Most Embarrassing KISS Moments 1982 - 1989

[clintmwells]

Stole this idea from another thread.

Man on man. KISS in the 80's. Wow. Where does one start? I'll get things going with perhaps the most cringeworthy of them all. The look:

[Mr. Kiss]

Where do I begin ( :mrgreen: ... )?

3. The band's look from 'Lick It Up' through 'Crazy Nights'.

2. Gene caring about movies more than Kiss along with Paul thinking he was Kiss. Both factors contributed to MEDIOCRE music for most of the decade ( ).

1. Paul's annoying stage raps. Enough said.

[King]

The Rise To It video.
The You Make Me Rock Hard video.
To name a couple.

[redinthesky]

Stole this idea from another thread.

Man on man. KISS in the 80's. Wow. Where does one start? I'll get things going with perhaps the most cringeworthy of them all. The look:

Three of these pics don't represent 80's Kiss, they represent the Asylum era of the 80's, which we all agree they looked ridiculous, but it definitely does not represent Kiss for the whole decade.

The other pic, shirtless Paul, is from Crazy Nights and what's wrong with that pic? He looks great and he's giving the girls (and some guys I guess) what they want to see. In a decade where "hair-metal" bands had to have "the hot lead singer" Paul was a godsend for Kiss.

[Fickdich]

The other pic, shirtless Paul, is from Crazy Nights and what's wrong with that pic?

It's the thong, man. The damn thong.

[lespaul]

you make me rock hard and lets put the x in sex ...even worse when watching paul without a guitar, and dancing like Paula Abdul

[Velvis]

I always thought the Lick It Up era was the worst. The album cover was good, but the videos are horrible and photoshoots look like they are wearing more makeup than they did in the 70's.

Love it or hate it, at least Asylum had a theme. It was a tough sell for Gene though.

[redinthesky]

The other pic, shirtless Paul, is from Crazy Nights and what's wrong with that pic?

It's the thong, man. The damn thong.

Allow me to add.....besides the thong

[stutterer]

That look suited Vinnie, the most feminine guy in the band, with Paul a distant second. Paul and Gene were too hairy and "ethnic" for this nonsense back in the 73, so a decade later it only got worse. Eric's built was also too thick and masculine for this.

[Eddie Van Hazel]

1) "AND I THAW THOSE BLACK PANT-EEZ AND I KNEW THAT IT WAZ YOU!!!!!!!"

....You know a lyric is bad when you're embarrassed listening to it through headphones.

2) Gene dressed in drag in "Never To Young To Die".

3) Gene and Paul in the "Exposed" home video.

4) Gene and Paul on the Geraldo show.

5) Gene on the Oprah show.

6) Gene's wig in the "Animalize" home video.

7) Paul's guitar solo in the "Animalize" home video.

Gene in the "Reason To Live" video.

9) "Read My Body" from "H.I.T.S"

10) Gene and Paul in the "Rock Hard" video.

[Wild Animals]

I would say for their real unmasking on MTV... it was sort of a waa waa waaaaaaa moment for me after waiting all those years to see them without makeup.

I know that the Asylum costumes get a lot of hate, but trust when I say it wasn't that big of a deal when you would see them live... they were on fkn FIRE!

[EricCarr91]

Ahh... my favorite era. Have 2 gold albums from that period

[Di3go]

I always thought the Lick It Up era was the worst. The album cover was good, but the videos are horrible and photoshoots look like they are wearing more makeup than they did in the 70's.

Love it or hate it, at least Asylum had a theme. It was a tough sell for Gene though.

they were average for their time, it wasn't until 1984/1985 that the whole video clip format became a developed genre on it's own and the biggest promotion media that an album and artists can get.

[NightmareChild]

COTN tour being deserted.
Losing Vinnie Vincent when he was such an integral part to LIU being so great.
Animalize totally sucking.
Gene's songs being so third rate for album after album.
Gene's movies with the exception of Runaway which isn't bad for the time.
KISS waiting a year to work with Ron Nevison and chasing a hit album so blatantly only to have it misfire.
HITS having so many songs on it, mostly subpar.

[kissjrj]

The dialogue script from KISS-Exposed. Who wants to lick my.......envelopes?

