Whitty Posted October 11, 2007 Share Posted October 11, 2007 Let me take you on my rocket ship... Put down "Victoria" as a strong contender for most under-appreciated British Invasion pop gem. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
cryptique Posted October 11, 2007 Share Posted October 11, 2007 I'm a huge Kinks fan. My introduction to them was a 10" record my brother had called The Shape of Things to Come. It was an eight-song hits collection, with this tracklist: SIDE AYou Really Got MeAll Day And All Of The NightTill The End Of The DaySet Me Free SIDE BLolaTired Of WaitingSunny AfternoonWaterloo Sunset That record hooked me BIG time. My favorites are Lola vs. Powerman, Village Green, and Something Else, but I love 'em all. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BewlayBrother Posted October 11, 2007 Share Posted October 11, 2007 They're my third favorite band. Have been for a long time. Wilco doesn't even make it into the top five. Haven't seen Darjeeling, but am looking forward to it if it inspired a Kinks-related thread. On the Rushmore director commentary Wes Anderson said he originally wanted to use only Kinks tracks to score the film. He ended up using just that one about how Nothing in the World can Stop Me Worryin' 'Bout that Girl. Great choice for the scene, I believe. I'll close by positing no one captures middle class English melancholy as well as Ray Davies does. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
uncle wilco Posted October 11, 2007 Share Posted October 11, 2007 I was listening to Misfits just last night. I love that album. The Kinks are always a part of my rotation. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mr. Heartbreak Posted October 11, 2007 Share Posted October 11, 2007 The Live LP from '80 is a pretty fine live record. The version of Superman on that record is great for crankin' up the speakers. And Low Budget too.The version of Lola on there is pretty kickass, too. That, and Celluloid Heroes, were staples of FM rock formatting in CT back in the 70s & 80s. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
borracho Posted October 11, 2007 Share Posted October 11, 2007 i saw the Kinks in the late 80s... great show! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mpolak21 Posted October 11, 2007 Share Posted October 11, 2007 I love them. Something Else, Village Green and Arthur are all particular favorites of mine. Great, great band, one the finest of that era. --Mike Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sweet Papa Crimbo Posted October 11, 2007 Share Posted October 11, 2007 Great band, always feel underrated, been on roar with them lately, that's all I'm saying A couple of reasons: The missed boat syndrome. These guys were on par with the Rolling Stones up until the prohibition against their touring the US from 1965 to 1969. (The American Federation of Musicians effectively blacklisted they by refusing to issue permits for the Kinks to perfrom in America in 1965). And once they got 'black listed', Ray Davies is/was TOO intelligent and TOO British to appeal the the sheeple of America. Without a constant presence on the American scene... I place the Kinks firmly in the Top Three Bands of the first British Invasion (with The Beatles and The Rolling Stones). With little better luck and better attention to American Labor Laws (and less rowdy behavior) ,Ray Davies would be more renowned in America that Pete Townsend. I know he is in certain circles...but it is almost criminal that most Americans (of a certain age) only know the Kinks from 1980's Come Dancing, the use of Picture Book in a HP ad and Van Halen's cover of You Really Got Me. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ction Posted October 11, 2007 Share Posted October 11, 2007 Ray Davies is/was TOO intelligent and TOO British to appeal the the sheeple of America. I hear this argument about The Jam all the time too. I'm pretty much a middle class, mainstream, averagely dumb American guy and I like the Kinks and the Jam. A lot. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sweet Papa Crimbo Posted October 11, 2007 Share Posted October 11, 2007 I hear this argument about The Jam all the time too. I'm pretty much a middle class, mainstream, averagely dumb American guy and I like the Kinks and the Jam. A lot. By the simple statement above you prove that you are not as you described yourself. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
tongue-tied lightning Posted October 11, 2007 Share Posted October 11, 2007 APEMAN ! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
embiggen Posted October 11, 2007 Share Posted October 11, 2007 COMPLICATED LIFE! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
tongue-tied Posted October 11, 2007 Share Posted October 11, 2007 Darjeeling better be a good movie because 'Strangers' is my favorite song and if it is not put to good use, well i'll, i'll write Wes Anderson an angry letter. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Synthesizer Patel Posted October 11, 2007 Share Posted October 11, 2007 A couple of reasons: The missed boat syndrome. These guys were on par with the Rolling Stones up until the prohibition against their touring the US from 1965 to 1969. (The American Federation of Musicians effectively blacklisted they by refusing to issue permits for the Kinks to perfrom in America in 1965). And once they got 'black listed', Ray Davies is/was TOO intelligent and TOO British to appeal the the sheeple of America. Without a constant presence on the American scene... Being English, I've always viewed that ban as a really good thing for their music (not that I grew up during it or anything), but you can certainly see how they quickly forgot about trying to appeal to a wide audience and just made great music. Maybe without that ban this would not have happened. I know that Ray used to sit by himself in his flat at home whilst everyone else was out partying, and wrote these songs, so if he was touring America he'd have had a hard time doing that. