Gene Simmons interview w/ Terry Gross

[ThunderMaverick]

He was being an ass to test her.

 

[Francisco d'Anconia]

It was a great interview, but come on. You don't think he was being deliberately insulting with the intention of making this chick feel bad about herself and embarassing her on her job?

Of course I'm a smart ass as well, but it's not easy to be objective about yourself.

But yeah, can't deny the power and confidence there. Totally in command and I'm sure I'll listen again.

What did he say that was insulting to her? Have you seen this woman? He was extremely nice to her.

 

[Francisco d'Anconia]

He was being an ass to test her.

As if her constant questions about his make-up was more interesting. And what was the deal with her insisting that she'd seen him wearing fishnets?

 

[reset]

It's the context. For her it was a professional setting and he suggested she wasn't interesting, her job wasn't important, and made several references to sleeping with her.

Would you say that type of stuff to a chick at work? In my case maybe, but sometimes I think back to the stuff I say and wonder how I got away with it. I'm being a little hypocritical here but whatever.

Now if they had the exact same conversation at a bar or something, then he's just being overly ****y, and I think he is negging there.

Yes it was funny. And it was cool to hear her get flustered and him to not enter her frame for even a split second. That I admire.

 

[Francisco d'Anconia]

It's the context. For her it was a professional setting and he suggested she wasn't interesting, her job wasn't important, and made several references to sleeping with her.

Would you say that type of stuff to a chick at work? In my case maybe, but sometimes I think back to the stuff I say and wonder how I got away with it. I'm being a little hypocritical here but whatever.

Now if they had the exact same conversation at a bar or something, then he's just being overly ****y, and I think he is negging there.

Yes it was funny. And it was cool to hear her get flustered and him to not enter her frame for even a split second. That I admire.

Well it was an interview and all she wanted to talk about was make-up, he didn't need to suggest she was boring, she did pretty well on her own. He referred to her job along with his as not being as important as a teacher, doctor or fireman; you can't dispute that. She brought up his sexual escapades (eventually) so what if he alluded to her sleeping with him, it went along with the context he was describing about the base nature of both men and women; and like he said, she didn't want to admit it. You should take a look at her, she should have been flattered. Especially at the end of the interview when he said that he thought that she would be a lot of fun at a party.

Now in comparison she said that he wore fishnet stockings, that how he was on stage and during the interview was just an act, she mocked him for saying that he's never been drunk, oh and she didn't like the fact that he would give thorough answers to her questions that aren't the stereotypical ones given by most musicians. He dealt with all of that in a cool and controlled manner all the while giving entertaining answers and flirting. I can't believe that more guys aren't applauding this. He was basically taking her sh1t tests and grinding them under his 8 inch platforms.

 

[Tazman]

Thanks for posting that interview. I haven't felt more proud of a man expressing himself as a MAN in a long time. Stuff like this is empowering and really makes one feel good to be the men that we all are. No appologies!!!

 

[reset]

He was basically taking her sh1t tests and grinding them under his 8 inch platforms.

Lol. Honestly I saw it as him giving the **** tests, but the good kind. I'll listen to it again. She did start taking on the "oh bitter man I'm sure you're so lonely and afraid inside" tone and I hate that crap.

As far as talking about the make-up, I didn't see it as insulting until now. It's Gene Simmons. But yeah why ask about makeup after a few perfunctory "what's the symbology of your make-up" questions.

I like the dude. I've watched his reality show a few times.

 

[Francisco d'Anconia]

Lol. Honestly I saw it as him giving the **** tests, but the good kind. I'll listen to it again. She did start taking on the "oh bitter man I'm sure you're so lonely and afraid inside" tone and I hate that crap.

As far as talking about the make-up, I didn't see it as insulting until now. It's Gene Simmons. But yeah why ask about makeup after a few perfunctory "what's the symbology of your make-up" questions.

I like the dude. I've watched his reality show a few times.

Read the transcript, I think it's better. And yeah, the make-up thing was getting old. "What kind of makeup is it," "what does the design mean," "how do you remove your makeup..." I mean come on....

 

[azanon]

I've seen him called a$$hole a few times in this thread. Am I the only one that doesn't necessarily take being referred to as an "a$$hole" as necessarily a bad thing anymore? As long as it isn't delivered to me disrespectfully, and is simply an observation, I don't really mind it at all. I don't think Gene does either.

Nowadays, its common and boring to be nice and politically correct. I think someone like Gene is refreshing and a nice change of pace.

 

[azanon]

Of course he's screwed about 4,000 more girls than me but come on, can ya do anything but toot your own horn? How about trying to change this country for the better, becoming politically involved, volunteering, or trying to help others become succesful in life?

No doubt those would be noble causes to form a life around. That being said, if i was going to make that sort of thing my primary focus, I'd probably choose a different forum to encourage that approach. I guess what I'm trying to say is please don't complain that when you see an orange squeezed, orange juice comes out. Gene's approach is the sort of behavior that will be uplifted here because it's very consistent with a DJ mentality as addressed in the DJ bible.

