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KISS podcast Pod of Thunder: starring yours truly


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Very curious to hear this one (heard 'em all so far) because I really like this song. My favorite on the COS album (which is probably damning it with faint praise).

In that case, apologies in advance lol.

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Episode 13 now live: Andy, Chris, and Nick break down "Christine Sixteen" from Love Gun, then discuss at length the track's rather lurid subject matter.

For iTunes users: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/pod-of-thunder/id639350818
For non-iTunes users: http://podofthunder.libsyn.com

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Very curious to hear this one (heard 'em all so far) because I really like this song. My favorite on the COS album (which is probably damning it with faint praise).

In that case, apologies in advance lol.

No worries - I finished it yesterday, and as much as I like the song, I couldn't disagree with what you guys said. It's not cheery, and it's not typical Kiss. "Hard rock and choirs. Yay!"

I don't know a ton about grunge, but one of the things I liked about the album is it was Kiss trying something different. Kind of why I liked "(Music From) The Elder". And they both were kind of hit and miss.

In the midst of the "Christine Sixteen" ep now - thought of a couple other songs in that mold. I never really thought of CS as a predatory-type song, but I doubt I'll get that out of my mind now. Possibly even more blatant was Ted Nugent's "Jailbait" from "Intensities In Ten Cities". "Wait a minute, officer, don't put those handcuffs on me! Put 'em on her and I'll share her with ya!" Even creepier when you consider he convinced one very young girlfriend's parents to make him her guardian. And Zappa's "Magdalena", although that one holds the father in contempt. And the Kinks' "Art Lover".

Wow - too many of those come to mind too easily!

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Wow - too many of those come to mind too easily!

Indeed. Like practically the Knack's entire catalog. And this, one of my favorite pop songs ever. The lyrics couldn't possibly be creepier, and the video, holy shit! Unbelievable, really:

That's what happens when the songs come up at random and you have to speak off the cuff for 45 minutes or so.

I've also softened my stance on "Childhood's End" after listening to it a few more times since that episode, which I attribute to the quality of the Revenge lineup. I plan on acknowledging that on an upcoming episode, as well as using the Mardones tune as ammunition against Andy.

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Very curious to hear this one (heard 'em all so far) because I really like this song. My favorite on the COS album (which is probably damning it with faint praise).

In that case, apologies in advance lol.

I don't know a ton about grunge, but one of the things I liked about the album is it was Kiss trying something different. Kind of why I liked "(Music From) The Elder". And they both were kind of hit and miss.

I like Carnival Of Souls a lot. I like it a shit ton more that Crazy Nights and Hot In The Shade. Crazy Nights is the ONE KISS album I can't listen to. COS has a grunge sound, no doubt ... common knowledge.

But, IMO, grunge is a broad brush that paints a lot of different band's sound. Nobody would confuse AIC with STP. Two very distinct takes, on the Seattle sound. Nirvana sure doesn't sound like Pearl Jam.

And KISS' Carnival Of Souls wouldn't be mistaken for SoundGarden's Superunknown. Did the Seattle bands do it better? Probably. It was their baby. Should KISS have jumped on the grunge-wagon? Probably not. But they did, and their attempt at that sound come out positive, IMHO. It wasn't like Pat Boone's cross over, singing Heavy Metal.

Much of the lyrical content of COS is dark. Not your typical titties and beer KISS album. But I appreciate what it must have taken to step out of the comfort zone, into a different genre.

Personally, I think COS is Kulick's best KISS album, playing wise. With Revenge, he seemed to find a guitar style and sound that fit perfectly within KISS. And I think on COS he continued and grew even more.

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I like Carnival Of Souls a lot. I like it a shit ton more that Crazy Nights and Hot In The Shade. Crazy Nights is the ONE KISS album I can't listen to. COS has a grunge sound, no doubt ... common knowledge.

But, IMO, grunge is a broad brush that paints a lot of different band's sound. Nobody would confuse AIC with STP. Two very distinct takes, on the Seattle sound. Nirvana sure doesn't sound like Pearl Jam.

And KISS' Carnival Of Souls wouldn't be mistaken for SoundGarden's Superunknown. Did the Seattle bands do it better? Probably. It was their baby. Should KISS have jumped on the grunge-wagon? Probably not. But they did, and their attempt at that sound come out positive, IMHO. It wasn't like Pat Boone's cross over, singing Heavy Metal.

Much of the lyrical content of COS is dark. Not your typical titties and beer KISS album. But I appreciate what it must have taken to step out of the comfort zone, into a different genre.

Personally, I think COS is Kulick's best KISS album, playing wise. With Revenge, he seemed to find a guitar style and sound that fit perfectly within KISS. And I think on COS he continued and grew even more.

HITS is the Kiss album I guess I'm least familiar with. I've never bought it and only heard it a handful of times. CN is, IMO, the worst album Kiss ever put out. I still clearly remember the day "Crazy, Crazy Nights" was released to radio. My wife was out for some reason, and when she came home, she said she'd heard the new Kiss single. I asked her how it was, and she said, "I really don't think you're going to like it." Which, considering how much I liked Kiss, seemed unlikely. She was right - I hated it. I'll usually let it play if I'm watching a boot or a show from Kissology, but otherwise, it's change the dial time whenever I hear it. Nothing else from the album grabbed me either, and I got rid of the CD after a few years. Ironically, one of my favorite Kiss boots is from the Crazy Nights tour.

