Cliches Of The World (B movie). stereo mix, recorded probably Feb-Mar 1983 (or possibly sometime in 1982) at Konk Studios, Hornsey, London Sunset over the high-rise, By a motorway, A little man looks up at the sky. An uneventful end to a wasted day. Close-up on the man at the window, Looking at the street down below. It's obvious he's got things on his mind. He shakes his head, pulls down the blind. He start's writing a letter, To make it perfectly clear. He's just a man who's reached the end of his rope, Expressing his doubts and his fears. In a world, feels so lonely and afraid, Disillusioned by the promises they made, It's a pity that it ended up this way, Life is just a cliché. I'm gonna do tomorrow What I did yesterday. It's such a dull routine, Somebody cut this scene, It's such a boring cliché. Live life, day to day, Seems so passé. Everything you hear and say, Just another cliché. Like an actor on a movie screen, Living out someone else's dream. Living out a total misconception, Reality, a false perception. It's such a wasted life, Without any conclusion. Days drift into days, His life just slips away. People so blasé, Everything's a cliché. Yes it is. Yes it is. Just an illusion. Just an illusion. Moonlight over the high-rise, At the end of the day. The little man is asleep in his bed, Tucked up, safely away. In his dreams he's taken away by alien beings to another galaxy, deep in space. To a planet where a man can live out his fantasies, and experience unimaginable pleasures. But morning comes and soon the realities of life will shatter his illusions, and the clichés of the world will bring him down. But still he's waiting for a change. Days drift into days, His life just slips away. Everything is passé, Everything's a cliché. Yes it is. Yes it is. Just an illusion. Just an illusion. Yes it is. Yes it is. See the sunlight over the motorway, The little man, with anger in his eyes, Stands by the window, looks at the sky. Written by: Ray Davies Published by: Davray Music Ltd. This is actually a pretty good song and I have never paid it much mind. We open up, and it is sort of like we are observing the observer from Waterloo Sunset. We are watching a "little man" staring out of the window at the world going by, and he obviously has things on his mind. Then he sits down to write a letter ... to a partner? to a business?.... a suicide note? A man at the end of his rope sharing his doubts and fears.... Trapped in that dull routine that life can frequently present ... seen everything and done it twice, and everything feels like an act of boring repetition that makes existence seem like a cliche, even the reaction to it all... Ray even somewhat mocks his own upbeat Life Life ... great thoughts that end up just being cliched suggestions. In many ways this could tie into the idea of the yuppie consumerism I see in Young Conservatives... Once the realization that the things they are accumulating aren't healing their inner being, and the more they consume, the more they are trapped in the system, due to requiring more money to keep accumulating .... and it is an empty existence where we don't have contact with people anymore, because it's just too hard, and things present less problems. Moving through life playing the role that sometimes seems to be thrust upon us, rather than that one we dreamed of long ago ... back when we weren't so cynical.... back when innocence applied to us, it wasn't something that we observed and coveted... His life is drifting by him and he dreams at night of things that may be interesting to him, but when he awakes it is the same dull grind that presented itself the day before... We look back towards the man in the window and he is angrily staring at the sky... he knows he has been trapped in a matrix-like existence where he is merely existing and the ability to actually live a life that seems real.... is a mere thought, and not seeming like a real option. This is a dire, dark lyric, but personally it seems all too real. I'm guessing that many are going to be off put by shouty Ray, but I think particularly in the context of the way he uses it here is really the only way it can carry the message across correctly... Musically this is probably the most adventurous track on the album, and it seems weird to me that I didn't pay more attention to it back in the day. We open with a nice grinding drum beat and riff .. the whimsy of Waterloo Sunset doesn't really reside here. Ray's vocals here aren't going to probably appeal to everyone but the disenfranchised vocal delivery works perfectly. There's this feeling of complete removal from life, mixed with a anger and melancholy mix that perfectly portrays what the song represents. There is a guitar lead riff, that sounds very much like a melodic idea that Iron Maiden would use actually... which is interesting to me, as I had never really noticed that before. Just passed the middle we get a breakdown, and this is where Ray enters into the man's dreams. Ray speaks these lyrics and they again, for me at least, work perfectly. Then we launch back into the desperation that awaking to the day brings... This song to me is so very Kinks, but then again, so very not the Kinks... it is slightly odd, and it is very powerful if you connect with it. We end the song with the Little Man staring angrily at the sky, and the song drifts out on a power chord ... and it musically resolves, but lyrically doesn't and that works really well here
A really good song, the 3rd good song in a row. I don't like this version of shouty Ray, I find it forced and unconvincing, but I can live with it, for the sake of the song. To my knowledge, this is the first occurrence of Vibrato Ray, a very cliché vocal device that he choses to inaugurate precisely on the word "cliché". I think there is a little more vibrato on this album and the next, but I don't remember where.
