Album of the Day--April 7, 2008

The Kinks
Low Budget
1979
Arista Records
Produced by Raymond Douglas Davies

In tribute to the friends who have lost their jobs or been "made redundant" in recent weeks thanks to large-scale corporate freak-out, I offer up Ray Davies' wry, humorous soundtrack to troubled times, released at the height of stagflation in 1979. When the remastered CD version was released in 1999, it sounded horribly quaint--however, it became relevant again two years later--and is now relevant again, especially "A Gallon of Gas": "I've been waiting for years to buy a brand new Cadillac/But now that I've got one I want to send it right back/I can't afford the gas to fill my luxury limousine..." And let's all sing the title track in unison:

Cheap is small and not too steep
But best of all cheap is cheap
Circumstance has forced my hand
To be a cut-price person in a low budget land
Times are hard but well all survive
I just got to learn to economize

I'm on a low budget
I'm on a low budget
I'm not cheap, you understand
I'm just a cut-price person in a low budget land

Excuse my shoes; they don't quite fit
They're a special offer and they hurt me a bit
Even my trousers are giving me pain
They were reduced in a sale so I shouldn't complain
They squeeze me so tight so I can't take no more
They're size 28 but I take 34

I'm on a low budget (What did you say?)
I'm on a low budget (I thought you said that)
I'm on a low budget
I'm a cut-price person in a low budget land

I'm shopping at Woolworth and low discount stores
I'm dropping my standards so that I can buy more

Low budget sure keeps me on my toes
I count every penny and I watch where it goes
Were all on our uppers were all going skint
I used to smoke cigars but now I suck Polo mints

Art takes time, time is money
Moneys scarce and that ain't funny
Millionaires are things of the past
We're in a low budget film where nothing can last
Money's rare theres none to be found
So don't think I'm tight if I don't buy a round