I had a dream our love would last forever

Ray Davies always seemed to revere the past, and brilliantly at that. Much of his work was also tinted with a heavy brush of melancholy and a knowing world weariness.

This always struck a chord with me; I’ve always been able to relate a fellow old soul.

But every now and then, he could throw a nice dose of optimism into the mix. Not that I’m often the glass half-full sort, but given the imminent new year, I feel it’s my duty to toss this out there, paired with a flip-side companion piece:

The Kinks – No More Looking Back
The Kinks – Better Things

I hate to wish years away as they are disappearing rapidly, but….

…good riddance to 2010 and the sooner the better.

As for the Kinks: My favorite British band other than the Beatles. Some of the most literate songs in rock and roll, and the quintessential British band. I can hear the sound of the majestic and ultimately fading British Monarchy in “Sunny Afternoon,” “Shangri-la,"“Well-Respected Man” and "20th Century Man," among dozens of others. “Muswell Hillbillies” remains one of the great albums of the 70s, if not in history. And “Schoolboys in Disgrace” covered the same themes as Pink Floyd’s “The Wall,” except that it was far more coherent and released three years earlier. And it’s a hell of a lot more tuneful.

And, of course, “Waterloo Sunset,” the high mark in a career of high marks.

I only saw the Kinks once, in a small auditorium in Bloomsburg, Pa. Their best work was behind them at that time, but they reminded me why I fell in love with rock in roll in the first place. To this day, I get the same feeling every time I listen to them.

Strictly 100: Number 14: The Kinks