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sid Hartha Posted October 11, 2007 Share Posted October 11, 2007 I always listen to The Kinks at least '60s-era Kinks. I got to see them once - Sleepwalker tour (good album as well). Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sweet Papa Crimbo Posted October 11, 2007 Share Posted October 11, 2007 And just how many Bands have ever written a catchy pop song about a transvestite? (Lou Reed's songs not withstanding)? I met her in a club down in old sohoWhere you drink champagne and it tastes just like coca-cola C-o-l-a cola She walked up to me and she asked me to danceI asked her her name and in a dark brown voice she said "lolaL-o-l-a lola lo-lo-lo-lo lola" Well I'm not the worlds most physical guyBut when she squeezed me tight she nearly broke my spineOh my lola lo-lo-lo-lo lolaWell Im not dumb but I can't understandWhy she walked like a woman and talked like a manOh my lola lo-lo-lo-lo lola lo-lo-lo-lo lola Well we drank champagne and danced all nightUnder electric candlelightShe picked me up and sat me on her kneeAnd said "dear boy wont you come home with me?"Well I'm not the worlds most passionate guyBut when I looked in her eyes well I almost fell for my lolaLo-lo-lo-lo lola lo-lo-lo-lo lolaLola lo-lo-lo-lo lola lo-lo-lo-lo lola I pushed her awayI walked to the doorI fell to the floorI got down on my kneesThen I looked at her and she at me Well that's the way that I want it to stayAnd I always want it to be that way for my lolaLo-lo-lo-lo lolaGirls will be boys and boys will be girlsIts a mixed up muddled up shook up world except for lolaLo-lo-lo-lo lola Well I left home just a week beforeAnd I'd never ever kissed a woman beforeBut lola smiled and took me by the handAnd said "dear boy Im gonna make you a man" Well I'm not the worlds most masculine manBut I know what I am and Im glad I'm a manAnd so is lolaLo-lo-lo-lo lola lo-lo-lo-lo lolaLola lo-lo-lo-lo lola lo-lo-lo-lo lola Quote Link to post Share on other sites
uncle wilco Posted October 11, 2007 Share Posted October 11, 2007 And just how many Bands have ever written a catchy pop song about a transvestite? (Lou Reed's songs not withstanding)? you can also add "Out of the Wardrobe" from their Misfits album. I'm starting to see a theme here. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Dr. Steve Brule Posted October 11, 2007 Share Posted October 11, 2007 always Muswell Hillbillies (One of my fav albums of all time)While enough people are familiar with the Kinks and their hits, this is a sadly overlooked, under appreciated album.you can also add "Out of the Wardrobe" from their Misfits album. I'm starting to see a theme here.Dude Looks Like a Lady? Okay not really catchy. Or good. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
PopTodd Posted October 11, 2007 Share Posted October 11, 2007 Ray Davies may be, pound-for-pound, a better songwriter than either Lennon or McCartney.Okay, I'm no whimp. He is. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
MattZ Posted October 11, 2007 Share Posted October 11, 2007 I saw yo la tengo this past weekend as part of the Freewheelin Yo La Tengo tour. It's sort of set up as a Storytellers type gig where they talk and play. Anyway, they were asked who their biggest musical influences were and Ira Kaplan without missing a beat said that Ray Davies and the Kinks were the biggest musical influence in his life. Then they played This Man He Weeps Tonight. A cool moment for sure. Nothing beats the kinks. Or going to see a band that you love tipping their cap to another band you love. I'd bring Arthur with me if I could only take 5 albums to a desert island. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sid Hartha Posted October 11, 2007 Share Posted October 11, 2007 I'd bring Arthur with me if I could only take 5 albums to a desert island.My very first Kinks album. Every track on that record is like a mini album. I've been revisiting it a lot lately, having recently found a really nice used mono LP copy. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
LouieB Posted October 11, 2007 Share Posted October 11, 2007 Lola got played too often on the radio for too many years. I don't care if I never hear it again..... Arthur is one of the greatest albums of all time though... LouieB Quote Link to post Share on other sites
cryptique Posted October 11, 2007 Share Posted October 11, 2007 Lola got played too often on the radio for too many years.Not on any radio stations I ever listened to. Besides, Lola Vs. Powerman is just too good of an album to let something like one overplayed song ruin it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Leo Posted October 11, 2007 Share Posted October 11, 2007 Saw Ray Davies play at a free concert in Detroit the summer of '06. I had never seen him and was puuumped when he trotted onto the stage all cheesy and British. It was perfect. The show was loud and glammy.Love the Kinks!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Littlebear Posted October 11, 2007 Share Posted October 11, 2007 My theory is that the Kinks were too intelligent to be widely successful. The difference between them and other legendary bands, is that the Kinks don't leave much stuff gross enough to please the least idiot on Earth. mmmh, am I sounding a bit arrogant here? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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