10 posts tagged “kiss”
Yep, the title applies to both KISS, and my near-constant complaining about them!
Alright, here we go, the KISS meets the phantom of the park t-shirt!
Who's insanely retarded idea was this?
Sure, the movie is incredibly entertaining, but only in a really ironically campy cheesy way, is anyone really going to want to advertise for this film?
Also, it's just a lame cartoon, if it was the cover of the VHS version, it might have been kind of neat.
Oh well, who cares, I'm not even that annoyed by this one, I just thought it was kinda funny.
I just thought this video was funny.
Mainly the way he tries to pretend he didn't want the job, all the while sounding as if he's trying to convince himself it's true.
P.S. I was confused at first since Richie would have been about 15 when KISS first got together, but obviously I guess he was auditioning later on to replace Ace Frehley or maybe even Vinnie Vincent. Who knows and who cares, right?
Well, let's just get this out of the way.
It's pretty terrible.
I know Ace has been doing art like this for the last several years, so I'm pretty sure he's the one behind this.
It looks like it's a tweaked version of his 1978 solo album cover, which was totally great, so I guess I can see why he used it as a starting point.
Actually, the art itself is not really THAT bad. OK, the sunglasses are totally cheesy, (and reminiscent of the KISS album cover "Hot in the Shade" which was easily one of their worst) but aside from that it's not the worst thing in the world, it's just not particularly interesting.
The worst thing about it is the effect on the font.
That's what makes it look so amateur, the crappy "chrome" effect that never really works unless you're really good at using it, which is why almost no one should ever use it.
Also, the thing I find very interesting is the fact that Ace can't seem to stress enough how much he wants to get away from KISS and do his own thing, yet this cover has at least 3 fairly obvious KISS references.
1. The 1978 solo album cover
2. The "Hot in the Shade" sunglasses (probably unintentional, but obvious to KISS fans)
3. The upside down lightning bolts over the eyes. Ace has been associated with the lightning bolt symbol before, but when they're upside down, they REALLY look like the S's in the KISS logo.
Now, I haven't heard any of the music yet, hopefully it's better than the cover.
Sorry, Ace. This album cover sucks.
I still think you're awesome though.
Hey, I just found out that KISS didn't write this song!
I guess Paul Stanley and Bob Ezrin re-arranged it and decided they should take some credit for that, but the original's pretty much the same, just not as heavy.
I was just surprised to learn something about KISS that I didn't already know.
Maybe I wasn't as big a KISS-nerd as I thought I was...
Anyway, you can hear the original here, but hurry up, it probably won't be there forever.
I just found out Maiden is doing a huge tour this year and focusing on their best era, 1980-88! Holy Crap! If they don't come to Vancouver I will snap! Anyway, even this small amount of hope is enough to cheer me up after that damnable KISS concert was canceled.
There's no doubt in anyone's mind that "Music from The Elder" is the worst thing KISS has ever done. And KISS has done some terrible, terrible things. (Which we'll get into on another post, I promise)
So, it was 1981 and KISS was rapidly losing it's fan base due to some disco albums that were commercial hits, but didn't do much for their hardcore fan base. (Even though I still think Unmasked is a pretty good album, just not a good KISS album...it's so bizarre, but the songs are strangely catchy...)
So they decided to recreate "Destroyer", by bringing back Bob Ezrin. Now, how many times has KISS tried to recreate Destroyer anyway? Well, if you listen to their interviews, pretty much every album since 1976 has tried to be Destroyer, but none of them has really matched up. But that hasn't stopped the KISS hype machine!
Anyway, It probably seemed like a
good idea at the time, but this disc is truly awful. There's weird
falsetto vocals, strange themes, and huge opera sections, it's all
pretty much a big mess.
So, it's really no surprise this was their worst selling album, which also makes it one of the harder ones to find.
If you're into torturing yourself, you should really listen to this thing. It's worth it, even just to see what NOT to do when you're recording an album. However, it's rare status does make it one of the gems of my KISS collection.
