For many years, KISS have dismissed the notion of the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame, insisting that the amount of records they’ve sold is far more important to their legacy.
Despite being eligible for induction in 1999, and snagging a lone nomination in 2010, the band have yet to make the final cut…something that clearly remains a sore spot for the group.
"It's become a joke," bassist Gene Simmons told Rolling Stone at last Wednesday's press conference announcing the band's summer tour with Motley Crue. "We've been thinking about it and the answer is simply, 'We'll just buy it and fire everybody.'"
Beneath the jokes, Gene explains some of his issues with the concept of the Rock Hall itself.
"In all seriousness for the fans, for something to be called Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is such an insult to Madonna, Blondie and Tone Loc. Who the f**k knows what other disco act is in there? It's an insult to them because they don't get to be in the 'Dance Hall of Fame,' because that's what they do," Simmons says. "They're legitimate dance, disco artists. They don't belong in rock and roll."
KISS KISS – Rock And Roll All Nite
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6 comments:
I don't believe Tone-Loc is in the HoF. He was probably referring to LL Cool J. Don't really like the dig at Blondie, however. They were (and remain) a cool as shit rock band, and created many great, timeless songs. It is scandalous, though, that KISS is not in the HoF. Their 70's material is as stellar as heavy rock gets, and it is criminal that that fact is so often overlooked.
You are correct: Tone Loc is not in the RRHOF.
Gene Simmons is 100% Right examples Madonna,Grandmaster Flash,Brenda Lee
Not in Deep Purple, Rush, Bad Company,Journey,Def Lepard, Crue,Judas Priest, Thin Lizzy, It took Alice 15 years, same with Black Sabbath!!!
build a kiss museum next door to rrhof and see who draws a bigger crowd
Tone Loc?? What'd he have, two popular songs and a guest appearance in Ace Ventura? Where is he now? Good one, Gene.
Gene is right in part. The R&RHF can be very cliquish and political. Certain categories of music, such as metal and prog rock, are rountinely ignored. You have inducted bands like Metallica, Black Sabbath and now GNR, but other bands like Deep Purple, Kiss, Iron Maiden and others are passed over. (I would include Rush but their fans whine way too much). There clearly is a problem when artists that sell millions of albums and fill stadiums for decades can't get nominated but a performer like Laura Nyro gets inducted. Not to say that Nyro wasn't talented, but there has to be more to it than just that the coterie of voters happened to like her.
That said, while I understand his frustration, Gene needs to be better informed. Blondie is a band that is always misinterpreted in the US. To begin with they were a first wave "new wave" band like the Talking Heads and Elvis Costello. The first wave "new wave" bands all had a shared tendency to be experimental.
Second, Blondie was subject to significant blacklisting by US radio due to their punk affiliation. With the exception of a handful of stations, they were completely shunned by FM rock radio. The result as that unlike in the UK and Europe, Blondie only broke through in the US with cross-genre songs like Heart of Glass or Rapture. Unless you did your homework, bought their albums and saw their shows, you could easily end up with a misconception about their style of music in the US because only a limited amount ever broke through. But the fact is that only two songs on their first four albums, HOG and Atomic, truly emphasized dance/electronic elements, and even these were rock hybrids. (1980's Call Me was a power pop song that has been covered by a number of metal bands). Go back to their videos, watch their TV appearances and listen to all the bootlegs floating around and they were absolutely rock. Indeed they were one of the founding bands of the US punk scene, toured with Iggy Pop and David Bowie, etc. Blondie also attracts rockist attitude due to their penchant to cross genres, but in a very stale rock period like today I hope all rock fans can appreciate the importance of experiementation in rock music. US rock fans don't get the best musical education due to the incredibly conservative nature of FM rock radio programming, but everything is out their today, so it's no longer an excuse.
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