The Kinks News

EDDIE LEDESMA/CONTRA COSTA TIMES/MCT/file Ray Davies was in good spirits Tuesday night at Berklee Performance Center.

With this week's self-titled release, M. Bison are living up to the high standard the band has set for themselves with their live performances, by embracing what they do best-adventurous pop songs.

Not many bands can claim to have altered the trajectory of rock 'n' roll with only their third single, but The Kinks managed to inject something primal into the mix with 1964's "You Really Got Me," and fourth single, "All Day and All of the Night" only cemented their place in rock's primary '60s blueprint pantheon.

Filter likes music. There's no hiding it. We also like our own opinions a whole bunch, so once a week we give the masses a fleeting glimpse into our selective stereos to let them see firsthand what fuels our endless devotion.

Unlike 95 percent of performers, now or ever, Ray Davies actually has greater star power than stardom: Hea TMs greater than his acclaim.

Wednesday 18 November 2009 club news Kingsmeadow Live presents the Kounterfeit Kinks this Saturday! Kingsmeadow Live proudly presents the Kounterfeit Kinks as our next gig on Saturday 21 November.

Arctic Monkeys - 'Cornerstone' Daft Punk - 'Television Rules The Nation' Fight Like Apes - 'Lend Me Your Face' John Barry Seven - 'James Bond Theme' Ham Sandwich - 'Out Of The Darkness' Hot Chip - 'One Pure Thought' Them Crooked Vultures - 'No One Loves Me & Neither Do I' Bat For Lashes - 'Pearl's Dream' Radiohead - 'Optimistic' Santigold - 'Shove ...

In a recent wide-ranging interview with The Republican, Kinks' founder Ray Davies talked about his hopes to soon release an album of collaborations with other artists.

Philip Seymour Hoffman, Bill Nighy, and Kenneth Branagh star in a film written and directed by Richard Curtis.

While his peers The Beatles are turning a new generation of music fans on to their music via a videogame and The Who are prepping for a Super Bowl halftime performance, Ray Davies [ tickets ] has opted for a more organic and subtle way to celebrate the songs of The Kinks.

The 1960s soundtrack can almost float this boat all by itself. And when the DJs on board the British pirate radio ship aren't doing needle drops on vinyl by The Who, The Kinks, Jimi Hendrix, Martha and the Vandellas and other rock 'n' roll legends, the exuberant performances of the cast keep the comedy by writer-director Richard Curtis upbeat.

Jed Gottlieb writes about music, film and pop culture for local, regional and national publications.

I'll be busy preparing for Thought Bubble in Leeds this week so the Victory Centre will appear only when necessary.

Ray Davies has learned to embrace his long season of reinvention. In recent years, the Kinks frontman has lamented the indefinite hiatus of the band he led for decades, but as of late he's responded with renewed energy and ambition unknown to many of his surviving contemporaries from rock's original British Invasion.

Fans of the band will be happy to hear a free Ray Davies re-recording of The Kinks' classic "Celluloid Heroes" is available in mp3 format, courtesy of LA Weekly.

"Pirate Radio" is a painful little mistake of a movie. It's a salute to jubilant classic rock that's as boring and stiff as a Britney Spears lip-synch concert.

RAY DAVIES Kinks fans may have reason to be hopeful. Davies has been recording with original drummer Mick Avory and a couple of latter-day Kinks.

American DJ The Count illegally broadcasts music from an old tanker anchored in the middle of the North Sea in the 1960s period comedy Pirate Radio.

At last, a probram featuring more than two hours of songs about monkeys! From Big Maybelle to the Mothers of Invention with inclusions from Chuck Berry, the Kinks, Beastie Boys and, of course, Gorillaz.

More retro than renegade, Pirate Radio is buoyed by spirited performances and infectious tunes.