Quote:
Originally Posted by KC911
I didn't know about the wimmins .... I reckon a 15" tongue has fringe benefits  ...
Never got KISS ... other than the acronym.
Got dragged to a show about 2 decades ago .... with Ted Nugent opening ...
Not my thang ... even 50 years ago  .
GS is a marketing machine....
Ted too... |
I never got the costumes but thought their music pretty much was reflective of the time...and enjoyed it greatly. Their "Alive" album in 1975 was pretty different and eye-opening to me...as we (as a country) unwound from Vietnam era (and the hippie, anti-war, and civil rights struggles). Essentially an entire album about partying, drinking and hot women (without angst, war, or unrequited love). No higher purpose or thoughts of tomorrow.
A time of transition from an age where you were told that everything you did would "go on your permanent record," constant moralizations and peer judgement where your expectations/ambitions were largely based on which side of the tracks you grew up on and who your parents were ...to just a bit of unbridled indulgence (even if largely imaginary). It sure sounded like fun to a young guy in high school that did not have much going on. I guess you had to be there.
They were certainly unique enough to capitalize on a new generation of folks looking to a new future (who were buying albums versus "top 40" 45s)...before the era of Jimmy Carter and crushing unemployment/stagflation.
A coming of age. The success of Kiss (to me) was the first indication that Disco was dying (and hastened its end) ...as it appealed to the folks that listened to both Disco and heavier music (and you were never expected to dance like Travolta). A few years later, and it was over. Suddenly it was the 80s and the world changed again. Reagan was in office, preppy was in, and making money was suddenly in reach (as the economy spun up again). We were all responsible adults now and our future was so bright, we had to wear shades (and listening to Kiss was a guilty pleasure). Their time was past.
A movie about that time/place (very much like my own experiences) resonates with me. "Dazed and Confused"...one of my favorites. It was made in the 90s... but depicts much of '76 as I remember it. Obviously, a collaboration of folks that lived it along with me. Some of it is uncanny (same stories and experiences I had).
IMHO, the Kiss comebacks were very successful, but largely due to folks reliving the earlier period.
I still play the '75 Alive album (only Kiss music I have owned). It makes me smile and return to simpler times...with no responsibilities and with the whole world/future stretched out ahead; like I40 heading west...