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/

Can You Rock Too Hard?

This is not a post about what counts, or does not, as “heavy metal.” But even by the widest, loosest definition of the term, it would be hard to argue that the genre has gotten its due from the Rock Hall, in terms of the number of metal bands inducted.

Sure, some acts simply do not rock hard enough to get in. But it is mystifying to consider that some acts seem to rock too hard.

Punk has the same issue. There are, at best, a half-dozen such acts in. This is even baffling-er, for while metal has a hard time pleasing rock critics, punk (and its makers) is often fawned over by them.

One of the things that make music “rock music” is that it makes someone twice your age bang on your door yelling, “Turn that crap down!” (Which is another good argument for why rap belongs in the Rock Hall).

There is little music, these days, that evokes that codger-ly rage. But metal and punk still can.

As someone who is eligible for an AARP card, I think it’s OK for me to say that keeping metal and punk out of the Hall reeks of “Get off my lawn”-ism.

If they are going to raise their cane at you, raise some Cain right back, you noisy kids. Someday, you’ll make it past the lawn and right up into the Hall.  

https://wmmr.com/2020/01/17/the-rock-and-roll-hall-of-fame-has-a-heavy-metal-problem-2/

https://ew.com/article/2001/12/27/punk-rock-enters-hall-fame/

Update: Randy Rhoads was inducted with a Musical Excellence award in 2021... and that's fair, he was mostly an accompanist, which is what this award is for. But then in 2022, Judas Priest were also inducted... also for Musial Excellence. Even though they are a whole band, you know, not a bunch of sidemen. Still, they were graciously overjoyed at being in the Rock Hall, despite what I consider getting the Miss Congeniality sash. 

In 2023, Rage Against the Machine got in after multiple attempts. I feel the Induction is deserved, but wonder if the holdup was over concerns of conflict of interest, since the band's lead singer is very active in the Hall's nomination process.