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Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Video Kinks Week! "Dead End Street"

Posted by Ned Lannamann on Tue, Jul 15, 2008 at 9:59 AM

Kinks Week kontinues!

(Sorry. I wish I could say that I won't do that again, but I just can't make that promise.)

Here's a goofy video, complete with wigs, mustaches, and corpses brought back to life. The undertaker theme seems darkly fitting for this ragtime-y, brass band tune, which makes the whole clip vaguely reminiscent of a Python sketch. Meanwhile, the footage is interspersed with still photos of real life down-on-their-luck Londoners. This was well within Ray Davies' ultra-English phase, when every song he wrote examined some aspect of British life. This parochialism didn't help the Kinks chart success, particularly in America, but it made for some pretty great music.

Weirdly, the audio on this clip sounds sped up; hopefully that won't bother you.

The Kinks - "Dead End Street" (1966)

There's a crack up in the ceiling,
And the kitchen sink is leaking.
Out of work and got no money,
A Sunday joint of bread and honey.

What are we living for?
Two-roomed apartment on the second floor.
No money coming in,
The rent collector's knocking, trying to get in.

We are strictly second class,
We don't understand...