History YMMV / TheKinks

** The band as a whole was obscure in their time, but their influence on future musicians, songwriters and independent bands is now widely acknowledged. Pete Townshend called Ray Davies the greatest songwriter of his generation. It's not uncommon these days to see The Kinks placed alongside Music/TheBeatles, Music/{{The Rolling Stones|Band}}, and Music/TheWho as the British Invasion's Big Four.

* UnintentionalPeriodPiece: The otherwise timeless [[AntiChristmasSong "Father Christmas"]] has the line "Don't give my brother a [[Series/TheSixMillionDollarMan Steve Austin]] outfit", which dates it specifically to 1977.

** And "Come Dancing", about the narrator remembering with nostalgia about his sister going dancing in their youth, once you know that Ray Davies' sister died of a heart attack while dancing when he was thirteen.

** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzpShIhvrjU "Days"]], which is basically the narrator thanking a former lover for the days they gave them, even though the relationship has ended.

** Their later hard rock albums had a tendency to end on an uplifting life-affirming song ("Get Up"; "Better Things"; "Life Goes On")... but really their entire discography is littered with songs that convey a genuine tenderness and humanity.

** The band as a whole, obscure in their time, their influence on future musicians, songwriters and independent bands is now widely acknowledged. Pete Townshend called Ray Davies the greatest songwriter of his generation. It's not uncommon these days to see The Kinks placed alongside Music/TheBeatles, Music/{{The Rolling Stones|Band}}, and Music/TheWho as the British Invasion's Big Four.

** The {{camp}}y, theatrical ConceptAlbum[=/=]RockOpera period (1972–75) has a lot of fans now as well.

* UnintentionalPeriodPiece: The otherwise timeless "Father Christmas" has the line "Don't give my brother a [[Series/TheSixMillionDollarMan Steve Austin]] outfit", which dates it specifically to 1977.

* FairForItsDay: Certainly the DoubleEntendre in "Lola" about the titular woman also being a man isn't the way trans people want to be referred to. But the song is otherwise shockingly accepting of its title character by 1970s standards. Its affirming of her beauty and charm, and suggesting she and the speaker have a happy life together, are ValuesResonance compared to the half-century of mainstream transphobia in Western media that followed.

* GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff: "Come Dancing" didn't even make the chart in the UK in its initial release, and their American label was reluctant to make it a single there as a result, but the band insisted. Then, spurred on by heavy Creator/{{MTV}} play for the Julien Temple-directed video, it hit #6 on the American chart, which was very ironic, since Ray Davies had written and produced the song with a British audience in mind (singing in a thick accent and using the very British term "palais" for the dance hall). It was re-released in the UK after that, but it still only got to #12 there.

** After a dry spell of commercially unsuccessful material, Ray's dad suggested he get off his arse and write another hit single. The resulting attempt? "Lola".

** The band as a whole, obscure in their time, their influence on future musicians, songwriters and independent bands is now widely acknowledged. Pete Townshend called Ray Davies the greatest songwriter of his generation. It's not uncommon these days to see The Kinks placed alongside Music/TheBeatles, Music/TheRollingStones, and Music/TheWho as the British Invasion's Big Four.

** ''Music/TheKinksAreTheVillageGreenPreservationSociety'' received great critical acclaim on its release, but initially only sold about 100,000 copies worldwide. It has since become their best-selling album.

* FairForItsDay: Certainly the DoubleEntendre in "Lola" about the titular woman also being a man isn't the way trans people want to be referred to. But the song is otherwise shockingly accepting of its title character by 1970s standards. Its affirming her beauty and charm, and suggesting she and the speaker have a happy life together, are ValuesResonance compared to the half-century of mainstream transphobia in Western media that followed.

* FairForItsDay: Certainly the DoubleEntendre in "Lola" about the titular woman also being a man isn't the way trans people want to be referred to. But the song is otherwise shockingly accepting of its title character by 1970s standards. It's affirming her beauty and charm, and suggesting she and the speaker have a happy life together, are ValuesResonance compared to the half-century of mainstream transphobia in Western media that followed.

** Their later hard-rock albums had a tendency to end on an uplifting life-affirming song ("Get Up"; "Better Things"; "Life Goes On")... but really their entire discography is littered with songs that convey a genuine tenderness and humanity.

* HilariousInHindsight: "Catch Me Now I'm Falling" was written in 1979 as a criticism of America's allies and depicts the fall of Marvel's ComicBook/CaptainAmerica as a symbol of the United States' dire circumstances at the time. Fast-forward to 2019, where the Kinks would later appear as part of the soundtrack for ''Film/AvengersEndgame'' (albeit in the form of "Supersonic Rocket Ship", rather than the former), which happens to be Captain America's swan song for the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse.

* SugarWiki/{{Heartwarming|Moments}} [[SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic Music]]: Their later hard-rock albums had a tendency to end on an uplifting life-affirming song ("Get Up"; "Better Things"; "Life Goes On")... but really their entire discography is littered with songs that convey a genuine tenderness and humanity.

* SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome: After a dry spell of commercially unsuccessful material, Ray's dad suggested he get off his arse and write another hit single. The resulting attempt? "Lola".

* TearJerker: Big time with [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvDoDaCYrEY "Waterloo Sunset"]] and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzpShIhvrjU "Days".]] And "Come Dancing", once you know that Ray Davies' sister died of a heart attack while dancing when he was thirteen.
* VindicatedByHistory: ''Music/TheKinksAreTheVillageGreenPreservationSociety'' received great critical acclaim on its release, but initially only sold about 100,000 copies worldwide. It has since become their best-selling album.

* MisaimedFandom: The song "Dedicated Follower of Fashion" was written after Ray got into an argument with a fashion designer at a party and is supposed to be scornful to those who blindly follow fashion. But it seems that fashionistas love the song and view the song with endearment.

* MisaimedFandom: The song Dedicated Follower of Fashion was written after Ray got into an argument with a fashion designer at a party and is supposed to be scornful to those who blindly follow fashion. But it seems that fashionistas love the song and view the song with endearment.

* EarWorm: Decades worth. Ray Davies' ear for melody never left him.

* MisaimedFandom: The song Dedicated Follower of Fashion was written after Ray got into an argument with a fashion designer at a party and is supposed to be scornful to those who blindly follow fashion. But it seems that fashionistas love the song and view it with endearment.

* MisaimedFandom: The song Dedicated Follower of Fashion is meant to be a ridicule of those who blindly follow fashion. But it seems that fashionistas love the song and describe themselves as such.