," referring to the never-ending cycle of where song residuals go.

The Kinks draw on a sense of mature playfulness, which separates them from other bands at the time, like the Small Faces who could never get beyond amateurish lyrics. The playfulness side of the Kinks can be felt in their biggest hit, "Lola," a song about dancing with a woman who turns out to be a man, and includes the great line, "Well I'm not the world's most masculine man/But I know what I am, and I'm glad I'm a man/And so is Lola."

"This Time Tomorrow" is one of the Kinks best songs, and one of my favorite songs of all-time. Davies' voice sounds anxious and torn when he sings, "This time tomorrow, what will we know/Will we still be here, watching an in-flight movie show/I'll leave the sun behind me, and watch the clouds as they sadly pass me by." The rest of the band (Dave Davies, John Dalton, Mick Avory and John Gosling) provides a tender musical background. Try listening to this song when leaving someone you love behind, and you'll understand its power. It's also one of the finest songs ever to begin with the noise of an airplane taking off, like the Beatles' "Back in the USSR."

The rest of Lola has songs about being free ("Intro" and "Got to be Free"), about going back to pre-industrial times ("Apeman") and a simple one about "daytime, nighttime, every day you can hear the music play" ("Denmark Street").

I hate it when most bands reunite because they're usually only a fraction of their former selves—look no further than Zeppelin and the Sex Pistols. But I do hope the Kinks come back together (they're thinking about it) just so that I might have the opportunity to hear "This Time Tomorrow" and the rest of Lola done live.

Early in the Morning, I'm Callin' YouTube, Vol. XI

In respect to my posting yesterday about Israel, here's a production of Fiddler on the Roof...in Japanese. Seriously, Tevye has never looked or sounded better.

My next Rock 'N' Roll Revisited is on the Kinks, so I'd might as well post one of their songs, specifically a promotional video of "Dead End Street" from their great album, Face to Face.

Last night, a few friends and I watched The Ten, a movie directed by David Wain of Stella fame. We were all hoping it'd be as good as the other movie he directed, Wet Hot American Summer, which is one of my favorite movies of all-time. Alas, The Ten sucked and we were all disappointed. So, to get rid of the awful taste of Paul Rudd being in that movie (seriously, he's better than that), here's a clip of him on The Showalter Showalter, hosted by none other than Michael Showalter.

To all Lost fans: how awesome was the season premiere? I'm still pondering why Jack's father was in Jacob's chair...but enough nerd talk, here's a video of Weird Al's take on "Bohemian Rhapsody" set to Lost clips--sort of.

I don't particularly like Rent, but I do love Newsies. So, I was a bit skeptical when I found a video on YouTube of a scene from Rent with "Santa Fe" from Newsies being played over it. But after finishing it, I was left pleasantly surprised at how well they sync up--although I do hate myself a little for watching even one scene from Rent.

Five Best...'Purchase' Songs

#5. “Demolition” by The Kinks

I spy with my little eye
Anything here that I can buy.
I see a little thatched cottage
Looking so neat
With compulsory purchase we can buy it up cheap.

#4. “Sea Weeds” by Captain Dan and the Scurvy Crew

Mateys hoist the sails ‘cause it’s time to run
Before my customers figure out the deed I’ve done
But that’s the way it goes
Let the buyer beware
Especially when your purchase could have washed up anywhere

(I just appreciate the name of this group)

#3. “Bad Liver and a Broken Heart” by Tom Waits

I ain't sentimental, this ain't a purchase,
It's a rental, and it's purgatory,
And hey, what's your story, well I don't even care
Cause I got my own double-cross to bear

#2. “86” by Green Day

Exit out the back
And never show your head around again
Purchase your ticket and
Quickly take the last train out of town

#1. “The Gift” by the Velvet Underground
It was a New York company. You could go anywhere in the mails. Then it struck him. He didn't have enough money to go to Wisconsin in the accepted fashion, true, but why not mail himself? It was absurdly simple. He would ship himself parcel post, special delivery. The next day Waldo went to the supermarket to purchase the necessary equipment. He bought masking tape, a staple gun and a medium sized cardboard box just right for a person of his build. He judged that with a minimum of jostling he could ride quite comfortably. A few air holes, some water, perhaps some midnight snacks, and it would probably be as good as going tourist.