[Hotter Than Heck]

Top 10 in no particular order:

Crazy Nights
The new songs & Beth on ST&H
The stage clothes from Lick It Up through 1988
Reusing the Creatures stage for the Lick It Up tour
Using the solo album colors for lip coloring on the Asylum album cover
Re-releasing Creatures with the 1985 cover
Paul's back cover photo on Crazy Nights
Paul's stage raps Creatures through 1988
Gene & Paul's Decline of Western Civilization Part II interview clips
Ragnar

[redinthesky]

That look suited Vinnie, the most feminine guy in the band, with Paul a distant second. Paul and Gene were too hairy and "ethnic" for this nonsense back in the 73, so a decade later it only got worse. Eric's built was also too thick and masculine for this.

I don't know about that "distant second" thing in the race of Kiss feminimity.

[Sam]

"KISS are a bunch of bad motherfuckers!"

[AceCarr]

Let's Put the "X" in Sex song and video.

[PelagicJoe]

The two Smashes songs and the videos for them top this list easily.

[caligari]

I would say for their real unmasking on MTV... it was sort of a waa waa waaaaaaa moment for me after waiting all those years to see them without makeup.

I know that the Asylum costumes get a lot of hate, but trust when I say it wasn't that big of a deal when you would see them live... they were on fkn FIRE!

Not telling you what to "remember", but...

ASYLUM show was was the beginning of KISS: DEAD!
Sad when the best song for the band and the audience is a cover of "Won't Get Fooled Again".

CRAZY NIGHTS show (at least in the U.S.) was the nail in the KISS: DEAD! coffin before they started selling them.

[Klankh79]

Paul being so busy jumping around "entertaining" that he barely sang his own songs.......!!
the new songs on Smashes Thrashes
Paul's thong picture on Crazy Nights
Gene's songs between '84 - '89
concert attendance figures for the decade as a whole
Gene starting to get fat about 1988
the lack of Bruce/Eric in Exposed
the god awful logo they used on the HITS tour (i know its post-'89, but...)

[kissjrj]

"...let me tell you something, that baby had the longest fucking tongue I have ever seen in my life!"

[Fair Baseball]

Definitely the Rise To It video with that G & P in makeup skit.
Cringe factor off the charts. Just so horrible.

[Klankh79]

Definitely the Rise To It video with that G & P in makeup skit.
Cringe factor off the charts. Just so horrible.

i didnt see that video until i bought X-Treme CloseUp. as a 13 year old, i thought the makeup skit was pretty cool really, tho even then the historical inaccuracy of their costumes bothered me. Paul's wearing his australia '80 leotard. Gene's crumpled tinfoil outfit is broken! lends credence to the notion they were in dire financial straits at this point, they couldnt even afford to make that skit look right. heard a blurb once about how most of their outfits were in a storage building they werent able to pay the rent on at the time.....hmmm....so lets do the best we can with whatever we have lying around eh? heh heh

[Fair Baseball]

Definitely the Rise To It video with that G & P in makeup skit.
Cringe factor off the charts. Just so horrible.

i didnt see that video until i bought X-Treme CloseUp. as a 13 year old, i thought the makeup skit was pretty cool really, tho even then the historical inaccuracy of their costumes bothered me. Paul's wearing his australia '80 leotard. Gene's crumpled tinfoil outfit is broken! lends credence to the notion they were in dire financial straits at this point, they couldnt even afford to make that skit look right. heard a blurb once about how most of their outfits were in a storage building they werent able to pay the rent on at the time.....hmmm....so lets do the best we can with whatever we have lying around eh? heh heh

Also that dialogue between them while putting on the makeup and looking into the mirror is so annoying and Paul especially comes off whiny and limp wristed, not to mention looking like Cher.

[70skid]

That look suited Vinnie, the most feminine guy in the band, with Paul a distant second. Paul and Gene were too hairy and "ethnic" for this nonsense back in the 73, so a decade later it only got worse. Eric's built was also too thick and masculine for this.

I don't know about that "distant second" thing in the race of Kiss feminimity.

:mrgreen:

[Den Dennis]

[PUNCHLINE]

The X In Sex and Rock hard videos.

[DoggFather]

Crazy Nights.

[drolaw]

"...let me tell you something, that baby had the longest fucking tongue I have ever seen in my life!"

That was freaking cool in 84. As a young teenager I have to say the raps were not as bad as most people say they were. It got bad when we grew up and realized that it was cheesy and for KISS not remotely true. Motley Crue, yes, Kiss, No. That being said, it was good for it's time. Before the internet we all had visions of what rock bands did when they were not on stage This played into that.

Gene and Paul believe in putting up smoke and mirrors to make you think they are/were something they are/were not..they built a fantasy world.

[razor]

smashes , thrashes and hits era 89