The Kinks (& the B Word)

[CombatClaret]

John Cotter on Brexit & The Kinks https://twitter.com/John_Cotter/status/ ... 7591829506

Brexit will disappoint many, if not most leave voters, because the EU isn’t the source of their unhappiness: modern life is.

Why do I say this? Well, recently I’ve been listening to The Kinks a lot, specifically 3 albums recorded between 1968-71. Ray Davies is a uniquely brilliant songwriter, who is a superb social commentator, wistful, nostalgic, but also at heart, pragmatic. He seems to desire the simple life he perceives in the past, but also seems to tacitly understand it’s gone.
In 3 albums in late 60s/early 70s, Davies explored Englishness, nostalgia, post-war change and the pressures of modern life:
The Kinks are the Village Green Preservation Society (1968)
Arthur - or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire (1969)
Muswell Hillbillies (1971)

‘Village Green’ is full of nostalgia for a simple life. The title track:
“We are the Office Block Persecution Affinity. God save little shops, china cups, and virginity. We are the Skyscraper Condemnation Affiliates. God save Tudor houses, antique tables, and billiards”

Davies’ humour means the sentiment’s ambivalent. His nostalgia seems genuine, but he’s also poking fun at busybodies:
“God save Donald Duck, vaudeville and variety. We are the Desperate Dan Appreciation Society. God save strawberry jam and all the different varieties”

In another similarly titled song, ‘Village Green’, there is the longing for the innocent pastoral life:
“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?"“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.”

Anyway, nostalgia pervades the album: “Last of the Steampowered Trains” There’s “Do you Remember Walter?”, a reminiscence about an old friend:

“Walter, you are just an echo of a world I knew so long ago. Walter, if you saw me now, you wouldn't even know my name.I bet you're fat and married, And you're always home in bed by half past eight.”

Then in 1969, Arthur, a song cycle about the titular character, born during the reign of Victoria, who lives through both world wars, only to see a world where his children emigrate to Australia (the other Victoria). I could write an essay on this album. It ends with the song ‘Arthur’, with Ray and Dave sympathising with Arthur’s alienation:

“How is your life and your Shangri-la And your long lost land of Hallelujah And your hope and glory has passed you by Can't you see what the world is doing to ya”

Muswell Hillbillies is full of dark songs about the pressures of modern life and a sense of alienation. The complaints are often familiar to those we see about the EU. The first song is ‘20th Century Man’.

“This is the twentieth century, But too much aggravation It's the age of insanity, What has become of the green pleasant fields of Jerusalem?”

Also, and this is pure Brexit:
“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 'cause the twentieth century people Took it all away from me.”

The theme of an overbearing state interfering with the simple life of the past is also covered in “Here Come the People in Grey”. There’s the classic English nostalgia of “Have A Cuppa Tea.”

So, what’s my point?
Well, all this awkwardness about Britain or England’s position in the world isn’t new. A sense of a loss of control to the state or bureaucrats isn’t new. Nostalgia for an unattainable simple past isn’t new. In these albums, Davies captured a post-war anxiety/feeling of loss and confusion. The key point is that all these things existed before 1973, when the UK joined what became the EU. But, these feelings were never resolved and the EU became a manifestation of these anxieties.
So, as I said, it’s modern life that is the problem and ultimately Brexit won’t fix it.

Oh, and do listen to these albums. The Kinks are much more than ‘You Really Got Me’ and ‘Waterloo Sunset’.

[conyoviejo]

Like I've always said the Kinks are one of the best ever groups and Ray Davies is a singer/ songwriter genius..

[Silkyskills1]

A pity he didn't afford his brother similar levels of compassion.

[Billy Balfour]

An old quote: The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there.

Thing is, we have a tendency to glorify the past while looking to the future with pessimism.

[CombatClaret]

An old quote: The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there.
Thing is, we have a tendency to glorify the past while looking to the future with pessimism.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Declinism

"It is the predisposition, possibly due to cognitive bias, such as rosy retrospection, to view the past more favourably and future negatively."

[conyoviejo]

A pity he didn't afford his brother similar levels of compassion.

Boys will be boys ..Brothers will be Brothers..

https://ultimateclassicrock.com/kinks-brothers-feud/