Apeman by The Kinks: This Commentary on Modern Society Was Written 56 Years Ago

 

Have you ever felt like life doesn’t matter, or more broadly, like humanity doesn’t matter? We grant ourselves so much importance, but when we look around at the rules of society, our human “rules”, that sometimes rarely make sense. In appearance, we have evolved, but we remain the same homo sapiens found in history books or museums; we have simply changed our surroundings and rules for everything, to govern each other.

The Illusion of Progress

The world’s population has multiplied to the point where many hesitate to even start a family. There are so many of us, and we are all haunted, living in fear that there won’t be enough for everyone to survive.

We believe we are completely free because we don’t live behind bars, yet a part of civilized life is another form of mental captivity. We chase luxuries and strive for sophistication, yet these pale in comparison to the true beauty and luxury of the nature we are currently destroying.  

We feel unsafe, worried, and anxious.  We live in an unstable society, defined by economic hardship and incompetent leaders. We are closer to a global catastrophe, yet many think that progress means building expensive cities and industries that contaminate our forests and poison our water.

The Search for Sanity

At the end of the day, we all want someone by our side on our team, our connection to sanity in a  world that feels increasingly wrong. We want to feel safe and cared for.

In a society that often measures success through productivity and possessions, genuine human connection can feel like a rare luxury. We are searching for someone who reminds us that we are not alone in questioning the direction the world is taking. Someone to face the chaos with. 

Everything you've just read is my personal interpretation of The Kinks' "Apeman." It was released in 1970—56 years ago—yet its lyrics feel as relevant and urgent today as they did when they were first written.

-Do you feel like we’ve evolved as a society, or are we just living in a more complex 'cage'? 

Let me know your thoughts in the comments. 

Now, listen to this song while you read the lyrics:

The Kinks - Apeman

I think I'm sophisticated 'cause I'm living my life
Like a good homo sapiens
But all around me everybody's multiplying and
They're walking round like flies man
So I'm no better than the animals sitting
In the cages in the zoo man
'Cause compared to the flowers and the birds and the trees
I am an apeman

I think I'm so educated and I'm so civilized
'Cause I'm a strict vegetarian
But with the over-population and inflation and starvation
And the crazy politicians
I don't feel safe in this world no more
I don't want to die in a nuclear war
I want to sail away to a distant shore and make like an apeman

I'm an apeman, I'm an ape, apeman, oh I'm an apeman
I'm a King Kong man, I'm a voodoo man, oh I'm an apeman
'Cause compared to the sun that sits in the sky
Compared to the clouds as they roll by
Compared to the bugs and the spiders and flies I am an apeman

In man's evolution he's created the city
And the motor traffic rumble
But give me half a chance and I'd be taking off my clothes
And living in the jungle
'Cause the only time that I feel at ease
Is swinging up and down in the coconut trees
Oh what a life of luxury to be like an apeman

I'm an apeman, I'm an ape, apeman, oh I'm an apeman
I'm a King Kong man, I'm a voodoo man, oh I'm an apeman
I look out the window but I can't see the sky
The air pollution is a-fogging eyes
I want to get out of this city alive and make like an apeman

Oh come on and love me, be my apeman girl
And we'll be so happy in my apeman world

I'm an apeman, I'm an ape, apeman, oh I'm an apeman
I'm a King Kong man, I'm a voodoo man, oh I'm an apeman
I'll be your Tarzan, you'll be my Jane
I'll keep you warm and you'll keep me sane
We'll sit in the trees and eat bananas all day, just like an apeman

I'm an apeman, I'm an ape, apeman, oh I'm an apeman
I'm a King Kong man, I'm a voodoo man, oh I'm an apeman
I don't feel safe in this world no more
I don't want to die in a nuclear war
I want to sail away to a distant shore and make like an apeman

Indie Sleaze Makeup: The Messy Beauty Style That Defined a Generation

 

About Indie Sleaze

 

The indie sleaze era, which roughly spanned from 2005 to 2012, was a time defined by a certain kind of beautiful mess. Messy makeup, mismatched outfits, chaotic parties, and nights that seemed to blur into mornings. The aesthetic was supposed to be very bold, original and according to your vibe, made for a bar where your favorite indie band was playing, yet comfortable enough to wear to  an after party in a dirty flat and sweat your behind-off. At the time, this style was usually described as hipster or indie but it never claimed an official name. The term for this era didn't emerge until years later, around 2021, sparkling  the interest of a new generation that is tired of perfection and being told what to wear or how to apply make up by am algorithm. 

The term “indie sleaze” is generally credited to Olivia V., the creator of the Instagram account @indiesleaze, who helped popularize and define the label around 2021 during the aesthetic's online revival.

 

Indie Sleaze, was another moment in time when teenagers and young people in general were beginning to take control of their identity, moving away from the gunge style that ruled in the 90’s. In that sense, it became a subtle but meaningful entry point into the aesthetic. This specific demographic became the new “ freaks “ . the new outcast, the kids that were determined to be different, refusing to follow the mainstream fashion industry and it's rules.

