the kinks - lola

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alright laugh if you wanna laugh but i just heard this for the first time last night. so fucking great, defying expectation after expectation after expectation. first chords hit all foreboding and menacing but seconds later we get a half-drunk romantic letting his infatuations name dribble off his tongue, and then:

Well I'm not the world's most physical guy
But when she sqeezed me tight she nearly broke my spine
Oh my Lola la-la-la-la Lola
Well I'm not dumb but I can't understand
Why she walked like a woman but talked like a man

later boy reveals desperation & extreme naivety (i left home just a week ago/and i never ever kissed a woman before) while lola outs her/himself as a creep (referring to narrator as 'little boy' & implying that she only desires him for sex), but at the close, with an unmistakably triumphant tone:

Well Im not the worlds most masculine man
But I know what I am and Im glad Im a man
And so is lola
Lo-lo-lo-lo lola lo-lo-lo-lo lola
Lola lo-lo-lo-lo lola lo-lo-lo-lo lola

also it sounds really good.

classic all the way, yes?

― deeznuts, Monday, 23 April 2007 20:05 (eighteen years ago)

"But I know what I am and I'm glad I'm a man...
And so is Lola"

So, is Lola:

also glad he's a man?

-or-

also a man?

and where you been for the last 27 years?

― henry s, Monday, 23 April 2007 20:09 (eighteen years ago)

or are you a young-un?

― henry s, Monday, 23 April 2007 20:10 (eighteen years ago)

this song is great, and it got me into the Kinks, but I realized that it's definitely an anomaly in their catalogue. While it does have the wit and cleverness that many other songs have, I can't think of much else that sounds like it, even on the same album.

― Richard Wood Johnson, Monday, 23 April 2007 20:11 (eighteen years ago)

henry s are you an english major?

― deeznuts, Monday, 23 April 2007 20:13 (eighteen years ago)

ok henry i misread you there & im apologize, esp if you are in fact an english major. youve got a valid point re the redundancy.

and if you think young = not having been alive past 27 years, then yes, if not, no.

― deeznuts, Monday, 23 April 2007 20:23 (eighteen years ago)

when this song came out -- 37 years ago -- that sexually ambiguous double-entendre was a big deal, this was before glam rock & gay lib.

― m coleman, Monday, 23 April 2007 20:28 (eighteen years ago)

Raincoats' cover is ace.

― sexyDancer, Monday, 23 April 2007 20:29 (eighteen years ago)

37 years ago?!!

(spits out coffee in comical fashion)

now I feel old...

The Kinks kinda sullied the "Lola" legacy by "returning" to trannie territory (sans vagueness) with "Out Of The Wardrobe", from the Misfits LP...

― henry s, Monday, 23 April 2007 21:07 (eighteen years ago)

whabout that "fuck like ape man" song?

― sexyDancer, Monday, 23 April 2007 21:54 (eighteen years ago)

The Kinks "LOL" more like! HAR HAR!!!!

― nickalicious, Monday, 23 April 2007 21:57 (eighteen years ago)

the ambiguity of the "and so is lola" line that henry points out has been a matter of debate and amusement since roughly 30 seconds after the song was originally released. no english-professor training needed there.

the kinks have played on the ambiguity of their own sexuality from the start; it's central to everything they do. "lola" is one of the more obvious expressions of it. "lola" is also a really annoying, extended, "crowd-pleasing" staple of their live show.

― fact checking cuz, Monday, 23 April 2007 22:09 (eighteen years ago)

ha well i will openly admit to knowing nothing of the kinks other than 'you really got me'. also i would never see the kinks (who must be 70 years old by now) live.

anyway yeah i shouldve caught onto the ambiguity, perhaps instantly, but when writing this thread i fist looked at a crib sheet that throws it away http://www.lyricsdomain.com/11/kinks/lola.html excuses excuses anyway i dont doubt that this is old hat but that kind of argument nevertheless carries as much weight as those who say 'it would be classic if the radio didnt play it so much', ie, none.

