185-400: " Sunny Afternoon " is a song by the Kinks , written by frontman Ray Davies . The track later featured on the Face to Face album as well as being the title track for their 1967 compilation album . Like its contemporary " Taxman " by the Beatles , the song references the high levels of progressive tax taken by the British Labour government of Harold Wilson , although it does so through
370-432: A paywall by the end of the year. It abandoned experiments with Pitchfork paywalls following criticism from readers. In 2020, Condé Nast laid off the executive editor Matthew Schnipper and the features editor and union chair Stacey Anderson. In 2022 and 2023, Pitchfork had about three million unique visitors a month, down by about 36% from 2021. On January 17, 2024, Wintour announced that Pitchfork would merge with
555-496: A session musician with the group on keyboards. These recordings exemplified the development of Davies' songwriting style, from hard-driving rock numbers toward songs rich in social commentary, observation and idiosyncratic character study, all with a uniquely English flavour. The satirical single " Sunny Afternoon " was the biggest UK hit of summer 1966, topping the charts and displacing the Beatles' " Paperback Writer ". Before
740-449: A skeleton crew continuing its mission, and said he was pleased with the work it had published since the announcement. On July 2, 2024, Pitchfork named Mano Sundaresan, the founder of the music blog No Bells , as the new head of editorial content. Sundaresan denied that Pitchfork was "going away", and said he aimed to adapt it to modern media and cater to more specialized audiences. That October, five former Pitchfork writers launched
925-633: A "distinguished digital property that brings a strong editorial voice, an enthusiastic and young audience, a growing video platform and a thriving events business". Kaskie said "our needs and wants were converging", and that Pitchfork needed capital and expertise to expand its publication and festivals. The sale boosted Pitchfork's value to advertisers. Pitchfork relocated to the Condé Nast offices in One World Trade Center , Manhattan. Previously, Pitchfork 's independence had been
1110-530: A "package" bill that included Manfred Mann and the Honeycombs . They performed and toured relentlessly, headlining package tours throughout 1965 with performers such as the Yardbirds and Mickey Finn . Tensions began to emerge within the band, expressed in incidents such as the on-stage fight between drummer Mick Avory and Dave Davies at The Capitol Theatre, Cardiff , Wales on 19 May. After finishing
1295-518: A 3CD "Deluxe" edition, and the track " Picture Book " was featured in a popular Hewlett-Packard television commercial, helping considerably to boost the album's popularity. In early 1969, Quaife again announced that he was leaving the band. The other members did not take his statement seriously until an article appeared in New Musical Express on 4 April featuring Quaife's new band, Maple Oak, which he had formed without telling
1480-528: A background in jazz drumming and had played one gig with the fledgling Rolling Stones . Around this period, the Ravens decided on a new, permanent name: the Kinks. Numerous explanations of the name's genesis have been offered. In Jon Savage 's analysis, they "needed a gimmick, some edge to get them attention. Here it was: 'Kinkiness'—something newsy, naughty but just on the borderline of acceptability. In adopting
1665-600: A band, the Ray Davies Quartet, with Ray's friend and classmate Pete Quaife and Quaife's friend John Start (although they would also be known as the Pete Quaife Quartet if the bass player landed a gig for them instead). Their debut at a school dance was well received, which encouraged the group to play at local pubs and bars. The band went through a series of lead vocalists, including Rod Stewart , another student at William Grimshaw, who performed with
1850-410: A classic seasonal favourite on mainstream radio. For the following tour, the band recruited ex- Argent bassist Jim Rodford and ex- Pretty Things keyboardist Gordon John Edwards. Edwards was soon fired from the Kinks for failing to show up to recording sessions, and the band recorded 1979's Low Budget as a quartet, with Ray Davies handling keyboard duties. Keyboardist Ian Gibbons was recruited for
2035-463: A consistent content strategy, and packaging a love of music in a compelling way", according to its founder, Alex Young. The critic Carl Wilson said Pitchfork drove a "feeding frenzy about band discovery" in North American music journalism, with publications vying to discover new acts. In the 2000s, Pitchfork was credited with "making or breaking" musical careers, a phenomenon known as
SECTION 10
#17327759856362220-553: A critical review. Itzkoff argued that the obtuse and confrontational style was part of the Pitchfork business model and made their reviews memorable. He suggested that the writers' lack of training or experience, and the fact that they worked for low or no pay, created a sense of authenticity and undermined the authority of traditional media. Schreiber conceded that Pitchfork had a reputation for snobbery, but said its writers were "really just honest, opinionated music fans". In
2405-453: A cult band. In The Village Voice , a newly hired Robert Christgau called it "the best album of the year so far". The underground Boston paper Fusion published a review stating, "the Kinks continue, despite the odds, the bad press and their demonstrated lot, to come across. ... Their persistence is dignified; their virtues are stoic. The Kinks are forever, only for now in modern dress." The record did not escape criticism, however. In
2590-444: A difference to social causes. In July 2010, Pitchfork launched Altered Zones , a blog aggregator devoted to underground and DIY music . In 2011, Pitchfork relocated to Brooklyn , New York. On May 21, Pitchfork announced a partnership with the website Kill Screen , in which Pitchfork would publish some of their articles. Altered Zones closed on November 30. On December 26, 2012, Pitchfork launched Nothing Major ,
2775-591: A different guitar sound, to get a more unique feel for the record. In the end, we used a tape-delay echo, but it sounded new because nobody had done it since the 1950s. I remember Steve Marriott of the Small Faces came up and asked me how we'd got that sound. We were almost trendy for a while." The single was one of the Kinks' biggest UK successes, hitting number two on Melody Maker ' s chart, and became one of their most popular and best-known songs. Critic Robert Christgau called it "the most beautiful song in
2960-480: A few major venues such as the Fillmore East and Whisky a Go Go . The band added keyboardist John Gosling to their line-up in early 1970; before which, Nicky Hopkins and Ray Davies had done most of the session work on keyboards. In May 1970, Gosling debuted with the Kinks on " Lola ", an account of a confused romantic encounter with a transvestite , which became both a UK and a US top-10 hit, helping return
3145-425: A gap in the market for faster-moving publication that emphasized new acts. Pitchfork could publish several articles a day, greatly outpacing print media. New technologies such as MP3 , the iPod and the file-sharing service Napster created greater access to music, and music blogs became an important resource, creating further opportunity for Pitchfork. The contributors Mark Richardson and Eric Harvey said this
3330-477: A key aspect of its image. Schreiber said it would continue to have "creative independence". The acquisition triggered concern; the New York Observer wrote that was a "death knell for indie rock". The Condé Nast chief digital officer, Fred Santarpia, was criticized when he said the acquisition would bring "a very passionate audience of millennial males into our roster". The Atlantic connected
3515-548: A limited-edition quarterly publication of about 10,000 copies of each issue, printed on glossy, high-quality paper. About two thirds of the content would be original, with the remaining reused from the Pitchfork website. The International Business Times likened the literary aspirations to The New Yorker and the Paris Review . The Pitchfork Review ended after 11 issues in November 2016. As of 2014, Pitchfork
3700-664: A major Mainstream Rock hit for the group. To promote the album, the Kinks spent the end of 1981 and most of 1982 touring relentlessly, and played multiple sell-out concerts throughout Australia, Japan, England and the US. The tour culminated with a performance at the US Festival in San Bernardino, California, for a crowd of 205,000. In spring 1983, the song " Come Dancing " became their biggest American hit since "Tired of Waiting for You", peaking at number six. It also became
3885-452: A musical called Starmaker . After a broadcast with Ray Davies in the starring role and the Kinks as both back-up band and ancillary characters, the project eventually morphed into the concept album The Kinks Present a Soap Opera , released in May 1975, in which Ray Davies fantasised about what would happen if a rock star traded places with a "normal Norman" and took a 9–5 job. In August 1975,
SECTION 20
#17327759856364070-732: A new act in which the band members would hurl their instruments at each other. Following their summer 1965 American tour, the American Federation of Musicians refused permits for the group to appear in concerts in the US for the next four years, possibly due to their rowdy on-stage behaviour. Pitchfork Media Pitchfork (formerly Pitchfork Media ) is an American online music magazine founded in 1996 by Ryan Schreiber in Minneapolis . It originally covered alternative and independent music , and expanded to cover genres including pop, hip hop, jazz and metal. Pitchfork
4255-410: A new means for listeners to discover music. Pitchfork staff conflicted with Condé Nast over its attempts to monetize Pitchfork Music Festival by making it into a "luxury" experience. Santarpia left Condé Nast in 2018, leaving Pitchfork under the purview of Anna Wintour , the chief content officer. Two former Pitchfork staffers told The Verge that Wintour did not care about music or understand
4440-474: A number, these albums were given fixed scores. In the 2000s, Pitchfork reviews were criticized as pretentious, verbose and inaccurate. Itzkoff wrote that Pitchfork was overwrought and sometimes hard to understand, with an abundance of adjectives, adverbs and misused words. Shaer identified examples of "verbose and unreadable writing ... dense without being insightful, personal without being interesting". In City Pages , Thomas Lindsay wrote that its prose
