GUILT-FREE PLEASURES (A Defense Against The Dark Arts): This Is Radio KISS

There is really no such thing as a guilty pleasure in pop music. Unless you happen to love neo-Nazi ditties or glorifications of hatred or violence, I'd say it's okay for you to dig whatever you wanna dig. Yes, even the hits of The Eagles. Why? BECAUSE THEY'RE POP SONGS! Guilt-Free Pleasures (A Defense Against The Dark Arts) celebrates pop songs. The guilty need not apply.



KISS ARMY RADIO

This week, SiriusXM introduced a satellite radio channel dedicated solely to KISS. KISS Army Radio is a temporary fixture on the virtual dial, scheduled to run only through February 17th. 

Many people think I'm more of a KISS fan than I actually am. I do like KISS; my first rock concert was KISS with Uriah Heep in December of 1976, and my first cover story for Goldmine was a 1990 KISS retrospective called "Gods Of Thunder." But other than a handful of go-to tracks, I don't really listen to KISS all that often.

My first KISS album, a high school graduation gift from my sister in 1977

Nonetheless, the (perhaps) silly notion of an all-KISS radio station tickled me, so I'm going to be listening. I'm generally not into any station that only spotlights a single artist; The Beatles are, without question, my favorite group, but I rarely listen to The Beatles Channel because I prefer to hear my rockin' pop all mixed together, with your Beatles and KISS mingling with Prince, The Ramones, Smokey Robinson & the Miracles, Chuck Berry, NRBQ, The Kinks, The Monkees, The Sex Pistols, The Flashcubes, and Gladys Knight & the Pips. And new stuff. That's why God directed us to create This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl. 



Given that, I appreciate an occasional opportunity to become immersed in an artist's work. I've made cruisin' music CD-Rs dedicated to The Kinks, The Beatles, The Monkees, The Flashcubes, Earth, Wind & Fire, and KISS, and even The Bay City Rollers, because...because. KISS Army Radio is an expansion of that, with deeper tracks than I would ever come up with on my own. Between yesterday and today, KISS Army Radio has offered a mix of the familiar and the obscure (to dilettante li'l me, anyway). I've heard the great "Detroit Rock City" (introduced by Gene Simmons admitting that its bass line was inspired by Curtis Mayfield's "Freddie's Dead"), the MTV Unplugged  version of "Hard Luck Woman," the hair-metal era "Hide Your Heart," the disco hit "I Was Made For Lovin' You," the Alive II cut of "I Want You," the underrated "Let Me Go, Rock 'n' Roll," an '80s track called "Young And Wasted" (which could have been a Motorhead record if it were sped up a bit), "Creatures Of The Night," "Christine Sixteen," and "Thrills In The Night," among others.



My KISS collection is less than comprehensive, more than perfunctory. I still have my vinyl copies of Rock And Roll Over, Alive!, Alive II, and Killers, and I have a number of the individual albums on CD (KISS, Hotter Than Hell, Dressed To Kill, Destroyer, Rock And Roll Over, Love Gun, Dynasty, Unmasked, Hot In The Shade, Revenge, MTV Unplugged, Psycho Circus, and Sonic Boom, plus the three-disc live collection, the boxed set, the four 1978 solos, and--for radio show convenience--The Very Best Of KISS). I have plenty of material to just program my own all-KISS menu, but it's fun to let someone else do it. I may even learn something.

Other than "Detroit Rock City," I haven't yet heard any of my top fave rave KISS tunes on Sirius. I regard "Shout It Out Loud" as one of the all-time great rock 'n' roll tracks (as discussed in my ongoing series The Greatest Record Ever Made), and I'm always looking forward to hearing that again. KISS fan Ken Mills reports that KISS Army Radio signed on with the obvious (but appropriate) choice "Rock And Roll All Nite," but I betcha that'll be reprised at some point. My other KISS favorites are "Calling Dr. Love," "Anything For My Baby," "Strutter," "I Love It Loud," "Comin' Home," "Tomorrow," "See You Tonite," "Mr. Speed," and their incongruous but terrific  cover of The Crystals' girl-group classic "Then She Kissed Me." I imagine I'll hear some of these over the next two weeks. And I'll hear some KISS tracks I've forgotten, and probably some I never really knew to begin with. Drive us wild. Drive us crazy. I love it loud.




VERDICT: Innocent, not guilty

TIP THE BLOGGER: CC's Tip Jar!

You can support this blog by becoming a patron on Patreon: Fund me, baby! 

Our new compilation CD This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 4 is now available from Kool Kat Musik! 29 tracks of irresistible rockin' pop, starring Pop Co-Op, Ray Paul, Circe Link & Christian Nesmith, Vegas With Randolph Featuring Lannie Flowers, The Slapbacks, P. Hux, Irene Peña, Michael Oliver & the Sacred Band Featuring Dave Merritt, The Rubinoos, Stepford Knives, The Grip Weeds, Popdudes, Ronnie Dark, The Flashcubes,Chris von Sneidern, The Bottle Kids, 1.4.5., The Smithereens, Paul Collins' Beat, The Hit Squad, The Rulers, The Legal Matters, Maura & the Bright Lights, Lisa Mychols, and Mr. Encrypto & the Cyphers. You gotta have it, so order it here. A digital download version (minus The Smithereens' track) is also available from Futureman Records.