Kiss Me Quick...
It's not about what you think...but Kiss founder member Gene Simmonds...
I'll admit that I know very little of him or the band Kiss. I am sure if I looked on the web there are masses of information.
I have a double album of Kiss tracks and four solo albums of the members of the group that I believe I played once...they were very good but for various reasons my hi-fi system was dismantled and not put together again and I don't have a turntable anymore.
The few albums that remain are in the loft and hopefully they haven't become warped.
I think the other things that I knew about the group(I'm not sure that they are true)was that they wore elaborate costumes, make up, sometimes spat blood , that Gene once was going out with Cher and that he has a large tongue!
From a few recent interviews I have caught, he seems very interesting, intellegent, approachable and has a very dry sense of humour. I have also discovered that he does much more than write or perform music.
Last weekend he was a guest on a British Radio programme called My Planet Rocks(On Planet Radio)this series interviews artists usually form the heavier side of the music business. And asks for a selection of tracks that are special or have influenced them in some way. I suppose it is a modern version of Desert Island Discs in some way.
I don't know why it should be so but some of the choices of previous guests have been a revelation or a surprise. What I appreciate is that most of the guests have a very broad appreciation of music and are not blinkered to the wider music scene, because many radio stations and record labels are governed by targeting a particular consumer group some of this music is not heard any more or rarely so unfortunately lots of music is neglected or ignored.
I am sure that I have talked of this before.
So what was in Gene's choice of music?
Jet - Do You Want To Be My Girl?
The Beatles - She Loves You
Hot Hot Heat?
Vanhalen - Running With The Devil
Gene Simmonds - A***hole
Kiss - God Gave Rock N Roll To You
The Rolling Stones - It's Only Rock And Roll
Pilot - Magic
The Easy Beats - Friday On My Mind
Bag?
There are few surprises amongst the list but other artists and programmes have revealed possibly greater surprises such as music from the 40's and 50's from the Big Band era and artists such as Les Paul and Mary Ford. But it is as much what some artists say between the music.
Though some are more articulate than others in what they say.
Another series called My Music on another British Radio Station "Gold" where an artist picks favourite tracks can be equally surprising but over the weeks that series does throw up certain artists or songs are chosen time and time again, Elvis Presley's early work is quite frequent and the song Alright Now by Free.
These programmes are both interesting and helping me discover more about the performers and music that I am not familiar with.
I'll admit that I know very little of him or the band Kiss. I am sure if I looked on the web there are masses of information.
I have a double album of Kiss tracks and four solo albums of the members of the group that I believe I played once...they were very good but for various reasons my hi-fi system was dismantled and not put together again and I don't have a turntable anymore.
The few albums that remain are in the loft and hopefully they haven't become warped.
I think the other things that I knew about the group(I'm not sure that they are true)was that they wore elaborate costumes, make up, sometimes spat blood , that Gene once was going out with Cher and that he has a large tongue!
From a few recent interviews I have caught, he seems very interesting, intellegent, approachable and has a very dry sense of humour. I have also discovered that he does much more than write or perform music.
Last weekend he was a guest on a British Radio programme called My Planet Rocks(On Planet Radio)this series interviews artists usually form the heavier side of the music business. And asks for a selection of tracks that are special or have influenced them in some way. I suppose it is a modern version of Desert Island Discs in some way.
I don't know why it should be so but some of the choices of previous guests have been a revelation or a surprise. What I appreciate is that most of the guests have a very broad appreciation of music and are not blinkered to the wider music scene, because many radio stations and record labels are governed by targeting a particular consumer group some of this music is not heard any more or rarely so unfortunately lots of music is neglected or ignored.
I am sure that I have talked of this before.
So what was in Gene's choice of music?
Jet - Do You Want To Be My Girl?
The Beatles - She Loves You
Hot Hot Heat?
Vanhalen - Running With The Devil
Gene Simmonds - A***hole
Kiss - God Gave Rock N Roll To You
The Rolling Stones - It's Only Rock And Roll
Pilot - Magic
The Easy Beats - Friday On My Mind
Bag?
There are few surprises amongst the list but other artists and programmes have revealed possibly greater surprises such as music from the 40's and 50's from the Big Band era and artists such as Les Paul and Mary Ford. But it is as much what some artists say between the music.
Though some are more articulate than others in what they say.
Another series called My Music on another British Radio Station "Gold" where an artist picks favourite tracks can be equally surprising but over the weeks that series does throw up certain artists or songs are chosen time and time again, Elvis Presley's early work is quite frequent and the song Alright Now by Free.
These programmes are both interesting and helping me discover more about the performers and music that I am not familiar with.
posted by The Great Gildersleeve | 5:34 am
3 Comments:
You might think that Gene Simmons is a dullard or a freak, based on his Kiss act, but you'd be mistaken. He is thoughtful and well-spoken. (Sorta like Alice Cooper.) I have a number of Kiss songs on my mp3 player. They recorded some great songs.
That's a good comparison North Star...he talked a lot of sense...
I can always learn something too...I had no idea that the Easy Beats were...an Australian group until this programme.
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