4625-576: A peak with State of Confusion , but that success began to fade, a trend that also affected their British rock contemporaries the Rolling Stones and the Who . During the second half of 1983, Ray Davies started work on an ambitious solo film project, Return to Waterloo , about a London commuter who daydreams that he is a serial murderer. The film gave actor Tim Roth a significant early role. Davies' commitment to writing, directing and scoring
4810-442: A reliable source of recommendations. Without the limitations of print media, Pitchfork was able to champion emerging independent acts that major print magazines, which had to sell millions of copies every year, could not. Schreiber felt the magazines were "not even trying to discover new music ... Publications used to take more chances on artists, putting bands on the cover that they thought deserved to be there." He said Pitchfork
4995-429: A result of the " Britpop " boom. Several of the most prominent bands of the decade cited the Kinks as a major influence. Despite this recognition, the group's commercial viability continued to decline. They gradually became less active, leading Ray and Dave Davies to pursue their own interests. Each released an autobiography; Ray's X-Ray was published in early 1995, and Dave responded with his memoir Kink , published
5180-527: A result, it includes Avory on three tracks, with Henrit and a drum machine on the rest. Many of the songs also appeared as solo recordings on Ray Davies' Return to Waterloo soundtrack album. Word of Mouth ' s lead track, " Do It Again ", was released as a single in April 1985. It reached number 41 in the US, the band's last entry into the Billboard Hot 100. Coinciding with the album's release,
5365-551: A reunion in an interview published in January 2021, Dave Davies said "We've been talking about it. I mean there's a lot of material and, you know, it could still happen." In March 2023, Avory laid to rest rumours of a reunion, citing differences between the Davies brothers: "I don't think it's possible now – one thing, health-wise. And I don't think we could ever work it out because Dave wanted to do it one way, and Ray wanted to do it
5550-464: A review or $ 40 for a feature. In 2004, following staff tensions about Schreiber's advertising income, Pitchfork started paying writers from their first articles at a slightly improved rate. That year, Pitchfork published a positive review of the debut album by Arcade Fire , Funeral . It became a bestseller and is cited as the first major example of Pitchfork 's influence on independent music, attracting coverage of Pitchfork from outlets such as
5735-405: A separate project. In May 1978, Misfits , the Kinks' second Arista album, was released. It included the US top-40 hit " A Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy ", which helped make the record another success for the band. The non-album single " Father Christmas " has remained a popular track. Driven by session drummer Henry Spinetti 's drumming and Dave Davies' heavy guitar, the song "Father Christmas" has become
Sunny Afternoon - Misplaced Pages Continue
5920-510: A series of similar projects featuring established rock artists titled VH1 Storytellers . Dave Davies spoke favourably of a Kinks reunion in early 2003. As the 40th anniversary of the group's breakthrough neared, both the Davies brothers expressed interest in working together again. However, hopes for a reunion were dashed in June 2004 when Dave suffered a stroke that temporarily impaired his ability to speak and play guitar. Following his recovery,
6105-531: A signature 10-point scale with punitive zeal." Schreiber said the site's early period "was about really laying into people who really deserved it", and defended the importance of honesty in arts criticism. In 1999, Schreiber relocated Pitchfork to Chicago. He estimated that Pitchfork had published 1,000 reviews by this point. Around the turn of the millennium, the American music press was dominated by monthly print magazines such as Rolling Stone , creating
6290-637: A single on 3 June 1966, "Sunny Afternoon" went to number one on the UK Singles Chart on 7 July 1966, remaining there for two weeks. The track also went to number one in Ireland on 14 July 1966. In America, it peaked at number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 pop singles chart early autumn 1966. The promotional video for the single featured the band performing in a cold, snowy environment. In a 1995 interview, Ray Davies recalled being surprised at
6475-521: A small, invited audience. Two years later, the band released a new, improved, live double-CD set in the US, which retained the same name and contained two new studio tracks, "Animal" and "To the Bone". The CD set also featured new treatments of many old Kinks hits. The record drew respectable press but failed to chart in either the US or the UK. The band's profile rose considerably in the mid-1990s, primarily as
6660-634: A song with "some fabulous lyrics and a marvellous melody ... combined with a great production", and music scholar Johnny Rogan described it as "a kitchen sink drama without the drama—a static vision of working-class stoicism ". One of the group's first promotional music videos was produced for the song. It was filmed on Little Green Street , a small 18th-century lane in north London, located off Highgate Road in Kentish Town . Both "Dead End Street" and its B-side " Big Black Smoke " were recorded with John Dalton on bass, though Quaife had returned by
6845-478: A time when music has proven to be one of our culture's most beautifully progressive spaces". In The Guardian , Laura Snapes wrote that Pitchfork had provided a vital "leading example" and doubted that specialist music journalism could survive without it. She lamented the job losses, saying that Pitchfork had been one of the last stable employers of freelance music writers. Schreiber said that commentators were "premature to eulogize Pitchfork ", as it retained
7030-576: A website that covered visual arts, which closed in October 2013. Pitchfork launched a film website, The Dissolve , in 2013. It closed in 2015, citing "financial challenges". In 2017, Kaskie said he remained proud of The Dissolve and that it was "a huge success from the creative and editorial, design and everything else". In 2013, Pitchfork won the National Magazine Award for general excellence in digital media. That year,
7215-421: A white upright piano. I hadn't written for a time. I'd been ill. I was living in a very 1960s-decorated house. It had orange walls and green furniture. My one-year-old daughter was crawling on the floor and I wrote the opening riff. I remember it vividly. I was wearing a polo-neck sweater. Davies used the song's narrator to reflect on his own situation in the song's lyrics: "The only way I could interpret how I felt
7400-493: A whole and gave it a score of 6.8. The music blog Idolator ran a feature asking readers to guess which lines came from Pitchfork reviews and which were fabricated. In 2010, the writer David Shapiro started a Tumblr blog, "Pitchfork Reviews Reviews", which reviewed Pitchfork reviews and assessed their arguments. It attracted more than 100,000 followers and a profile in the New York Times . Spencer Kornhaber of
7585-564: A wide range of influences, including American R&B and rock and roll initially, and later adopting British music hall , folk , and country . The band gained a reputation for reflecting English culture and lifestyle, fuelled by Ray Davies' observational and satirical lyricism, and made apparent in albums such as Face to Face (1966), Something Else (1967), The Village Green Preservation Society (1968), Arthur (1969), Lola Versus Powerman (1970), and Muswell Hillbillies (1971), along with their accompanying singles including
Sunny Afternoon - Misplaced Pages Continue
7770-463: A year later. The Kinks gave their last public performance in mid-1996, and the group assembled for what turned out to be their last time together at a party for Dave's 50th birthday. Kinks chronicler and historian Doug Hinman stated, "The symbolism of the event was impossible to overlook. The party was held at the site of the brothers' very first musical endeavour, the Clissold Arms pub, across
7955-533: Is a bittersweet rumination on dead and fading Hollywood stars (Mickey Rooney was still alive), in which the narrator declares that he wishes his life were like a movie "because celluloid heroes never feel any pain ... and celluloid heroes never really die." The album was moderately successful in the US, peaking at number 47 in Record World and number 70 in Billboard . It marks the transition between
8140-928: Is it, it's the end (laughs)." Billboard praised the single's "off-beat music hall melody and up-to-date lyrics." Cash Box said that it is a "slow-moving, blues-drenched, seasonal affair with a catchy, low-key repeating riff." "Sunny Afternoon" was placed at No. 200 on Pitchfork Media 's list of The 200 Greatest Songs of the 1960s. The song was featured in and was the title song of West End musical Sunny Afternoon . It has been covered by artists including Jimmy Buffett , Stereophonics , Michael McDonald , and Michael Caruso . Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. According to band researcher Doug Hinman, except where noted: The Kinks Additional musicians The Kinks The Kinks were an English rock band formed in London in 1963 by brothers Ray and Dave Davies . They are regarded as one of
8325-625: Is one of the most influential music publications to have emerged in the internet age . In the 2000s, Pitchfork distinguished itself from print media through its unusual style, frequent updates and coverage of emerging acts. It was praised as passionate, authentic and unique, but criticized as pretentious, mean-spirited and elitist, playing into stereotypes of the cynical hipster . It is credited with popularizing acts such as Arcade Fire , Broken Social Scene , Bon Iver and Sufjan Stevens . Pitchfork relocated to Chicago in 1999 and Brooklyn , New York, in 2011. It expanded with projects including
8510-637: The Atlantic described Pitchfork as the most influential music publication to emerge in the internet age . Itzkoff, a former editor for Spin , described the Spin staff checking Pitchfork regularly: "If it was lavishing attention on a new band, we at least had to ask ourselves why we weren't doing the same: by then, our value as a trustworthy and consistent filter had waned." The online magazine Consequence of Sound emulated Pitchfork early on, "especially as it came to creating an editorial voice, developing
