29th Street Ballroom
Kinks Korrection
RECEIVED Tue., Nov. 30, 2004
Dear Editor,
In comparing the staying power of U2 versus other veteran bands ["Into the Heart," Music, Nov. 26], Christopher Gray widely missed the mark with one band on his MIA list: the Kinks. While he's right that the Sex Pistols, Led Zeppelin, and possibly even the Clash (who disbanded three years after U2 was formed) "were long gone" by the time U2 was on the rise, it should be noted that the Kinks were together continuously from 1964 to 1996. (If my math is correct, that's at least seven years longer than U2 has been around!) Furthermore, when U2 was still teething back in the early 1980s, the Kinks were filling large arenas and had two of their biggest hits in "Come Dancing" and "Destroyer." Don't misunderstand me – I agree that U2 is a very vital and important band (just ask Bono!) – but they are not the only ones whose music has lasting value. In fact, while they have many fine songs in their repertoire, should U2 ever craft something as intensely and hauntingly beautiful as "Waterloo Sunset" or as genre-defining as "You Really Got Me," then I really will sit up and take proper notice, longevity notwithstanding.
In comparing the staying power of U2 versus other veteran bands ["Into the Heart," Music, Nov. 26], Christopher Gray widely missed the mark with one band on his MIA list: the Kinks. While he's right that the Sex Pistols, Led Zeppelin, and possibly even the Clash (who disbanded three years after U2 was formed) "were long gone" by the time U2 was on the rise, it should be noted that the Kinks were together continuously from 1964 to 1996. (If my math is correct, that's at least seven years longer than U2 has been around!) Furthermore, when U2 was still teething back in the early 1980s, the Kinks were filling large arenas and had two of their biggest hits in "Come Dancing" and "Destroyer." Don't misunderstand me – I agree that U2 is a very vital and important band (just ask Bono!) – but they are not the only ones whose music has lasting value. In fact, while they have many fine songs in their repertoire, should U2 ever craft something as intensely and hauntingly beautiful as "Waterloo Sunset" or as genre-defining as "You Really Got Me," then I really will sit up and take proper notice, longevity notwithstanding.
Christopher Owens