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Gnostic Almighty 213 posts |
Feb 21, 2010, 20:11
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What is it about this band that creates such diverse views? I like some of their stuff ... my first memories of them was actually on the dancefloor with Sure Know Something, and I Was Made For Loving You ... must have been late 70's? Obviously, as a youth Kiss Alive got played to hell, but they were never anything more than almost a novelty act to me ... ... so what am I missing folks? |
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Carlos 3353 posts |
Feb 21, 2010, 20:50
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What are you missing? Nothing!!! (I must run for cover now) ;-) |
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machineryelf 2935 posts |
Edited Feb 21, 2010, 21:25
Feb 21, 2010, 20:57
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I'm with you Carlos, and I quite like Kiss You could knock up a double CD of good Kiss from across all the records, but bar Alive 1 & maybe 2, non of the others are essential, even the early ones are fairly clunker filled having said that the good songs are pretty good, and they are hardly a novelty act I think what irritates a lot of people is they are fairly workmanlike, non of them can sing or play well, but they make up for it by hard graft and application, they want you to rock n roll all nite and party everyday and are willing to put the work in by banging out those party songs all nite good luck to them and all that but if I wanted to recommend good hard rock to someone Kiss wouldn't be in my top ten, or even my top 50
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Fitter Stoke 1549 posts |
Feb 21, 2010, 23:13
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I like 'em, a lot. I think what appeals to me most about them is that they are unashamedly biased - for a profit, natch - to providing pure entertainment and nothing more, or less, than that. They've never proclaimed to provide great art, and thus they never have - though there are some truly fine songs in their oeuvre, and when they rock, man they rock. I always thought of them as an American Slade, and still do. All of their 70's albums are worth owning for some mighty fine pop/glam/rock songs, though probably the best way of hearing these in on their first two (fake) live albums. Julian sums them up spot on in these pages when he says "if the Dolls had come up with 'Destroyer', we'd all know about it". He's right to draw the parallels, since the Dolls have enjoyed nearly 40 years of critical acclaim for one decent album and one clunker, with Kiss having put out loads of albums of at least equal quality to no critical recognition whatsoever, Geoff Barton excepted! Not that they give a toss, and I wouldn't mind being a dollar behind any of them! Mind you, the eighties albums sucked bigly. Big hair and no make up - ugh. Happy to note that 'Sonic Boom' is a return to form.
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Dog 3000 4441 posts |
Feb 21, 2010, 23:25
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Gnostic Almighty wrote: they were never anything more than almost a novelty act to me ... ... so what am I missing folks? Only the best novelty act of all time ever! And the first bunch of records are classic "boot stomping glam rock" -- they were like the American version of Slade (with a shot of T Rex.)
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riotmaster 1440 posts |
Feb 22, 2010, 00:55
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HATE EM Everything I hate about rock n roll, all cock and no balls. If they'd come from Wigan they'd still be playing working mens clubs |
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Moon Cat 7259 posts |
Edited Feb 22, 2010, 03:24
Feb 22, 2010, 02:53
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I'm a big fan but I am far beyond the age and desire to evangelise and insist to you that they're great. I'd be more than happy to recommend some tracks if you're interested but I'm certainly not gonna tell you why you should (or shouldn't) like 'em if you don't like the tunes. However, as to why they seem to be one of the most disive bands on this board, well I'll throw some thoughts into the arena. 