8695-657: The Los Angeles Times . The contributor Jess Weiss said the review "changed everything". By 2005, Pitchfork was attracting around one million readers a month, with an annual revenue of around $ 5 million. That year, Schreiber said he was uninterested in selling Pitchfork: "It would change into the antithesis of the reason I started it. This is something I am so in love with—this is my entire adult life's work." By 2006, traditional music media, such as print magazines, music video channels and radio stations, had declined or changed focus, but music listeners still sought
8880-602: The Record World chart and number 100 on the Billboard chart. It was followed in 1972 by a double album, Everybody's in Show-Biz , consisting of both studio tracks and live numbers recorded during a two-night stand at Carnegie Hall . The record featured the ballad " Celluloid Heroes " and the Caribbean-themed " Supersonic Rocket Ship ", their last UK top-20 hit for more than a decade. "Celluloid Heroes"
9065-512: The Flaming Lips , NYC Ghosts & Flowers (2000) by Sonic Youth , Liz Phair (2003) by Liz Phair and Shine On (2006) by Jet . The Jet review consisted entirely of a video of a chimp urinating into its own mouth and was widely shared. The authors of the Phair and Sonic Youth reviews later changed their opinions and apologized to the artists. In Slate , Amos Barshad cited
9250-843: The Ivor Novello Award for "Outstanding Service to British Music". In 1990, the original four members of the Kinks were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame , as well as the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2005. In addition, groups such as Van Halen , the Jam , the Knack , the Pretenders and the Romantics covered their songs, helping to boost the Kinks' record sales. In the 1990s, Britpop acts such as Blur and Oasis cited
9435-648: The Royal Albert Hall in London, Mark Haley departed the band and Gibbons rejoined them for a US tour. Phobia managed only one week in the US Billboard chart at number 166; as had by then become usual for the band, it made no impression in the UK. The single " Only a Dream " narrowly failed to reach the British chart. The album's final candidate for release as a single, " Scattered ", was announced and followed up with TV and radio promotion. However,
SECTION 50
#17327759856369620-484: The hard rock and heavy metal arsenal", and as an influence on the approach of some American garage rock bands. After its release, the Kinks recorded most of the tracks for their debut LP, simply titled Kinks . Consisting largely of covers and revamped traditional songs, it was released on 2 October 1964, reaching number four on the UK chart. " All Day and All of the Night ", another Ray Davies hard rock tune,
9805-418: The music hall of their parents' generation to the jazz and early rock and roll their older sisters enjoyed. Both Ray and his brother Dave, younger by almost three years, learned to play guitar, and they played skiffle and rock and roll together. The brothers attended William Grimshaw Secondary Modern School (later merged with Tollington Grammar School to become Fortismere School ), where they formed
9990-578: The " Pitchfork effect". In 2006, the Washington Post described Schreiber as an "indie-rock kingmaker" and wrote that "an endorsement from Pitchfork ... is very valuable, indeed". Megan Jasper, the CEO of the record label Sub Pop , said favorable Pitchfork reviews would boost sales and that it became normal for indie rock bands to sell 100,000 records, exceeding expectations. Poorly reviewed albums made no impact. After Pitchfork awarded 9.7 to
10175-550: The 'Kinks' as their name at that time, they were participating in a time-honoured pop ritual—fame through outrage." Manager Robert Wace related his side of the story: "I had a friend ... He thought the group was rather fun. If my memory is correct, he came up with the name just as an idea, as a good way of getting publicity ... When we went to [the band members] with the name, they were ... absolutely horrified. They said, 'We're not going to be called kinky! ' " Ray Davies' account conflicts with Wace's—he recalled that
10360-399: The 2000s, Pitchfork was criticized for focusing on music made by white men. In its early years, its staff comprised almost entirely white men. In 2007, the rapper M.I.A. criticized Pitchfork for assuming that her album Kala had been produced entirely by the male producer Diplo . Another Pitchfork writer described the error as "perpetuating the male-led ingenue myth". M.I.A. and
10545-471: The 2001 Tool album Lateralus consisted mostly of a list of the equipment used by the drummer. Some reviews consist only of single images or videos, implying the record is beneath critical analysis. Shaer wrote in 2006 that Pitchfork typically triumphed acts it had "discovered" and attacked beloved legacy acts and bands popular on music blogs. Some believed that Pitchfork deliberately waited for excitement to build around an act before dismissing it with
10730-659: The Action Is in 1965. Ray Davies recalls in his autobiography, "Some guy who said he worked for the TV company walked up and accused us of being late. Then he started making anti-British comments, such as, 'Just because the Beatles did it, every mop-topped, spotty-faced limey juvenile thinks he can come over here and make a career for himself. ' "; subsequently, a punch was thrown, and the AFM banned them. A stopover in Bombay , India, during
10915-587: The American label Reprise Records , where the band was signed by legendary executive Mo Ostin , "You Really Got Me" also made the Top 10 in the United States. The loud, distorted guitar riff and solo—played by Dave Davies and achieved by a slice he made in the speaker cone of his Elpico amplifier (referred to by the band as the "little green amp")—helped with the song's signature, gritty guitar sound. "You Really Got Me" has been described as "a blueprint song in
11100-540: The Davies brothers' childhood; their sister Rosie, who had migrated to Australia in the early 1960s with her husband Arthur Anning, the album's namesake; and life growing up during the Second World War . The Kinks embarked on their tour of the US in October 1969. The tour was generally unsuccessful, as the group struggled to find cooperative promoters and interested audiences; many of the scheduled concert dates were cancelled. The band did, however, manage to play
11285-653: The Davies brothers. The Kinks have had five top 10 singles on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. Nine of their albums charted in the top 40 of the Billboard 200 . In the UK, they have had seventeen top 20 singles and five top 10 albums. Four Kinks albums have been certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), and the band has sold over 50 million records worldwide. Among numerous honours, they received
SECTION 60
#173277598563611470-506: The English language", and AllMusic senior editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine cited it as "possibly the most beautiful song of the rock and roll era". Ray Davies was chosen to perform "Waterloo Sunset" at the closing of the 2012 London Olympic Games , 45 years after the song's release. The songs on the 1967 album, Something Else by the Kinks , developed the musical progressions of Face to Face , adding English music hall influences to
11655-848: The Hamilton King Band (also known as the Blues Messengers), which had Peter Bardens as a pianist. At the end of the spring term, he left Hornsey College with a view to studying film at the Central School of Art and Design . Around this time the Quartet changed their name to the Ramrods. Davies has referred to a show the fledgling Kinks played (again as the Ray Davies Quartet) at Hornsey Town Hall on Valentine's Day 1963 as their first important gig. In June,
11840-533: The Hamilton King Band broke up,. However, the Ramrods kept going, performing under several other names, including the Pete Quaife Band and the Bo-Weevils, before (temporarily) settling on the Ravens. The fledgling group hired two managers, Grenville Collins and Robert Wace. In late 1963 former pop singer Larry Page became their third manager. American record producer Shel Talmy began working with
12025-678: The Honeycombs . An intensive performing schedule saw them headline other package tours throughout the year with acts such as the Yardbirds and Mickey Finn . Tensions began to emerge within the band, expressed in incidents such as the on-stage fight between Avory and Dave Davies at the Capitol Theatre in Cardiff , Wales, on 19 May. After finishing the first song, "You Really Got Me", Davies insulted Avory and kicked over his drum set. Avory responded by hitting Davies with his hi-hat stand, rendering him unconscious, before fleeing from
12210-526: The Kinks recorded their final theatrical work, Schoolboys in Disgrace , a backstory biography of Preservation's Mr Flash. The record was a modest success, peaking at number 45 on the Billboard charts. Following the termination of their contract with RCA, the Kinks signed with Arista Records in 1976. With the encouragement of Arista's management, they stripped back down to a five-man core group and were reborn as an arena rock band. John Dalton left
12395-502: The Kinks to the public eye. The lyrics originally contained the word " Coca-Cola ", and the BBC refused to broadcast the song, considering it to be in violation of their policy against product placement . Part of the song was hastily rerecorded by Ray Davies, with the offending line changed to the generic "cherry cola", although in concert the Kinks still used "Coca-Cola". Recordings of both versions of "Lola" exist. Released in November 1970,
12580-767: The Kinks were inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame in November 2005, with all four of the original band members in attendance. The induction helped fuel sales for the group; in August 2007, a re-entry of The Ultimate Collection , a compilation of material spanning the band's career, reached number 32 on the UK Top 100 album chart and number one on the UK Indie album chart. Quaife, who had been receiving kidney dialysis for more than ten years, died on 23 June 2010, aged 66. In 2018, long-time bassist Jim Rodford died at
12765-408: The Kinks' line-up was expanded to include a horn section and female backup singers, essentially reconfiguring the group as a theatrical troupe. Ray Davies' marital problems during this period began to affect the band adversely, particularly after his wife, Rasa, took their children and left him in June 1973. Davies became depressed; during a July gig at White City Stadium , he told the audience he
