I want to be honest and begin by saying that I struggled to find the “right” song for Record Club. I know music is subjective and what is right for me may not necessarily be right for someone else. I know that some music is not for everyone. I also struggled with the idea of posting a song that sends a positive message or that bring light to issues we still face today. It was tough to come up with a song. The song “I’m Not Like Everybody Else” by The Kinks was not my first choice. The song itself was definitely on my list of songs to use for Record Club but it was actually my third or fourth choice. As cliché as it will sound, in the end I decided to go with this song because I didn’t want to be like everyone else. Deciding which version of the song to use was much easier.

The song was originally released as a B-Side to the single “Sunny Afternoon” in 1966. The original version of “I’m Not Like Everybody Else” runs at roughly three minutes and twenty-nine seconds. This version of the song has a much faster tempo and has a more upbeat tone  that embodies the Pop sound of 1960’s Rock. The version I used for Record Club is a live version recorded during The Kinks US and UK tours in 1993 and 1994 and released on the album To The Bone. The live version is slightly reworked with an extended intro and some changes or modifications to some lyrics. The intro to the song contains an instrumental that begins seventeen seconds into the track and runs at just about one minute and sixteen seconds and also extends the outro with a roughly one minute long instrumental. The whole track contains a slower tempo and the instrumental intro provides a more gritty sound as the lead guitar plays the main riff with a rougher sound that is more typical of the music scene of the 1990’s. The vocals are incredibly different as well. Ray Davies’ live vocals sort of compliment the lyrics of the song. Ray Davies voice sound more mature and at times sounds almost raspy or hoarse especially when he sings the chorus versus the more relaxed tone of the individual verses. Fans have speculated that the reason Ray Davies sound was different was because of tension within the band that may have been attributed to a decline in their commercial success.

I chose “I’m Not Like Everybody Else” because of how much the lyrics resonate with me. I live in a toxic environment where I have often been compared to others who, in my opinion, are not exactly as desirable as some may believe. Far too often I was surrounded by people who demanded I do things as they say; get the job they demanded or listen to the music they demanded or dress how they demanded and in truth, for most of my life I felt like I did not and sometimes still don’t have my own identity. I first heard this song way back in 2004 when it played during the end credits of the Sopranos season five episode “Cold Cuts.” The scene shows Tony instigate an argument with his sister Janice. She chases him around her dinner table with a fork as her husband stops her. Tony smiles, and walks out of Janice’s home when the song begins. There was something about the song itself and the lyrics that set such a juxtaposing tone to the scene. Here we see Tony walking down the block while a woman rakes her front lawn, a man walks his dog, two teenage boys walk past Tony while a couple power walks in the background. We the viewers know that Tony is definitely not like everybody else. I thought the scene was brilliant and immediately downloaded the song. It wasn’t until a few years later when I actually read the lyrics that I realized the song was very much anti-conformity and defiant and it felt like my personal problems at home were written in this track.

Terms Used:

Tempo: The speed of the rhythm of a composition. https://www.freemusicdictionary.com/definition/tempo/

Tone: An interval consisting of two semitones, that is a whole step.The particular sound of an instrument or voice, as well as the performer’s particular coloring of that sound. https://www.freemusicdictionary.com/definition/tone/

Intro: opening section. https://www.freemusicdictionary.com/definition/intro/

Outro: a short, distinct closing section at the end of something (such as a piece of music, a performance, or a news report) https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/outro

Lead Guitar: The part played by a guitar soloist in a rock band. https://www.freemusicdictionary.com/definition/lead-guitar/

Riff: In pop and jazz compositions, a short ostinato, two to four bars long. A riff is a prominent feature of jazz music.a short musical phrase in jazz or blues. it may be repeated often during a piece, with changes to the key, rhythm or melody<br><br>A short melody repeatedly played in a tune often with variation between vocal lines. https://www.freemusicdictionary.com/definition/riff/

Verse: Solo passage from the Gradual which precedes the response. See respond.In poetry or song, a verse is a group of lines which constitutes a unit. Often there are several verses in a single text, and usually the rhyme scheme, rhythm, and number of poetic lines and feet are the same from verse to verse in a single text.a line or stanza. https://www.freemusicdictionary.com/definition/verse/

Genre:

Pop: Pop is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom. The terms popular music and pop music are often used interchangeably, although the former describes all music that is popular and includes many disparate styles. During the 1950s and 1960s, pop encompassed rock and roll and the youth-oriented styles it influenced. Rock and pop remained roughly synonymous until the late 1960s, after which pop became associated with music that was more commercial, ephemeral, and accessible. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pop_music

Rock: Rock music is a broad genre of popular music that originated as “rock and roll” in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of different styles in the mid-1960s and later, particularly in the United States and the United Kingdom. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, a style that drew heavily from the genres of blues, rhythm and blues, and from country music. Rock music also drew strongly from a number of other genres such as electric blues and folk, and incorporated influences from jazz, classical, and other musical styles. Like pop music, lyrics often stress romantic love but also address a wide variety of other themes that are frequently social or political. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_music