Revenge was another one that never fully grabbed me, and a big part of that was that Gene was really starting to strike me as a hypocrite around this time. They were doing a larger than normal bit of Ace and Peter bashing as I recall, but it also really rubbed me the wrong way that the guy who was appearing on stage in a Fuck Censorship shirt had a song with the line "It don't mean spit to me". Really? "Spit"?

Alan

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Episode 14 now live: Andy, Chris, and Nick break down "Love 'Em and Leave 'Em" from Rock and Roll Over, then ponder why such a great song hasn't been a staple of the band's live set for the past 36+ years.

For iTunes users: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/pod-of-thunder/id639350818
For non-iTunes users: http://podofthunder.libsyn.com

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Episode 15 now live: Andy, Chris, and Nick analyze "Long Way Down" from Monster, then discuss the band's marketing and merchandising efforts over the years.

For iTunes users: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/pod-of-thunder/id639350818
For non-iTunes users: http://podofthunder.libsyn.com

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Don't know if anyone forwarded the info to you, but according to the book "Kiss Alive Forever" (which covers up to the late 90s, I believe), "Love 'Em And Leave 'Em" was performed on 11/24/76, although it's a bit contradictory on that - one section says that is first and last known live performance of the song, but the section on the tour says it appears on a rehearsal tape and was "presumably" performed on early dates of the tour.

Alan

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Episode 16 now live: Andy, Chris, and Nick analyze "Under the Rose" from Music From The Elder, then have a brief discussion about what remains the band's most controversial album before offering up a comedy bit based on the new Arena Football League team, the L.A. KISS.

For iTunes users: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/pod-of-thunder/id639350818
For non-iTunes users: http://podofthunder.libsyn.com

Brooks gets a mention in this one!

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Alternative name for L.A. KISS

The L.A. Bastards and Whores. (great Unholy reference) LMAO.

The Elder is a very polarizing album. Some of the songs stand on their own. Most of the songs are a paragraph from

the short story KISS was attempting to tell. "Under The Rose" is one of the songs that fits well with the concept of the album, but on

it's own, not so much. It doesn't make a lot of sense lyrically, by being taken out the context of the album. But it was KISS trying their hand at

their version of Pink Floyd's The Wall. Who was a producer on The Wall. Thats right ... Ezrin.

There's actually a track listing on the Remaster that sets the songs up in the order that was originally envisioned.

One of my foggy memories from back in the day, was me and my buddy playing The Elder when it first came out, on the cassette player

in my '70 Grand Prix Model J 455 CID, probably 5 or six times in a row. We were out all night, parked in a field, partying and BS'ing. I guess the booze and weed

must have made The Elder sound a little better than it actually is. But I still like after all these years. Probably because it's a piece of my younger days.

Not my pic, but this looks just like my old one:

70gp_blk.jpg

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Episode 16 now live: Andy, Chris, and Nick analyze "Under the Rose" from Music From The Elder, then have a brief discussion about what remains the band's most controversial album before offering up a comedy bit based on the new Arena Football League team, the L.A. KISS.

For iTunes users: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/pod-of-thunder/id639350818

For non-iTunes users: http://podofthunder.libsyn.com

Brooks gets a mention in this one!

that was unexpected and put a big grin on my face!

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Episode 16 now live: Andy, Chris, and Nick analyze "Under the Rose" from Music From The Elder, then have a brief discussion about what remains the band's most controversial album before offering up a comedy bit based on the new Arena Football League team, the L.A. KISS.

For iTunes users: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/pod-of-thunder/id639350818

For non-iTunes users: http://podofthunder.libsyn.com

Brooks gets a mention in this one!

I take all the guilt and I feel very honored for being mentioned in the show. That was cool (I know, it is a teenager like behavior - "Mom! Dad! Thats me on TV!").

Keep on with the show!

Daniel Wagner

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Episode 17 now live: Andy, Chris, and Nick break down "Let's Put the X in Sex" from 1988's greatest hits album, Smashes Thrashes & Hits. Also, Nick shares the details of his chance meeting with Paul Stanley.

For iTunes users: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/pod-of-thunder/id639350818
For non-iTunes users: http://podofthunder.libsyn.com

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I'm only about halfway through, but it's been hilarious. The only drawback is I haven't been able to watch the video while I was listening. I was kind of glad to hear you liked "Dynasty", too - that's still one of my favorite albums of theirs, and it gets labeled disco somewhat unfairly given that only one song is really disco. (BTW, "I Was Made For Loving You" is the lead track - "2000 Man" is second.)

Dropping back to last week, while it's not my favorite track from the "Elder", I do like "Under The Rose", but I couldn't disagree with anything you guys said. I especially loved the reaction after the first chorus when it went back to the slow part. "Mr. Blackwell" is going to be fun when you get to it.

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(BTW, "I Was Made For Loving You" is the lead track - "2000 Man" is second.)

Yeah, I based my comment on the 8-track version, on which 2,000 Man was first. I never owned a vinyl or cassette copy; currently own the digital download and never paid attention to the track order.

Thanks for listening! Glad you're enjoying it!

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