12950-555: The Ray Davies Quartet, the band that would become the Kinks, was at a dance for their school, William Grimshaw, in 1962. The band performed under several names between 1962 and 1963—the Pete Quaife Band, the Bo-Weevils, the Ramrods, and the Ravens—before settling on the Kinks in early 1964. Ray has stated that a performance at Hornsey Town Hall on Valentine's Day 1963 was when the band were truly born. The Kinks made their first tour of Australia and New Zealand in January 1965 as part of
13135-654: The Trail of Dead and Wilco . According to Harvilla, a perfect score given to an album on release "qualifies as a seismic event for the rock-critic universe as a whole". Some reviews experimented with the score system. The 2005 Robert Pollard album Relaxation of the Asshole received a simultaneous 10 and 0; the review for the 2007 Radiohead album In Rainbows , which allowed fans to pay what they wanted to download, allowed readers to enter their own score. After Pitchfork changed its content management system to require
13320-679: The UK but stalled at number 111 in the US. There were only a few bands that had this sorta really rough-sounding, what we used to call "R&B" style in the Sixties. There were the Yardbirds , there was us, there was the Pretty Things , as well. —Dave Davies, interview with the Austin Chronicle The day after the band's return from the Asian tour, recording began promptly on their next project, Kinda Kinks . The LP
13505-459: The UK. Their first album for the new labels, Think Visual , was released later that year with moderate success, peaking at number 81 on the Billboard albums chart. Songs like the ballad " Lost and Found " and "Working at the Factory" concerned blue-collar life on an assembly line, while the title track was an attack on the very MTV video culture from which the band had profited earlier in
13690-428: The UK. A collection of thematic vignettes of English town and hamlet life, it was assembled from songs written and recorded over the previous two years. It was greeted with almost unanimously positive reviews from both UK and US rock critics, yet failed to attract strong sales. One factor in the album's initial commercial failure was the lack of a popular single; it did not include the moderately successful "Days", and
13875-428: The US, precipitating a major dispute that contributed to the band's departure from the label. Directly after the release of the album, the band's contracts with Pye and Reprise expired. Before the end of 1971, the Kinks signed a five-album deal with RCA Records and received a million-dollar advance, which helped fund the construction of their own recording studio, Konk . Their debut for RCA, Muswell Hillbillies ,
14060-532: The US, the Kinks recorded another album, Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire) . As with the previous two albums, Arthur was grounded in characteristically English lyrical and musical hooks . A modest commercial success, it was well received by American music critics. Conceived as the score for a proposed but unrealised television drama, much of the album revolved around themes from
14245-473: The US, where it peaked at number 11. The live album One for the Road was produced in 1980, along with a video of the same title, bringing the group's concert-drawing power to a peak that would last into 1983. Dave Davies also took advantage of the group's improved commercial standing to fulfil his decade-long ambitions to release albums of his solo work. The first was the eponymous Dave Davies in 1980. It
14430-558: The accompanying album Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part One was a critical and commercial success, charting in the top 40 in the US, making it their most successful album since the mid-1960s. After the success of "Lola", the band released Percy in 1971, a soundtrack album to a film of the same name about a penis transplant. The album, which consisted largely of instrumentals, did not receive positive reviews. The band's US label, Reprise, declined to release it in
14615-514: The age of 76. Keyboardist Ian Gibbons died of cancer in 2019. Gosling died on 4 August 2023, at the age of 75. In June 2018, the Davies brothers said they were working on a new Kinks studio album with Avory. In July 2019, the band again said they were working on new music. However, in a December 2020 interview with The New York Times , Ray Davies gave no indication that much, or indeed any, work had been done, saying "I'd like to work with Dave again—if he'll work with me." When asked about
14800-463: The album track " Starstruck " was released as a single in North America and continental Europe, but was unsuccessful. Although a commercial disappointment, Village Green (the project's original name was adopted as a shorthand for the long album title) was embraced by the new underground rock press when it was released in January 1969 in the US, where the Kinks began to acquire a reputation as
14985-455: The album was tipped as a potential "chart winner" by Billboard magazine. Despite this, it managed only a meagre chart peak of 135—a sign of the band's flagging popularity in the American market. Released in November 1966, the Kinks' next single was a social commentary piece entitled " Dead End Street ". It became another UK Top 10 hit, but reached only number 73 in the US. Bob Dawbarn from Melody Maker praised Ray Davies' ability to create
15170-476: The annual Pitchfork Music Festival , launched in Chicago in 2006; the video site Pitchfork.tv and book, The Pitchfork 500 , both launched in 2008; and a print publication, The Pitchfork Review , published between 2013 and 2016. In later years, Pitchfork became less antagonistic and more professional in style, and began covering more mainstream music and issues of gender, race and identity. As of 2014, it
15355-579: The band Black Kids as the most infamous example of Pitchfork "at its most deleterious". Pitchfork 's review of their debut EP, Wizard of Ahhhs , boosted the Black Kids' career; however, it collapsed when Pitchfork gave their debut album, Partie Traumatic (2008), a score of 3.3, with a review consisting entirely of a photograph of two frowning dogs and a frowning emoticon . Plagenhoef said Pitchfork later became more cautious in publishing negative reviews, as they were no longer "little guys on
15540-426: The band as a major influence. The Davies brothers were born in suburban North London on Huntingdon Road, East Finchley , the youngest and the only boys among their family's eight children. Their parents, Frederick and Annie Davies, moved the family to 6 Denmark Terrace, Fortis Green , in the neighbouring suburb of Muswell Hill . At home, the brothers were immersed in a world of varied musical styles, from
15725-426: The band before finishing the sessions for the debut Arista album. Andy Pyle was brought in to complete the sessions and to play on the subsequent tour. Sleepwalker , released in 1977, marked a return to success for the group as it peaked at number 21 on the Billboard chart. After its release and the recording of the follow-up, Misfits , Andy Pyle and keyboardist John Gosling left the group to work together on
15910-416: The band throughout its history. Quaife briefly left the band in 1966 and was replaced by John Dalton , though Quaife returned by the end of that year before leaving permanently in 1969, once again being replaced by Dalton. Keyboardist John Gosling joined in 1970 (prior to this, session keyboardist Nicky Hopkins played on many of their recordings). After Dalton's 1976 departure, Andy Pyle briefly served as
16095-568: The band's Australian and Asian tour led to Davies writing the song " See My Friends ", which was released as a single in July 1965. This was an early example of crossover music and one of the first pop songs of the period to display the direct influence of traditional music from the Indian subcontinent . Davies had written the song with a raga feel after hearing the early morning chants of local fishermen. Music historian Jonathan Bellman argues that
16280-422: The band's bassist before being replaced by Argent bassist Jim Rodford in 1978. Gosling quit in 1978 and was first replaced by ex- Pretty Things member Gordon John Edwards, then more permanently by Ian Gibbons in 1979. Avory left the group in 1984 and was replaced by another Argent member, Bob Henrit . The band gave its last public performance in 1996 and broke up in 1997 as a result of creative tension between
16465-481: The band's early 1970s rock material and the theatrical incarnation in which they immersed themselves for the next four years. In 1973, Ray Davies dived headlong into the theatrical style, beginning with the rock opera Preservation , a sprawling chronicle of social revolution, and a more ambitious outgrowth of the earlier Village Green Preservation Society ethos. In conjunction with the Preservation project,
16650-442: The band's sound. Dave Davies scored a major UK chart success with the album's " Death of a Clown ". While co-written by Ray Davies and recorded by the Kinks, the song was also released as a Dave Davies solo single. Overall, the album's commercial performance was disappointing, prompting the Kinks to rush out a new single, " Autumn Almanac ", in early October. Backed with " Mister Pleasant ", the single became another top-5 success for
16835-553: The band, and the Beatles ' promoter, Arthur Howes, was retained to schedule the Ravens' live shows. The group unsuccessfully auditioned for various record labels until early 1964, when Talmy secured them a contract with Pye Records . During this period they had acquired a new drummer, Mickey Willet; however, Willet left the band shortly before they signed to Pye. The Ravens invited Mick Avory to replace him after seeing an advertisement Avory had placed in Melody Maker . Avory had
17020-422: The band, and Henrit was brought in to take his place. Ray Davies, who was still on amiable terms with Avory, invited him to manage Konk Studios. Avory accepted and continued to serve as a producer and occasional contributor on later Kinks albums. Between the completion of Return to Waterloo and Avory's departure, the band had begun work on Word of Mouth , their final Arista album, released in November 1984. As
17205-406: The bass, more like a lead guitar: and Nicky Hopkins , who was playing piano on that session, was playing " Liza "—we always used to play that song—little things like that helped us get into the feeling of the song. At the time I wrote "Sunny Afternoon" I couldn't listen to anything. I was only playing the greatest hits of Frank Sinatra and Dylan's " Maggie's Farm "—I just liked its whole presence, I
