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The Kinks (view source)

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{{quote| ''"We are the Village Green Preservation Society."''}}
 
The Kinks were an English rock band, one of the "Big Four" [[The British Invasion|British Invasion]] bands of [[The Sixties]] (along with [[The Beatles (Musicband)|The Beatles]], [[The Rolling Stones (Music)|The Rolling Stones]], and [[The Who (Music)|The Who]]) and a [[Long Runner]], having experienced a long career's worth of highs and lows before throwing in the towel in 1996. While they have had numerous members, their most famous line-up was composed of vocalist/guitarist/[[I Am the Band|mastermind]] Ray Davies, his vocalist/guitarist brother Dave Davies, bassist Pete Quaife (who left in 1969) and drummer Mick Avory (who left in 1984).
 
The Kinks began their career as a bluesy, hard-edged mod-rock band, gaining success with their loud, [[Ear Worm|memorably]] [[Epic Riff|riffy]] hits "You Really Got Me", "All Day and All of the Night" and "Tired of Waiting for You", which set them up as a band to contend with and provided endless inspiration to future genres like [[Garage Rock (Music)|Garage Rock]] and [[Power Pop]]. Their rowdy live shows got them banned from America until 1969, though arguably it ultimately served them well, encouraging [[I Am the Band|Ray Davies]] to write songs that emphasised their essential Britishness and tended to a more nostalgic and pastoral feel than their States-struck contemporaries.
 
They changed gears in 1965, diversifying away from just [[Cracked|scrotum-grinding guitar anthems]] to experiment with other genres like folk, music hall, country and blues-rock, resulting in a more laid-back sound. It was also around this period that Ray developed his now-famous lyrical talent. This period saw the release of songs like "Dedicated Follower of Fashion", "Sunny Afternoon" and "Waterloo Sunset", culminating with what is generally held as their best album, ''The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society''.
 
The band changed once again in [[The Seventies]], exploring a more theatrical, campy sound. However, this only worsened their declining popularity and the resulting [[Concept Album|Concept Albums]] are still one huge [[Your Mileage May Vary]] on their actual quality. Due to a combination of a new record label wanting them to cut the crap and everybody but Ray being sick of [[Rock Opera|Rock Operas]], The Kinks restyled themselves as an arena rock band in 1976. Lucky enough to be synchronised with the [[Punk Rock]] explosion and some successful covers of their songs by Punk and [[New Wave (Music)|New Wave]] bands, The Kinks rode their second wave of popularity until the early 80's, culminating when their single "Come Dancing" became a worldwide smash in early 1983. They then went back to being a cult band before calling it quits in 1996.
 
Admired for their melodic mastery of pop, their enormous variety of styles, the insight and wit of their lyrics, and their huge influence on almost all subsequent bands that cultivated any sort of outsider underdog image.
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* [[Anti-Love Song]]: "When I Turn Off The Living Room Light" - because you're too ugly to get it on with otherwise.
* [[Book Dumb]]/[[Dumb Is Good]]: "Mountain woman couldn't read or write but she knew good from evil, she knew wrong from right".
* [[Born in Thethe Wrong Century]]: "20th Century Man" is just the most obvious example.
* [[Useful Notes/Britain|Britain]]: One of the most famous and acclaimed bands to come from there.
* [[Childhood Memory Demolition Team]]: "Come Dancing" laments the replacement of adolescence's dancehall with a bowling alley, then a supermarket, then a parking lot.
* [[Chivalrous Pervert]]: "I'm not a flasher in a rain coat/I'm not a dirty old man/I'm not gonna snatch you from your mother/I'm an art lover".
** Ray Davies' persona in general seems to land somewhere between this and [[Jerk Withwith a Heart of Gold]].
* [[Continuity Nod]]: "Destroyer" is essentially "Lola, Part 2" set to the riff from "All Day And All Of The Night".
* [[Cult Soundtrack]]: ''Percy''
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* [[Loners Are Freaks]]: The Kinks (and many of their fans) would self-identify as misfits, or at least as "not like everybody else".
* [[Muggles]]: Ordinary people and working class situations feature in a lot of songs, and are probably the only aspect of British life to have escaped Ray's barbed wit.
* [[Overshadowed Byby Awesome]]: Dave Davies next to his older brother (and arguably the band as a whole next to their peers).
* [[Protest Song]]: "Apeman"
** The entire album that song is from (''Lola vs. Powerman'') is pretty much one big [[Take That]] to the music industry (specifically the [[Corrupt Corporate Executive|Corrupt Corporate]] [[Executive Meddling|Executive Meddlers]]).
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* [[Satire, Parody, Pastiche]]: "Dedicated Follower Of Fashion" is Satire; "Top Of The Pops" is Parody; "Sunny Afternoon" is Pastiche.
* [[Self-Titled Album]]: Their debut album was simply titled ''Kinks''.
* [[Sex, Drugs and Rock Andand Roll]]: Especially in the early days, and especially especially for (then teenaged) Dave Davies.
* [[Sibling Rivalry]]: Ray and Dave Davies.
* [[Smoking Is Cool]]: "Harry Rag"
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* [[Spot of Tea]]: Whole songs are written on the subject, particularly "Afternoon Tea" and "Have a Cuppa Tea"
* [[Stepford Suburbia]]: "Shangri-La"
* [[Three Chords and Thethe Truth]]: The early days, very much so.
* [[Title-Only Chorus]]: "Victoria", "Drivin'", "Shangri-La"
* [[Trope Maker]]: Indian-sounding instruments and melodies were used on both "See My Friends" and "Fancy" a few months before "Norwegian Wood" by the Beatles was released.
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