awordoraline:

The Kinks - Destroyer

Girl, I want you here with me
But I’m really not as cool as I’d like to be
‘Cause there’s a red, under my bed
And there’s a little yellow man in my head

Perfect almost-the-weekend song.

“Destroyer” by The Kinks

(Words/Music: Ray Davies, Album: Give the People What They Want, Arista Records 1981)

I recently had the opportunity to watch the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame Induction Concert from Madison Square Garden the other day (the actual event was on October 9, 2009). Ok, to say I had the opportunity is wrong. In reality, I put it on while I ate lunch and four hours later I realized it was time for dinner. I was enthralled and riveted at the collaborations and guest appearances of and by new and existing HOF members. Let me put it this way: you know it’s going to be a good show, when it’s four hours long and Stevie Wonder is playing in the first hour! Other main performers included CSN, Jeff Beck, Paul Simon, U2, Metallica, and Bruce Springsteen. Not a bad lineup. But like I said, what struck me were the collaborations. And perhaps the strangest collaboration was Ray Davies of The Kinks singing “All Day and All of the Night” with Metallica. Apparently, it kind of stunned Metallica’s James Hetfield as well as he mused during the introduction of Davies and the song about how Davies schooled them on riff rock and how Davies was an original punk. 

That last statement confused me a bit until I put it in the context of the evolution of other British Invasion bands. While The Beatles embraced complicated productions and spirituality, The Who embraced rock operas, and The Rolling Stones embraced the darker side of the blues, The Kinks stuck with the garage band mentality and found themselves being credited as godfathers of punk. They always seemed to be on the stranger (kinkier) side of the British Invasion with songs like “Lola,” “Dedicated Follower of Fashion,” and “Where Have All the Good Times Gone.” The songs make unique and sometimes warped commentary of social trends and generally skewer those who deem themselves as morally, spiritually, or socially superior. “Destroyer” is no different, combining the main riff from “All Day and All of the Night” with an updated story line of the main characters from “Lola” in which the man becomes progressively paranoid. The breakdown of his mental faculties are directly related to his continuing relationship with “Lola” and his inability to control his guilt over a overtly sexual relationship (if you remember the song “Lola” you’ll remember that he’d “never kissed a girl before”). By having this conservative and naive man enter into a relationship with a cross-dresser and eventually go insane is Davies’ way of saying that people need to be less uptight and worried about always doing the right thing. They should live in the moment and do whatever they wish. Sounds a bit like anarchy. Maybe Ray Davies really is the original punk.

More from The Kinks: AmazonMP3 - last.fm - AllMusic - eMusic

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