Sunday, March 11, 2012

Johngy's Take...Kiss and the Hall of Fame

This is a very sporadic series in which I spout off about probably very trivial things, which somehow really interest me.  Today, I am shining the Johngy spotlight on Kiss and the Hall of Fame debate.
Kiss is not in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame which is in Cleveland (OH), but I am not necessarily talking about that actual Hall.  That actual HOF is more of a music museum.
I pose the Kiss question in the theoretical sense.  Is Kiss a Hall of Fame band?  This question arose amongst my friends during one of our poker nights.
The skeptics (and they aren't anti-Kiss, just against them as HOFers) said "no" based mostly on the gimmickry of Kiss.  They claim that without the makeup, Kiss would never have had anywhere near the success they had.
They also say that the songs of Kiss don't have real staying power.  You definitely pop in a Beatles cd on a long road trip, but would you ever put in a Kiss cd now?
The pro-Kiss side points to their 28 gold albums (the most of any American band ever).  Their world wide record sales exceed 100 million.
If their makeup is a major reason for their success (and the pro side isn't acknowledging that), they should still get full credit for being the first (or first majorly successful) musical act to do it.  Don't a lot of musical acts have gimmicks.  Kiss just had a very tangible one.
I am not quite sure about the staying power.  I might not have Kiss cd's in my regular rotation, but I usually stop when I find a Kiss song on the radio.  I love Paul McCartney, but there are several of his cd's I haven't played in years.
As you can guess, I am of the mindset that Kiss is a Hall of Fame band.  They would not be a first ballot type of Hall of Famer (like a Mickey Mantle), but they would definitely be in my Hall.
If you know my friends and I, you'll know that this debate will rage on forever.
One of my childhood friends would certainly be on my side of this debate.  Milena Matic is a very talented artist and Kiss is one of her favorite bands.  She painted the pieces below on vinyl albums to hang in her home.
How cool are they?!
They are just a small example of the great work Milena does.  I have a few pieces of Milena's in my home and I love them.  Check out Milena's work at MojiExpressions.biz and also "like" Milena's Facebook page!  Her art is definitely Hall of Fame calibre!
Individual painted vinyl Kiss albums by Milena Matic-2011.

1 comment:

Jason T. Carter said...

You can definitely count me among the KISS supporters...the influence they exerted on the hard rock world is undeniable. When I interviewed Ace Frehley, he said that he would have practiced more if he had known how much impact his playing would have on other guitarists! A great band, great songs, and even my kids like them.

JT, The Writer's Journey