Thanks for the reminder! Yeah, what a band. So complex and also so simple and poppy. I should listen to more Kinks, no doubt about it.

I always wonder when I listen to the Kinks if their Englishness translates. For example, do you guys understand what 'the local Palais' is (was)?

Speaking for myself...a good Canadian fella, I never really GOT some of the phrasing, but I'd try to find out what some stuff meant. And, to be frank, I've loved the English turn of phrase...I had to do tons of reading and extrapolating as a young Clash Fan and a young fan of The Jam. Same goes for The Kinks.

do you guys understand what 'the local Palais' is (was)?

I wasn't quite sure what exactly a "palais" was (and, of course, to me it sounded like he was saying "pally") at the time, but I definitely got that it was some sort of dance hall.

Overall I always found the British-isms in music like the Kinks, the Jam, etc. not to be off-putting at all -- maybe because I'd spent a year in London as a kid, then we went back for a summer a few years later (which was exactly when I started getting into British music!). So a lot of the lyrics and references had a lovely, dreamy quality of being slightly foreign, yet slightly familiar at the same time.

And yes, what Scody said, about the dreamy quality etc. I am of somewhat English descent, so lots of the phrases weren't completely foreign. And, to some extent, Ontario is still pretty English, at least as Canada goes.

As for Palais, I also heard it as Pally, but I was pretty sure it was a live music venue, just like Joe sang about in White Man in Hammersmith Palais!

I love the Kinks so very much. Thanks, scody!

/high fives scody

Yes, he'd say it as 'pally'. The Palais was the local dance hall (named, pretentiously, after the French Palais de Danse). There were 'Pallys' all over the country, and they had their heydey between th 1920s and late 50s. I would guess Ray Davies was singing about the Hammersmith Palais (the same one immortalised by The Clash), and there was one at Ilford too, which I went to a few times in the 1970s (when it was a 'disco').

As well as the Palais, there were Locarno Dance Halls (I went to my first ever Saturday morning disco in the Locarno in Derby when I was 11. It's a Chinese restaurant now) and Mecca Ballrooms, most of which are now Bingo halls.

Oh, also the title of the song, 'Come Dancing' is a reference to this.

just like Joe sang about in White Man in Hammersmith Palais

Oh yeah, that's right! I would have been familiar with the Clash song by the time "Come Dancing" came out, so I must have put 2 and 2 together...

One of the British references I particularly loved and was -- if I may say so -- very chuffed to get was in the Jam's "In the Crowd" when he mentions "pots of Walls ice cream"... the first time I heard that song, it triggered a very intense memory of getting Walls ice cream at a van outside the Science Museum in London after a school trip, and being amazed how much more buttery and rich it tasted compared to vanilla ice cream in the states. Ah... having flashes of longing for London when we came back to the states was probably my first conscious experience of nostalgia.

On preview:

the title of the song, 'Come Dancing' is a reference to this

Ooh, that I didn't know!

Thanks! MTV in 1983 is full of memories.

For example, do you guys understand what 'the local Palais' is (was)?

I'm old enough to remember when the song first hit, and while the exact meaning was unknown, I just thought it was an abbreviation or slang of "Palace", and since there are/were "Palace" this and that here, including ballrooms, we got the gist.

I've always loved the song, and can't quite help bopping my head around if I hear it in the car. They are a great band, after all these are the same guys who helped invent distortion by slitting amplifier cones with razor blades.

I've always loved that song, too. Thanks so much for the link. And thanks for the extra info, essexjan! I'd figured that "the local Pally" was a dance hall, but thanks for the "Come Dancing" link; I didn't know that!

In my 12-year old mind I thought he said 'Pally' and that it was short for 'Palladium' because I had heard radio ads for such a place on New York radio stations 9and equated that with 'dance hall' based on the video. I was a strange kid. I kind of liked Come Dancing but I liked this song from the same album better.

I think the Kinks would've been more popular if their '60s production hadn't sucked so bad. Their early stuff sounds like it was recorded inside a coffee can. (Also, they weren't able to tour in the United States from 1965 to 1969 due to a dispute with the American Federation of Musicians.)

I like "Do It Again" and "Lost and Found" (but I get the feeling Dave Davies hates this poncy shit and just wants to rock out).

oh holy cow, I'd completely forgotten about that video, Jon! Nice.

Thanks! MTV in 1983 is full of memories.

Yes. I kind of grieve for what it has become. For instance, the video for Pink Floyd's Learning to Fly clearly told a story, but the video fleshed it out a bit with a Native American legend. Then... when I went to see them in concert they played a the song to a whole different video on a big screen that was based on a WWII bombing raid.

And just about every Talking Heads video just made me feel like the biggest stoner evar.... Whooooaaa.... Duuuuude!

Very few artists do that kind of thing anymore and on MTV just playing music videos seems to be the exception not the rule.

Feist is still doing some great videos though.

on MTV just playing music videos seems to be the exception not the rule

I was recently discussing (with whom I can't remember) why this might be the case.

Theory: back in the olden days of the 1980s, viewers were willing to sit through video after video, without a specific end point. This was for two reasons: first, and more broadly, videos themselves were (generally) novelty enough; second, and more specifically, viewers were willing to gamble on a certain amount of deferred gratification -- e.g., I was willing to sit through Twisted Sister (up to a point), because I might eventually get to see David Bowie. (After all, if I wanted to see David Bowie, there was pretty much no other option.)

Gradually, this shifted into a more "segregated" style of video programming. Especially as videos themselves were no longer the ooh-aah novelty they once were, viewers became less inclined to bide their time enduring videos they disliked in order to see videos they liked. Hence MTV and Vh1 implementing genre shows, which meant I could tune into 120 Minutes to see "my" music, while someone else could tune into Headbangers Ball and see "their" music.

But now technology has rendered video TV shows nearly obsolete, since we can access literally countless videos on demand. No one's going to tune into MTV now and wait an hour to see if they might see Duffy when they can go straight to youtube or itunes and see her in an instant.

Anyway, those kids should get off my lawn.

I was willing to sit through Twisted Sister (up to a point), because I might eventually get to see David Bowie.

I liked both.

I could tune into 120 Minutes to see "my" music, while someone else could tune into Headbangers Ball and see "their" music.

I considered both 'mine.' Am I crazy or something?

No, I'm crazy for not having added a footnote that said "of course, jonmc liked both." :)

Good song, good band. Come Dancing is one of my favorites. I haven't heard it in a while. Thanks, scody.

I'm a huge Kinks fan. When I was in high school they were touring annually, and I remember braving a snow storm in 1981 to see them at the Capital Centre. The place held about 12-14k people, but only about 3k showed. Made for a much more intimate evening. I recently transfered Low Budget from vinyl to CD, and have most of their stuff on vinyl still.

Thanks scody!