Marge Simpson in Playboy

D'Oh! You're kidding. Giggidy (I know, wrong show)

Marge Simpson in Playboy??

Whattya think?




Weird, huh?

KISS on Letterman

Here are the boys on The Late Show with David Letterman on the day of Sonic Boom's release, Oct. 6th.



Awesome!!

KISS Sonic Boom Tracks-One by One

Paul Stanley and Tommy Thayer talk Sonic Boom.



In stores in three days, Oct. 6th. WOO HOO!

And lifted directly from their website, kissonline.com, here are some Sonic Boom recording studio clips, via YouTube:







And since apparently only "rock journalists" get to listen to albums (sorry, CDs) before they are officially released to the public here is a review by journalist/author Sterling Whitaker:

September 16, 2009

For those of you who have been living on another planet for the past few months, Kiss is celebrating its 35th anniversary by releasing a new album entitled Sonic Boom in October, and the band has been hyping the new disc as the best Kiss has recorded since the heyday of its classic lineup with albums like Rock And Roll Over and Destroyer. I have to admit, I was a bit skeptical when I first heard that. After all, Kiss is a band whose output has been, uh, "somewhat uneven" over the years, to put it diplomatically, and Kiss hasn't exactly been shy about over-selling its work in the past, whether it was deserving or not.

Okay, okay, I admit it... I was wrong. It turns out Sonic Boom really is the album Kiss fans have been waiting for all these years. From its no-frills production (no apparent Pro Tools trickery here) to its uber-classic put-your-fist-in-the-air rock anthems, Sonic Boom is the most satisfying album by a "classic rock" artist I've heard since... honestly, since I don't know when. Sadly, it's kind of accepted that most bands that are 35 years into their career are going to release new work that is in no way comparable to the albums that made their legacy. Sonic Boom destroys that pre-conception by delivering an album as raw and vital as the best of Kiss' back catalog.

The main thing that sets this record from some of Kiss' uneven later studio efforts is that it has a true band identity. There are no pop songs from slick outside writers, and there isn't a cast of thousands providing instrumental augmentation to the members of Kiss. This is a record that was written and performed by the members of Kiss, for better or worse. In this case it's very much for the better. Sonic Boom has all of the hallmarks of a classic Kiss record; heavy guitar riffs informed by the melodic and harmonic pop craftsmanship of Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons, powerful rock drumming, strong bass lines, and lyrical, well-crafted guitar solos. Gene Simmons' public persona and marketing savvy often overshadow the fact that he's a great bass player, and Sonic Boom is a return to the kind of melodic stylings that characterized the best of early Kiss. "Never Enough" and "Hot And Cold" contain some of Simmons' best work in decades.

As for Tommy Thayer, every track contains the kind of deliberate Ace Frehley-isms that could only come from someone who loves Kiss music as a fan first. Thayer's take on these songs is such a tasteful amalgam of classic Kiss licks, stylings, tone and phrasing that it will have some fans wondering what year it is. It's an approach that isn't so much gimmicky as it is timeless. Paul Stanley and Eric Singer round out the album's classic performances with contributions that are perfectly suited to each track. I'm sure there are going to be those naysaying critics who carp that with Sonic Boom, Kiss is shamelessly pandering to a particular demographic base by deliberately tailor-making a record to fit its needs. In fact, maybe that's exactly what they did. If so, then more power to 'em. If more bands would bother to make great records that their fans will actually like, then maybe guys like me wouldn't have to dread getting sent new work by older bands so much. I've been a Kiss fan since the mid-Seventies, and I can't imagine any Kiss fan not liking Sonic Boom.

KISS Nominated (Finally) For Rock 'n' Roll Hall

Well, KISS has finally been nominated to the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame. It's their first nomination since thier eligility began in 1999, if you can believe that?

Via The New York Times

By Ben Sisario

Could Kiss finally make it into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? After being snubbed for years - the band has been eligible for the honor since 1999 - Kiss has finally been nominated, along with Genesis, the Stooges, the Red Hot Chili Peppers and others, the organization has announced. Votes will be cast by a group of more than 500 musicians and industry professionals; of the 12 nominees, the five that get the most votes will be announced in January and inducted into the Hall of Fame at its 25th annual ceremony on March 15 at the Waldorf-Astoria in Manhattan. Acts become eligible 25 years after the release of their first record.

Paul Stanley comments on Hall of Fame nomination:

KISS is a first-time nominee among a dozen finalists for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, according to a list released this morning by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation.

Five of the 12 nominees will be chosen for induction from ballots cast by more than 500 music industry voters. An announcement of the inductees is expected in January, and the Hall's 25th Annual Induction Ceremony will take place March 15 at the Waldorf Astoria hotel in New York City. Broadcast plans have not yet been announced.