― deeznuts, Monday, 23 April 2007 22:16 (eighteen years ago)

Yeah, but Misfits has got 'Misfits' and Rock and Roll Fantasy on it!

Yeah Lola is great. This Time Tomorrow is better.

― Keith, Monday, 23 April 2007 22:19 (eighteen years ago)

anyway, deeznuts, "lola" was both an end and a beginning for the kinks. an end to what's generally considered their greatest burst of creativity, from the mid- to late-'60s, when unfortunately no one but no one was actually buying their records, and a beginning to their rediscovery, when they started releasing singles that actually worked on rock radio and touring the U.S. again, which they were legally barred from doing in the late '60s. "lola" begins their arena-rock era, so to speak. i like lots of OTHER bands in their arena-rock glory, but not so much the kinks for a variety of reasons.

― fact checking cuz, Monday, 23 April 2007 22:26 (eighteen years ago)

I recently rented a Kinks concert DVD from around 1973 or so. The incessant mugging during the performances was really surprising and cringe-inducing - I didn't expect so much "put your hands in the air" nonsense from The Kinks. Does any live footage of the band exist from the late sixties period? It be great to see them in between the Hullabaloo and arena rock phase.

― darin, Monday, 23 April 2007 23:06 (eighteen years ago)

ray davies is indeed an incessant mugger. a corny fucker. that's just who he is. there is, however, an utterly fantastic 1973 bbc concert available on dvd, with really sweet performances of their primo stuff. here's "village green preservation society," with horns, and with no mugging:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6ROIbhD4Ls

― fact checking cuz, Tuesday, 24 April 2007 01:09 (eighteen years ago)

and here's "victoria," with a little bit of mugging:

[url][Removed Illegal Link]

― fact checking cuz, Tuesday, 24 April 2007 01:14 (eighteen years ago)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=347DkPdwDKc

― fact checking cuz, Tuesday, 24 April 2007 01:15 (eighteen years ago)

its a performers job to mug!!

― deeznuts, Tuesday, 24 April 2007 01:16 (eighteen years ago)

when this song came out -- 37 years ago -- that sexually ambiguous double-entendre was a big deal, this was before glam rock & gay lib.

glam and gay lib were just starting to get noticed around the time of "lola"'s release. rca-victor assumed based solely on "lola" that the kinks would be some huge glam dealy. their next album -- their first for rca -- was rustic and countryish, as far from glam as seemed possible.

― Lawrence the Looter, Tuesday, 24 April 2007 01:50 (eighteen years ago)

but the one after THAT was plenty glam. it had "supersonic rocket ship"! and a hit that name-dropped greta garbo and bette davis and marilyn monroe!

― fact checking cuz, Tuesday, 24 April 2007 01:56 (eighteen years ago)

― Bimble, Tuesday, 24 April 2007 02:26 (eighteen years ago)

Also I am amazed because this morning I heard "Harry Rag" in my head for no reason at all.

There's this new band from Scotland called the View and I think they sound a bit like 60's Kinks in a good way and I was thinking how it helps that the singer's voice sounds not unlike Dave Davies. So all these things were contributing to having the Kinks in my consciousness.

― Bimble, Tuesday, 24 April 2007 02:31 (eighteen years ago)

Anyway I'm just trying to say I'm happy someone stood up for late 60's Kinks.

― Bimble, Tuesday, 24 April 2007 02:32 (eighteen years ago)

Anyway I'm just trying to say I'm happy someone stood up for late 60's Kinks.

For your next act will you defend sex or late night walks on the beach with the person you love?