I managed to find this in Calgary when I was a kid, and I couldn't believe my luck. It was in brand new condition, but I suppose most copies were probably listened to once at best, and probably not even all the way to the end. It's really that bad. I guess it was supposed to be a movie too, if it worked out, hence the "music from" in the title. I'd heard that Revolutionary comics was going to turn it into a comic book from Gene Simmons' story ideas, but I'm not sure if it ever happened or not...
Anyway, I think new pressings of the CD should definitely come with a disclaimer letting people know not to expect a regular KISS album when they buy this thing.
But with that said, it is an interesting listen, especially when you consider they went from this right to "Creatures of the Night" the very next year, probably their most underrated album!
Unfortunately they then went on to totally blow it again with the whole "Asylum", "Crazy Nights", "Hot in the Shade" thing, but oh well.
Not only is this the first KISS album, it's the first pressing of the first KISS album, which means it's possible that it was the very first KISS album ever pressed. Hey, I just said it was possible, not that it was likely.
But still it's kind of neat to think of all the KISS albums that would later be pressed, this was one of the first. When this was being manufactured, KISS were just a bunch of sweaty goofs with no money who wore makeup. Not a good combo.
How do I know it's the first pressing? Well, it's simple. It doesn't contain the God-awful "Kissin' Time", quite possibly the worst KISS song recorded. (until the solo albums when all Hell broke loose)
"Kissin' Time" was actually a re-working of "Twistin' Time" by Bobby Rydell. Apparently the label needed a hit and some numb-nuts thought this crappy song would do it. The record industry: clearly a haven for the dim-witted and the retarded, God bless 'em!
So "Kissin' Time" peaked at number 83 (it's surprising it got that high) and was added to subsequent pressings of the disc. This one was actually quite a find for me, I've been keeping an eye out for it since I was probably 9 or something like that,but I never expected to actually find it. And when I did, I almost passed it by!
It was in a bargain bin for $3 and I was grabbing a bunch of other stuff and I thought, "well, I already have this album, I guess I'll put it back." But as I was doing so, the KISS nerd in my head shouted out "Wait you stupid idiot, it could be the first pressing without 'Kissin' Time', aren't you even gonna check?"
Well, I turned it over and couldn't believe that there in the bargain bin for $3 was one of the most sought after KISS records ever. (besides "the Originals II", but you can pretty much forget about ever even seeing that one in real life) So there it was, years after I even cared anymore, I was now the proud owner of what would have probably given me a heart attack when I was 12. Isn't life funny?
I'm glad I found this disc though, it reminded me of why I used to like KISS so much. This is definitely their best record. Most people would say "Destroyer" but that would rate a close second for me. This one has almost all the songs that would make up their set list for the next five years! How can you argue with that?
In fact, the KI$$ tribute band currently calling themselves KISS still play half of these songs live. Those poor bastards, can you imagine how sick they are of them? Oh well, I guess as long as Gene gets to wipe his ass with hundred dollar bills he's happy.
*This post originally appeared on Record Lad's Vinyl Finds. Whoopittydoo!
1. Iron Maiden - Everything from 1980-1988 - It's just easier than writing them all out, every album from that era kills!
2. Guns 'n' Roses - Appetite for Destruction - still a classic, I wore this tape out in Grade 7.
3. Sex Pistols - Never Mind the Bollocks - is there anyone who doesn't own this?
4. Nirvana - Nevermind - It's hard to listen to this one without all the hype and crap getting in the way, but even so many years later you can see why it was such a big deal. It's just one of the greatest albums ever, but I'm tired of hearing about it.
5. CKY - Infiltrate Destroy Rebuild - I listened to this disc for a year straight, unfortunately, I don't think they'll ever match this one again.
6. The Living End - Roll On - Ditto.
7. Weezer - The Blue Album - Nearly Perfect. Still holds up.
8. KISS - Destroyer - the one KISS album that actually lives up to the hype. How did they do that? Simultaneously their greatest triumph and the impossible standard they would forever be held to.
9. NOFX - White Trash... - This was one of those 'revelation' albums for me, where you realize that everything else that's going on besides this sucks.
