KISS suck or not?

[WildRanger]

Share your views on KISS.

[bosk1]

No real interest in anything of theirs.

[MirrorMask]

Well, depends if they're given with passion or they're more than a peck.

[El Barto]

No interest in anything of theirs, either. I wouldn't say they suck, though. They were certainly creative and they worked their asses off.

[King Postwhore]

Well, depends if they're given with passion or they're more than a peck.

I'm a sucker for Kiss.  I say not!

[AngelBack]

Kiss, suck or not.  I'll take suck please.

[pg1067]

KISS is a generally crappy band that had a few good songs 35+ years ago and who had a schtick that worked 35+ years ago but is now just sad.  The only thing of theirs I ever bought was (I think) a 45 RPM single for All Hell's Breaking Loose (and I believe my wife bought Lick It Up).

[Cool Chris]

Where's the 'Blow' option? From these options, they suck!

[ganpondorodf]

Kiss suck aye

[Zydar]

Nope, I'm a big fan of their music. Can't stand Gene though.

[Samsara]

KISS is not my thing. But I get why people gravitated to them. Just like kids in the late 90s and early 2000s are big on Slipknot. It's a show, an image, all of that. KISS is about partying, and tits and ass, with a larger than life image. All good fun.

I think they suck, but of course, Gene $immon$ and Paul $tanley would just roll by in their Bentleys...and pretty much laugh.

[AngelBack]

Beth is about the only song I would go out of my way to listen to.  But they did introduce hard rock/metal to a lot of young teens so in that regard they did a great job.

[Anxiety35]

I don't care for their music. However, they are masters at marketing. The characters and image are what made them and what has kept them around for so long. The image compensated for their lack of good music. Gene Simmons once said that they wanted to be the Beatles of hard rock. They're not even close. If they were a band without the makeup and costumes, they wouldn't have gotten far.

[The Walrus]

If I grew up in the era I'm still not sure if I'd hate them or find them fun enough to enjoy. Perhaps if I was a kid when I discovered them, but I really don't understand why KISS has any staying power with anyone musically - they're pretty bad. Maybe poor Stadler can enlighten us - one of his favorite bands is taking a thrashing here

[Phoenix87x]

I want to say no?

But honestly I haven't heard enough of their full catalogue to make a judgement call.

[Anguyen92]

I don't care much about their music, but I do appreciate their (and by their, I mean Gene and Paul) bluntness and honesty in interviews.  They make no quarrels that they are in it in the money and would like to make as much money as possible and would put their image on anything if it makes them money.

It's better than them saying they are doing the KISS tours for fabricated reasons that they do this for the art and music and for the fans and money doesn't mean anything in that context (to them, money is everything in the context) and I appreciate that sort of honesty unlike other bands' tours.

[eric42434224]

If Trump was a rock band, I think he would be KISS.

[El Barto]

If I grew up in the era I'm still not sure if I'd hate them or find them fun enough to enjoy. Perhaps if I was a kid when I discovered them, but I really don't understand why KISS has any staying power with anyone musically - they're pretty bad. Maybe poor Stadler can enlighten us - one of his favorite bands is taking a thrashing here

If you were of Eric Foreman's generation you'd have adored them.

It's not surprising that in a DT message board people focus on musicianship, something KISS was fundamentally lacking, but there's more to it than that. They were pioneers in a couple of areas, and one of them includes the music they played which was a core component of their image and their popularity.

I'm curious how they'd be thought of if they'd hung it up back when they should have. They've gone on so long that they've become a parody. Their shtick no longer works when you've got bands doing it for real.

[The Walrus]

It's not even the technical aspect that bothers me, it's just that their songs are like the textbook example of how to make awful rock music 

[PowerSlave]

They were my gateway into rock music. I was born in the early 70's, and they were cultural icons in my youth. They wrote some good rock songs from their first album through to Love Gun, and I still go back on occasion and give that stuff a listen. Of course their music is very simplistic, but their aim was never to be more than that with the exception of The Elder.

