Dave Davies Defends Kinks' Lola After Moby Calls It Transphobic

Dave Davies, guitarist for The Kinks, expressed strong disapproval after electronic musician Moby described the band's 1970 hit "Lola" as transphobic in a recent interview. The exchange, unfolding on social media this week, highlights ongoing debates about interpreting classic rock lyrics through a contemporary lens.

In a question-and-answer feature for The Guardian titled "Honest Playlist," Moby named "Lola" as the song he can no longer listen to. "Lola by The Kinks came up on a Spotify playlist, and I thought the lyrics were gross and transphobic," he said. "I like their early music, but I was really taken aback at how unevolved the lyrics are." Moby did not elaborate on specific lines that troubled him, though the track includes verses about a narrator's encounter with a character named Lola, who "walked like a woman but talked like a man."

Davies, 79, responded swiftly on X, formerly Twitter, where he posted twice over the weekend. In one message, he wrote, "I am highly insulted that Moby would accuse my brother of being unevolved or transphobic in any way." He shared a letter from Jayne County, a pioneering transgender punk singer who began performing as a woman in the...