Same as our headmaster, I’ve never paid attention to this track before (shouty Ray misconceptions etc.) and it strikes me now as an unbelievable oversight, as it’s clearly the centerpiece of the record, not its best song but its most expansive production and probably Ray’s most ambitious moment in years. We get a bit of everything Ray does so well : the old “unreal reality” theme, the cinematic writing, almost complete with changes of scenes, camera angles and shots list, the return of Ray’s many voices and tones, creating drama, distance, humor, dread and panic as on demand, an incredibly varied structure with different melodic sections holding together as if by miracle or perhaps thanks to Dave’s guitar riff/hook that I suspect was the main reason he thought he’d deserved a co-writing or co-producing credit on the LP. There’s a lot going on here and, to live up to its second title, the music at times works like a 70’s horror movie soundtrack (for instance when the guitar hook is played on the piano during a moment of calm) or something Rob Zombie could’ve used for his Halloween remakes or his unforgettable rock & roll horror western The Devil’s Rejects. Very impressive track, I must say, the longest on the LP and the obvious companion piece to the title song. I’m more of a whimsical Heart of Gold person myself but it’s hard to deny this one is the “hit or miss” piece that’s supposed to anchor the whole album and makes it a much more ambitious and complete work than I’d ever imagined. Even a mindless rock & roll throwaway like Bernadette makes sense as a sort of “encore”, coming after such an epic show-stopper.
"Cliches Of The World (B Movie)" is a pretty interesting song. There is a lot of craft in it as Ray seems to have created another mini-epic to illustrate the meaningless of modern life. The high-rise and motorway, to me, represent modernity and Ray tells a story of a man with a specific problem we never fully understand but we get the idea - the endless repetition and drudgery of modern life has turned this man's life into an empty exercise he can never enjoy. The whole B Movie idea is illustrated at the beginning of the song where the lyrics resemble a movie script ("Close-up on the man in the window"). The story is a little vague (I guess that is what makes it a B Movie) but it fits in with a common Kinks theme. Musically, once again I am surprised how much of the current sound the Kinks absorbed but, to me, it never totally takes over the music and there is still some kore Kinkiness (Dave's guitar). This is another song where the writing makes it interesting. Ray uses a variety of voices (shouty Ray primarily but we also get the second spoken monologue of the album) and the song has some variety in its structure making it another interesting song on the album.
Yes. The "visuals" column of a script. It's a gimmick (hence the subtitle) that some 2 decades after the fact They Might Be Giants more blatantly employed in the verses on this song :
Cliches of the World (B Movie) Ray’s put music to his screenplay, and much like Return to Waterloo, there’s no dialogue here, only a litany of stage directions. One can’t come to feel any empathy for the protagonist because Ray doesn’t provide any exposition. So he’s just an anonymous sad-sack in a condo. These are the notes I would give Ray, before I was frog-marched out of the studio. I do like Dave’s growling, animalistic guitar open and it’s tone throughout. There’s something churning low in the mix in places that I wish was more prominent. (most noticeable from 2:02 to 2:15) In the big picture, it’s a middle of the pack Kinks track at best, but it fits in well here. Though I must admit, I’m off to cleanse my palette with ‘I Am A Cliche’ by X-Ray Spex. ps. The way Ray (the narrator) intones unimaginable pleasures, in his little monologue, brings to mind Robyn Hitchcock’s rum voice on ‘Intro to One Long Pair of Eyes’, especially a line toward the end: the deeply needed nutrition from way below the ground. (really)
This one kind of sets an existential subject matter to a stylised cinematic lyric and a bordering on power metal musical accompaniment, which is to say it's a fairly unique triple threat, and not to be dismissed in the Kinks Kanon even if you don't care for it. Despite some misgivings about some of the presentation (those gang vocal Woahs go too far into barbarian/sports fan like massed dumbness for me) this a a good 'un by my reckoning. Obviously this is influenced in great part by the songs subtitle, but even without that I think I would still picture this story of song as a black and white second tier 50s film noir or sci fi paranoia movie : it conjures up that kind of one man or one small group against an untrustworthy