 

[Francisco d'Anconia]

I've seen him called a$$hole a few times in this thread. Am I the only one that doesn't necessarily take being referred to as an "a$$hole" as necessarily a bad thing anymore? As long as it isn't delivered to me disrespectfully, and is simply an observation, I don't really mind it at all. I don't think Gene does either.

Nowadays, its common and boring to be nice and politically correct. I think someone like Gene is refreshing and a nice change of pace.

@ssholes use to be thought of as people who would directly denigrate others, nowadays it's interchanged with people who seem to make others feel lesser in comparison without slighting them directly. It's as if people would denigrate themselves and call the person who's self-confident an @sshole. Madness...

 

[MacAvoy]

Hardly. Beatles 1 billion album sales world wide, Led Zeppelin 300 million, Rolling Stones 200 million, ABBA 370 million…. Guns and Roses with only 5 albums - 90 million.


KISS 95 million

In every list that I can find of top bands regardless of category - album sales, gross income, concert attendance, radio play, popularity - KISS doesn’t make the top 100 in any of them.

You need to learn how to read potato. No where did RT say that they were the best selling or most popular rock band. I think KISS sucks musically but I would have to concur that they were/are on the greatest rock & roll bands of all time if not the greatest.

 

[Rollo Tomassi]

I'd also ad that while KISS may have sold a mere 95 million records, they've more than outsold all of the above band's combined merchandise and licensing potential, and in a shorter time. Bear in mind the Beatles, Stones and Zepplin all had decades of promotion before the guys in KISS ever put on makeup. You also have to take into consideration mass accessibility too. Guns & Roses have only 5 albums, but they arrived in an age where they have a wider distribution. The music industry today is nothing like it was in the mid 70s. But as I said, KISS are the greatest band in the world, not the greatest musicians.


Back on topic though, I think too many men in this era mistake masculine confidence for arrogance, because they fear that displaying it will risk them being rejected by a woman. They've been conditioned to make this association.

Both Gene and Terry are communicating in their native gender languages, Gene's being OVERT and Terry's being COVERT. She starts the interview with a subtle jab at Gene wearing makeup and it being a way of hiding himself. She knows damn well from a previous interview that Gene is a Man who's well aware of his own value, so she starts with the standard feminized assumption that his bravado is a mask too. Gene's smart enough to read this and calls her on her sh!t test. He could've pulled some over the top gansta bullsh!t in offense, but that would only verify Terry's COVERT shot at him. However, rather than let her get to him he counters her and neg hits her. Notice his comments about her tend to be backhanded compliments. They're both playing poker; she bluffs, Gene sees her and raises, etc. As properly conditioned chumps, we assume Gene's an ass hole because he OVERTLY gets the better of her. Our default is always to side with the female, she's ALWAYS the victim, but look a little deeper and you'll see how she deftly sh!t tests him. Her questions seem innoccuous enough, but remember the context of this interview - each of them KNOWS how the other plays.

 

[Francisco d'Anconia]

...Both Gene and Terry are communicating in their native gender languages, Gene's being OVERT and Terry's being COVERT. She starts the interview with a subtle jab at Gene wearing makeup and it being a way of hiding himself. She knows damn well from a previous interview that Gene is a Man who's well aware of his own value, so she starts with the standard feminized assumption that his bravado is a mask too. Gene's smart enough to read this and calls her on her sh!t test. He could've pulled some over the top gansta bullsh!t in offense, but that would only verify Terry's COVERT shot at him. However, rather than let her get to him he counters her and neg hits her. Notice his comments about her tend to be backhanded compliments. They're both playing poker; she bluffs, Gene sees her and raises, etc. As properly conditioned chumps, we assume Gene's an ass hole because he OVERTLY gets the better of her. Our default is always to side with the female, she's ALWAYS the victim, but look a little deeper and you'll see how she deftly sh!t tests him. Her questions seem innoccuous enough, but remember the context of this interview - each of them KNOWS how the other plays.

And through all of this Gene handled himself with composure and guys think that he's an arrogant @sshole. That really puts the today's definition of masculinity in question.

 

[reset]

I guess when I first heard the interview I assumed she was just clueless and didn't know what else to ask him other than about his makeup.

 

[Francisco d'Anconia]

I guess when I first heard the interview I assumed she was just clueless and didn't know what else to ask him other than about his makeup.

Look at it this way, the band Kiss has been around as long as you've been alive. You'd think that questions about their makeup have been asked at least a couple of times by now. She tried to treat him as if he were Keith Richards and she got burned.

 

[Victory Unlimited]

I wished she would have asked him:

"So what were you guys thinking when you made that groundbreaking, Oscar-worthy, 1970's, special effects, movie masterpeace KISS meets The Phantom of Central Park???"

Now THAT'S the question that A LOT of us still want an answer to...

 

[Francisco d'Anconia]

I wished she would have asked him:

"So what were you guys thinking when you made that groundbreaking, Oscar-worthy, 1970's, special effects, movie masterpeace KISS meets The Phantom of Central Park???"

Now THAT'S the question that A LOT of us still want an answer to...

How about the mini battle they had with Rush that involved a crossbow, shaving cream and a pillowcase full of marbles back in the '70s? Now there's a story!

