10 Song Titles Containing the Word Better

1. Better Regina Spektor
2. Better Day Ocean Colour Scene
3. Better Things The Kinks
4. Getting Better The Beatles
5. It's Getting Better Mamas and the Papas
6. Gonna Get Better Gabrielle
7. I Should Have Known Better The Beatles
8. You Better You Bet The Who
9. Nobody Does It Better Carly Simon
10. I'll Feel a Whole Lot Better The Byrds

10 Songs that feature a different vocalist to usual

This list was prompted by a question on University Challenge recently

1. The Kinks, "Death of a Clown" (1967) Dave Davies not brother Ray
2. Canned Heat, "Going Up the Country" (1968) Alan "Blind Owl" Wilson not Bob "The Bear" Hite
3. Marshall Tucker Band, "Can't You See" (1973) Toy Caldwell not Doug Gray
4. The Eagles, "Take It to the Limit" (1975) Bassist Randy Meisner not Glenn Frey
5. Blue Oyster Cult, "(Don't Fear) the Reaper" (1976) Buck Dharma not Eric Bloom
6. Police, "On Any Other Day" (1979) Stewart Copeland not Sting
7. ABBA Does your mother know? (1979) Björn Ulvaeus not Agnetha Fältskog or Anni-Frid Lyngstad
8. Toto, "Africa" (1983) David Paich not Bobby Kimball or Steve Lukather
9. U2 "Numb" (1993) The Edge not Bono
10. Oasis, "Don't Look Back in Anger" (1996) Noel Gallagher not brother Liam

(There are lots of Queen contenders but no obvious one. I toyed with including Ringo Starr singing With a little help from my friends. May be Happy Nightmare on the first Focus album where Martiin Dresden sings could be added but that's pretty obscure)

10 Great Acts from the Sixties

1. The Beatles
2. The Kinks
3. Manfred Mann
4. Creedence Clearwater Revival
5. The Byrds
6. Simon and Garfunkel
7. The Monkees
8. The Hollies
9. Donavon
10. Dionne Warwick
(We won't bother with my under impressed by this time)

10 Pop songs where words are spelled out

1. D-I-V-O-R-C-E - Tammy Wynette

2. L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N. - Noah and the Whale

3. L-O-V-E – Nat King Cole

4. 'A' bomb in Wardour Street - The Jam

5. I'm a man – Bo Diddley

6. Respect - Aretha Franklin

7. Gloria - The Them

8. Mickey Mouse Club Theme – Anonymous

9. Lola – The Kinks

10. Kalamazoo - Glenn Miller Band adn the Modernaires

A forgotten Christmas Song - by the Kinks

For some reason this Christmas song by the Kinks gets very little airplay. I guess it's not sentimental enough,

I gotta move

Careful readers of this blog will have noticed that a minor obsession we have is spotting the rich and famous out and about.

I try to walk over to Highgate twice a week these days and having never seen Victoria Wood about I had almost given up spotting anyone, when who should walk into the coffee shop but the legendary Ray Davies of the Kinks, who has lived in the general area all his life.

These days it's a joy just to see celebrities in their seventies still alive, of course. Then you have to decide what to do and say. I didn't think an autograph was appropriate. I didn't even think of a selfie. I said "huge fan" but even as I said it I thought to myself "depends what you mean" (I heard someone once say I think rightly that having several Bob Dylan records doesn't make you a big fan). I've only ever bought a greatest hits collection and we had All of the day and all of the night at home in single form. What I meant was that the Kinks of been part of my life all my life. I remember getting hold of an A4 ledger book as  kid and writing down all the bands I liked. The Kinks was high on that list, even though I would have known little about them.

I decided to add "Heard Victoria on the radio for some reason this morning". Again, I suppose with DAB and so many golden oldie stations that's no big deal. What I meant was that I'd heard them using a bit of it on Radio 2 for some advert or trailer. Anyway, he was very pleasant and wished me a nice day.

The encounter gave me a warm feeling for a while after.

Ray Davies on The Sixties

I watched an old documentary on Ray Davies of the Kinks last night. On the sixties he said, quite astutely I think,

"The sixties to me were kind of not as fun politically, sometimes style and fashion and pop culture camouflages what's really happening ... the music culture was great, the fashion was great .... it was a liberating time, there's no doubt, but, but I think it was a facade, a cover up for a lot of nasty things that were happening in the world ..."

Victoria

I noticed it was the 108th anniversary of Queen Victoria's death last Thursday (22nd) then I heard this Kinks number on the radio and thought you might enjoy this live version. Wikipedia says it's a Ray Davies number, the opening track of the 1969 concept album Arthur (or the decline and fall of the British Empire) and a largely unsuccessful single. In the satirical style Davies had become known for in earlier works, the lyrics juxtapose the paternalist aspirations of Empire in the Victorian age, "Land of my Victoria/Land of hope and gloria", with the grim reality of life in Britain during the 19th Century, "Sex was bad and obscene/And the rich were so mean". It expresses the simple adulation of queen and country found among the working class, "Though I am poor, I am free/When I grow I shall fight/For this land I shall die". The original starts with a simple electric blues riff under the lyrics, and builds to an exuberant climax with brass and strings at the "Land of hope and gloria" bridge. The play-out features brass, heavy rock guitar and raucous background vocals from Dave Davies. A "psychedelic" effect is achieved by use of an Indian style drone. A version by The Kooks will be on the War child charity album, Heroes next month.

Best ofs 01

At least one drawer of my CD collection is filled with 'Best of' albums. These include 'The Kinks Ultimate Collection' a two CD assembly of 44 tracks. I grew up in the sixties. We only had 'All of the day and all of the night' at home but I would hear them on the radio. I also know some songs from covers. Sadly, 'The village green appreciation society' is not included. I'm familiar with about a dozen of them so it's more than I need. Some of them I'm getting to know. My top seven:

1. Tired of waiting for you

2. You really got me

3. Sunny afternoon

4. Dedicated follower of fashion

5. Apeman

6. Days

7. David Watts

More here

Kate Rusby

I'm not English but I've lived here most of my life now and I like this version of the old Kinks' classic. I heard it on Radio 2 recently. I thought I heard her sing "God save little shops, china cups and the Trinity" which would have been wonderful. "And virginity" is almost as good, I suppose.

These are the words

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

We are the Draught Beer Preservation Society
God save Mrs. Mopp and good Old Mother Riley
We are the Custard Pie Appreciation Consortium
God save the George Cross and all those who were awarded them

We are the Sherlock Holmes English Speaking Vernacular
Help save Fu Manchu, Moriarty and Dracula

We are the Office Block Persecution Affinity
God save little shops, china cups and virginity

We are the Skyscraper condemnation Affiliate
God save tudor houses, antique shops and billiards
Preserving the old ways from being abused
Protecting the new ways for me and for you
What more can we do
God save the Village Green