and ultimately hostile outside world storyline/vibe a lot of that stuff has.. I'm no expert on that milieu, but I'm thinking of things like Invasion Of The Body Snatchers and Invaders From Mars where the protagonists everyday world curdles sickeningly into unreality as they search, ever thwarted for the actual truth until all is confirmed to be an inescapable recursive nightmare (literally in the case of Invaders From Mars, at least if you're not watching the British version) . That opening scene how it's described also puts me in mind of the paintings of Edward Hopper: 'Night Hawks' is his big one of course but esp something like 'Office In A Small City' from 1953 (see below).... the loneliness and alienation of these figures framed in buildings.. the man made small by the structures and systems he's created.. Gawd I'm danger of sounding a bit like Alan Partridge describing a picture of a babe with a motorcycle here ('it's got a very haunting quality.. man and machine..., I often wake up in the morning and think I'd like to kiss her!') but you get the idea.. The alien abduction middle bit of course taps into the 50s pop culture themes again (and may also be, outwith the likelihood that he contributed significantly musically to it, a reason why Dave named this track as a favourite) although, interestingly rather than the reason behind the encroaching horror as in most sci fi movies, it's offered here as the dream like respite from the daily misery. With the implication that some kind of extra terrestrial sexy times may be on the menu ('unimaginable pleasures' delivered in such a way you almost expect the 'cliched' woot woot on the guitar to follow) it also puts me in mind of the 1950s alien abduction and inter species intercourse story of Antonio Vilas-Boas, a tale that has haunted me ever since I read about it in my aunts book of extra-terrestrial encounters 30 odd years ago. Antônio Vilas-Boas - Wikipedia
Cliches of the World: I remember this being really hard when played live, much harder than on the album. That riff in the verses sounds so early 80s - makes me think of bands like the Iron City Houserockers, or "Hell is For Children" by Pat Benatar. Why am I thinking of the movie, Phantasm? The "alien beings" bit sounds absolutely silly now. I usually don't gravitate towards harder Kinks like this, but for some reason, this works.
First off, and I keep forgetting, this past Saturday (6/4) marked my 1st anniversary of being on this thread. It has been a great experience to discuss all things Kinks and beyond w/my fellow Avids. Thank you very much for everything and I'm in until the end, which I hope will be a long time to come. Anyhow, the song of the day is "Cliches of the World (B Movie)", which is somewhat unusual in that it's not as poppy as the previous several songs nor is it as rocking as other songs on the album. It sort of sticks out in this album, but not in a bad way. The lyrics describe a man who lives his life at a certain routine day after day. The only interruption is in his dreams, where he goes to an alien planet and has all his fantasies catered to him. I wonder if this is a subtle dig by Ray about Dave's beliefs. I basically consider this song a successful version of "It". Also props to Avid Pyrrhicvictory for his mention of Robyn Hitchcock. There's a Kinks song several albums from now which remind me of Mr. Hitchcock's work.
Cliches of the World (B-Movie): Hmm…thud thud thud, clever lyrics, a number of different parts to the song. Probably a good song to drive through a neon-lit city at 2 a.m. but not something I’m interested in outside of this study session.
Late 'Heart Of Gold' trivia: On one of the occasions I saw The Kinks in the mid '90s, they were supported by a young indie-ish band introduced as Pout. It later transpired that their singer was Victoria 'Tor' Davies. I sussed the family connection during their performance when their set included two Kinks songs and I couldn't imagine anyone other than an off-spring in a support band covering more than one song (if that!) by the main act. Anyway, one of them was 'Heart Of Gold', which may have been when the paternal influence hit me, as it seemed unlikely that this relatively obscure album track would have made its way into many indie kids' consciousness (well, apart from me, of course but when was I ever normal?!). They also covered one of the '60s Kinks songs but I cannot remember right now what it was...it was definitely a much more obvious choice of cover than 'Heart Of Gold' and if they had just played that then I probably would have just put it down to the Britpop movement being responsible for its presence in the set...if only I could remember what it was!! Okay, I'll let you get back to today now...
