The Kinks / YMMV - TV Tropes

Covered Up: "Dandy" became a chart hit for Herman's Hermits.
Epic Riff: "You Really Got Me", "All Day and All of the Night", "20th Century Man", "Lola".
Fair for Its Day: The Double Entendre in "Lola" about the titular woman also being a man definitely isn't the way trans people want to be referred to nowadays. 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 Values Resonance compared to the half-century of mainstream transphobia in Western media that followed.
Funny Moments: They have a reputation for writing some great comedy rock songs: "Apeman", "David Watts", "Harry Rag", "Skin & Bone".
Germans Love David Hasselhoff: "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 MTV play for the Julien Temple-directed video, it hit #6 on the American charts, 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.
Heartwarming Moments:
- 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.
- "Waterloo Sunset" is probably the one example most people would be familiar with.
Hilarious in Hindsight: "Catch Me Now I'm Falling" was written in 1979 as a criticism of America's allies and depicts the fall of Marvel's Captain America as a symbol of the United States' dire circumstances at the time. Fast-forward to 2019, where the Kinks later appeared as part of the soundtrack for Avengers: Endgame (albeit in the form of "Supersonic Rocket Ship", rather than the former), which happens to be Captain America's swan song for the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Misaimed Fandom: 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.
Moment of Awesome:
- After a dry spell of commercially unsuccessful material, Ray's dad suggested he get off his arse and write another hit single. What was the resulting attempt? "Lola".
- Everything the band did from 1964–72 qualifies.
Tear Jerker:
- Big time with "Waterloo Sunset", in which the narrator reflects upon a couple while watching the Thames and Waterloo station, all with a forlorn look.
- "Days", which is basically the narrator thanking a former lover for the days they gave them, even though the relationship has now ended.
- "Come Dancing", which is about the narrator remembering with nostalgia about his sister going dancing in their youth, is this if you know that Ray Davies' sister died of a heart attack while dancing when he was thirteen.
Unintentional Period Piece: The otherwise timeless "Father Christmas" has the line "Don't give my brother a Steve Austin outfit", which dates it specifically to 1977. Though the appearence of the wrestler "Stone Cold" Steve Austin' took a bit of the sting out of it.
Vindicated by History:
- The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society received great critical acclaim on its release, but initially only sold about 100,000 copies worldwide. It has since become their best-selling album.
- While Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire) also received critical acclaim upon release, it did not receive the same thing commercially. It has since been named on record by Mick Avory, the band's longest-serving drummer (and second longest-lasting member), as his favorite.
- The campy, theatrical Concept Album/Rock Opera period (1972–75)^note has a lot of fans now as well.
- The band in their time went through periods of where they were ignored both commercially and critically, 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 The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and The Who as the British Invasion's Big Four.

YMMV / The Kinks

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