17390-420: The comedian David Cross to write a list of his favorite albums. Cross wrote that he was surprised by the invitation, citing several insulting Pitchfork reviews of his comedy albums, and instead wrote a "withering and absurdist" article titled "Albums to listen to while reading overwrought Pitchfork reviews". In 2007, the satirical website The Onion published a piece in which Pitchfork reviewed music as
17575-722: The comment to a 2014 Nielsen report that found that millennial men were heavy music listeners and were more interested in streaming services than other demographics. In 2012, a Pitchfork poll asking readers to vote for their favorite music found that 88% of respondents were male, and statistics recorded by Quantcast in 2015 found that 82% of Pitchfork readers were men, most aged 18–34. Schreiber responded on Twitter that women were "a huge part of Pitchfork's staff and readership" and that Pitchfork aimed to reach "all music fans everywhere". On March 13, 2016, Pitchfork launched its first new design since 2011. That October, Pitchfork had 4.1 million unique visitors, up from 2.7 million
17760-508: The contributor Nate Patrin said Pitchfork had become "what publications like the Village Voice used to be in terms of letting writers go deep without feeling pressured to talk down to readers", with long-form articles and documentaries. By 2017, according to Bloomberg , its reviews had become "as erudite as those of the music magazines that Pitchfork had all but eclipsed in influence". The critic Ann Powers wrote in 2024 that "in
17945-629: The debut album by Arcade Fire , Funeral (2004), it became the fastest-selling record in the history of Merge Records . Other acts whose careers were boosted by Pitchfork in the 2000s include the Dismemberment Plan , Clap Your Hands Say Yeah , Modest Mouse , Broken Social Scene , Bon Iver and Sufjan Stevens . Schreiber said they wanted to create a roster of artists whom people discovered with Pitchfork and became associated them. The managing editor, Scott Plagenhoef, downplayed their influence, saying Pitchfork merely "accelerated
18130-439: The decade. Think Visual was followed in 1987 with the live album The Road , which was a mediocre commercial and critical performer. In 1989, the Kinks released UK Jive , a commercial failure that made only a momentary entry into the US album chart at number 122. MCA Records ultimately dropped them, leaving the Kinks without a label deal for the first time in over a quarter of a century. Longtime keyboardist Ian Gibbons left
18315-539: The end of it. Really wonderful—like going to Waterloo and seeing the sunset. ... It's like saying goodbye to somebody, then afterwards feeling the fear that you actually are alone." "Days" reached number 12 in the UK and was a top-20 hit in several other countries, but it did not chart in the US. Village Green eventually morphed into their next album, The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society , released in late 1968 in
18500-468: The end of the 2000s, Pitchfork had become influential in the music industry, credited for launching acts such as Arcade Fire and Bon Iver . Employees at record labels and record stores would use it to anticipate interest in acts. It was also attracting large sponsors such as American Express and Apple . The influence of Pitchfork on music careers declined around the turn of the decade, as streaming and social media fractured audiences and reduced
18685-488: The end of the 20th century, which were publishing content about Star Wars , nu metal and pop punk. He characterized the Pitchfork voice as that of the outsider mocking the mainstream. In The Verge , Elizabeth Lopatto wrote that early Pitchfork reviews were unpolished and sometimes unprofessional, and "brash, sometimes bizarre, often typo-ridden", but that this distinguished Pitchfork from traditional media and made it fun to read. Contributors to Pitchfork said it
18870-400: The first song, "You Really Got Me", Davies insulted Avory and kicked over his drum set. Avory responded by hitting Davies with his hi-hat stand, rendering him unconscious, before fleeing from the scene, fearing that he had killed his bandmate. Davies was taken to Cardiff Royal Infirmary, where he received 16 stitches to his head. To placate police, Avory later claimed that it was part of
19055-523: The first three books on the Kinks were published: The Kinks: The Official Biography , by Jon Savage ; The Kinks Kronikles , by rock critic John Mendelsohn , who had overseen the 1972 The Kink Kronikles compilation album; and The Kinks – The Sound and the Fury ( The Kinks – A Mental Institution in the US), by Johnny Rogan . In early 1986, the Kinks signed with MCA Records in the US and London Records in
19240-513: The following decade, Pitchfork shifted its editorial range and style. It began running news and features alongside reviews, coming to resemble a more conventional music publication. It also diversified from indie rock to cover mainstream music including pop, rap and metal, and began covering issues of gender, race and identity in music, influenced by movements such as MeToo and Black Lives Matter . Schreiber said that "our tastes broadened with age and experience", and that Pitchfork could make
19425-617: The former Yardbirds manager, who put Davies in touch with the Soho -based Dave Hunt Band, a professional group of musicians who played jazz and R&B. A few days after the Ray Davies Quartet supported Cyril Stapleton at the Lyceum Ballroom on New Year's Eve, Davies, while still remaining in the Quartet, joined the Dave Hunt Band which briefly included Charlie Watts on drums. In February 1963, Davies left Dave Hunt to join
19610-515: The grand tradition of rock criticism, joining the ranks of imperious and opinionated writers". Schreiber described the reviews of one early Pitchfork writer, Brent DiCrescenzo, as dense with dialogue and pop culture references, "exploring outlandish scenarios". Pitchfork 's style changed in the 2010s as it broadened its scope and audience, shifting to poptimism . The contributor Craig Jenkins said Pitchfork had needed to change its "walled-in" perspective, and that it had been "antagonistic toward
19795-476: The group and was replaced by Mark Haley. The Kinks were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990, their first year of eligibility. Mick Avory and Pete Quaife were present for the award. The induction did not lead to a revival of the group's stalled career. A compilation from the MCA Records period, Lost & Found (1986–1989) , was released in 1991 to fulfil contractual obligations, marking
19980-600: The group at least once in early 1962. He then formed his own group, Rod Stewart and the Moonrakers, who became a local rival to the Ray Davies Quartet. In late 1962, Ray Davies left home to study at Hornsey College of Art . He pursued interests in subjects such as film, sketching, theatre, and music, including jazz and blues. When Alexis Korner's Blues Incorporated played at the college in December, he asked advice from Alexis Korner , who recommended Giorgio Gomelsky ,
20165-493: The group until the recording of the album Sleepwalker in 1976. Ray Davies travelled to Los Angeles in April 1969 to help negotiate an end to the American Federation of Musicians' ban on the group, opening up an opportunity for them to return to touring in the US. The group's management quickly made plans for a North American tour to help restore their standing in the US pop music scene. Before their return to
20350-550: The group's commercial standing, the Kinks' management booked them on a month-long package tour for April, drawing the group away from the studio. The venues were largely cabarets and clubs; headlining was Peter Frampton 's group the Herd . "In general, the teenyboppers were not there to see the boring old Kinks, who occasionally had to endure chants of 'We Want The Herd!' during their brief appearances", commented Andy Miller. The tour proved taxing and stressful—Pete Quaife recalled, "It
20535-464: The group's contract unless their third single was a success. The Ray Davies song " You Really Got Me ", influenced by American blues and the Kingsmen 's version of " Louie Louie ", was recorded on 15 June 1964 at Pye Studios with a slower and more produced feel than the final single. Davies wanted to rerecord the song using a lean, raw sound, but Pye refused to fund another session; Davies
20720-428: The group's first top-20 hit in the UK since 1972, peaking at number 12. The accompanying album, State of Confusion , was another commercial success, reaching number 12 in the US, but, like all the group's albums since 1967, it failed to chart in the UK. Another single released from the record, " Don't Forget to Dance ", became a US top-30 hit and minor UK chart entry. The Kinks' second wave of popularity remained at
20905-576: The group's new releases. In 1978, Van Halen covered "You Really Got Me" for their debut single, a top-40 US hit, helping boost the band's commercial resurgence (Van Halen later covered " Where Have All the Good Times Gone ", another early Kinks song which had been covered by David Bowie on his 1973 album Pin Ups ). The hard rock sound of Low Budget , released in 1979, helped make it the Kinks' second gold album and highest charting original album in
21090-424: The group. At this point, in a string of 13 singles, 12 of them reached the top 10 in the UK chart. Andy Miller suggests that, despite its success, the single marks a turning point in the band's career—it would be their last entry into the UK top ten for three years: "In retrospect, 'Autumn Almanac' marked the first hint of trouble for the Kinks. This glorious single, one of the greatest achievements of British 60s pop,
21275-689: The impression of a "forward-facing, vibrant title". Unlike other music publications, which typically assign scores out of five or ten, Pitchfork uses a decimal scale of 0.0 to 10.0. The system has drawn mockery as arbitrary and overprecise. DiCrescenzo described it as "knowingly silly", and in 2021 Pitchfork wrote that it was an "admittedly absurd and subjective" signature element. Schreiber said he liked its absurdity and how "it felt kind of scientific without any actual science to it". Early reviews used percentages rather than decimals. By 2021, Pitchfork had published more than 28,000 reviews. Pitchfork reviews do not represent an editorial consensus but
21460-458: The internet. Schreiber announced his departure on January 8, 2019, saying he wanted to "keep pushing boundaries and exploring new things". The Los Angeles Times said the departure came at a time of "existential change" for the media industries, citing the rise of streaming services and social media and the downsizing of many major music publications. That month, Condé Nast announced it would put all its publications, including Pitchfork , behind
