The Case (Study) of KISS

While this blog is not about the merit of this or that act, the reasons KISS was Inducted are worth discussing, because they could help other bands (and genres) under the same situation. 

KISS was one of the most contentious inductions to the Rock Hall. The Hall seemed dead set on keeping them out… and yet, they did get inducted. Eligible since 2000, they did not get in until 2014, with only one other nomination along the way, in 2010— a decade after they were first eligible. 

I feel that there are two factors at work here, neither of which have to do with the quality of KISS’s music. They both have to do with the fact that the Hall is also a Museum. It’s right there in the full name of the place: The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum.

The Museum set itself up, from the get-go, to embody a huge oxymoron; they want you to come see what you ordinarily only hear: music. So they have to have some things, some physical objects, to put in the displays, right?

And, say what you will about their musicality, few bands are a visually arresting as KISS. What are you going to display about, say, Nirvana? A flannel shirt? A notebook? With KISS, you have a guitar shaped like an executioner’s axe, and sky-high boots with skulls on the toes. Those, my friend, are some museum-quality artifacts worth selling tickets for.

Further, as a Museum, they need to sell tickets to stay open. And when tens of thousands of people— who call themselves an “army,” no less—  say they will not buy a ticket until you do a thing, but they will when you do do the thing, well… after a few years, you start to wonder if doing that thing just might be worth it.

TIME magazine once asked Spinal Tap to explain their longevity. They responded, and I’m paraphrasing: “We weren’t the strongest. We weren’t the smartest. But we were the loudest.” 

So there’s your lesson from KISS. You want your favorite band or genre in? Get organized, get stubborn... and get loud.

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/tom-morello-salutes-kiss-army-in-rock-hall-induction-speech-244529/