the genius of kiss lyrics
The discussion of Neil Peart/Rush lyrics on my wife Sarah's blog made me think of a similar subject.
Let me start out by saying that I'm a fan of Rush -- and of Kiss, obviously. As far as Rush goes, though, I think even those of us who liked their lyrics as youngsters eventually have to look back at that period as one of -- to be euphemistic -- "development." The pseudo-intellectual aspirations possess a certain charm, I suppose, in retrospect -- but damn those lyrics are over the top and silly in their loftiness.
On the other end of the spectrum, there's Kiss, whose lyrics can be seen as equally bad in the other direction -- with one caveat, though -- Kiss really (I think usually) did not pretend to intellectual depth (except on the Elder -- dear God....even Lou Reed's contributions sucked on that -- actually, Kiss's lyrics overall are better than what he wrote for them). Kiss lyrics, however, are more than just vapid. They're bizarre and -- I would argue -- strangely brilliant in their utter emptiness. Who could write lyrics so lacking in specificity or in any kind of thought? Here are some examples:
Baby gets tired
Everybody knows
Your mama tells you
Baby has to show
Yeah yeah, Let me go!
What the hell does that mean? For one thing, I submit that the odd syntax here (even for a rock song) evidence of Gene Simmons' lingering non-standard knowledge of English (he didn't start learning it until he was 8).
How about this?
She's a dancer, a romancer
I'm a capricorn and she's a cancer
She saw my picture in a music magazine
I'm a man, I'm no baby
And you're lookin' every inch a lady
You're good lookin' and you're lookin' like you should be good
Baby baby don't you hesitate 'cause I just can't wait.
It's so full of pointless empty info -- and even tautology. Now, it's easy -- and basically right -- to say that Kiss lyrics are just dumb filler. But they're SO GOOD at being dumb filler and they're so memorable as dumb filler that they start to seem kind of, well, perfect. I think Kiss is the perfect realization of a rock band with absolutely NO substance -- pure, relentless IMAGE -- a simulacram par excellance -- no pretense to anything behind the makeup. It's ALL mediation.
And that's what makes them -- in some ways -- my vote for the greatest rock band ever. Of course, if your criterion is that a great rock band has to have substance (which is a legimitate criterion) then Kiss fails utterly. I'm of two minds myself -- but I'm so drawn to the emptiness, an emptiness that SEEMS to gesture towards something but refuses to, of Kiss.
Plus, they have some cool riffs.
Let me start out by saying that I'm a fan of Rush -- and of Kiss, obviously. As far as Rush goes, though, I think even those of us who liked their lyrics as youngsters eventually have to look back at that period as one of -- to be euphemistic -- "development." The pseudo-intellectual aspirations possess a certain charm, I suppose, in retrospect -- but damn those lyrics are over the top and silly in their loftiness.
On the other end of the spectrum, there's Kiss, whose lyrics can be seen as equally bad in the other direction -- with one caveat, though -- Kiss really (I think usually) did not pretend to intellectual depth (except on the Elder -- dear God....even Lou Reed's contributions sucked on that -- actually, Kiss's lyrics overall are better than what he wrote for them). Kiss lyrics, however, are more than just vapid. They're bizarre and -- I would argue -- strangely brilliant in their utter emptiness. Who could write lyrics so lacking in specificity or in any kind of thought? Here are some examples:
Baby gets tired
Everybody knows
Your mama tells you
Baby has to show
Yeah yeah, Let me go!
What the hell does that mean? For one thing, I submit that the odd syntax here (even for a rock song) evidence of Gene Simmons' lingering non-standard knowledge of English (he didn't start learning it until he was 8).
How about this?
She's a dancer, a romancer
I'm a capricorn and she's a cancer
She saw my picture in a music magazine
I'm a man, I'm no baby
And you're lookin' every inch a lady
You're good lookin' and you're lookin' like you should be good
Baby baby don't you hesitate 'cause I just can't wait.
It's so full of pointless empty info -- and even tautology. Now, it's easy -- and basically right -- to say that Kiss lyrics are just dumb filler. But they're SO GOOD at being dumb filler and they're so memorable as dumb filler that they start to seem kind of, well, perfect. I think Kiss is the perfect realization of a rock band with absolutely NO substance -- pure, relentless IMAGE -- a simulacram par excellance -- no pretense to anything behind the makeup. It's ALL mediation.
And that's what makes them -- in some ways -- my vote for the greatest rock band ever. Of course, if your criterion is that a great rock band has to have substance (which is a legimitate criterion) then Kiss fails utterly. I'm of two minds myself -- but I'm so drawn to the emptiness, an emptiness that SEEMS to gesture towards something but refuses to, of Kiss.
Plus, they have some cool riffs.
posted by Mark Meritt at 11:24 AM
7 Comments:
I need to ponder this post more, but in the short term, let me just say that "You're good-lookin' and you're looking like you should be good" is kind of clever. Kind of. Is this a Paul Stanley lyric? I distinctly remember two times in my entire exposure to KISS thinking, "Wow, that was kind of like word play," and that lyric was one of them. I can't think of the other right now.
Mark has promised to post tomorrow explaining how the line I just quoted demonstrates the literary technique "chiasmus."
None of these lyrics can hold a candle to, "Woe are we and the demons who vex us / Will we ever make it to Dallas, Texas?" And my personal favorite, "Stuck at Stuckey's in the Benson heat / Man, that pecan log was good to eat."
Mark, where is the explanation of chiasmus??
KISS lyrics are prize winners, but I prefer Johnny Mercer. Of course "That Old Black Magic" loses some of its huge Peggy Lee charm once you know Johnny wrote it because he was crazy for Judy Garland, who was something of a stalker of old men from Georgia.
Which reminds me -- Peggy Lee was about as good a jazz singer as we've had,and she kept going back to jazz roots despite her commercial success.
Rush > Kiss
Mark: you *must* know of Yacht Rock?
http://channel101.com/shows/show.php?show_id=152
-Adam
Chiasmus discussion on the way...
Adam, I know not of Yacht rock, but the web site intrigues! Is I an Anderson a character? Why hasn't this toppled American Idol?
Tell me more...
Watch all (8 of the 5 minute) episodes in order, bro. I promise it will be an enjoyable experience. The love for West Coast music is manifest. The research is painstaking. The editing is brilliant. And most episodes just continue to get funnier after repeated viewings. You won't be disappointed.
Ian Anderson is indeed featured prominently in episode 6.
-Adam
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