The Kinks’ Ray Davies, who made a name for himself by telling expressive yet succinct stories detailing the trifling minutiae of life in quaint English villages, wonders aloud what many young men do at a certain point in their lives in his composition “What’s in store for me.”
There comes a time in many a fellow’s days when he reaches a quarter-life crisis; which I imagine is a more mild version of a full-blown mid-life crisis. Unsure of what his future may hold in the realm of women, careers and general being, he begins questioning his life decisions thus far and ultimately, his place and role in society. Davies wrote this when he was in his early twenties and his lyrics speak of the uncertainty and yearning for answers common to many guys his age. “I wanna know what is to be/to see what life’s cut out for me.” Even though he’s thinking deeply about his future and what might happen, Davies is ambivalent enough to resign himself to the fact that he’ll “just have to wait and see.” He wants to hold onto his youth, but like me and countless others, he recognizes that youth is fleeting when he sings “I’ll just get old before my time.” I could relate to this song when I first heard it at nineteen. I’m twenty-six now and I can relate to it even more.
The tune itself is impatient, built on a foundation of choppy, staccato riffs played way down the neck with heavy distortion. It doesn’t feel like a sad song, maybe a little pensive, but still light-hearted. I like the solo; it’s short and sugar sweet and, like many other tasty Kinks concoctions, its effortless simplicity and perfectly poppy purity please my aural palette.
The Kinks were so underrated and though they enjoyed a successful career, they were nonetheless overshadowed by all the other big British bands. But like the Beatles, WHO, Stones and Zeppelin, the Kinks have stood the test of time and their music is just as relevant now as it was then. For reference, check out anything from 1965-1968, the span I like to call the period where they could do no wrong.
There comes a time in many a fellow’s days when he reaches a quarter-life crisis; which I imagine is a more mild version of a full-blown mid-life crisis. Unsure of what his future may hold in the realm of women, careers and general being, he begins questioning his life decisions thus far and ultimately, his place and role in society. Davies wrote this when he was in his early twenties and his lyrics speak of the uncertainty and yearning for answers common to many guys his age. “I wanna know what is to be/to see what life’s cut out for me.” Even though he’s thinking deeply about his future and what might happen, Davies is ambivalent enough to resign himself to the fact that he’ll “just have to wait and see.” He wants to hold onto his youth, but like me and countless others, he recognizes that youth is fleeting when he sings “I’ll just get old before my time.” I could relate to this song when I first heard it at nineteen. I’m twenty-six now and I can relate to it even more.
The tune itself is impatient, built on a foundation of choppy, staccato riffs played way down the neck with heavy distortion. It doesn’t feel like a sad song, maybe a little pensive, but still light-hearted. I like the solo; it’s short and sugar sweet and, like many other tasty Kinks concoctions, its effortless simplicity and perfectly poppy purity please my aural palette.
The Kinks were so underrated and though they enjoyed a successful career, they were nonetheless overshadowed by all the other big British bands. But like the Beatles, WHO, Stones and Zeppelin, the Kinks have stood the test of time and their music is just as relevant now as it was then. For reference, check out anything from 1965-1968, the span I like to call the period where they could do no wrong.
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