Gene Simmons is known for his tongue, both for wagging it and well, it out there. It reigned long before Miley’s, and it’ll be around

we’re gone, but today, it’s simply trying to stay relevant, this time disputing the status of musical icons past and present.

In an interview with Team Rock Radio, Simmons prefaced his uncouth remarks with an attack on the music industry itself, saying “There won’t be another Beatles or another Prince or another Kiss because there isn’t that support system, there’s no record companies because kids have decided they can download and file share and bypass paying the artists what they rightfully should be getting.”

The clearly qualified KISS leader then goes on to rattle off his thoughts on definitive music icons including Elvis Presley, The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, and you guessed it, Kiss, before adding, “Kurt Cobain – no, that’s one or two records, that’s not enough. Amy Winehouse – that’s one or two records, that’s not enough. What, just ’cause you died that makes you an icon? No, no.”

Of course, Nirvana actually released 3 full-length LP’s and a b-sides album before Cobain passed, and have since reissued multiple box sets of posthumous material, but I guess we’re just ignoring that in Simmons’ Kiss Land (No, not that Kiss Land).

The axe-man then presented the challenge, “Name one superstar that’s bigger than their music, and not just somebody that’s recorded one or two records, but another Queen or another AC/DC. None, you can’t name one,” revealing that he apparently missed Kanye rant about who’s running the show these days. Beyonce, Jay-Z, Kanye, Diddy, Eminem, Dre, Snoop… sorry, but apparently Gene Simmons just simply hasn’t heard of you. Give him some time to catch up

[Edited 10/5/13 11:22am]

Yeah, Nirvana had 3 proper albums, plus Incesticide which was all original material, and Unplugged which was a big hit and sounded totally different from their other albums.

So 5 albums of great material is enough for me. Did Kiss have any great albums at all?

But I will sort of agree in the sense that an equal part of the Nirvana & Amy story is the music that we missed out on hearing.

[Edited 10/5/13 13:37pm]

I personally think Kurt deserves his iconic status. Dude was a great writer and Nirvana was that band in the '90s. Winehouse deserves some cred too.

I like some of KISS' work but I think they've always been gimmicky.

Man fuck Gene Simmons!

I was a huge Kiss fan as a kid... nowadays eh.

Kiss is a GIMMICK band always has been and always will be. Gene Simmons is a beyond average bass player despite playing for like what 4 decades now? and he is still making bass lines someone playing bass for a year can do easily.

Peter... he is a cool guy. But a hack drummer! Ace is a good guitarist and i will give Paul some props on singing.

But, Kiss are gimmicks. They sold on their looks! and they are imo not icons in any way. He is always commenting on the ''state of music'' like he is some GOD of music

I am just over him and his attitude... i also hate that he was arguing about ''christian values'' on Fox news recently. When for years he was proud and talked IN DEPTH about not believing in marriage and fucking thousands of girls

He is a hypocrite and Kiss has never made a straight up solid album.

Now, i must go hide away cause the rock fans are going to come after me.

Okay, I'll say it. Kiss is the "Journey" of Hard Rock. Some fun songs but nothing to write home about.

kewlschool said:

Okay, I'll say it. Kiss is the "Journey" of Hard Rock. Some fun songs but nothing to write home about.

^ The truth and nothing but

Gunsnhalen said:

Man fuck Gene Simmons!

I was a huge Kiss fan as a kid... nowadays eh.

Kiss is a GIMMICK band always has been and always will be. Gene Simmons is a beyond average bass player despite playing for like what 4 decades now? and he is still making bass lines someone playing bass for a year can do easily.

Peter... he is a cool guy. But a hack drummer! Ace is a good guitarist and i will give Paul some props on singing.

But, Kiss are gimmicks. They sold on their looks! and they are imo not icons in any way. He is always commenting on the ''state of music'' like he is some GOD of music

I am just over him and his attitude... i also hate that he was arguing about ''christian values'' on Fox news recently. When for years he was proud and talked IN DEPTH about not believing in marriage and fucking thousands of girls

He is a hypocrite and Kiss has never made a straight up solid album.

Now, i must go hide away cause the rock fans are going to come after me.

That's why I can't fuck with Gene. He wanna talk about artists not being real anymore but last I checked, his motherfucking band was on someone's LUNCH BOX!

kewlschool said:

Okay, I'll say it. Kiss is the "Journey" of Hard Rock. Some fun songs but nothing to write home about.

Journey is way more talented than Kiss!

NDRU said:

kewlschool said:

Okay, I'll say it. Kiss is the "Journey" of Hard Rock. Some fun songs but nothing to write home about.

Journey is way more talented than Kiss!

Journey had a video game though.

But then again, ten times better than some TV movie done in the '70s where many agreed Kiss jumped the shark.

Timmy84 said:

Gunsnhalen said:

Man fuck Gene Simmons!

I was a huge Kiss fan as a kid... nowadays eh.