Cliches of the World (B Movie) The discussion so far is a fine example of the value of this thread. I've always struggled with this song, and here I'm reading praise from people whose opinions I greatly respect. My first difficulty comes in the first verse. There has been some discussion about people not liking synth pop 80s Kinks. Interestingly to me, while there is no prominent synth in the verse, it's the most 80s sounding Kinks yet. The style of Dave's guitar and especially Ray's stilted, almost Devo-ish vocal delivery make it sound like an 80s cliche to me. And while the tendency in some Kinks songs from the past hasn't put me off, this thing wanders all over the place musically (and ro some extent lyrically), and I lose a sense of coherence. The big thing (in total contrast to @Fortuleo hearing this as the album's centerpiece), to me, it just felt like like this song was out of place on this album. That said, I really appreciated commentary on the cinematic nature of the song. It took me back to Soap Opera and Preservation, albums which this thread helped me gain new appreciation for, which in turn has aided my appreciation of this song. This is easily the moodiest song on the album, and that gives it a certain power. I'm just not always in the mood for it.
I have no idea mate... I rarely paid attention to hosts of anything really... I vaguely remember the guy I think you're talking about
Clichés of the World: this was an interesting one for me, I’m sure my fellow avid‘s knowing that may heart resides on the side of the fence closer to heavy metal/hard rock, would assume that this one would be right in my wheelhouse. It is, but that didn’t happen without some effort. I would argue that despite the absence of a guitar solo (my least favorite aspect of the song) this might be one of the truly heaviest songs the band has done. They have had tighter, speedier metallic flavored songs before, but the riff and style of singing to me make this song a very heavy proposition. On the first few lessons over the past few weeks, I did not react to it favorably. Maybe even for me, a hard rock aficionado, there was a limit to just how hard and heavy the kinks SHOULD get. Fortunately, I’ve had this album on auto repeat for about six weeks now and, over time, without even realizing which song it was, I found myself singing along and rocking out. Nice that my subconscious is still able to overcome my overtly preconceived notions. That said, I still have criticisms. Mainly, the absence of a guitar solo and therefore the absence of Dave. I find it hard to believe that in an almost five minute song, Ray couldn’t set aside 15 or 20 seconds for Dave to have a little wankfest. No wonder Dave was MIA for the album. I think when I arrange these songs from Word of Mouth into an order reflecting favorite to least favorite, this song is probably going to come in at the top of the bottom third. I think this is a pretty solid album, mostly Bs and B+s. So a bottom third ranking isn’t really a strike against the song, just a statement as to the above average quality across-the-board of all the songs. As a final thought, I think Bernadette and this song should’ve been switched. This song would’ve made a great album closer, what with its cinematic scope and (As Fortuleo noted) its subtle lyrical ties back to the album opener. Needless to say, the inclusion of a little Dave shredding on the way out the door would’ve made this an even better album closer. I agree with others, Bernadette is not the right album closer here, but I do think it’s a fantastic song and I’m excited to talk about it (especially because Dave. …..well just because Dave!).
I'm still trying to figure out if Dave isn't on the album as broadly, because he was somewhat MIA, or if Dave was MIA because he wasn't being asked to do enough.... From reading things people have posted, articles and such, it seems like Dave was in a bad place or something, and so wasn't fully present..... but I certainly don't know that
Yea I remember him.... fashionably punkish, but it was hard to tell if it was an image or a reality... he seemed nice enough.... but who really knows.
Ray offered them ‘Yours Truly, Confused N10’ (a superb late-Ray song, wait till we get to it) to record and she turned him down!
Clichés of the World Another great track - perhaps a little more shouty than would be ideal, but I love the way it builds through Ray using a variety of voices. Niche reference here - the way that Ray intones the "but morning comes and soon the realities of life will shatter his illusions" line brings to mind Simon Huw Jones from And Also The Trees. Ultimately it could be said that this is another Predictable/Do It Again/Repetition type lyric, but I love the visual aspect to the lyrics and I get some specific images in my head when hearing the bits about the high-rise next to the motorway. It doesn't feel entirely like a closer to me, but it does set up "Bernadette" to finish the album on a lighter mood.
Pout, Tor Davies’ Britpop era band. There seems to be no trace of them online other than a few of mentions in Ray focussed articles of the time. I see reading same that there were promises of an EP and album but nothing seems to have been released ultimately. Tbh I can kind of see why they may have rejected ‘Yours Truly’: as its full title suggests, it’s framed as a letter of complaint regarding declining standards in the UK seen from a somewhat reactionary and middle aged POV: I just can’t hear it fitting a younger Hole/Elastica esque 90s female fronted act, which from the available evidence is what Pout seemed to have been.