― Cunga, Tuesday, 24 April 2007 06:41 (eighteen years ago)

Raincoats - "Lola" > Kinks - "Lola"

> Weird Al - "Yoda"

― Whiney G. Weingarten, Tuesday, 24 April 2007 07:44 (eighteen years ago)

Well, I've been around but I ain't never seen
A guy who looks like a muppet
But he's wrinkled and green
Oh my Yoda, Yo-Yo-Yo-Yo Yoda
Well, I'm not dumb but I can't understand
How he can lift me in the air
Just by raisin' his hand
Oh my Yoda, Yo-Yo-Yo-Yo Yoda, Yo-Yo-Yo-Yo Yoda

― Geir Hongro, Tuesday, 24 April 2007 08:34 (eighteen years ago)

Late 60s Kinks was great (I mean, "Village Green Preservation Society", "Arthur" - both great!).

Early 70s Kinks left a little to be desired though.

― Geir Hongro, Tuesday, 24 April 2007 08:35 (eighteen years ago)

Now I always assumed this was an early-mid 60s track, but no it's an early 70s ish track innit?

― the next grozart, Tuesday, 24 April 2007 09:39 (eighteen years ago)

1970

― Tom D., Tuesday, 24 April 2007 09:40 (eighteen years ago)

glam and gay lib were just starting to get noticed around the time of "lola"'s release. rca-victor assumed based solely on "lola" that the kinks would be some huge glam dealy

Hmmmmmm, gay lib maybe but as for glam, "Lola" was a hit in July 1970, three months before the first T. Rex hit

― Tom D., Tuesday, 24 April 2007 09:43 (eighteen years ago)

yeah that was point -- when Lola hit Bowie had yet to release The Man Who Sold The World. and the Stonewall Riot -- widely seen as the birth of gay lib in the states -- was 1969 but hadn't wielded much impact yet on the national scene, americans didn't have that trannie tradition.

it's impossible to hear it this way now, but "Lola" was a novelty hit due to the cross-dressing content.

― m coleman, Tuesday, 24 April 2007 10:11 (eighteen years ago)

Plus it had the coca cola/ cherry cola controversy! And then they followed that single up with one where they said "fuck" and got away with it!

― Tom D., Tuesday, 24 April 2007 10:14 (eighteen years ago)

these days you'd get sued for mentioning a brand name in song :-(

― m coleman, Tuesday, 24 April 2007 10:19 (eighteen years ago)

Unless you mention MTV. Then they put you on heavy rotation.

― Geir Hongro, Tuesday, 24 April 2007 11:52 (eighteen years ago)

Plus it had the coca cola/ cherry cola controversy!

I have both versions knocking around somewhere. What is the definitive Lola Cola?

― onimo, Tuesday, 24 April 2007 12:06 (eighteen years ago)

I thought it was changed to cherry cola because the BBC wouldn't play the coca cola version?

― Tom D., Tuesday, 24 April 2007 12:10 (eighteen years ago)

Probably. Was never changed on the album version.

― Geir Hongro, Tuesday, 24 April 2007 18:38 (eighteen years ago)

it's impossible to hear it this way now, but "Lola" was a novelty hit due to the cross-dressing content.

-- m coleman, Tuesday, April 24, 2007 5:11 AM (8 hours ago)

disagree on both points, i think its unfair to call it a 'novelty hit' & i actually did hear it that way, listening to dull old fart oldies stations occasionally has its advantages

― deeznuts, Tuesday, 24 April 2007 18:40 (eighteen years ago)

no mention of the Kinks' other "sexually ambiguous" songs?
There are more than a few. Plus isn't there some jokey allusion to the Kinks' gay-leaning members in the liner notes to "Face to Face"?

― Shakey Mo Collier, Tuesday, 24 April 2007 20:53 (eighteen years ago)

"i'm not like everybody else," they sing, and quite possibly they also sing, "i don't want to go to bed like everybody else," though their enunciation of the latter leaves something to be desired. they claim their song "two sisters" is about the two brothers who lead the band. the popular, athletic schoolboy of whom they are so jealous in their awesome "david watts," is "so gay and fancy free." their name is "the kinks," for fucks sake. ray davies boasts in his autobiography that everyone in the original band except drummer mick avory was a queen. but it's an "unauthorized" autobiography, no facts guaranteed. so make it all what you will. as i said upthread, the ambiguity of it all is part of their DNA, part of the pleasure, part of the greatness.

