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Post by sleepwalker24 on Aug 13, 2012 12:04:01 GMT -5
I agree, Bill was great! Performng at such a prestigious event must have been nerve-wracking - I'm glad Bill was there to support Ray I was at the supermarket today and I spent ages looking through each and every newspaper for pictures or mentions of Ray - I was pretty disappointed. I came away with two papers that had small pics and mentions of him - poor Ray, he never seems to get the credit he deserves I was pretty annoyed at something my brother told me today. He heard Ray mentioned on the radio and they said that it looked like Ray had been 'dug up' to do that performance I keep reading comments in recent articles/interviews where the reporters keep mentioning him looking old, or having thinning hair, or wearing scruffy clothes, that UPS jacket etc - what is the big deal? I mean, he's nearly 70 and I happen to think he looks pretty good for his age! Besides, plenty of people just want ti hear him sing, or read what he has to say, without really caring what he looks like. Actually, my mum gave me an article recently with a picture of Ray and said she thought he looked real nice in the pic, and not his age at all. It really is disgusting that NBC cut him out of the performance especially in light of some of the over-the-top tripe you had to sit through, waiting to see him. I agree Holly, no live performances should have been cut from the US broadcasts. Here's another link about the whole NBC outrage - ultimateclassicrock.com/who-bumped-from-olympics/
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Post by uncleson on Aug 13, 2012 14:15:09 GMT -5
Did NBC cut out Ray's performance in New York? Here in Chicago as well and all over the nation!
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Bub
Dreamer
Head Gardener
Posts: 542
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Post by Bub on Aug 13, 2012 21:42:52 GMT -5
... I was pretty annoyed at something my brother told me today. He heard Ray mentioned on the radio and they said that it looked like Ray had been 'dug up' to do that performance I keep reading comments in recent articles/interviews where the reporters keep mentioning him looking old, or having thinning hair, or wearing scruffy clothes, that UPS jacket etc - what is the big deal? I mean, he's nearly 70 and I happen to think he looks pretty good for his age! Besides, plenty of people just want ti hear him sing, or read what he has to say, without really caring what he looks like. Actually, my mum gave me an article recently with a picture of Ray and said she thought he looked real nice in the pic, and not his age at all. Isn't that sad and maddening! We live in such a youth-oriented society that it seems that if you're over 40, you should be put out to pasture. The past few years I seem to be noticing more and more age discrimination and ageist comments in the media and in daily life. Not sure if it's always been that way or I'm just really noticing it now that I'm "older". And what is so wrong with growing old? It also seems like so many folks can't accept the natural process of aging. Of course some people age more "gracefully" than others, but honestly no matter how well you take care of yourself, skin will sag, hair will grey, fitness will decrease. That's just the way it is. Perhaps those folks who make derogatory comments are afraid of what is inevitably ahead of them. And when society does value youth and beauty above all else, perhaps they have reason to fear. BTW, I think Ray looks fine...even if he dressed like the Gert Johnnys he would still have my respect and admiration! ;D (Though I would prefer he get away from the hair dye )
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Post by sleepwalker24 on Aug 14, 2012 4:25:20 GMT -5
Well said Bub! I could be accused of being a hypocrite though... I really don't want to get 'old', it bothers me sometimes that I'm not especially mature for my age, in an emotional sense. Of course I'm only 26 but I still feel like I'm about 16 much of the time! However, how old other people are doesn't bother me at all, I have friends who are in their 60s who are great fun and very young at heart. I agree that we live in a pretty youth-orientated society though, especially when it comes to the media and TV. I hate to say this but it had crossed my mind that one of the reasons Ray's performance was cut from NBC's broadcast was because he one of the older performers. My youngest brother likes to poke fun at me when I go see Ray's shows, he's said before 'Oh, you've been to see that old man again.'' I don't go see Ray perform because of the way he looks, and besides, some of his performances are so energetic that it's easy to forget he's nearing 70. In some ways I envy him, he might be more then twice my age but he sure seems to have more drive and motivation then I do! And yes, he does look fine Bub, but as you say, we'd still admire him no matter how he looked! I don't mind the hair dye... it's not as if he's trying overly hard to look younger then he is, it's not like he's gone down the plastic surgery route or anything. I know people 20 years younger then him who colour their hair to hide the grey!!
