Paul Stanley has weighed in on Gene Simmons’ infamous hot take/claim that “Rock is Dead.”
When asked his thoughts on the statement, Stanley responded with a clever analogy.
“I think that life, rock, whatever it is, is never a constant, ” said Stanley. “Let’s say, for example, if you take somebody’s pulse and it’s weak, it doesn’t mean they’re dead. It means that the pulse is weak. And it doesn’t mean it won’t come back stronger.”
He added, “I don’t think that music can ever be dead. I don’t think that bands can be dead, rock can be dead. It just takes somebody to reignite it to the level that it has been at some time in the past.”
Stanley continues, “A computer will never take the place of flesh-and-blood people making music. People may be enamored with it, and it may eclipse the other, but ultimately, it all comes full circle — it all comes back. It doesn’t go away. It may be sleeping. But there are bands out there making great music.”
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Stanley then points out, “Nobody’s complaining about Foo Fighters. Dave [Grohl] is passionate about what he’s doing and they’re terrific. So there are bands out there. As far as new bands, somebody will come along. Somebody will pick up the flag and go forward. Like I said, the pulse may be a little weak, but the patient’s coming back.”
Interestingly, Simmons touched on his whole “Rock is Dead” line in a new interview with Consequence of Sound. In relation to his question of who is the new Beatles and which bands post-1988 could measure up, Simmons said, “I’ve heard a reaction of Foo Fighters, one of my favorite bands, but you’re kidding yourself.”
Sure, the Foo Fighters might not be “The New Beatles,” but who really ever was? Just because a band doesn’t measure up to the Fab Four (and once again, who really does), it doesn’t mean they should be discounted in any way.
