Zoom: Pop Culture in Perspective

The KISS in live performance

by Rossiter Drake

I wanna rock 'n' roll all night and party everyday. That legendary mantra, popularized by Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Ace Frehely and Peter Kriss back in 1975, is probably the first thing that comes to mind whenever KISS rears its ostentatious head into ordinary conversation. Following its release, the song of the same name quickly became the band's most widely recognized single, thanks to a combination of massive airplay and its status as the centerpiece of their wonderfully excessive live performances.

Even today, the song has managed to attract a new generation of KISS converts, having been featured prominently in Richard Linklater's cult favorite Dazed and Confused. But there's more to the KISS phenomenon than has recently swept the country in the wake of their latest reunion tour than one measly song. A lot more.

No, the members of KISS are much more than your average, run-of-the-mill nostalgia peddlers. Instead, they are shrewd businessmen and masterful entertainers who have turned a generic (and relatively talentless) rock act into an insanely lucrative institution. Who cares if they lack the musical skills that propelled bands like Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath and Aerosmith to stardom? To KISS, the music is merely an afterthought, background for the festivities that characterize one of their lavish concerts.

For the uninitiated, those festivities normally include four makeup-clad men running and flying around an elaborate stage, spitting blood, eating fire and basking in the glow of their pyrotechnic displays. Ultimately, their stage show is a raucous attack upon the senses, a grand spectacle that no other band - not even Pink Floyd, whose concerts are famous for their own laser shows and special effects - have been able to match.

But that's not all. KISS is also an international corporate enterprise that boasts its own line of credit cards, lunchboxes and action figures. During the upcoming months, there will be a series of KISS-related video games released for Sony Playstation and the Nintendo Game Boy. KISS comic books will soon flood the market, and a major motion picture about the band and its rabid fans (Detroit Rock City) is expected to be released sometime this spring.

Meanwhile, bassist Gene Simmons - whose oversized tongue has become as much of a symbol of the band as "Rock 'n' Roll All Night" - recently introduced his own line of miniature race cars. And let us not forget that all of these products come in addition to the standard array of compact discs, videos and tee-shirts that every musician must have in order to finance his mansions and luxury cars. Certainly, KISS has followed in the footsteps of the Grateful Dead, creating a mail order industry that is undoubtedly more vital to their success than any single album could be.

So, as a character from Pee-Wee's Big Adventure once asked, "What is all of this supposed to mean?" Not much, I suppose, in the grand scheme of things.

But KISS, like the Grateful Dead, has enjoyed a remarkable climb to the top of the music industry. The members of the band established their reputations as formidable live performers during the early 70s; for their efforts, they received a humble contract with a small label, Casablanca Records. Since then, the band has amassed legions of loyal fans around the globe who paint their faces for every show and proudly sport their "KISS Army" tattoos.

The quartet has achieved a level of success that has eluded even their most successful peers. They have done so with modest musical ability, a knack for writing catchy anthems and decades of tireless hard work and self-promotion. I don't know about you, but I think that's pretty incredible.

On the other hand, I'm sure that punks, purists and disciples of the Nirvana revolution look down upon groups like KISS, whose corporate agenda and masturbatory solos do not fit into their own narrow-minded conceptions of what a rock band should be. Perhaps the detractors should reconsider their stance. They might be surprised to learn that most contemporary rock acts - including the likes of Marilyn Manson, Kurt Cobain and the Stone Temple Pilots -Êhave, at one time or another, cited KISS as one of their primary influences. It is, after all, no coincidence that Nirvana, who once led the charge against the wretched excesseses of hair metal, also covered KISS classics like "Do You Love Me."

Before each KISS concert, Gene Simmons emerges from the shadows and addresses his audience. "You wanted the best and you got the best," he bellows. "Ladies and gentlemen, the hottest band in the world -ÊKISS!" He may be onto something. His band may not boast the most inventive songs, and his lyrics ("Nowhere to hide, baby/no place to run/you pulled the trigger of my love gun") may never be confused with poetry. But he and his fellow bandmates - who could easily be called the hardest working men in show business - have, for better or worse, become pop culture icons. Every night, they pull out all the stops and send their fans home with big smiles on their faces. You can love 'em or you can hate 'em. But you just gotta respect 'em.

-KISS skeptic explains conversion

by Adam Feitelberg

Until I moved in with my current housemates, I had never listened to KISS before and, frankly, I never had any intention of doing so. I'd heard of them, of course - they were the old-timers who put on makeup and produced insipid rock songs like "Detroit Rock City." And, as you may have guessed, I had absolutely no interest in them, even as a novelty act. Then, one of my housemates - I'll let you guess which one - dragged me to one of their concerts at the Gund Arena.

I thought my housemate had lost his mind when he first presented the idea to me. KISS was a far cry from the electronic music I normally listen to, not to mention the fact that the members of the band were more than twice my age. The combination of these two factors gave me reason to believe that I was going to be in for one hellish night. On the way to Cleveland, certain questions popped into my head. Why did he insist that I go with him to this concert? Had I done something to anger him? Was he planing an evening of sadistic torture? But it was too late for these queries. I was already on the way to my first KISS concert.

During the week preceding the concert, my housemate blasted KISS through his powerful stereo without interruption, probably in an attempt to introduce me to the band. I quickly learned that my hesitation to attend a KISS show was justified. The song I enjoyed the most was "Rock 'n' Roll All Night," their classic FM staple. Although it's not a great song by any stretch of the imagination, it had some nostalgic value, making it bearable. Outside of that one song, I found the albums extremely dull and at times painful to my sensitive ears.

Regardless of my feelings about the music, I had agreed to go to the concert and had no plans of letting my housemate down. We got into his car and made our way to Cleveland to see a bunch of old people singing in makeup. I knew we had arrived at our destination when I started to see people walking down the street wearing KISS makeup and wagging their slimy tongues. I thought to myself, "As if it's not bad enough that the band is going to look ridiculous, all of these people are going to look like fools as well."

Soon, I came to the startling realization that I was one of the few people in attendance without a KISS shirt on; I also became aware that I was at least twenty years younger than anyone else at the show. I began to wonder what I had gotten myself into.

We entered the Gund and found that we had already missed the opening act and that KISS would soon be taking the stage. After sitting in our seats for a few minutes, quietly ridiculing the foolish-looking people around us, the lights dimmed and a voice came over the loudspeaker. "You wanted the best," it growled. "And you got the best. Ladies and gentlemen, the hottest band in the world, KISS!" With that introduction, the curtain dropped, some explosions went off, and the crowd went nuts.

Although the thought of four fifty-year-old men in makeup and platform heels had never excited me much before, the energy that pervaded the room when KISS appeared on stage was just too great; I had to stand up. Once on my feet, I was still hesitant about the concert, but by the time the first song ended, I had my fist in the air and was pounding it in time with the music. What was I doing? Was it possible that I was having a good time at a KISS show?

I never intended to become a KISS fan and I still didn't like their music, but their show was so fantastic that I couldn't resist. From screaming guitars that shot rockets to Gene Simmons spitting fake blood onto the many women who thought it necessary to expose their breasts, the KISS show featured everything one could ask for in a concert. By the end of the show, my arm was sore from all the fist-pounding I had done, and I had nearly lost my voice. I am still ashamed to admit it, but I honestly believe that this was possibly the greatest concert I had ever attended.

I still have not developed a taste for their music, but I now listen to KISS on a semi-regular basis simply because of the fond memories I have of their show. They may not be the most talented musicians, and their music may not have much appeal to anyone with taste, but one thing is for sure: KISS rocks!