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Post by jaypippin89 on Aug 14, 2012 11:33:40 GMT -5
The performance was awesome. I had to search for it on the interwebs because they did not show it in the states . Plus Bill Shanley had an ear to ear smile that was priceless.
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Post by uncleson on Aug 14, 2012 12:59:28 GMT -5
... I was pretty annoyed at something my brother told me today. He heard Ray mentioned on the radio and they said that it looked like Ray had been 'dug up' to do that performance I keep reading comments in recent articles/interviews where the reporters keep mentioning him looking old, or having thinning hair, or wearing scruffy clothes, that UPS jacket etc - what is the big deal? I mean, he's nearly 70 and I happen to think he looks pretty good for his age! Besides, plenty of people just want ti hear him sing, or read what he has to say, without really caring what he looks like. Actually, my mum gave me an article recently with a picture of Ray and said she thought he looked real nice in the pic, and not his age at all. Isn't that sad and maddening! We live in such a youth-oriented society that it seems that if you're over 40, you should be put out to pasture. The past few years I seem to be noticing more and more age discrimination and ageist comments in the media and in daily life. Not sure if it's always been that way or I'm just really noticing it now that I'm "older". And what is so wrong with growing old? It also seems like so many folks can't accept the natural process of aging. Of course some people age more "gracefully" than others, but honestly no matter how well you take care of yourself, skin will sag, hair will grey, fitness will decrease. That's just the way it is. Perhaps those folks who make derogatory comments are afraid of what is inevitably ahead of them. And when society does value youth and beauty above all else, perhaps they have reason to fear. BTW, I think Ray looks fine...even if he dressed like the Gert Johnnys he would still have my respect and admiration! ;D (Though I would prefer he get away from the hair dye ) Well said Bub!!
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Post by bamajohn1 on Aug 14, 2012 13:36:33 GMT -5
I agree with Bub and Sleepy about the lack of respect and reverance for older people and their accumalated wisdom in favor of the often shallow and superficial things that can be the focus when the eyes and mind only fixate on the desires and good time friends of the moment! One of the reasons the Johnny Cash video 'Hurt' was so powerful is that it went against the grain; shattering the fixation on good times and youth in pop culture and exposing a dying legend with his heart and soul open bare; frail and with warts exposed and not shaded from view by makeup! I think it made us think of our future and how we would look back on our life one day as Johnny was and hopefully inspired us younger folks to appreciate what we had right here and now and live every day to the fullest! Although I think an executive decision might have been made partially on the idea that Ray was 'old and has been', there was also another slight of the night that was not for that reason! The author of the Olympic theme, Muse, was not shown either! Muse has been around for a little while but they have become pretty big in the alternative rock field in recent years as evidenced by MTV play and hits on the Modern Rock charts. If Muse did perform the Olympic theme ?, how could that have been excluded from NBC coverage!? Tim alerted me that there is an article about this slight on yahoo and it is gaining a lot of attention too ! It appears to me that the 2 most important performances of the night were excised from American tv screens! An additional thought is that the NBC execs might have had no clue about the importance of Ray Davies in music history l!
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Post by sleepwalker24 on Aug 14, 2012 14:51:49 GMT -5
A well written post from you here John! Yeah, it's really sad that our society seems to lack respect for the older generation. I was looking in the papers again today and saw a reference to the 'geriatric Ray Davies'... I'm pretty sure that most people who use that term do so in a derogatory manner And you're probably right, the people at NBC perhaps didn't know how important Ray is in regards to musical history. I mean, Waterloo Sunset has got to be the most beautiful song ever written about London, and considering that's where the Olympics were held it seems very disrespectful to cut it I wonder how Ray feels about the way his US fans have reacted? Hopefully he's touched to know how much you all think of him. I'm afraid I can't tell you what Muse performed John, as I didn't watch the whole closing ceremony.
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Post by sleepwalker24 on Aug 14, 2012 15:13:18 GMT -5
The performance was awesome. I had to search for it on the interwebs because they did not show it in the states . Plus Bill Shanley had an ear to ear smile that was priceless. I'm glad that videos of the performance were made available pretty quickly Jay, so that those of you outside the UK could watch it, of course it's not the same as seeing it on TV Yeah, Bill did look really happy It's nice that he was there to support Ray. Even though he's a great performer and has done it hundereds and hundreds of times, he must have been aware how enourmous the crowd was and the fact that the show was being broadcast live - that's more then enough pressure for any performer!! This is one of my fave pics of Ray at the Olympics so far - (I'm glad the photographers name is on the photo as I downloaded this yesterday and I forgot where from - they deserve credit for taking it, it's a great shot!)