21645-481: The journalistic form and temperament of the time". While it was widely mocked, it boosted Pitchfork 's profile. Schreiber said he understood the review would make Pitchfork subject to ridicule, but "wanted Pitchfork to be daring and to surprise people". In 2001, Pitchfork had 30,000 daily readers. In 2004, Pitchfork hired its first full-time employee, Chris Kaskie, formerly of the satirical website The Onion , to run business operations. Kaskie later became
21830-474: The lens of an unsympathetic aristocrat bemoaning the loss of his vast unearned wealth. Its strong music hall flavour and lyrical focus was part of a stylistic departure for the band (begun with 1965's " A Well Respected Man "), which had risen to fame in 1964–65 with a series of hard-driving, power-chord rock hits. "Sunny Afternoon" was written in Ray Davies' house when he was ill. He recalled: I'd bought
22015-538: The men's magazine GQ , resulting in layoffs. The merge drew criticism and triggered concern about the implications for music journalism. Pitchfork was created in February 1996 by Ryan Schreiber, a high school graduate living in his parents' home in Minneapolis . Schreiber grew up listening to indie rock acts such as Fugazi , Jawbox and Guided by Voices . He was influenced by fanzine culture and had no previous writing experience. Schreiber initially named
22200-509: The men's magazine GQ . Staff including Patel were laid off, leaving around a dozen editorial staff, including some working on multiple Condé Nast publications. Max Tani of Semafor reported that the remaining staff were "depressed and embarrassed" by the merge. One writer who was laid off, Andy Cush, said "there was this real sense of despair ... about ever having a place to do the kind of work you feel like you're good at and that you're interested in again". As of that month, Pitchfork had
22385-419: The most daily active users of any Condé Nast publication. Journalists reacted with sadness and concern for the future of music journalism. Tani and The Washington Post 's Chris Richards expressed disgust that Pitchfork , once independent and provocative, would be absorbed into an establishment men's magazine. The music critic Ann Powers wrote that the merge felt "like a highly conservative move at
22570-645: The most influential rock bands of the 1960s. The band emerged during the height of British rhythm and blues and Merseybeat , and were briefly part of the British Invasion of the United States until their touring ban in 1965. Their third single, the Ray Davies-penned " You Really Got Me ", became an international hit, topping the charts in the United Kingdom and reaching the top 10 in the United States. The Kinks' music drew from
22755-532: The music site Hearing Things , which aims to "capture the original independent spirit" of Pitchfork . In November, Pitchfork announced that it had canceled Pitchfork Music Festival but would continue to produce events and "create spaces where music, culture, and community intersect". Pitchfork's unusual, passionate and stylized reviews differentiated it from the more scholarly and formal style of print magazines such as Rolling Stone . The critic Steven Hyden said it offered an alternative to music magazines at
22940-436: The music, playing into stereotypes of the cynical hipster . In 2018, the music journalist Robert Christgau described the early years of Pitchfork as "a snotty boys' club open to many 'critics' ... Too many amateur wise-asses and self-appointed aesthetes throwing their weight around." Many scathing early reviews were by Brent DiCrescenzo, who wrote lengthy reviews that rarely addressed the music. For example, his review of
23125-462: The name was coined by Larry Page, and referenced their "kinky" fashion sense. Davies quoted him as saying, "The way you look, and the clothes you wear, you ought to be called the Kinks." "I've never really liked the name," Ray stated. The Kinks' first single was a cover of the Little Richard song " Long Tall Sally ". A friend of the band, Bobby Graham , was recruited to play the drums on
23310-507: The need for gatekeepers. Streaming services began to fulfill Pitchfork 's function of helping new artists find audiences, and independent music criticism moved to podcasts and YouTube . Declining music industry revenues reduced advertising spending, and Pitchfork faced competition from advertisers such as Facebook . According to the Los Angeles Times , "The internet era that birthed Pitchfork 's blend of saucy writing, outre tastes and massive popularity [was] by and large over." Over
23495-420: The new work caused tension in his relationship with his brother. Another problem was the stormy end of the relationship between Ray Davies and Chrissie Hynde . The old feud between Dave Davies and drummer Mick Avory also re-ignited. Davies eventually refused to work with Avory, and called for him to be replaced by Bob Henrit , former drummer of Argent (of which Jim Rodford had also been a member). Avory left
23680-414: The next four years, effectively cutting them off from the main market for rock music at the height of the British Invasion . Although neither the Kinks nor the union revealed a specific reason for the ban, at the time it was widely attributed to their rowdy on-stage behaviour. It has been reported that the ban was sparked by an incident that happened when the band were taping Dick Clark 's TV show Where
23865-419: The official end of the group's relationship with the label. The band then signed with Columbia Records and released the five-song EP Did Ya in 1991, which, despite being coupled with a new studio re-recording of the band's 1968 British hit "Days", failed to chart. The Kinks reverted to a four-piece band for the recording of their first Columbia album, Phobia , in 1993. After a sellout performance at
24050-505: The oldies circuit along with guitar-player/singer Dave Clarke as the Kast Off Kinks . In 1998, Ray Davies released the solo album Storyteller as a companion piece to his book X-Ray . Originally written two years earlier as a cabaret-style show, the album celebrated his old band and estranged brother. Seeing the programming potential of his music/dialogue/reminiscence format, the American music television network VH1 launched
24235-966: The opinion of the individual reviewer. Writers who did not want to use their names, or failed to include bylines with their submissions, were credited as Ray Suzuki, similarly to the filmmaker pseudonym Alan Smithee . In The Ringer , Rob Harvilla wrote that a 10.0 from Pitchfork "carries all the historical weight of five stars in Rolling Stone or five mics in The Source ... with its maddening and theoretically precise approach to decimal places, such that an ocean of feeling separates an 8.1 from an 8.9". Pitchfork has awarded perfect scores to more than 50 albums, most of them in its "Sunday Reviews" feature, which publishes retrospective reviews of classic albums. Artists who have received perfect scores on release include Radiohead, Fiona Apple , Kanye West , Bonnie "Prince" Billy , And You Will Know Us by
24420-463: The other – which was quite normal thinking for them. [...] Ray thought [of] doing it as an 'evolution tour' – you have different people who came into the band and what songs they recorded on and what songs affected them. I thought that would be more interesting. But I think Dave just wanted 'a band' – not particularly with me in it. Just reform something like they had when I left – just a band with him and Ray in it, really." The first live performance of
24605-514: The past decade Pitchfork had nurtured many of the best and most influential writers working today". She felt that "great music writing messes with productivity by creating a space to slow down and really immerse in someone else's creative work ... The best writing at Pitchfork or anywhere reflects that process and is as variegated as the human experience itself." In 2015, The Guardian credited Pitchfork for pioneering design techniques that combined print design and technical innovation to create
24790-576: The president and co-owner. Pitchfork 's first professional editor, Scott Plagenhoef, was hired shortly afterwards. Kaskie and Plagenhoef are credited for turning Pitchfork into a professional operation. It began to scale quickly; the more money it made, the more resources it had for reviews and articles. As of 2004, Pitchfork had eight full-time employees and about 50 freelance staff members, most of whom worked remotely and co-ordinated through phone and internet. Writers were unpaid for their first six months, after which they could earn $ 10 or $ 20 for
24975-432: The previous October. With Schreiber aiming to make it the world's best repository for music content, Pitchfork began creating videos and retrospective articles, covering classic albums released before its founding. Kaskie announced his departure from Pitchfork in May 2017. He had been frustrated by his diminished role under Condé Nast and Pitchfork 's reduced autonomy. On September 18, 2018, Schreiber stepped down as
25160-487: The process". After Pitchfork awarded 0.0 to Travistan (2004), the debut solo album by the Dismemberment Plan singer Travis Morrison , his solo career effectively ended. Years later, Morrison described the experience as "frightening and awful". Schreiber said he felt bad for him, but that it was important for Pitchfork writers to be honest. Other albums to receive 0.0 include Zaireeka (1995) by
25345-408: The rapper Chief Keef was arrested for violating a probation sentence by using a rifle in a promotional video by Pitchfork . Staff later described the episode as a low point and an example of how Pitchfork mishandled hip-hop artists. In December, Pitchfork launched The Pitchfork Review , a quarterly print journal focused on long-form music writing and design-focused content. Pitchfork planned
25530-463: The record flopped and said, "Well, you've had a good run. You've enjoyed it." As if it was all over for us. —Ray Davies, on the decline of the band's 1960s incarnation, "Wonderboy", and cabaret touring Beginning early in 1968, the group largely retired from touring, instead focusing on studio work. As the band was not available to promote their material, subsequent releases met with little success. The Kinks' next single, " Wonderboy ", released in