I'm also torn about Paul and Gene's attitudes. In some ways they never would have achieved their success without being that way. But some of the things that they say is often cringe inducing.

[ProfessorPeart]

I stand with Stadler, they don't suck.

Some stuff is not great, but some is really good.

[Lowdz]

The hottest band in the world?
They inspired huge amounts of musicians and put on the best show around.

They decidedly did not suck.

[bl5150]

The hottest band in the world?
They inspired huge amounts of musicians and put on the best show around.

They decidedly did not suck.

I agree .

Their goal was to put on the show -as much visual as aural- that nobody else was and they still do.   They have admittedly gone on a decade or more too long , but to me that doesn't diminish their legacy.

A few other points:

- to me each of their albums had a good dose of (basic rock)  filler but many of their best songs were far from simple in terms of songwriting IMHO

- when they tried to get too "smart" it generally WAS a big failure

- as far as Gene and Paul go..............the more I learn the more I am believing that Gene is a kindhearted guy playing the character of an asshole and (at least until he released his book and it became more obvious ) Paul is an asshole playing the nice guy.



I wouldn't say that a lot of the best material of the Stones , Beatles or even Michael Jackson was "complex" , so outside of a prog forum I am not sure that simplicity is a valid critcism 


Keep
It
Simple
Stupid

[MirrorMask]

Well, I have to say that their spider entrance on the last tour was one of the most badass and awesomest things ever witnessed on a stage. And I've only watched it on YouTube, I can imagine what it was like being there!

[bl5150]

   

[El Barto]

So this question about KISS's suckage has me wondering. Does Rammstein suck? I personally like their music better, but they're certainly not overflowing with musicianship. They're a band that plays catchy tunes and offsets their shortcomings with a spectacular stage show. What's the difference aside from personal preference?

[bosk1]

I think you're getting too metaphysical, Barto.  I think "sucks" in this context can simply be equated with "I don't like them."  So, yes, Rammstein sucks too. 

[bill1971]

I don't care for their music and I think Gene is pretty arrogant but any band that can survive for 4 decades don't "suck" They must have millions of fans who follow them and love their music, I may not agree but that does take somewhat level of talent and marketing skills.

[DoctorAction]

They are a core part of rock/metal DNA in my opinion.

The seventies New York swagger and brazen enthusiasm of their best tracks is totally unbeatable. And Paul has a terrific voice.

90% of their output is very bad... I get why people don't like them. But if you need some pure rock cheese? Accept no substitute.

[wolfking]

I'm not a fan at all.  Dunno if I'd say they suck though.

[Ninjabait]

Weird topic, but I don't think you should "suck" while kissing. That's a little weird, and it's a bit noisy. Using a little tongue might be fine, but I would talk it over beforehand because some people aren't in to that. Communication is key to any relationship or spontaneous make out session.

I can't count the number of times I've had make out sessions ruined by slurping noises from sucking. Mainly because you can't really count things that never happened.

[SleeperAwake]

I've never liked anything I've heard by Kiss. I'm not sure that can be translated into me thinking they "suck".

[TAC]

Definitely not. There's plenty of KISS that I like across all eras.

[Rattlehead]

Hell no, I'm not a huge fan of them but it just feels stupid to say they "suck." I've enjoyed a lot of what I've heard by them.

[jammindude]

I find it hard to believe that anyone who loves good straight up hard rock wouldn't at least "really like" those first 6 albums.  Ace is an underrated player, and a lot of those songs shred. 

Everything after the opening six is spotty.  But Creatures of the Night and Lick It Up are good.  I personally think The Elder is amazing, but like Gene once said, "It's a good album, it's just not a good KISS album."   It was just too different for them.   Which is too bad, because I could tell what they were going for.  I actually think it works as a prog rock album (in its original track listing, anyway).