Music
Indie Rock & Roll Over: The Alternative Nineties’ Obsession With Kiss
From Nirvana to Weezer to Nine Inch Nails, Kiss were in everyone's garage
In songs like “Do You Love Me,” Kiss proudly flaunted the limousines, private planes, and seven-inch leather heels that the unlikely stars of the alternative rock Nineties came to destroy. Yet, Kiss’ particular brand of pyrotechnics-heavy bombast affected these Seventies babies early and often. The result was in the most image-shunning rock movement of the millennium embracing the most image-savvy band in rock history.
Here are 20 examples of the alternative era proudly showing off their Kiss Army patches — or destroying them completely.
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1984: The Replacements Cover “Black Diamond”
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1987: Sonic Youth Loop Stuttering “Strutter” Samples on the ‘Master=Dik’ EP
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1988: Unrest Lyrically Quote ‘Rock & Roll All Nite’ on ‘Disco Majick’
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1989: Art-Damaged White Zombie Cover ‘God of Thunder’ and Behead Gene Simmons for the Art
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1989: Goof-Punks Sloppy Seconds Pay Tribute to ‘Destroyer’ on the Cover of ‘Destroyed’
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1989: The Melvins Do ‘Love Thing,’ a 77-Second Cover of ‘Love Theme From Kiss’
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1990: C/Z Release ‘Hard to Believe: A Kiss Covers Compilation’ Featuring All, Skin Yard and a Pre-‘Nevermind’ Nirvana
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1991: Mike McCready Plays a Guitar Solo on Pearl Jam’s ‘Alive’ He Later Admits Was ‘Copied’ From Ace Frehley’s Solo on ‘She’
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1992: The Melvins Release Three Solo EPs, Paying Tribute to Kiss’ 1978 Solo Albums
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1993: Superfans the Melvins Cover ‘Goin’ Blind’ on Their Major-Label Debut
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1994: Weezer Give ‘My Favorite Rock Group Kiss’ a Shout-Out on ‘In the Garage’
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1994: Bummer-Rockers Red House Painters Cover ‘Shock Me’
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1994: Mercury Releases ‘Kiss My Ass: Classic Kiss Regrooved’ Featuring Dinosaur Jr., Toad the Wet Sprocket, the Lemonheads and More
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1996: Openers on Kiss’s Alive/Worldwide Tour Include Alice in Chains, the Melvins, the Nixons, Stabbing Westward and the Bogmen
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1996: Garage Punks the Oblivions Pay Tribute to ‘Hotter Than Hell’ for the Cover of Their ‘Kick Your Ass’ Single
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1997: Bob Odenkirk Wears Kiss-Meets-Black-Metal Makeup in Yo La Tengo’s ‘Sugarcube’ Video
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1997: Electronic-Pop Crew Bran Van 3000 Sample ‘Kiss Alive!’ in ‘Gimme Sheldon’
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1997: Bay Area Punks No Use for a Name Blaze Through ‘Beth’
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1999: At the End of ‘Starfuckers, Inc.,’ Nine Inch Nails Sample an Explosion and a ‘Good Night!’ From ‘Alive II’
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1999: New Line Cinema Releases Comedy Flop ‘Detroit Rock City’ With Classic Rock Covers by Everclear, Marilyn Manson and the Donnas