Kory Grow of Rolling Stone reports:
Gene Simmons is not happy with the pop charts. “I am looking forward to the death of rap,” the KISS singer and reality-TV star tells Rolling Stone. “I’m looking forward to music coming back to lyrics and melody, instead of just talking. A song, as far as I’m concerned, is by definition lyric and melody … or just melody.”
Simmons shared the opinion during an interview about the 40th anniversary of KISS’ Destroyer, bemoaning the current state of the music industry at large.
…”As far as I’m concerned, rock is dead,” he continues. “There ain’t no new bands. Foo Fighters, I love ’em, but they’re a 20-year-old band. These are long-in-the-tooth bands: Nirvana, Pearl Jam. They’re old bands.”
He went on to say, however, that he did not feel all hope was lost. “That doesn’t mean there’s not new bands out there,” Simmons says. “As far as I’m concerned, if Lady Gaga dropped the disco and the pole dancing and all that stuff and put together a rock band, that would be legitimate, because she’s got the musical goods. She can write songs, play instruments and can actually sing. And she understands the fearless quality of spectacle. I’d love to see her do Queen-style music. She can do it. Madonna cannot.”
… “Rap will die,” he says. “Next year, 10 years from now, at some point, and then something else will come along. And all that is good and healthy.” Asked about EDM, Simmons says, “EDM is honest. EDM says, ‘Here’s a guy onstage who does f–k-all, he does nothing. He presses a button and puts his hands up in the air. He doesn’t pretend to be lip-syncing to a track.’ He has a light show and it’s an honest relationship.
My thing about the disco divas who get up onstage — and I love Jennifer Lopez and Ciara and Shakira and Madonna and all the girls with names that end in ‘a,’ they’re very talented in their own way — but it’s dishonest. They have a backing track. It’s really a karaoke bar. Karaoke is more honest, because you know it’s karaoke.'”
Read more at Rolling Stone.
source: rollingstone.com
13 Responses
I can wish and hope all I want, but rap isn’t going anywhere.
I do agree with Gene’s thoughts on rap and dance music though.
However, I don’t agree that rock is dead. Surely, the quality has declined in the last 20-25 years, but the genre is still around.
One thing that is hurting rock is that there are no real geniuses in the genre anymore. I don’t think we’ll ever see another John Lennon, Brian Wilson, Pete Townshend, Roger Waters, Jim Morrison, Ritchie Blackmore, Tony Iommi, Freddie Mercury, etc.
But rock isn’t dead. Neither rock, nor rap, will likely ever die. I don’t see rock ever being the dominant genre in mainstream music ever again though.
Something I can finally agree on with Gene $immon$.
Rock isn’t dead, but it is dying. If you believe that rock is like a living thing (and I do, it lives as part of everyone who loves it), then as a living thing it must also die eventually. The sun has started to set on Rock and Roll, and that’s the way it should be. In the immortal words of Lemmy, “that’s the way I like it baby, I don’t wanna live forever.”
There is a song on Europe’s War of Kings album called “Days of Rock n Roll” with lyrics written from the point of view of looking back on Rock after it is gone. Great song, with a slightly celtic, but still Rock sound to it.
That is a good picture of Simmons. My favorite rapper is Paul Stanley. Some guy used to quote ALL HELL’S BREAKING LOOSE like every day on this site. Rock isn’t dead, it’s just rockers keep dying literally every week. KID ROCK hasn’t done anything interesting in a while. WARREN HAYNES does great things but with pre-existing material. GUNS N’ ROSES might do something big. DISTURBED and BUCKCHERRY are good but not great. I agree with Simmons regarding LADY GAGA. Nobody will ever write MOBY DICK again but people still right books. As far as rap goes, they’re getting old as well. Good bye my old friends, but wait there’s hope……AND HERE IT COMES, HERE IT COMES AGAIN, STRAIGHT THROUGH THE HEART…….Dio and Jimmy Bain both gone. God bless.