Why Gene Simmons Feels That Rock Is Still Dead

KISS‘ Gene Simmons proclaimed that “rock is dead” back in 2014, and a full decade hasn’t really changed his mind. In a recent interview, Simmons revealed why his long-standing proclamation hasn’t changed and explains why it’s as true now as it has been for some time.

While appearing as a guest on The Zak Kuhn Show, Simmons revisited the discussion with several examples of why he feels that rock is still dead in today’s society.

Gene Simmons’ Primary Premise of Why Rock Is Dead

As with previous discussions on the topic, Simmons has used a similar premise in setting up his argument.

“It is [still dead]. And people don’t understand how I can say that when we all have our favorite songs and we love our favorite bands,” proclaimed Simmons. “But …. let’s play a game, and I’ve done this before. From 1958 until 1988, that’s 30 years. 30 years. So what came during that period? Well, we had Elvis, we had The Beatles, The Rolling Stoens, Jimi Hendrix, all that, Pink Floyd, the solo artists, David Bowie and just music that lasts forever, we’d like to think.”

“In the disco world, you had Madonna, more heavy guitars, you had — Oh God — AC/DC and everybody else, Aerosmith and on and on. And you had Motown at the same time. You had Prince. It was a very, very rich musical menu. It could go up and down. You had prog bands, you had Yes, Genesis, Gentile Giant, and you had the heavy bands, Led Zeppelin and so on. And from 1988 until today, it’s something like almost 40 years, certainly 35 years. Who are the new Beatles?”

Why Gene Simmons Shoots Down Most Modern Arguments

When Simmons asked, “Who are the new Beatles,” Kuhn countered with Nirvana.

“Stop. We are blinded,” responded Simmons. “I’m a major fan [of Nirvana]. If you walked down the street and asked a 20-year-old, ‘Who’s the bass player in Nirvana?’, they wouldn’t know what you’re talking about. Or, ‘Can you sing a Nirvana song?’ No, no. The Beatles and, to slightly lesser extent, The Stones and Elvis, everybody knew The Beatles. If you hated rock music, you knew about them.”

Later continuing to address the Nirvana argument, he added, “So Nirvana, one of my favorite bands. If you ask somebody who’s 20 or something, there’s a generation gap, ‘Name a song,’ they wouldn’t be able to tell you. ‘Who’s the bass player?’ No idea.”

Who else could be from the modern era to challenge Simmons’ notions about rock? Kuhn named Pearl Jam and Foo Fighters. Simmons responded, “Not on your life. Of course, I love Foo Fighters. I love those bands. Mike McCready told me he was growing up with those KISS records. In fact, one of his solos … he took note for note from Ace Frehley. But that’s not my point. My point is if you randomly walk down the street and you ask the first young person you meet, a 20-year-old, and you say, ‘Name me anybody in Pearl Jam,’ good luck with that. ‘Name me or tell me a song. Hum a song.’ They [can’t]. You and I are blinded because we’re very close to it.”

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He added, “Dave Grohl has become far more popular. They may know Dave because he’s done TV commercials and sort of rubbed shoulders with people outside of guitars and concerts. That’s how you get to be iconic. So if I say Snoop Dogg, everybody knows who that is, but if you mention other rappers who might actually be bigger rap stars — M.C. Criminal or whatever; I just made that up — the masses wouldn’t have any idea. It’s because Snoopplays in media — he had a TV show with Martha Stewart, and that kind of thing. So the masses have no idea who’s in Phish, one of my favorite bands, or Pearl Jam. They wouldn’t have a clue, unless you’re a fan.”

Gene Simmons References The T-Shirt Debate

Within his discussion on why “rock is dead” with a younger generation, Simmons brought up the familiar “name a song” T-shirt debate. He cited an experience his son had in his early 20s as an example.

“He saw a cute girl, so he’s trying to open up the conversation, and she’s wearing a Rolling Stones t-shirt that’s got the tongue on it, and on top of the t-shirt it actually says, ‘The Rolling Stones.’ And he walks up, and his first line is, ‘Oh, so you’re a fan, huh?’ And she says something like, ‘Yeah. Of what?’ And Nick, my son, says, ‘You know, The Stones.’ She goes, ‘The Stones?’ He goes, ‘Yeah, The Rolling Stones.’ She goes, ‘The Rolling Stones? What’s that? A band?’ Nick says, ‘Are you kidding? You’re wearing their t-shirt.’”

“He was telling me she looked down — upside down, I guess, because it’s facing [him] — and she goes, ‘Oh, oh, I just like the shirt. I just like the T-shirt,’” Simmons continued. “And Nick said, ‘You must know The Rolling Stones. You know ‘Satisfaction’.’ [hums riff] ‘Nope. Never heard it.’ He went through a few other songs. Never heard those songs. And he said, ‘You’ve never heard of Mick Jagger?’ And she said, ‘Mick Jagger? Oh yeah, yeah. I heard…’ What I’m about to tell you, my hand to God, is true. No exaggeration. She goes, ‘Mick Jagger. Oh, yeah, the serial killer.’ Anything you think is commonplace that the masses know, they don’t. Very few things everybody knows.”

Gene Simmons Guests on The Zak Kuhn Show