Gene Simmons' "Sex Money Kiss"

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So, out of curiosity and well against my better judgement, I picked up a copy of Gene Simmons' second (!!!!) book, "Sex Money Kiss" last week, and read it in fairly short order (complicated Joycian prose it assuredly is not). Has anyone else read this? Suffice it to say, it's Gene's quasi-"self-help"/literary infomerical on how to succeed in both business and, well, life in general via the most mercenary route available...i.e. the Simmons way. His espousal of a tireless 24-7 work ethic is indeed admirable, but his zealously sanctimonious tone sort've diminishes the merit. His oft-cited advice to control one's own affairs (as opposed to farming them off to middle-men) also makes a bit of sense, but his constant emphasis on simply acquiring more cash by hook or by crook gets a bit off-putting after a short while.

On the subject of love/marriage/inter-gender relations, meanwhile, the man is really off in a realm of his own. Now, how much of this is signature Simmons bluster versus how the man conducts himself in the stark light of day in real time is anyone's guess (ask Shannon Tweed, I suppose), but it remains a remarkable, eye-brow arching read in any caase. On certain subjects, he is suprisingly frank about his avarice and commercial ambitions, relegating "art" to the backburner of an entirely different oven that probably isn't plugged in half the time. If you want to continue to imagine Gene as a mythic figure, I'd steer well clear of this tome, as strips away more than the make-up, revealing a rather slimey, greedy core.

Alex in NYC (vassifer), Tuesday, 15 July 2003 13:53 (twenty-two years ago)

Is he really 'worse' than somebody like Andy Warhol, tho?

dave q, Tuesday, 15 July 2003 16:25 (twenty-two years ago)

Interesting quesion, Dave. I'd only argue that Warhol does a better job of obfuscating his ambitions via the credible guise of "art," as opposed to Gene bluntly trumpeting his Gordon Geckoesque "greed is good" mantra.

Couldn't help noticing, also, that a new and inevitable Kiss -- augmented needlessly by a syphony -- album has just hit store shelves. Aye yai yai.

Alex in NYC (vassifer), Tuesday, 15 July 2003 16:40 (twenty-two years ago)

You could do some amazing symphonic shit with the end of "Black Diamond", as for the rest of the track listing I'm not optimistic to put it mildly

dave q, Tuesday, 15 July 2003 16:49 (twenty-two years ago)

all i gotta say is to track down the recording of him interviewed on NPR's "Fresh Aire" last year, and it'll explain all you ever need to know about the guy.

Kingfish (Kingfish), Tuesday, 15 July 2003 20:05 (twenty-two years ago)

I have it on mp3 and have heard it. It's funny, but the real idiot in that debate was Terry Gross for thinking he was going to behave like anything other than the codpiece-filler that he prides himself on being.

Alex in NYC (vassifer), Tuesday, 15 July 2003 20:07 (twenty-two years ago)

Highly highly recommended is 'In Cold Sweat - Interviews with Really Scary Musicians' by Thomas Wiktor, collection of interviews for 'Bass Player' magazine (also features Scott Thunes, Gerald Casale and Peter Hook - see you're ordering it already!) Wiktor calls him on his schtick repeatedly ("See look, you've said some intelligent comments but whevenever I ask you to explain them you just go back to being sexist and intimidating, why?") Gene of course goes to ridiculous lengths to stay in character but he can't help himself when it comes to talking about - of all things - the actual MUSIC, then he says some interesting stuff! I suspect that he feels Kiss' songwriting/arrangements/invention-of-'pop-metal'(americanized SladeBeatlesRailroad whatever) has been overlooked so long that he acts like the world's biggest philistine in some sort of compensation. I got this feeling from the 'Vintage Guitar' interview with him as well ("Everyone says Eric Carr was better that Criss but for our band, he wasn't...Criss had that British Invasion feel we wanted, Carr just worshipped Bonham too much..." etc for about 10 pages! Great stuff if you can track it down)

dave q, Wednesday, 16 July 2003 08:55 (twenty-two years ago)

eight years pass...

http://assets.rollingstone.com/assets/images/story/gene-simmons-opens-all-american-rock-brews-restaurant-in-california-20120404/1000x600/main.jpg
Gene Simmons Opens All-American Rock & Brews Restaurant in California
'We create jobs. This is anti-cool. Cool can go fuck itself."
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/gene-simmons-opens-all-american-rock-brews-restaurant-in-california-20120404#ixzz1r6GzpRAO
excited about this

tylerw, Wednesday, 4 April 2012 19:06 (fourteen years ago)

pretty good beer list tbh

tylerw, Wednesday, 4 April 2012 19:11 (fourteen years ago)

(shhhh, no one tell him about the Hard Rock Cafe!)

