[Dean's World] Ron Coleman: Kiss them goodbye

[notify at powerblogs.com]

Posted by Ron Coleman:
Kiss them goodbye
http://www.deanesmay.com/posts/1155009636.shtml


                        [Kiss_alive_album_cover.jpg]

   [1]CNN says, "About 200 Kiss fans protested in front of the Rock and
   Roll Hall of Fame and Museum to demand that the band be inducted into
   the hall."

   Yeah, what a country. We could say all the obvious things -- who could
   possibly have time to do such a thing? what kind of person has such a
   priority in a world of such serious goings-on? why would someone
   voluntary spend a half hour outdoors in Cleveland? -- but the real
   question is:

   Why [2]Kiss? Can you think of a single hit song, or even a single
   really good song, or really any song, by Kiss? I have left childish
   things such as this behind; but I was in my salad days as a music
   consumer during Kiss's salad days as music -- er, record -- producers.
   I would not be able to name a single Kiss song if it weren't for the
   fact that at some point during my pre-teen years there was a
   commercial for a new Kiss LP on TV (quite unusual) and they played "I
   Want to Rock and Roll All Night (And Party Every Day)" from it. It had
   a hook, I'll grant. I am sure I've never heard the song in its
   entirety, though. I spent those years listening assiduously to the old
   AM hit radio format, and then in the mid-through late '70's I was
   always tuned into what was then called [3]AOR -- album oriented rock.
   I never, ever heard a Kiss song. We caught on pretty fast that these
   guys were just a joke.

   Later, in four years (plus, actually) as a [4]college DJ with a fairly
   broad and esoteric range of airsound options, I never got a request
   for a Kiss song, nor did a Kiss album ever enter into our "old
   emphasis" rotation. I don't even recall seeing one used as a coaster.

   The makeup, the stage shows --, the introduction of the ([5]ironic, to
   say the least) Nazi "SS" device into rock and roll graphic art --
   revolutionary, I suppose. But contribution to rock and roll? Can't see
   it. The music has to figure somewhere.

References

   1. http://www.cnn.com/2006/SHOWBIZ/Music/08/05/kiss.ap/index.html
   2. http://www.kissonline.com/
   3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Album-oriented_rock
   4. http://www.wprb.com/
   5. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gene_Simmons