Kiss is a GIMMICK band always has been and always will be. Gene Simmons is a beyond average bass player despite playing for like what 4 decades now? and he is still making bass lines someone playing bass for a year can do easily.

Peter... he is a cool guy. But a hack drummer! Ace is a good guitarist and i will give Paul some props on singing.

But, Kiss are gimmicks. They sold on their looks! and they are imo not icons in any way. He is always commenting on the ''state of music'' like he is some GOD of music

I am just over him and his attitude... i also hate that he was arguing about ''christian values'' on Fox news recently. When for years he was proud and talked IN DEPTH about not believing in marriage and fucking thousands of girls

He is a hypocrite and Kiss has never made a straight up solid album.

Now, i must go hide away cause the rock fans are going to come after me.

That's why I can't fuck with Gene. He wanna talk about artists not being real anymore but last I checked, his motherfucking band was on someone's LUNCH BOX!

Lunch Box? oh homie he will sell on ANYTHING. There were Kiss condoms, toilet paper, caskets, mugs, thongs, pillows, blankets, pens, pencils, TOILET COVERS.

This fool will literally put his face on anything

Gunsnhalen said:

Timmy84 said:

That's why I can't fuck with Gene. He wanna talk about artists not being real anymore but last I checked, his motherfucking band was on someone's LUNCH BOX!

Lunch Box? oh homie he will sell on ANYTHING. There were Kiss condoms, toilet paper, caskets, mugs, thongs, pillows, blankets, pens, pencils, TOILET COVERS.

This fool will literally put his face on anything

And he gets mad when the R&R HOF overlook his band?

Personally I think he's mainly one of the big reasons that committee won't even blink an eye at them. Weird Al Yankovic would probably get in before Kiss and I say that to big up Weird Al because I fucks with Weird Al.

I think icon status has more to do with their effect on music. Sure dying helps, but what would the 90's have sounded like without Nirvana, and the whole pop/R&B/female thing that huge now was put on the map more recently by Amy Winehouse. I'd daresay Amy's personal problems and subsequent death were the biggest reason Adele got over and got as huge as she is.

That said, I don't really get why people like Jim Morrison and Janis Joplin get that status. They had their moments, but I'd say they're the ones Gene should be talking about.

On that note, KISS sucks.

Timmy84 said:

Gunsnhalen said:

Man fuck Gene Simmons!

I was a huge Kiss fan as a kid... nowadays eh.

Kiss is a GIMMICK band always has been and always will be. Gene Simmons is a beyond average bass player despite playing for like what 4 decades now? and he is still making bass lines someone playing bass for a year can do easily.

Peter... he is a cool guy. But a hack drummer! Ace is a good guitarist and i will give Paul some props on singing.

But, Kiss are gimmicks. They sold on their looks! and they are imo not icons in any way. He is always commenting on the ''state of music'' like he is some GOD of music

I am just over him and his attitude... i also hate that he was arguing about ''christian values'' on Fox news recently. When for years he was proud and talked IN DEPTH about not believing in marriage and fucking thousands of girls

He is a hypocrite and Kiss has never made a straight up solid album.

Now, i must go hide away cause the rock fans are going to come after me.

That's why I can't fuck with Gene. He wanna talk about artists not being real anymore but last I checked, his motherfucking band was on someone's LUNCH BOX!

LOL Kiss are icons of marketing and style, but not of music.

as much as I hate to say this, Amy is already fading into oblivion, she will be remembered as a promising neo-soul diva who drag herself to hell (and died) when her career was beginning to take off, nothing more and nothing less

talking about Kurt: it's pretty obvious by now that both him and Nirvana are legends, when I think about first half of the 90s rock I immediately think of Nirvana

guitarslinger44 said:

So the man who's defined the face of rock for the past 20 years doesn't deserve icon status... Yeah Gene keep on talking

lastdecember said:

Well i can see both sides of this mainly because in the 90's there was this putting Kurt in the same class as Lennon, and granted Kurt was great for his time, BUT death elevated him to new levels never seen, Lennon was already there and his murder further pushed him to legendary status. I cant take it away nor can i call him an Icon, but i respect what they did because they changed the scene, stripped away the glitz, though i still think from this era Pearl Jam were then and still are the better band, Nirvana will always be more regarded. As for AMY honestly i cant really give her ICON status because she was hardly even here for long. As for KISS or at least Gene i understand his issues with how that word is tossed around, i have a problem with calling 90% of people today even artists, that word is given away to fucking easy to no talents that do nothing artistic at all.

Yea I can as well. I think people toss the icon/artist/legend title around way too much and I agree with that point he made because that IS true. I dont think Amy is even regarded as an Icon for real and if she is (as much as I love and respect her) I dont think she is deserving of that title because she was here for a short period and its hard to say.