 

[DJDamage]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgwFDFpfKEM

Here is another interview taken 6 months ago.

I really like how Gene takes over the interview and shows the other sorry ass of a metrosexual feminine politically correct cohost how little he is in comparison.

 

[potato]

I'd also ad that while KISS may have sold a mere 95 million records, they've more than outsold all of the above band's combined merchandise and licensing potential, and in a shorter time. Bear in mind the Beatles, Stones and Zepplin all had decades of promotion before the guys in KISS ever put on makeup. You also have to take into consideration mass accessibility too. Guns & Roses have only 5 albums, but they arrived in an age where they have a wider distribution. The music industry today is nothing like it was in the mid 70s. But as I said, KISS are the greatest band in the world, not the greatest musicians.

Comic books don’t make a band great.

Led Zeppelin had a run of about 10 years and 9 albums with almost no radio play until halfway through their career. Promotion was all but non-existent. The mass media all but ignored them. Most of their popularity came by word of mouth. Millions of boys, and some girls too, took up guitar because of Jimmy Page. Even today you hear people playing Stairway to Heaven on guitar, all the time. I don’t have the statistics but I can pretty much guarantee that many, many more posters and t-shirts have been sold with Led Zeppelin on them than KISS. In less than a third of the time and a third of the output and with almost no promotion Led Zeppelin has had more than three times the monetary success as KISS.

The Beatles had a run of 11 years with only the last 6 years having the immense popularity – even more popular than Jesus. They made movies, sold merchandise and have influenced the world culturally in ways that can’t be measured it’s become so ingrained. In almost any poll The Beatles are always at the top of the best bands ever.

The Grateful Dead had legions of fans that followed them around the world. They weren’t just about music they were a cultural phenomena like no other. I’ve never heard of anyone having a lifestyle centered around KISS as many Deadheads did around the Grateful Dead.

The Rolling Stones too have become a cultural icon. No band has had the staying power of the Stones. Even today if the Stones play in your city you can be sure that it will make the nightly news. Anyone who follows the gossip magazines and TV shows knows about and follows Mick Jagger’s life. Nobody cares about Gene Simmons.

Walk down the street and randomly stop people and ask them who’s the greatest band ever, The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones, The Grateful Dead, or KISS. You’ll quickly discover that almost nobody cares about KISS.

And as to their supposed innovations: Arena Rock was in existence before KISS ever hit the scene. The Beatles, The Stones, The Who, The Grateful Dead, Jefferson Starship, Jimi Hendrix, The Doors, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Steve Miller… the list goes on and on of bands that were playing in large arenas, putting on shows with lights an all. As to the theatrics, Alice Cooper, David Bowie, and others were successfully putting on theatrical shows for years before KISS ever came along. Alice Cooper even did the shooting fire out of his mouth thing. Wearing makeup – again Alice Cooper and David Bowie both wore makeup. The band Redbone regularly wore full face covering makeup as KISS does but as early as 1968. Merchandising, there were Elvis lunch boxes in the 50’s. There is nothing that KISS did that was industry changing innovation, nothing.

Even their so-called tribute album was financed, produced, and promoted by KISS. That is one of the lamest things I’ve ever heard of.

********************

As to the interview, Gene Simmons was an a$$hole. Terry wasn’t at all fazed by him and I’m sure she brought him on for entertainment value. None of the regular NPR listeners would have taken him seriously. It was more like, “Lookie here, a trained monkey.”

I don’t see how so many guys think that the way the people like Gene Simmons acts and talks is appealing to women, is the way real men should act.


When I hear guys like Gene Simmons say crap like, “...But when I go into a party, I will walk out with your girlfriend.” All I can say is bring it on you ugly obnoxious piece of sh!t, as I’m very much aware that my girlfriend dislikes people like him even more than I do.

You know, having been in the business, he gets women by going up to them and saying. I’m a big rock star and you can come be my girlfriend. Being at a party or show or whatever and being high and/or drunk she gets caught up in the moment on goes off with him but by the next morning he doesn’t even have to kick her out. She leaves voluntarily going, “what an a$$hole.”

As to his claim of 4,600 women look at the following interaction.

Terry Gross: So let me ask this. You say you've had sex with about 4,600 people. Women.

Gene Simmons: Women. Yes.

Terry Gross: Um, do you actually count? I mean do you have, like, a book --

Gene Simmons: You know, you know, I never --

Terry Gross: -- in which you keep hash marks, or --

Gene Simmons: I never paid much attention to it,…

He practically admits that it is a number that he just pulled out of the air.

Magic Johnson claimed to have had relations with around 1000 women. He is good looking, athletic, successful, looked up to and is a really nice guy to be around. He is entirely believable. Gene Simmons is ugly, obnoxious, and make’s his money by appealing to young men. He is not believable.

If you get past your erection for a guy that talks crap you’ll see that Terry just got Gene Simmons to show how much of an a$$ he really is.

Gene Simmons proves little more than that, in America, image, no matter how fabricated, to the masses, is often more important than substance. That is why we have the president we have.