25715-461: The record was unavailable in stores—several months later, a small number appeared on the collector market. The group was dropped by Columbia in 1994. In the same year, the band released the first version of the album To the Bone on their own Konk label in the UK. This live acoustic album was partly recorded on the highly successful UK tours of 1993 and 1994 and partly in the Konk studio in front of
25900-470: The recording. Graham would continue to occasionally substitute for Avory in the studio and he played on several of the Kinks' early singles, including the hits "You Really Got Me", "All Day and All of the Night" and "Tired of Waiting for You". Released in February 1964, "Long Tall Sally" was almost completely ignored, despite the publicity efforts of the band's managers. When the second single " You Still Want Me " failed to chart, Pye Records threatened to annul
26085-406: The release of The Kink Kontroversy , Ray Davies suffered a nervous and physical breakdown, caused by the pressures of touring, writing and ongoing legal squabbles. During his months of recuperation, he wrote several new songs and pondered the band's direction. In June 1966, Quaife was involved in an automobile accident, and after his recovery he decided to leave the band. Bassist John Dalton , who
26270-490: The rest of the Kinks. Ray Davies pleaded with him to return for the sessions for their upcoming album, but Quaife refused. His last recording with the Kinks was the non-album single " Plastic Man " and its B-side "King Kong", released in March 1969. Immediately after Quaife had confirmed he was not returning, Ray Davies called up John Dalton, who had replaced Quaife three years prior, and asked him to rejoin. Dalton remained with
26455-481: The rough edges. Some of the double tracking on that is appalling. It had better songs on it than the first album, but it wasn't executed in the right way. It was just far too rushed." A significant stylistic shift in the Kinks' music became evident in late 1965, with the appearance of singles like " A Well Respected Man " and " Dedicated Follower of Fashion ", as well as the band's third album The Kink Kontroversy , on which Nicky Hopkins made his first appearance as
26640-436: The scene, fearing that he had killed his bandmate. Davies was taken to Cardiff Royal Infirmary , where he received 16 stitches to his head. To placate the police, Avory later claimed that it was part of a new act in which the band members would hurl their instruments at one another. Following a mid-year tour of the US , the American Federation of Musicians refused permits for the group to appear in concerts there for
26825-466: The sessions to play various keyboard instruments, including piano and harpsichord . He played on the band's next two studio albums as well and was involved in a number of their live BBC recordings before joining the Jeff Beck Group in 1968. Face to Face was released in October 1966 in the UK, where it was well received and peaked at number eight. When it was released in the US in December,
27010-495: The singer Björk argued that this was part of a wider problem of journalists assuming that female artists do not write or produce their own music. In 2024, the Pitchfork contributor Andrew Nosnitsky argued that hip-hop, not indie rock, was the "defining music" of his generation, but that Pitchfork was viewed as the defining music publication for "purely mechanical and straight-up white-supremacy reasons". Pitchfork has attracted multiple parodies. In 2005, Pitchfork invited
27195-407: The size of their biggest show ever. That's the goal, man. To put fucking Titus Andronicus in front of 10,000 people." In April 2008, after acquiring the live music show Juan's Basement , Pitchfork launched Pitchfork.tv , a website displaying interviews, music videos and feature-length films. In November, it published a book, The Pitchfork 500 , covering the preceding 30 years of music. By
27380-473: The song was "extremely influential" on Ray Davies' musical peers: "And while much has been made of the Beatles' ' Norwegian Wood ' because it was the first pop record to use a sitar , it was recorded well after the Kinks' clearly Indian 'See My Friends' was released." Pete Townshend of the Who was particularly affected by the song: " 'See My Friends' was the next time I pricked up my ears and thought, 'God, he's done it again. He's invented something new.' That
27565-419: The song's broad appeal, stating, " 'Sunny Afternoon', I remember the record coming out and I walked into a British Legion or a pub. I thought I was in a British Legion. All these people, old soldiers and things, singing it. I was 23 years old. I said, 'Wow, all these old people really like it.' And this old guy came up and said, 'You young guys... this is the sort of music we can relate to!' I thought, Wow, this
27750-482: The spring of 1968, stalled at number 36 and became the band's first single not to make the UK top twenty since their early covers. In the face of the band's declining popularity, Davies continued to pursue his personal song-writing style while rebelling against the heavy demands placed on him to keep producing commercial hits, and the group continued to devote time to the studio, centring on a slowly developing project of Ray's called Village Green . In an attempt to revive
27935-561: The street from their childhood home on Fortis Green in North London." The band members subsequently focused on solo projects, and the Davies brothers both released their own studio albums. Talk of a Kinks reunion circulated (including an aborted studio reunion of the original band members in 1999), but neither Ray nor Dave Davies showed much interest in playing together again. Meanwhile, former members John Gosling, John Dalton and Mick Avory had regrouped in 1994 and started performing on
28120-415: The student paper California Tech , one writer commented that it was "schmaltz rock ... without imagination, poorly arranged and a poor copy of The Beatles". Although Davies later estimated that it had sold only around 100,000 copies worldwide on its initial release, Village Green has since become the Kinks' best-selling original record. The album remains popular; in 2004, it was re-released in
28305-398: The stuff that the average person would be appreciating". Plagenhoef felt that the inflammatory "stunt reviews" were limiting, and wanted Pitchfork to be seen as trustworthy and thoughtful. Snapes said some had lamented the change, suggesting that it made Pitchfork "a less specific proposition". However, she felt it reflected modern music consumption and found it heartening that Pitchfork
28490-436: The subsequent tour and became a permanent member of the group. Despite the personnel changes, the popularity of the band's records and live shows continued to grow. Beginning in the late 1970s, bands such as the Jam (" David Watts "), the Pretenders (" Stop Your Sobbing ", " I Go to Sleep "), the Romantics (" She's Got Everything "), and the Knack (" The Hard Way ") recorded covers of Kinks songs, which helped bring attention to
28675-491: The time the single was released, and appeared in the promotional music video. The Kinks' next single, " Waterloo Sunset ", was released in May 1967. The lyrics describe two lovers passing over a bridge, with a melancholic observer reflecting on the couple, the Thames , and Waterloo station . The song was rumoured to have been inspired by the romance between actors Terence Stamp and Julie Christie , two British celebrities of
28860-408: The time. Ray Davies denied this in his autobiography, and claimed in a 2008 interview, "It was a fantasy about my sister going off with her boyfriend to a new world and they were going to emigrate and go to another country." Despite its complex arrangement, the sessions for "Waterloo Sunset" lasted a mere ten hours. Dave Davies later commented on the recording: "We spent a lot of time trying to get
29045-436: The top editor. He was replaced by Puja Patel, who had worked at Spin and Gawker Media , as editor-in-chief on October 15. Schreiber remained as a strategic advisor. He said he later realized that Condé Nast did not understand Pitchfork and had unrealistic expectations of its performance. Patel came under pressure to cut costs amid declining traffic from social media, and competition from streaming platforms, which offered
29230-641: The transatlantic hit " Lola " (1970). After a fallow period in the mid-1970s, the band experienced a revival with their albums Sleepwalker (1977), Misfits (1978), Low Budget (1979), Give the People What They Want (1981) and State of Confusion (1983), the last of which produced one of the band's most successful US hits, " Come Dancing ". The band's original line-up comprised Ray Davies (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Dave Davies (lead guitar, vocals), Mick Avory (drums, percussion) and Pete Quaife (bass). The Davies brothers remained with
29415-753: The website Turntable , but changed it after another website claimed the rights. The name Pitchfork was inspired by the tattoo on the assassin Tony Montana in the film Scarface . Schreiber chose it as it was concise and had "evilish overtones". The first review was of Pacer (1995) by the Amps , and the record store Insound was Pitchfork 's first advertiser. Early Pitchfork reviews focused on indie rock and were often critical. The Washington Post described them as "brutal" and "merciless", writing: "The site's stable of critics often seemed capricious, uninvested, sometimes spiteful, assigning low scores on
29600-579: Was "fucking sick of the whole thing" and was retiring. He subsequently collapsed after a drug overdose and was taken to hospital. With Ray Davies in a seemingly critical condition, plans were discussed for Dave to continue as frontman in a worst-case scenario. Ray recovered from his illness as well as his depression, but throughout the remainder of the Kinks' theatrical incarnation the band's output remained uneven, and their already fading popularity declined even more. John Dalton later commented that when Davies "decided to work again ... I don't think he
29785-526: Was a chore, very dull, boring and straightforward ... We only did twenty minutes, but it used to drive me absolutely frantic, standing on stage and playing three notes over and over again." At the end of June, the Kinks released the single " Days ", which provided a minor, but only momentary, comeback for the group. "I remember playing it when I was at Fortis Green the first time I had a tape of it", Ray said. "I played it to Brian, who used to be our roadie , and his wife and two daughters. They were crying at