The Indie Sleaze came with a particular fashion, attitude and creativity - a mythology , but also brought  the romanticization of drugs, alcohol, messy relationships, and even unhealthy behaviors.  It was all intertwined with the look, the mood and the subculture itself. 

 

About the makeup

The indie sleaze makeup is all about imperfection: after party look,  glow,  lots of eyeliner, and the sense of nightlife, no matter the time of day it is. 

During these years, eyebrows were not the center of attention, and no one was concerned with looking as natural as possible. It was mainly all about the eyes. Eyes makeup featured dark and brown tones, shimmer on the eyelids or the eye area, smudge black eyeliner on both the upper eyelid and lower lash line. Lips were usually nude shades or warm-toned, and heavy eyelashes. The look was about imperfection. Unlike later beauty trends, this style had nothing to do with naturalness and perfection. 

Of course, what was trendy in the streets among the younger generation made it to the magazines and fashion runways to profit from real trends, created by real people with a creative style.

Were people expected to look a certain way? Not really, but at the same time, the look was right when you were looking like you had just come from another concert or another party. It was dramatic, imperfect, and uncalculated. It was meant to be cool without trying, which is ironic, considering a new generation jumped into the revival of this fashion, yet many want to perfect ir and carefully calculate every look. You can find many “How-to” TikTok videos to teach you how to achieve the look. 

This makeup style wasn't actually one style; it was a mix of : indie rock, post-punk revival, garage rock, electroclash, grunge,1960s mod makeup, and punk, all personalized, with no real or clear rules. 

Back then, however, this was a generation that took digital cameras to their private spaces, which were uploaded later on Myspace. There were no videos explaining "how to belong" to the scene. People were simply living in the moment while unknowingly learning to document their era, their surroundings, and their lives with their friends. Thank God for portable digital cameras.

The Eyes: The "Slept-In" Smoky Eye

• Lived-In Liner: Roughly line your upper and lower lash lines, as well as your waterlines, with a creamy black or dark brown eye pencil. 
• Smudge It Out: Use your fingertip or a small, stiff smudging brush to blur the liner's edges. The goal is a moody, smoked-out look that appears like it has been worn all night. 

Facts about this timeless makeup era : 

1. Nobody wanted to look "perfect"

2. Flash photography created the aesthetic

3. Concealer was often more important than foundation

5. Drugstore makeup ruled

6. Lipstick was almost an afterthought

7. It was influenced by music more than beauty influencers

8. Glitter wasn't festival glitter ( Sometimes it ended up all over your face—and no one minded.)

9. The "morning after" look became fashionable

10. Blogs shaped beauty trends before Instagram

some photos from: @indiesleaze

Pushing Daisies : The creator and some facts

This series at the begining received very good reviews and great fan support, but at the time, they couldn't change ABC's mind, and the network canceled the show. Fans tried to get Pushing Daisies picked up by another network, but that didn't happen either. There was also support for the idea of ​​immortalizing the series in a two-hour movie, as was done with its creator, Bryan Fuller's previous series, Dead Like Me, but this also failed to materialize.

To the dismay of the show's fans, it only lasted two seasons. ABC changed the show's time slot, and there was also a writers' strike at the time, which further hampered its ability to attract new viewers. The series's high production costs, combined with the other two factors, made it easy for ABC to cancel the show. The difference between Pushing Daisies and other series is that it offered a rarely told story that was not very popular on television at that time: how to live with death, having the responsibility and "playing" at being God, its visual-aesthetic proposal of the 50s and 60s adapted to the present, colorful, happy, but at the same time always linked with death.

The series was created by Bryan Fuller

Bryan Fuller is an aclaimed American television writer and producer. His television aesthetic is highly stylized visual aesthetic and magical, also with a touch of macabre story teling. His work is a mix of dark fantasy, horror and sharp comedy.

Pushing Daisies is often described as a forensic fairy tale.

In the past year Fuller has said: “We have a season three pitch, and the entire cast wants to come back, and we’re hoping we get to return to them. We just have to find somebody who wants to make it.”

From an unused story idea to a complete show

The central premise was taken from an unused idea from Fuller's previous show, Dead Like Me (another great series about grim reapers, but we will talk about it another time), where the protagonist touched people to kill them, but someone else was bringing them to life. Ultimately, this opposite concept expanded to a whole new show and universe.

The Whimsy and Heart of Amélie

Visually and emotionally, Pushing Daisies owes a massive debt to the 2001 French romantic comedy Amélie. Fuller has frequently cited it as one of his favorite films. The show has a hyper-saturated color palette, surreal production design, and emotional tone. As Fuller once explained: 

"Really sad things happen in it, but you never get bogged down in the sadness.

Like Daisies, it's really about human kindnesses."

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