The picture on top is what SUNY Purchase looks like after it snowed Sunday morning. Before meeting a friend for lunch, I walked around the campus, listening to the MC5 and taking pictures of the place where I used to be a student.

Five Best...Rock Operas

(Working off the Wikipedia page for "rock opera albums" because if you try hard enough, you can make nearly any album fall under the title of being a "rock opera.")

#10. Purple Rain by Prince and the Revolution

#9. American Idiot by Green Day

#8. Frank's Wild Years by Tom Waits

#7. Greendale by Neil Young

#6. Quadrophenia by The Who

#5. Joe's Garage by Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention

#4. Tommy by The Who

#3. The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars by David Bowie

#2. Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire) by The Kinks

#1. "A Quick One (While He's Away)" by The Who

Five Best...Songs Mentioning "Spiders"

#5. “Save Ginny Weasley” by Harry and the Potters

Are you scared to walk through the hallways?
Are you worried that the spiders run away?
Are you petrified of being petrified?
Are we going to have to save the school again?

#4. “Safe as Milk” by Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band

Well, my cigarette died when I washed my face
Dropped some drops in an ashtray, hit a wrong place
Woman at my blinds to see spider’s spinning lines
It’s a-safe as milk, it's a-safe as milk

#3. “Apeman” by The Kinks

I'm an apeman,
I'm an ape, apeman,
Oh I'm an apeman
I'm a King Kong man,
I'm a voodo man,
Oh, I'm an apeman
‘Cause compared to the sun that sits in the sky,
Compared to the clouds as they roll by,
Compared to the bugs and the spiders and flies, I am an apeman.

#2. “Ziggy Stardust” by David Bowie

Ziggy played guitar, jammin' good with Weird and Gilly,
The spiders from Mars, he played it left hand
But made it too far
Became the special man, then we were Ziggy's band

#1. “Spiders (Kidsmoke)” by Wilco

Spiders are singing in the salty breeze
Spiders are filling out tax returns
Spinning out webs of deductions and melodies
On a private beach in Michigan

Why can't they wish their kisses good
Why do they miss when their kisses should
Fly like winging birds fighting for the keys
On a private beach in MichiganD

Five Best...Songs about the Sun

As appears in today's issue of The New School newspaper, Inprint:

Five Best… Songs about the Sun

5. “Sunny Afternoon” by The Kinks

The Kinks were masters of irony, and this song, which appeared on Face to Face, is one of their best examples of it. It tells of a rich man who is getting taxed heavily and has to rely on nothing but “this sunny afternoon.”

4. “House of the Rising Sun” by Duran Duran

Although the song was written in the 1930s, it didn’t become a Top 10 hit until, after hearing Bob Dylan’s version, The Animals covered it. Years later, Duran Duran would take a stab at it—and add a bitchin' guitar solo. And yes, I realize it has nothing to do with sun other than its title, but ain’t that enough?

3. “Who Loves the Sun?” by The Velvet Underground

Not everyone.

2. “The Sun Never Sweats” by Spinal Tap

I’m so pumped about Tap reuniting in July that I would have fit them onto any list. Too bad this Five Best isn’t “Best Album Titles About Smelling Inanimate Objects,” because Smell the Glove would have topped it.

1. “Here Comes The Sun” by The Beatles

I’ve written about The Beatles before in this column, but this is the ultimate song about the sun bringing brighter and happier times. It’s also one of the most literal songs ever, because George wrote it in Eric Clapton’s garden as the sun came out.