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Post by chris on Aug 14, 2012 15:29:00 GMT -5
I thought Ray and Bill did a great job. I watched it in my local pub, and like (I suspect) most Kinks fans, I felt a huge swell of pride from the reaction of people in the pub from Ray's performance - it went down very well in South London!
Thanks in part to Dave Emlens site, I found these two clips of the rehearsals (one with Ray and one without). It's easy to be dismissive of anything that's non-Kinks related but it goes to show just how much effort was put into the performance, even if it wasn't appreciated by all
Here's the one with Ray (courtesy of Dave Emlen)
And here's the one sans Ray
I like how A Day In The Life segues into Waterloo Sunset (and not the other way round)!
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Post by sleepwalker24 on Aug 14, 2012 15:42:12 GMT -5
I saw these links on Dave's site too Chris, haven't watched 'em yet though. So you're a Londoner? I have to ask - do you live anywhere near Muswell Hill, and did you see Ray's Come Dancing musical at the Stratford East? (Sorry to be so nosey! ) I was very proud of Ray and Bill, Ray's voice sounded great IMO. It actually amused me that Ray performed after A Day In The Life when I thought about it later. It made me think of the time The Kinks opened for the Beatles (hope I'm remembering this properly) and John Lennon made some sarky comments to Ray. But it's no secret here that John was a fan of Wonderboy!!
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Post by chris on Aug 14, 2012 15:47:42 GMT -5
I saw these links on Dave's site too Chris, haven't watched 'em yet though. So you're a Londoner? I have to ask - do you live anywhere near Muswell Hill, and did you see Ray's Come Dancing musical at the Stratford East? (Sorry to be so nosey! ) I was very proud of Ray and Bill, Ray's voice sounded great IMO. It actually amused me that Ray performed after A Day In The Life when I thought about it later. It made me think of the time The Kinks opened for the Beatles (hope I'm remembering this properly) and John Lennon made some sarky comments to Ray. But it's no secret here that John was a fan of Wonderboy!! I live in South London so not so near to Muswell Hill - I can probably get there in about 3/4 hour. I did see the original run of Come Dancing at Stratford but sadly wasn't able to make the June performances due to work pressures. I still have my tickets for the cancelled shows at my local regional theatre too.
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Post by sleepwalker24 on Aug 14, 2012 15:52:26 GMT -5
I don't know London so well Chris...I guess it's a bit shameful that I've never visited any of the big London landmarks when I've been there I've been to Muswell Hill several times now, it's a nice little area. I'm not sure I've been anywhere in South London though. I never saw the original Come Dancing show but I did see it this time around, I'm really hoping that it gets another run at some point!
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Post by jaypippin89 on Aug 14, 2012 16:33:29 GMT -5
The performance was awesome. I had to search for it on the interwebs because they did not show it in the states . Plus Bill Shanley had an ear to ear smile that was priceless. I'm glad that videos of the performance were made available pretty quickly Jay, so that those of you outside the UK could watch it, of course it's not the same as seeing it on TV Yeah, Bill did look really happy It's nice that he was there to support Ray. Even though he's a great performer and has done it hundereds and hundreds of times, he must have been aware how enourmous the crowd was and the fact that the show was being broadcast live - that's more then enough pressure for any performer!! This is one of my fave pics of Ray at the Olympics so far - (I'm glad the photographers name is on the photo as I downloaded this yesterday and I forgot where from - they deserve credit for taking it, it's a great shot!) That picture is awesome! I agree with all post about the olympic performance. One critic (forget the name) mentioned how Ray Davies was too old and they should have used more One Direction (Yuck). Ray rocked it hard in Portland last month. He is doing better than other almost seventy rockers. I would have loved to see him play another song.
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Post by sleepwalker24 on Aug 14, 2012 16:39:40 GMT -5
Yeah Jay, it's a lovely shot of Ray Did you catch any of his other shows on the recent US tour? I saw him in June at the Hop Farm festival and at the Come Dancing musical and will see some of his UK shows in October. As for One Direction... I'd only heard the song they performed a couple of times before, I'd be quite happy if I never heard it again.
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