****

On Nirvana, maybe to an extent the band is overrated (calling them legends) but I think they deserve to be called "icons" because Ive heard alot of today acts site them as an influence and they made a impact in the 90s. I think calling them "Legends" though is taking it to far. People throw around these titles like its candy lol

********

Ive never been a KISS fan and always thought they were a "gimmick" rock band (very overrated) but I agree with the overall point Gene was making (and I dont even like him). I think if people really think about it, his last statement is actually true. What artist out now that is criticially acclaim, writes artistic music, writes music that has messages that is also bigger than their music? There is nobody like the Queen's and the other artists he mentioned. Thats not dissing the artists out now, thats just simply a fact. The artists out now are media stars and are popular for the wrong reasons.

*******

They are not popular because they make "artistic music" which was the point Gene was trying to make. I cant stand his ass but at least he was keeping it real and not sugar coating crap like alot of these old heads thats been in the industry for hundreds of years do. Yea, yea coming from Gene Simmons the head of a "gimmick rock band" seems unconvincing but it still doesnt change the fact that what he said was true...

[Edited 10/6/13 7:27am]

Musically, Paul Stanley has done 90% of the damn work for KISS since the 1980's.

Just saying!

As far as legendary status I think Nirvana is getting there. They still get consistent airplay, their records are well regarded, bands cite them as influences and the music sounds like it was recorded yesterday. Amy sadly just wasn't around long enough and sadly is remembered more for her embarrassing appearances and her willingness to live up to her anthem "Rehab". I'll always love her though. Journey to me is everyone's guilty pleasure band. They're corny, but you can't help but love them. And if you grew up with them there's that youth nostalgia factor you just can't fight, like a John Hughes movie.

he i(mask)ulated his own voice ...too bad he cant shut up

Timmy84 said:

I personally think Kurt deserves his iconic status. Dude was a great writer and Nirvana was that band in the '90s. Winehouse deserves some cred too.

I like some of KISS' work but I think they've always been gimmicky.

I agree with your comments Timmy. While I'm not a huge Nirvana fan, I do respect the influence they had on the music biz.

Amy was such a talented artist. She didn't get the chance to really shine because of her drug and alcohol abuse, but the girl knew how to write a song and deliver a song. I miss her a lot and still listen to her cd's regularly.

Kiss ARE a gimmick band, but someone forgot to tell Gene.

[Edited 10/7/13 9:37am]

guitarslinger44 said:

I think icon status has more to do with their effect on music. Sure dying helps, but what would the 90's have sounded like without Nirvana, and the whole pop/R&B/female thing that huge now was put on the map more recently by Amy Winehouse. I'd daresay Amy's personal problems and subsequent death were the biggest reason Adele got over and got as huge as she is.

That said, I don't really get why people like Jim Morrison and Janis Joplin get that status. They had their moments, but I'd say they're the ones Gene should be talking about.

On that note, KISS sucks.

Really? She put a GENRE on the map?

Wow. Some people are living in a box.
Even though I thought very little of Kurt Kobain as a musician, it would be dishonest to deny the effect he had on 90s grunge music. I would not put Amy Winehouse in that category. Its a current trend to over-glamourize any artist that dies to maximize profits. She was one of those examples. She made a little noise and people liked to watch her trainwreck but she was not a musical legend. She didn't change anything in the genre of R&B. She was just popular.

I have to agree the only genre Amy put on the map was Adele!

I like Amy... but i musta gree i think her icon status is a little crazy.

She had one big hit in America with Rehab. That was her only top 40 and only 2 other songs made the hot 100.

In the UK she had 10 top 40 hits so there she was a lot bigger. Maybe it was her bluesy voice, her ''i'm a bad girl who can't be saved'' song subjecs, or her train wreck relationshps.

I like her.. but don't understand her icon status. She didn't put a genre of music on the map or break-out any other big female belters except Adele. And that was years later...

Personally I would listen to Amy Winehouse over Kiss any day of the week but I don't recall ever hearing too many people refer to her as an icon so what is this geezer talking about?

His kids should put him in a home.

babynoz said:

Personally I would listen to Amy Winehouse over Kiss any day of the week but I don't recall ever hearing too many people refer to her as an icon so what is this geezer talking about?

His kids should put him in a home.

I hear people call her a legend all the time

Gunsnhalen said:

babynoz said:

Personally I would listen to Amy Winehouse over Kiss any day of the week but I don't recall ever hearing too many people refer to her as an icon so what is this geezer talking about?

His kids should put him in a home.

I hear people call her a legend all the time

Who?

A legend and an icon aren't really the same thing but I haven't seen widespread consensus on her being called either one.

I certainly do think that she was gifted with a distinctive voice and style though so my word for her would be distinctive.

I've heard this debate over The Notorious B.I.G. before because he only had two proper albums.

The boomers had plenty of heroes that did not leave behind a huge catalog. When it comes down to it, most artists only have one or two classics, or a "main" album that gave them their status anyway.

kiss sucks.