This year's big story could turn out to be KISS, which has been eligible since 1999 but has famously been snubbed by the Hall's nominating committee and has made some harsh comments about the organization in the past. But the group's Paul Stanley recently noted that a Rock Hall induction would cause he and his longtime KISS partner Gene Simmons to consider which of the group's members they'd like to have enter with them.

"There's been a lot of people who've been a part of this, some longer than others..and some who deserve recognition more than others," Stanley explained. "Even the non-makeup years produced some platinum and double-platinum albums, and we had some very healthy sales in terms of albums and concerts through the '80s and '90s. So if we should ever be asked to accept induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, it would be something to think about." The Foundation determines which members of a band are inducted into the Hall, and the ballot lists the four founding members of KISS, including Ace Frehley and Peter Criss.

All I can say is, it's about damn time. But, the final decision goes to perennial KISS-hater, Rolling Stone Editor-in-Chief, Jann S. Wenner. So, after 10 years of frustration and disappointment, I won't be holding my breath.

I Couldn't Agree More Mr. President

Kanye West is a jackass!! And still a punk, too.
Kudos to Beyonce for letting Swift have her moment do-over.

Patrick Swayze Dies at 57

What is it with all these celebrities dying recently? I'd expect ones that are in their 70s or 80s, but these ones of late are the ones I grew up with in the seventies and eighties; Michael Jackson, Farrah Fawcett (even the 90's if you count the untimely demise of Heath Ledger) what is going on?

Now the star of 80's favourites; Dirty Dancing, Ghost, Roadhouse and two of my personal favourites, Point Break (yes, even with Mr. No Charisma, Keeanu Reeves) and Red Dawn, Patrick Swayze has died from cancer at the age of 57.

This Whole Star Wars/Skywalker Genealogy Thing...

Yeah, it's really making me scratch my head. I mean, I saw STAR WARS in it's original 1977 theatrical release when it was just that, STAR WARS. No Episode IV, no New Hope, just STAR WARS. And back then you knew who was who. Ben Kenobi was Obi-Wan Kenobi. Darth Vader was The Dark Lord of the Sith (of course back then we had no idea about Anakin Skywalker being Vader or that Luke and Leia were siblings and that Anakin/Vader was their father-and we were just fine with that, thank you)

So now I come to find that there is a whole slew of Skywalkers in the expanded Star Wars Universe. Now I read the awesome Heir to the Empire trilogy by Timothy Zahn and the follow-up Jedi Academy trilogy by Kevin J. Anderson, where Luke meets and ultimately falls in love with and marries his would-be assassin, the former Emperor's Hand, Mara Jade. They eventually have a child who they name Ben (after Obi-Wan)

From there it gets a little fuzzy.

Apparently in the Expanded Universe, in the following comics and novels, there is a new generation of Skywalkers. Now if you've read the outline/plot of a supposed new trilogy that would become Episode's seven through nine, Luke Skywalker lives to be around 100 years old. Mara has long since died at the hands of her nephew Jacen Solo (the second-born-by five minutes-he's a twin to his sister, Jaina-of the married Han Solo and Leia Organa/Skywalker. They also have a third child, Anakin; named after the children's grandfather, Anakin Skywalker) when he turns to the dark side of the force and becomes the Sith Lord, Darth Caedus.

I had no clue to any of this until recently. I thought I was caught up on the back stories, but with Del-Ray Books pumping out 10 books a week, it seems; how can anybody? For instance, it is well-established now that Chewbacca is dead. That's right, Chewie was killed in an apparant self-sacrifice to save Han and Liea's youngest, Anakin.

But, the biggest thing is that there are further generations of the Skywalker name that I also had no idea about. There is the grandson (or great-grandson-I'm still not sure) of Ben Skywalker-who's spouse's name is also still unknown-Cole, who, with a woman by the name of Morrigan Corde produced their offspring, Cade; who himself is purported to be the last remaining Skywalker.

Luke's sister, Leia Organa-Solo had three children as mentioned. One of them, Jacen/Darth Caedus met Tenel Ka and had a daughter, Allana. It seems that Jacen (who was later killed by his Jedi sister, Jaina) followed in his grandfather, Anakin's footsteps just a little too closely.

Are you with me so far? No? I don't balme you.

To add more confusion, if you read this interview from Supershadow.com (assuming it's even real) George Lucas has indicated three more movies to come. Or has he? (see follow-up below)Episodes seven, eight and nine, with the first due out in 2016. Awesome if true, but the confusing part is, the aforementioned deaths of little Anakin and Jacen Solo are ignored. That would put the whole "interweaving of book and movie storylines" right out of whack.

However this may be all for not because...
However the live-action television series that has been long-talked about and rumored may becoming closer to fruition.