Gene Simmons On Teen Pop

Back - Index - Submissions - - What is RSS? Date: Jan 11, 2000 Source: InfoBeat Entertainment Music Submitted By: Keisha (Launch) - Hard as it may be to believe, Kiss singer/bassist Gene Simmons is a fan of the current wave of teen pop. In a recent interview with the amateur musician Web site, www.getsigned.com, Simmons was asked how he felt about the current chart-toppers and multiple Grammy-Award nominees, and he said, "I like it. Anybody that has a problem with it, they're missing the point. It's not for you. It's meant to appeal to a 12-year-old girl. It's very professionally done, very clever songwriting. I like Backstreet Boys more than 'N Sync. Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, it's all very well done stuff. Much better than the Partridge Family and New Kids On The Block. I took my kids to see Backstreet Boys live and they flipped out." Before anyone gets the idea that the fire-breathing, blood-spitting "demon" of Kiss has gone soft, he makes clear that his appreciation for these acts is strictly professional, but he wishes some of them did a bit more homework. "I'm a big fan of anybody that does anything well," he said. "The one thing I see is the young bands don't pay dues. They don't listen to old records and they don't have a frame of reference. That doesn't mean you need to learn to read and write music, but you need to know where it came from. You can't just play the 'Satisfaction' riff and think you invented it." Comment on this item. Next Item: What's Nick Like On Tour? Prev Item: Grammys don't sound too good