― fact checking cuz, Tuesday, 24 April 2007 21:02 (eighteen years ago)

(is that what you're looking for, shakey?)

― fact checking cuz, Tuesday, 24 April 2007 21:02 (eighteen years ago)

YES!

― Shakey Mo Collier, Tuesday, 24 April 2007 21:03 (eighteen years ago)

honestly I've been on something of a Kinks bender lately

― Shakey Mo Collier, Tuesday, 24 April 2007 21:04 (eighteen years ago)

ha i had no idea about any of this

― deeznuts, Tuesday, 24 April 2007 21:51 (eighteen years ago)

my memory fails me here: which is the Kinks song with the line "hey are you gay, won't you come out and play, and like a fool I went and said OK"?...was it even a Kinks song?...am I losing it?

― henry s, Tuesday, 24 April 2007 21:58 (eighteen years ago)

I remembered!

it's "Life On The Road", from the Sleepwalker LP...

― henry s, Tuesday, 24 April 2007 22:02 (eighteen years ago)

one year passes...

so i heard this on the radio the other day as part of a song contest & they played the 'coca-cola' version, was i right to be somewhat giddy about that? or is that in fact totally common?

― deeznuts, Tuesday, 10 June 2008 15:52 (seventeen years ago)

I'm not sure.

I think "Cherry Cola" is a better line anyway.

― Mark G, Tuesday, 10 June 2008 16:18 (seventeen years ago)

?? you gotta be kidding me

co-ca co-la, l-o-l-a lola

cherry cola is really awkward by comparison

― deeznuts, Tuesday, 10 June 2008 16:24 (seventeen years ago)

no.

― kenan, Tuesday, 10 June 2008 16:43 (seventeen years ago)

makes more sense in context...

Coca Cola is more a definite recogniseable taste.

Cherry Cola, you could convince yourself it's just a very fruity champagne, maybe.

― Mark G, Tuesday, 10 June 2008 16:44 (seventeen years ago)

LOLA POLL-A

― Mr. Que, Tuesday, 10 June 2008 16:45 (seventeen years ago)

You'd have to be pretty drunk to think that either Coca Cola or cherry cola tasted like champagne. Or used to pretty bad champagne.

I know people say that this song is ambiguous, but I don't hear the ambiguity. You'd really have to twist the lyrics to get them to not mean that Lola's a man. I can sort of understand how people could read some is-he-or-isn't-he? into it and maybe it was written with those readings in mind, but the plot seems pretty clear and the song doesn't make as much sense to me otherwise. It's just that the narrator is being a bit dense, first in realizing that Lola's a man in drag, then in realizing that he's OK with that.

― dad a, Tuesday, 10 June 2008 16:50 (seventeen years ago)

Lola is both:

1. a man

2. glad the narrator is a man

everybody wins!

― sleeve, Tuesday, 10 June 2008 16:52 (seventeen years ago)

That works.

― dad a, Tuesday, 10 June 2008 17:00 (seventeen years ago)

twelve years pass...

Fifty years of Lola! Such a goddamn perfect pop song.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/01/arts/music/kinks-lola-ray-davies.html

― Lily Dale, Tuesday, 1 December 2020 23:37 (five years ago)

lol(a)

The band’s break from touring the U.S. gave Davies the chance to soar creatively, leading to his first concept albums, “The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society” and “Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire).” But with “Lola” he aimed squarely at the charts. For a fresh sound, Davies sought an instrument that would stand out on the radio. He found it in a National resonator guitar, a brand of dobro that has the hard, tinny sound of a banjo. “My dad was a banjo player,” Davies said. “He said, ‘If you want a hit record, you have to get a banjo on it.’ The National guitar was the next best thing.”

― la table sur la table (voodoo chili), Wednesday, 2 December 2020 00:01 (five years ago)

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