The 500 - #489 - Kiss - Destroyer

I was inspired by a podcast called The 500 hosted by comedian Josh Adam Meyers. His goal, and mine, is to explore Rolling Stone's 2012 edition of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. 

My plan. 

• 2 records per week & at least 2 complete listens.
• A quick blog post for each, highlighting the important details and a quick background story.
• No rating scale - just an effort to expand my appreciation.

Album # 490

Album Title: Destroyer
Artist: KISS
Released: March, 1976
My age at release: 10
How familiar am I with it: Very familiar - but haven't listened through it in years.
Song I am putting on my Spotify Mix: Detroit Rock City
Great Lyric:
"My uniform is leather and my power is my age,
I'm getting it together, to break out of my cage.
Cause Flaming Youth will set the world on fire!" (Flaming Youth)

At nine years old, walking through the "big kids hallway" at Jack Miner Public School, I saw her coming toward me - a Grade 8 girl - tall, blonde and both pretty and frightening.  She was one of the "tough" girls that Juniors, like me, were wise to avoid. She dated high-school guys who could beat you up. In reality, it felt more likely that she would be the bigger threat - likely adding verbal humiliation to a beating she was more than capable of delivering. The character of Kim from the television series Freaks and Geeks looks as if she was cast with this girl in mind.

So, there's me, Grade 5 prey, walking down the hallway...alone...toward an obvious predator. I tried, unsuccessfully, to avoid eye-contact, but my vision was drawn to her T-shirt and the letters printed aggressively across the middle. 

I had no idea that this was a band. I legitimately thought she was being intentionally brazen. Thoughts swirled through my adolescent head. 

Was she bragging that she "kissed" people? 
Was she daring boys to kiss her?

"Why don't you take a picture, it'll last longer!!" she barked, snapping me out of my temporary trance as continued her strut down the hallway. (That was a popular expression in the mid-seventies, so I assume that is what she said.)

It wouldn't be long before I knew that KISS was a band. Well, more than a band - a cultural phenomenon. They wore make-up and giant platform boots. They had a guy who might be a devil-worshiper, who breathed fire and regurgitated blood. Much like the blonde in the hallway - they were an intoxicating mix of scary and fascinating. It was a heady cocktail for a pre-teen audience. 

By the summer of 1976, KISS were ubiquitous, even in the sleepy, Ontario town of Kingsville. I can remember finding KISS records in the small department store (I think it was a Woolco) in the neighbouring town of Leamington. I know I asked if I could have ALIVE II when it came out and was shut down by my mother as soon as she saw the cover. I'm pretty sure I got a K-Tel Super Hits compilation instead - I do know it had Rich Girl by Hall and Oates on it.

Truth be told, I was never a big KISS fan. When they were popular, I followed along with my friends and I know my brother and I went out as two of them for Halloween one year. I liked a few songs here and there but, as I developed my taste in music, they fell to the wayside. My 70's aesthetic went more toward the progressive rock sound - Styx, Kansas, Supertramp, E.L.O. and my big obsession Rush. Sadly, I got in the habit of dismissing music that I deemed "too simple". It was a temporary phase and I now look back apologetically for being such an insufferable prig. 

Destroyer was fun to revisit. It immediately transported me back to the 70's and wood paneled basements where my friends would "crank it up" on their parent's stereo systems. The deeper cuts on the record resonated more powerfully for me, likely because I haven't heard them since the 1970's. I picked Detroit Rock City for my Spotify mix because that opening guitar riff brings me great joy and it's always better to pick a song where Paul sings.

I've never seen KISS in concert - I hope to remedy that one day. I love a big show, and I know that KISS will always deliver. The make-up is such a deceptively clever idea - the band never ages. I've even heard Gene say that they will eventually replace themselves when retirement arrives...so KISS will live on forever. 

I wonder if the hallway girl is still a fan?