Tosh's Journal: August 13, 2023

 

Tosh's Journal: August 13, 2023

BOOK MUSIK: The Kinks: Songs of the Semi-Detached" by Mark Doyle (Reakton Books)

Tosh and Kimley discuss The Kinks: Songs of the Semi-Detached by Mark Doyle. The Kinks are one of the iconic British Invasion bands whose music has only gotten better with time. They were quintessentially British and proud of their working-class roots which came across in their music. Doyle explores the time and place that nurtured The Kinks’ creative impulse specifically examining their North London neighborhood, the British class structure and the social upheaval of the postwar era. There’s a lot of conflict and tension surrounding this band and “Semi-Detached” is the perfect way to kick this off.

Theme music: “Behind Our Efforts, Let There Be Found Our Efforts” by LG17

"A Spy in the House of Loud: New York Songs and Stories" by Chris Stamey (University of Texas Press)

ISBN: 978-1-4773-1622-1

 First of all, Chris Stamey, the songwriter, and performer is an essential listening experience.  I first heard Chris Stamey when he had his band The Sneakers. I bought the 7" EP at Bomp Records in the San Fernando Valley sometime in 1977.   I bought it because the song titles got my attention, for example, "Love's Like a Cuban Crisis" and "Non Sequitur."  At the very least this band was literate and witty.   Once at home, I became a life-long fan of The Sneakers.  The next time, I was reading The New York Rocker, and I recognized the name, Chris Stamey when he started to work with Alex Chilton on his recordings during the post-punk years in New York City.  Then like dominos falling, a series of independent records came out with Stamey's participation and solo singles and so forth. 

For the majority of the readers here you may have heard his band The dB's, which for many were the ultimate in the power pop era of the very early 1980s.  The thing with Stamey is one should never pigeon-hole him in one type of music social or aesthetic group.   Besides his genius songwriting abilities, he also had ties in the experimental music world and had (or still has) a deep interest in Minimalist music, which comes through his own 'pop' material time-to-time.  Stamey also served as a guest musician for numerous bands, as well as working as a record producer/arranger for others - still, when you associate with Stamey, you are on the side of his brilliance.   "A Spy in the House of Loud: New York Songs and Stories" is a remarkable memoir focusing on his life in Manhattan and other parts of the New York state. Him being an observer as well as a participant in the CBGB's punk rock world, as well as the fascinating social world that was happening at that time.  

There are plenty of reasons for reading "A Spy in the House of Loud," for example, it's another good personal account of life being a working or struggling musician in New York, as well as a practical how-to-do in that profession.   Stamey puts great focus on what it's like working with brilliant musicians like Alex Chilton, Ray Davies (The Kinks), Big Star's Jody Stephens, Rayan Adams, Yo La Tengo, Richard Lloyd (Television, and another musician who wrote a fantastic memoir covering the same era and place), and R.E.M., among others.   Although Stamey's work as an artist/songwriter is very melodic, he also has a sincere appreciation for the loud, the wild, and experimental - for instance, groups like the No-Wave band DNA.  Stamey creative world is a broad landscape, and his memoir exposes the tensions between the music and the practical everyday existence of getting the dough together for making a record and touring life. 

Stamey comes off in his book as a terrific guy, who cares about the music community and has a broadly educated response to music listening and music making.  That said, I think Stamey's records and music is an essential listening experience.   In other words, Stamey is the real deal.  I'm a fan of his music.  As well as this half-memoir and half-instructional book. 

June 21, 2014

June 21, 2014

What I like about writing is noticing the little moments in one’s life and other’s as well.  What does appear to be insignificant, can be important if it’s framed in a certain fashion.  The songwriting craft of say, someone like Ray Davies of The Kinks is his ability to place emphasis on the trivial and bring it out dramatically in his songs.  It is interesting to compare his songs with Pete Townshend of The Who, because basically they share a country as well as a culture.  Yet, Townshend focuses on the big statement, for instance, “My Generation, ” and Davies write “Waterloo Sunset.” A beautiful song that captures an intimate moment or a series of moments, which speak softly, but has a great deal of meaning to the listener.  Both artists look at the world visually as well as thematic, with respect to class, culture, and how that individual is positioned in that world.  The thing with Townshend is that he takes huge subject matters and presents it that sort of represents the everyday person.   In a way, he’s like Wagner in capturing the immense emotional moment.  Davies on the other hand is more of a sketch artist, or one who draws in pencil, and also deals with a group of people who belong to a specified location and of course a member of the class system of that neighborhood.  The Who is international, and The Kinks are… British.

It is also interesting to read “Who I Am” by Townshend and Ray Davies “Americana.” The Pete book is very much grand in its scope of The Who’s history, but I found it lacking a certain amount of feeling or details of people around him at the time.  On the other hand, Ray’s book is filled with insightful and detailed observations of the world around him.   The Who is great, and Townshend is a fantastic songwriter, but Ray Davies strikes me more of a skillful artist to my liking.  He’s in the same league as his fellow British writers such as Noel Coward, Alan Bennett, and perhaps Morrissey.  Hearing The Kinks’ classic “Village Green Preservation Society,” one can practically smell the British town or countryside off the vinyl record.  The observation of that world is pictorially clear, and you can taste the English tea and the seasons off that album.  In something like “Tommy” or “Quadrophenia” one gets the huge scope of one’s life, but again, it lacks specific details.