29970-470: Was able to take risks as it was not interested in appeasing bands, record labels or advertisers. In 2006, Pitchfork had 170,000 daily readers and was publishing five album reviews a day, with six full-time employees. Schreiber said that Pitchfork was able to sustain paid freelancers and eight employees, though they were "always cutting it close". He said he had attracted interest from investors, but wanted to retain control and that journalistic integrity
30155-474: Was adamant, so the producer Shel Talmy broke the stalemate by underwriting the session himself. The band used an independent recording studio, IBC , and completed the recording in two takes on 15 July. The single was released in August 1964; supported by a performance on the television show Ready Steady Go! and extensive pirate radio coverage, it entered the UK charts on 15 August, reaching number one on 19 September. Hastily imported by
30340-476: Was also an influence on the Beatles: "I remember it vividly and still think it's a remarkable pop song. I was with the Beatles the evening that they actually sat around listening to it on a gramophone, saying 'You know this guitar thing sounds like a sitar. We must get one of those. ' " The song's radical departure from popular music conventions proved unpopular with the band's American following—it hit number 10 in
30525-458: Was also known by its catalogue number " AFL1-3603 " because of its cover art, which depicted Dave Davies as a leather-jacketed piece of price-scanning barcode. He produced another, less successful, solo album in 1981, Glamour . The next Kinks album, Give the People What They Want , was released in late 1981 and reached number 15 in the US. The record attained gold status and featured the UK hit single " Better Things " as well as " Destroyer ",
30710-551: Was an important part of Pitchfork 's early popularity, as music fans could share and listen to recordings while reading daily updates. In 2000, Pitchfork ' s 10.0/10.0 review of the highly anticipated Radiohead album Kid A , written by Brent DiCrescenzo, generated a surge in readership and was one of the first signs of Pitchfork becoming a major publication. One of the first Kid A reviews published, it attracted attention for its unusual style. Billboard described it as "extremely long-winded and brazenly unhinged from
30895-464: Was completed and released within two weeks, even though 10 of its 12 songs were originals. According to Ray Davies, the band was not completely satisfied with the final cuts, but pressure from the record company meant that no time was available to correct flaws in the mix. Davies later expressed his dissatisfaction with the production, saying, "A bit more care should have been taken with it. I think [producer] Shel Talmy went too far in trying to keep in
31080-486: Was facing mounting financial problems, and Kaskie spent the year attempting to find funding. On October 13, 2015, the American mass media company Condé Nast announced that it had acquired Pitchfork . At this point, Pitchfork had about 50 employees, with editorial and video production staff in Brooklyn and advertising, sales and development staff in Chicago. The Condé Nast CEO, Bob Sauerberg, described Pitchfork as
31265-472: Was florid and sometimes impenetrable, and contained factual errors. Similar criticisms came from Rob Harvilla of the East Bay Express and Claire Suddath of Time . Responding to criticism in 2006, Schreiber said he trusted his writers' style and opinions. In its early years, Pitchfork was criticized as mean-spirited and elitist , and for publishing reviews that do not meaningfully discuss
31450-536: Was his priority. In August 2006, an internal Pitchfork server containing promotional copies of hundreds of albums was hacked, including the forthcoming Joanna Newsom album Ys . In the mid-2000s, Pitchfork expanded its operations. In 2006, it launched the annual Pitchfork Music Festival in Chicago. The first Paris Pitchfork Music Festival was held in 2011. Kaskie said it was exciting to see acts Pitchfork had championed playing to large crowds: "We start to see these bands playing in front of audiences 10 times
31635-680: Was immediately divisive among music fans. In the Washington Post , J. Freedom du Lac described Pitchfork as entertaining, "hilariously snarky" and "occasionally even enlightening". The Los Angeles Times writer August Brown described it as "raucous, passionate, sometimes blinkered but always evolving". In Slate , Matthew Shaer wrote that the best Pitchfork reviews were "cagey, fierce, witty and graceful". The journalist Dave Itzkoff described Pitchfork reviews as "defiantly passionate and frustratingly capricious" with an "aura of integrity and authenticity that made such pronouncements credible, even definitive, to fans ... insinuating themselves into
31820-477: Was initially hired to fill in for the injured Quaife, subsequently became his official replacement. However, Quaife soon had a change of heart and rejoined the band in November 1966, with Dalton returning to his previous job as a coalman. "Sunny Afternoon" was a dry run for the band's next album Face to Face , which displayed Davies' growing ability to craft musically gentle yet lyrically cutting narrative songs about everyday life and people. Hopkins returned for
32005-428: Was made very quickly, in the morning, it was one of our most atmospheric sessions. I still like to keep tapes of the few minutes before the final take, things that happen before the session. Maybe it's superstitious, but I believe if I had done things differently—if I had walked around the studio or gone out—it wouldn't have turned out that way. The bass player went off and started playing funny little classical things on
32190-487: Was playing the Bringing It All Back Home LP along with my Frank Sinatra and Glenn Miller and Bach —it was a strange time. I thought they all helped one another, they went into the chromatic part that's in the back of the song. I once made a drawing of my voice on "Sunny Afternoon". It was a leaf with a very thick outline—a big blob in the background—the leaf just cutting through it. Released as
32375-435: Was produced by Ray Davies at Konk. The band embarked on an ambitious US tour throughout late 1974, adapting the Preservation story for the stage. Author Robert Polito : "[Ray] Davies expanded the Kinks into a road troupe of perhaps a dozen costumed actors, singers and horn players. ... Smoother and tighter than on record, Preservation live proved funnier as well." Davies began another project for Granada Television,
32560-422: Was receiving around 6.2 million unique visitors and 40 million pageviews every month, with an expected annual revenue growth of 25 to 40 percent. Its primary revenue came from advertising. According to the media analytics firm Comscore , Pitchfork had 2.47 million unique visitors that August, more than the websites for Spin or Vibe but fewer than Rolling Stone 's 11 million. By this point, Pitchfork
32745-418: Was receiving around 6.2 million unique visitors every month. The influence of Pitchfork declined in the 2010s with the growth of streaming and social media . In 2015, it was acquired by the mass media company Condé Nast and moved to One World Trade Center . The Pitchfork president, Chris Kaskie, left in 2017, followed by Schreiber in 2019. In 2024, Condé Nast announced plans to merge Pitchfork into
32930-431: Was released in the UK on 24 November. It sold 59,000 copies, failing to reach the top 10. Miller states that "by the end of the year, the Kinks were rapidly sliding out of fashion". Everyone was panicking because "Wonderboy" wasn't sounding like a hit record. Among the management and the agent, Danny Detesh, there was definitely a sense that the band wouldn't go on for much longer ... Danny came backstage when
33115-422: Was released three weeks later as the group's fourth single, reaching number two in the UK and number seven in the US. The next three singles, " Tired of Waiting for You ", " Ev'rybody's Gonna Be Happy " and " Set Me Free ", were also commercially successful, with the first of the three topping the UK singles chart. The group opened 1965 with their first tour of Australia and New Zealand, with Manfred Mann and
33300-462: Was replete with the influence of music hall and traditional American musical styles, including country and bluegrass. Though not as successful as its predecessors, it is often hailed as their last great record. It was named after Muswell Hill where Ray and Dave grew up and contained songs focusing on working-class life and, again, the Davies brothers' childhood. Despite positive reviews and high expectations, Muswell Hillbillies peaked at number 48 on
33485-443: Was reviewing a variety of genres and artists. Under Puja Patel, who became the editor in 2018, Pitchfork covered more female, non-binary, queer and non-white artists. Pitchfork also switched to a more professional style. The editor Amy Phillips illustrated this by comparing her coverage of the announcement of two Radiohead albums, years apart; the first was excitable, whereas the second was more professional and factual. In 2014,
33670-461: Was the first reasonable use of the drone—far, far better than anything The Beatles did and far, far earlier. It was a European sound rather than an Eastern sound but with a strong, legitimate Eastern influence which had its roots in European folk music." In a widely quoted statement by Barry Fantoni , himself a 1960s celebrity and friend of the Kinks, the Beatles and the Who, he recalled that it
33855-420: Was through a dusty, fallen aristocrat who had come from old money as opposed to the wealth I had created for myself." In order to prevent the listener from sympathizing with the song's protagonist, Davies said, "I turned him into a scoundrel who fought with his girlfriend after a night of drunkenness and cruelty." Davies explained of the circumstances in which the song was written and recorded: "Sunny Afternoon"
34040-471: Was totally better, and he's been a different person ever since." Preservation Act 1 (1973) and Preservation Act 2 (1974) received generally poor reviews. The story on the albums involved an anti-hero called Mr Flash, and his rival and enemy Mr Black (played by Dave Davies during live shows), an ultra-purist and corporatist. Preservation Act 2 was the first album recorded at Konk Studio; from this point forward, virtually every Kinks studio recording
34225-445: Was widely criticised at the time for being too similar to previous [Ray] Davies efforts." Nick Jones of Melody Maker asked, "Is it time that Ray stopped writing about grey suburbanites going about their fairly unemotional daily business? ... Ray works to a formula, not a feeling, and it's becoming rather boring." Disc jockey Mike Ahern called the song "a load of old rubbish". Dave's second solo single " Susannah's Still Alive "
#635364