Because rock is no longer fashionable, second Simmons Gene of the Kiss

After the farewell to the Kiss scene with two concerts in December 2023, the bassist of the band Gene Simmons does not abandon the idea that rock music is no longer “fashionable” as a time due to the popularity of the pop star.

In a recent interview, once again, Simmons expressed his opinion on the current state of rock, revealing that he believes that they no longer exist “great rock bands”. After having discussed in recent years for his repeated statements on the alleged death of the genre, the bassist of the Kiss has expanded his thoughts during a recent participation in the podcast “Greatest Musci of All Time”.

Invited by the conductor Tom Cridland to explain why he believes that rock is no longer “fashionable” as in past decades, Simmons said why according to him this genre was obscured by pop. The musician then replied, as transcribed by “Blabbermouth”:

“It is a question of business and who are fans. Whoever buys rock is mainly white. Of course, rock is still vibrant in the stadiums all over the world: the Iron Maiden are fine live, the metal too, and so on … but they are old bands, very old.
We brought the Iron Maiden on tour for the first time. We brought the Bon Jovi on tour for the first time. We brought the AC/DC on tour for the first time.
But you can’t find a new big rock band. They don’t exist. Name one, if you can think one. Foo Fighters are a great band, but we are talking about 30 years ago. And this has to do with fans, with those who buy music. When the music started to be available for free, the business model stopped working. “

During the chat, Gene Simmons was then asked why the music industry favors pop and rap, he explained: “Because pop fans are younger, mainly.

There are so many great pop singers … Ariana Grande is really fabulous: he knows how to imitate anyone, he is a great artist. And then there is Dua Lipa, and many others. But the fan base consists of young women. Much depends on merchandising. “He added:” I don’t want to seem like a professor of rock or music, but if you study the phenomenon, there are precise reasons why things happen. If you like that music, you say: ‘Oh, I like it’, but there are different business models behind. If you are a rap band, you can actually sell copies, because rap is culture, not just music. Indeed, it is often more culture than music, and it is often racial culture, because it speaks of ‘us’ – ‘We against them’ or ‘the world against us’ “.

Thus underlining the importance of a solid fanbase in music, Simmons continued:

“If you have a fanbase that feels connected and that has its flag, as in football, it is an advantage. It is tribalism. It must not necessarily be hostile, it is a matter of identity.
The ‘Swiftie’ movement (Taylor Swift fans) is a culture. I’m not just fans. She represents something. If you think about it, beyond music and texts – ‘This boy broke my heart’ – and the songs that the swifties love, above all this there is, their leader, the ‘Jesus’ of the movement, If you understand what I mean.
I mean, what Christianity is as a movement, as a religion, without Jesus, right? So these leaders are needed, these apostles at the top, to embody the culture and what it represents. And that’s what Taylor has with Swifties … “.

Simmons then expressed his love for Lady Gaga, who called “more talented than all the others” and said: “His songs and his personality convey: ‘I was born so’.

And therefore his music is not alone … and I don’t want to use ‘frivolous’ in a negative sense, because there are wonderful light songs. Much of the British invasion was made of fantastic songs that did not mean anything. But when a song says (sings) ‘you want a revolution’, then it talks about something. And when you have a repertoire that talks about something, you have the foundations of tribalism. And if you are the incarnation of that tribe, then you really have something special. Yes, Gaga’s fanbase is based on this. And of course he has expanded his range of action by making pop, collaborating with Tony Bennett and much more. She is authentic. It has musical talent. He knows how to play, sing; It’s a real Chanteuse. “.