Getting KINKy

A post by Rhoda had me singing “Lola” by The Kinks in my head for a couple of days.

The Kinks are a great band. Lola vs Powerman and the Money-Go-Round, Part 1 was a great album.

Not only did it have Lola , L O L A, Lola but it had several lesser known gems.

From the beautiful: Strangers

“Where are you going I don't mind
I've killed my world and I've killed my time
So where do I go what do I see
I see many people coming after me
So where are you going to I don't mind
If I live too long I'm afraid I'll die
So I will follow you wherever you go
If your offered hand is still open to me
Strangers on this road we are on
We are not two we are one…”

To the cynically lovely: The Money-Go-Round

“Robert owes half to Grenville
Who in turn gave half to Larry
Who adored my instrumentals
And so he gave half to a foreign publisher
She took half the money that was earned in some far distant land
Gave back half to Larry and I end up with half of goodness knows what
Oh can somebody explain why things go on this way
I thought they were my friends I can't believe it's me, I can't believe that I'm so green
Eyes down round and round let's all sit and watch the moneygoround
Everyone take a little bit here and a little bit there
Do they all deserve money from a song that they've never heard
They don't know the tune and they don't know the words
But they don't give a damn
There's no end to it I'm in a pit and I'm stuck in it
The money goes round and around and around…”

And the great riffs too. I defy you to listen to the opening Dave Davies guitar riff on “Rats” without tapping your toes. The lyrics are catchy too but not as poetic or fun as either of the other two songs mentioned.

Plus there’s the tongue-in-cheek calypso song “Apeman,” which is actually better when done acoustically on the album “The Road.”

“I think I'm sophisticated
'Cos I'm living my life like a good homosapien
But all around me everybody's multiplying
Till they're walking round like flies man
So I'm no better than the animals sitting in their cages
in the zoo man
'Cos compared to the flowers and the birds and the trees
I am an ape man
I think I'm so educated and I'm so civilized
'Cos I'm a strict vegetarian
But with the over-population and inflation and starvation
And the crazy politicians
I don't feel safe in this world no more
I don't want to die in a nuclear war
I want to sail away to a distant shore and make like an ape man…”

There are dozens of other great Kinks songs from dozens of other Kinks albums, but do yourself a favor and check out “Lola versus Powerman and the Money-Go-Round, Part 1.” You’ll wish you could live like an ape man and you’ll fall for L-O-L-A Lola all over again.