Kinks Music For The Late Summer Malaise

We are entering one of my least favorite periods of the calendar year: late summer. It brings days when you think the summer heat is finally going to end, but it only comes back, somehow worse. Being an educator it means going back to school. This used to be much more exciting for me, but with my current life it means a true return to the trenches. I love my job, but it requires getting up at 5:30 or sometimes 5AM, followed by a daily military operation to get my recalcitrant children awake, dressed and fed in time to catch the train. That train stands a good chance of being late or not having anywhere to sit down. Then I have the fun of the subway on a hot morning, the stagnant air smelling like urine and my clothes covered with sweat before I arrive at work. By the time I get home I am exhausted, with the new drill of getting my children fed, all of their obligations taken care of, and then put to bed. After all that I get about two hours of free time where if I try to read or watch a movie I just pass out.

Before classes even start there are the usual days of meetings and other obligations in late summer that mostly just make me anxious. My birthday also happens to fall during this time of year. It is no longer a happy occasion, just a clear reminder of my aging.

To make it through this, like just about every time in my life, I need a good soundtrack. I have found over the years that The Kinks are perfect for this crummy time of year. Part of the reason might just be personal association. I bought The Kink Kronikles right after I moved from Chicago to Urbana in the late summer of 2000, living by myself and lost in a new place. I played it to nearly to death.

"Too Much On My Mind"

Anybody else out there get paralyzed by anxious thoughts? I do all the time, and this song describes the sensation better than any other I've heard. I recently saw it used perfectly in the Wim Wenders film The American Friend. The main character is sweeping up his frame shop as it comes on the radio. He sings along, trying to smile away his worries.

"Sunny Afternoon"

This song was a big hit in the UK, mostly because it examines the British obsession with social class in an inverted way. Working class Ray Davies imagines himself as a dissolute member of the gentry, living a life of pleasurable decadence. His life seems to be falling apart and the bills are coming due, which is a good metaphor for the end of summer.

"Lazy Old Sun"

The draggy sound of "Lazy Old Sun" is malaise personified.

"Tired of Waiting For You"

This is an earlier song from the band's more riff-rocking, British Invasion days. The last week of summer break I mostly spend thinking about the school year and just wanting to get it started so all the anxious anticipation will stop.

"Strangers"

I figured I should throw a Dave Davies song in here too. This one is more tender than his usual offerings, considering that he was the "rocker" in the band. It's got a languid organ underneath it, and for some reason the sound of an organ comforts me like no other instrument. There's a reason that Wes Anderson used this one in a movie.

"Don't Forget To Dance"

The Kinks broke out with killer riff rockers like "You Really Got Me," then settled into their stellar 1966-1972 run of albums that commented on postwar British society. After that they spent some years in the wilderness of bad concept albums, only to emerge as an arena rock band in the late 70s. They had one last big hit in America with the retro "Come Dancing" in 1983. (That was the song that introduced me to the band, and I loved it.) Apart from that the group limped along into the 90s, where it basically dissolved. Their late period does have some gems, and "Don't Forget To Dance" is my favorite. It's a song about resilience in facing up to life's inevitable letdowns and that's something I need right now.