Dancing with Mr. T (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Wednesday, 4 April 2012 19:13 (fourteen years ago)

Desserts better fucking be called "Encores"

chr1sb3singer, Wednesday, 4 April 2012 19:14 (fourteen years ago)

Simmons connected the populism of his restaurant with everything from disco's inclusion in the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame ("What an insult to the memory of Little Richard and Chuck Berry to have disco artists who don't write their own songs and play their own instruments. It's a sham to have Grandmaster Flash and Disco Bob and MC Criminal in there") to Kurt Cobain's suicide ("I say this respectfully to him – 'fuck off'") to, well, pretty much any music made after 1990 other than Katy Perry ("I love her voice") and Madonna ("a true rock star").

tylerw, Wednesday, 4 April 2012 19:15 (fourteen years ago)

That Disco Bob and MC Criminal record is pretty awesome though

chr1sb3singer, Wednesday, 4 April 2012 19:17 (fourteen years ago)

Did Simmons think he was speaking into a contradiction detector in the hopes of making it explode?

Dancing with Mr. T (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Wednesday, 4 April 2012 19:17 (fourteen years ago)

Gene also unfamiliar with "I Was Made For Loving You" and Desmond Child

chr1sb3singer, Wednesday, 4 April 2012 19:19 (fourteen years ago)

they're opening one of these in Denver too. I will go.

tylerw, Wednesday, 4 April 2012 19:24 (fourteen years ago)

plan to spend the rest of my life happily not putting a dime in this asshole's pocket. dear gene, thank you for the great albums you made 40 years ago. now please go fuck yourself.

preternatural concepts concerning variances in sound and texture (contenderizer), Wednesday, 4 April 2012 19:35 (fourteen years ago)

this dude is a massive shithead

Poliopolice, Wednesday, 4 April 2012 19:48 (fourteen years ago)

six years pass...

friday competition: find the most nonsensical statement from Gene in this RS interview
https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/the-last-word-gene-simmons-on-kanye-west-justin-bieber-and-donald-trump-198334/

I'll go with

There’s a certain freedom of thought here. When you think about it, when you want to fly through the air, sorry bitch, that was invented in America.

niels, Friday, 23 November 2018 10:54 (seven years ago)

seven months pass...

Space and Time # 5 (circa 1969) included an illo by Gene Klein a.k.a. Gene Simmons of the band Kiss. @genesimmons do you remember this? pic.twitter.com/azKNvwPJXt

— Space and Time Magazine (@SpaceandTimeMag) July 20, 2019

crumhorn invasion (Matt #2), Saturday, 20 July 2019 21:41 (six years ago)

one year passes...

Gene Simmons Opens All-American Rock & Brews Restaurant in California
'We create jobs. This is anti-cool. Cool can go fuck itself."
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/gene-simmons-opens-all-american-rock-brews-restaurant-in-california-20120404#ixzz1r6GzpRAO
excited about this

That's uncanny, a few years ago i had a dream that gene simmons opened a bar & grill in midtown (i had no idea about this). Out of curiosity, i poked my head in a few days ahead of the opening and he came to the door to greet me, but he had tiny little t-rex arms. He asked to be excused monentarily and returned with an armful of kiss merchandise, which he asked if i would like to buy (i declined). Then i said i had to go and he called me an asshole for not taking more time to chat.

Anyway, it turns out there's a gene simmons pokemon!! This isn't exactly news, but didn't know until today

https://poketouch.files.wordpress.com/2019/08/obstagoon_pokemon_sword_and_shield.png

Deflatormouse, Sunday, 11 July 2021 05:25 (four years ago)

And of course there’s Gene Simmons Toyota in Newbridge, NJ, where they man himself may hit in your wife as you examine the all new 2022 RAV4.

KEEP HONKING -- I'M BOBOING (Boring, Maryland), Sunday, 11 July 2021 17:27 (four years ago)

Hit on

KEEP HONKING -- I'M BOBOING (Boring, Maryland), Sunday, 11 July 2021 17:27 (four years ago)


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