1) They're Fake. They're Novelty. Like they're alone in rock n roll for that! Most people who have a perception of KISS have heard fuck all of the tunes and only then when the weight of preconception is so jaundiced and heavy, what's the point frankly. They sell out. They make product. Johnny Rotten & Iggy sell butter and Insurance having been anti-The Man, anti-everything and it's funny, it's ironic, and we love 'em don't we? Shouldn't we?! KISS have never, from day one, pretended to be anything other than a rock n roll entertainment behemoth. That's what they wanted, that's what they did. 2) Embarrassment, shyness & Mistrust. Some people get confused by spectacle and gesture. Especially in the UK. It's ok if you take it so far. Slade* and Sweet - Imagewise It has that slightly end of pier tack to it that makes it on the right side of acceptable. Fancy dress but not too big for their boots. KISS were just too big, too slick, too 'manufactured', too Vegas and showy (the irony being they are the most self manufactured band in rock. Few bands have controlled their own destiny like they have). Rock, for some, is ok if it's presented in jeans and a tee-shirt. It's safer it's more 'real'. Hey, Bruce Springsteen is like....one of us. He has a £100 million dollars and plays arenas but he is a blue collar guy. KISS are cartoon. Therefore they lack 'value'. *I love Slade BTW, and so did KISS. There's a lot of people out there that will hate them regardless of the music, it's what they apparently represent. The Beatles sold beatles wigs and plastic guitars You can buy a Sid Vicious Doll I bet you a million bucks right now that at least two people on this site would buy a Marc Bolan doll if it was available. They absolutely would. But that would be different, that's ok. KISS divide because they are the sheer, audacious vulgarity of rock n roll and the selling of it turned up to 11 with great riffs and that makes people, who somehow think that buying a Neil Young Reissued Box set with booklet and dvd is somehow a less of an all consuming consumer choice than buying a KISS comic, feel grubby. And it gives them something to say "That's a sell out" when they buy Raw Power for the 3rd time. So there it is.. But, and this is the truth, I've been into them since I was 11 cos they were in a Marvel Comic and then I heard the album Rock n Roll Over and that made me colossally happy and I like to plug into that now and then. Liking KISS for some, is like saying you have studied German Expressionist cinema all your life but you saw Avatar the other day and really enjoyed it. It fucks you up. Luvs to all \m/ |
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Moon Cat 7259 posts |
Feb 22, 2010, 03:02
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riotmaster wrote: HATE EM Everything I hate about rock n roll, all cock and no balls. If they'd come from Wigan they'd still be playing working mens clubs If they'd come from Wigan they'd be a lot uglier and have got beaten up by red-faced meat men. |
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machineryelf 2935 posts |
Edited Feb 22, 2010, 11:35
Feb 22, 2010, 08:08
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Gnostic Almighty wrote: What is it about this band that creates such diverse views? I like some of their stuff ... my first memories of them was actually on the dancefloor with Neat,Neat,Neat & New Rose ... must have been late 70's? Obviously, as a youth Smash It Up got played to hell, but they were never anything more than almost a novelty act to me ... ... so what am I missing folks? also see Motorhead,Ramones,Julian Cope etc etc if you want totally serious rock n roll buy a Phil collins CD.
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IanB 4702 posts |
Edited Feb 22, 2010, 09:43
Feb 22, 2010, 09:35
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That's a fantastic post. Anything that points up the utter artificiality of rock n roll as an art form is going to worry people. Naked ambition and avarice worries people who romanticise the music too. Especially in a musical culture that values terminally damaged souls and unhappy endings with a touch of melodrama and Greek Tragedy - Syd, Jim, Jimi, Sid, Johnny, Janis, Drake, Parsons, Otis, Buddy, Elvis, Ian Curtis etc etc etc. Rock writers love a tragedy and they love a career that you can draw a line under for easy biographical analysis. Though this is the same culture that really measures itself in charts, in sales figures, box office grosses and awards. What else do we expect from a genre where people are expected to produce their best work well before they are 35 (30 if they are women) and are lucky to get three consecutive years of peak creativity in their entire careers? A culture where real artistic development is often results in a commercial death knell. The best rock n roll has an element of the serious and the silly. The genuine article and the bullshit. Kiss point up the sham but also deliver great dumb party music and the best show. You just wont see them with a well thumbed copy of Kafka or doing press conferences to "save" the rainforest or hanging out with Phillip Glass and Brian Eno. Which personally comes as something of a relief from some of the vacuous chin-stroking that goes on around parts of the Art Rock scene. Considering they are the ultimate cartoon band it is ironic that Kiss are probably the most real, least artificial, rock and rollers of all. |
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