As I mentioned in a previous post, I’m a huge Osamu Dazai fan, due to his attention to a specific environment,  and when I read or listen to a Ray Davies song, I get the same charge out of it, as reading Dazai. I know my limits, and I will never be as good as those writers, but still, I try to reach up to the stars, and will settle for a rooftop at the very least.   We all have choices to make, and it is important to engage into that precise choice.  Commitment is very imperative, and to follow through that journey, wherever it may take us, is part of the adventure, and not fully the destination.  I often admired (but not loved) the poetry of Paul Élaurd, due to its sweeping brush-strokes of a time that must have been difficult for him and the whole of Europe between the world wars and dealing with the Nazi occupation of France.  Nevertheless, what was touching in his work was his intense, perhaps even obsessive, love for his wife, Nusch, who I know little about, but I do know that she served the poet as a muse of sorts.  So yes, one gets the big picture of his work, but in the end I know a little about his inspiration.  A poet can do many things, but for me, I like the poet who sees the world as it is mapped out, and put their stamp on that world as they see it.   A lack of detail can make the work seem lazy, and it is difficult as a writer to fulfill that vision that is a clear picture of one’s subject matter, whatever that maybe.

I cannot make comments on the whole world, but perhaps if I focus on the little things around me, one can gather enough information, or even a feeling, that can somehow be of some interest to a reader.  Then again, who knows?

"Americana" by Ray Davies

Sterling ISBN 978-1-4027-7891-9

Ray Davies’ memoir regarding his "affair" with America and its culture is great on so many levels.  The book works on different platforms.  The major theme of this memoir is regarding his life or thoughts on America, which makes it sort of a perfect travel journal.  When I hear the two words together "Ray and Davies" I think of England and Noel Coward.  I think Davies, overall, sees himself as rocker, but the fact he's probably one of the great songwriters that came out of the 20th Century. So yeah of course he rocks, but he is one of the great portrait painters of song.  His "Waterloo Sunset," "Lola, " and others are classic samples of setting character with a melody.  On top of that he is one of the great entertainers, in the tradition of British music hall of the 19th and 20th Century. 

The beauty of this book is the character Ray Davies, who is not only super British, but a very troublesome soul as well.  He wears doubt and depression as one would wear a winter coat during a blizzard.  It is almost second-nature to him, and I think he uses that aspect of his personality for the songs he writes.  To be honest I am not a huge fan of his music done after the late '70's, and still, this book takes place mostly during the Kinks successful years in America.  Which at that time, they became boring to me, music wise - but in the '60's and '70's he couldn't have been better.  On a genius level his songwriting was great - and now, as a prose memoir writer, his genius comes out again.

if there is another character that comes out of this book besides Ray, it is the city of New Orleans.  Ironically enough my other favorite book on this city is by Mod-great Nic Cohn, whose memoir 'Triksta"  is a horror show of a ride.  Both books, written by Englishmen of a similar age, and from the same culture, wrote incredibly and heartbreaking narratives dealing with both the beauty and nightmare aspect of the city.  For Ray, he chose to live in New Orleans, and eventually got shot in the leg during a robbery.  

This of course becomes a huge turning point in his life, and in a way it is about the cultural differences between the British character and the New Orleans citizen.  Ray obviously loves the city and its music culture, but is of course is shocked by the violence of that culture.  Him being a victim, is both heartbreaking and profound.  in a way Davies goes from one crisis to another, but when he pauses a bit, to reflect, its a win-win situation for the reader.

All the usual suspects are in the book, his brother Dave and the rest of the Kinks, but they're sort of side-players in this narrative.  There is more of a focus on people like Bill Graham, his road managers, and dealing with life on the road while touring America.  As a narrative it is not A going to B going to C, but more of a reflection on the people he met in America and how they affected him, both as an artist and on a personal level.   One of the legendary characters that comes out through this book, but almost Phantom like, is the great Alex Chilton.   Clearly Davies thinks of him and his work fondly, and it is a nice surprise to know that he knew and also thought of him as a fellow artist.  Alex of course is part of the New Orleans narrative.

If one had to compare this book to another music memoir it would be Pete Townshend's recent autobiography, due that both are good writers and observers - but I think Ray Davies' is actually more profound, because he has such a strong everyday human element not only for his songs, but I think in life as well.

Ray Davies Documentary

A wonderful documentary on Ray Davies of the Kinks.  Truly one of the great British music songwriters.

The Kinks' Ray Davies in "The Long Distance Piano Player"

A curious piece of pop music history with Ray Davies starring in this British tele-play.

"The Story of the Kinks: You Really Got Me" by Nick Hasted

The Kinks couldn't do no wrong from 1963 till the early 1970's. By all means and reason they were my favorite band. With Ray Davies, one had a writer that was up there with Cole Porter and (more likely) Noel Coward. In the early 70's I went to see the band whenever they came to Los Angeles - and the shows were more music hall than rock n' roll. Davies always came off to me as slightly like Laurence Olivier in the Entertainer. When you go into a Kinks album, it is very much of a world that doesn't exist anymore. Post-War England as re-imagined by The Kinks.

This is a very good biography by Nick Hasted on Ray, Dave Davies (the brother), Pete Quaife, and Mick Avory. Although in the big picture extremely successful, but in the miniature details a life full of doubt and pain. For whatever reasons the brothers can barely stand each other - and the other two musicians in the band had often suffered under their tortured relationship. Ray and Dave, raised in a house full of sisters, are very eccentric in their ways. Yet totally opposite in character. Dave dived into the world of London 60's and Ray stood by the side and caught it all on paper and music. If one was to get a book on the Kinks - this one is it.