10. Van Halen - 1984 - They finally reached their peak, only to lose it all right away when Dave left. It was just never the same after that. They got too sappy.
11.The Smiths - The Queen is Dead - After careful deliberation I decided to move this one out of the Honourable Mentions. It's just too good!
Honourable Mentions:
Green Day - Dookie - yes, we're all sick of this one, but all the songs are good!
Metallica - ...And Justice for all - My first Metallica album, a window into a bigger world.
Priestess - Hello Master - Deadly.
Beastie Boys - Licensed to Ill - Some of the lyrics on this one are a
little embarrassing now, but I still have this whole disc imprinted on
my brain.
Faith No More - The Real Thing - this list will forever be a work in progress...
Pinback - Blue Screen Life - I can't believe I forgot about this one!
On April 5 Mark St. John, the 'invisible' guitarist for Kiss passed away. The story of his tenure in Kiss is really quite strange.
The basic story is, he joined the band, recorded one album, got some weird hand disease and got replaced. Apparently the hand thing was temporary, which always made me wonder, "Why didn't they wait it out instead of replacing him?"
I guess because he was in the band such a short time they didn't feel any particular loyalty to him. He only played one full show with the band and a couple other half shows. It kinda sounds more like he won a "Be in an aging rock band for a few months" contest.
Anyway, he did make it into the "Heaven's on Fire" video which was kind of a comeback for Kiss, for some reason...
Anyway, I thought I'd post the video here, he's hardly in it, but it's a pretty funny video. Check out Gene's hair, is that a rug? Whoa, weird, I just realized while watching this that there's 2 dead Kiss members in this video. spooky...
(This post originally appeared on the first "delicious candy!" blog back on Dec. 30, 06)
Hey. it has been a long time since I've written, so I figured I'd fire off an article about KISS since I always have something to say about them.
I got KISSology for Christmas and I have to say it's pretty good. Actually it's really fucking good, which is surprising since KISS has put out nothing but shit for the last ten years! (The new Delicious Candy!*, edgier and with more swearing!)
That's not to say that it's perfect though, it could be a lot better, but let's start with what they did right.
First off, they had someone else do it. That was a good idea because Gene always screws things up by trying to cut corners on little things like design and interesting content.
Second, the shows they chose rule! This video actually made me like KISS again, and it's been a while since that's happened! Budokan and Cobo Hall are my faves, but they're all good. Third is they squeezed it all onto two discs instead of going for their usual "Let's stretch it out onto four or five discs so it'll seem like people are getting more and we can jack up the price" thing that they always seem to do. Did Gene Simmons die or something?
And lastly the commentary was pretty good. And here's where the complaints start, unfortunately.
The commentary was pretty good, but it seemed like it could have been a lot better. I would have like to have heard Ace and Peter on there, but I guess it just wasn't possible. who knows with those guys, right?
The extras are awesome, I love the Cadillac, Michigan documentary and the Mike Douglas interview. The reason this is in the complaints is that there should have been way more. I've seen the whole Mike Douglas interview on Youtube and it's a little bit longer, I would have like to have seen the entire thing on here. Or how about a full song (or more) from the high school gym in Cadillac? That show seemed like it was nuts, I'd like to see more of it! And the Paul Lynde Halloween special, they played three songs but only one is on the DVD, what's with that?
I suppose those aren't really bad complaints though, everything that's on there is good, I just know that 1974-1977 could easily have been a 10-disc set and they still would have had to leave some stuff out. Like the show where Ace got electrocuted, or the band pouring their blood in the Marvel comics ink vat, you know all that crazy stuff we've heard about for so long.
The Easter eggs are pretty rad though, the earliest known footage of KISS and the band playing at Ace Frehley's wedding. Well, tuning for 3 1/2 minutes, then playing...
Anyway, overall KISSology is a good DVD, I'm looking forward to the next two chapters. It makes me wonder though, are they going to completely ignore the 80's or just gloss over it really quickly? I hope they devote some time to it, that was hilarious.
