The Stephen King Playlist

 

After four weeks of counting down the grisliest, ghouliest Halloween hits, I was ready to move on to a brighter, happier playlist. The Baby Feet Playlist, perhaps. Or maybe the Puffy Unicorn Stickers Playlist. But then I received the most awesome PR email in the history of PR emails. On Nov. 16, in a rare public appearance, Stephen King will speak at Sarasota’s Van Wezel Hall. You can go to http://www.vanwezel.org for tickets, and read all about it in the Critics Circle blog. But make sure to save a ticket for me. Along with Mark Twain and John Irving, King is my preferred man of letters, a populist with vampire fangs. It shouldn’t have taken late-career endorsements by The New Yorker and lit critics to confirm his standing, but the more the merrier, I guess. I always tell new King readers to start with Misery and Night Shift; save The Stand for the long, hot summer of your 16th year. Anyway, let’s celebrate the arrival of the macabre master, whose new novel, Under the Dome, will be published on Nov. 10. I used the Ramones’ Pet Sematary for our Halloween rundown, but here are 10 other cuts nodding to King novels. See ya in Sarasota, Constant Readers.

Christine Sixteen, Kiss
Talisman, the Guess Who
Miss Misery, Elliott Smith
Firestarter, the Prodigy
Tower of Song, Leonard Cohen
Carrie, Europe
Desperation Samba, Jimmy Buffett
Stand, R.E.M.
From a Buick 6, Bob Dylan
The Shining, Badly Drawn Boy

You want more hate mail? You got it.

 

Today's game of "Sean Sucks!" comes courtesy of Scot, who tells me where to go -- specifically, last night's Allman Brothers show. As for Kiss, well, he's apparently not a fan.

I’m an avid reader of the Times and believe it is by far the best paper in the state, maybe even the country.

With that said, I wanted to express my shock in reading your article in today’s paper about the Kiss concert. There is not one paragraph in today’s or yesterday’s paper about our local celebrity band playing their 40-year tour: one of the greatest bands of the past four decades and local boys to top that off.

The Allman Brothers Band.

I enjoy reading your articles even when I disagree with your critiques, but boy did you blow this one. Last night's ABB show has to be in the top 3 or 4 of all time and definitely the #1 ABB concert out of countless shows I’ve attended. Trucks and Haynes were pure all night with some of the wickedest licks you’ve heard in your life. Copies of the live CD are available. Maybe you can clean the BS makeup out of your damaged ears and listen to some real music.

You preferred watching a carnival act over one of the greatest bands of all time?

I think the winter months in Syracuse altered more than a few of your brain cells...
 

Review: Kiss at the St. Pete Times Forum, Tampa, Oct. 21, 2009

 

Behold, the unfurled Loch Nessian tongue of Gene Simmons! If you want more, come lick it up RIGHT HERE. There's also a kickass photo gallery RIGHT HERE.

Photo by calm, cool, collected Times star Dirk Shadd

Hate Mail (sealed with a KISS)

 

Today's letter comes from a gentleman in Odessa, Fla. He wasn't a big fan of my interview with KISS. (READ) Oh well. At the very least, I really could use some divine mercy.

Mr. Daly:

It is shameful how music columnists such as yourself either naively or corruptly endorse the tired old act of knights in satan's service band.  It is hard to gauge the amount of corrupted children and adults left in the wake of these demons, and apparently, you are included. 

Yes, evil has been a force in many media outlets for many years, it is just so much easier in the form of dark rock and roll, which this vulgar group viciously displays.  How sad that you must promote this profane garbage to the readers of this paper.

May God have mercy on your soul.

Photo: Getty Images

Does Genesis belong in the Rock Hall of Fame? How 'bout KISS, Donna Summer...LL Cool J?!

You can rip on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for a lot of things: thin archives, a staid treatment of a wild art form, the fact that it’s in Cleveland. But you can’t trash the foundation’s taste in popular music: Peruse their honor roll, and while you might find a few omissions, you won’t find any folks who don’t belong.

Early next year, however, that might change. There are 12 nominees for 2010 induction. There are six first-timers: KISS, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Genesis, the Hollies, LL Cool J and Jimmy Cliff. There are six returning candidates: ABBA, the Chantels, Darlene Love, Laura Nyro, the Stooges and Donna Summer.

Five of those 12 will be chosen for induction. The announcement will be made sometime in January, and the ceremony will go down March 15 at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City.

As far as I’m concerned, KISS is the only obvious choice here. Their contributions to rock, showmanship and Halloween masks are awesome. Gene Simmons & Co. also have a ton of  great songs. KISS advanced the art form, and that should be the main criteria for inclusion.

If I had to pick four more, I’d go with (2) Jimmy Cliff, the award-winning Jamaican who took Bob Marley’s reggae and gave it bladed edge (3) ABBA, the Swedish pop icons with a talent for dancey hooks (4) Darlene Love, the soulful mouthpiece for Phil Spector and (5) the Stooges, led by Iggy Pop, who were instrumental in the rise of punk.

No offense to LL Cool J or the Red Hot Chili Peppers, but the crotchety old critic in me sees their names and thinks of the stereoid era in baseball. (Wait until we get to ’90s bands. Hmm, let’s see there’s Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Radiohead and...and...and.) I love Genesis, but I just don’t know if Phil Collins’ crew qualifies as royalty. I’d rather see such famously ignored bands as Journey and Rush finally get into the hall than the rest of the noms.

The Rock Hall celebrates its 25th anniversary this year. There’s a big two-day party at Madison Square Garden on Oct. 29-30, where the alums will be playing each other’s songs. Bruce Springsteen, Aretha Franklin, Metallica, Simon & Garfunkel will all be there. Eric Clapton and Stevie Wonder, too. Now I ask you: Do Donna Summer and Genesis belong in that company?

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Which of these 12 nominated acts most deserves induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?
ABBA
The Chantels
Jimmy Cliff
Genesis
The Hollies
KISS
LL Cool J
Darlene Love
Laura Nyro
Red Hot Chili Peppers
The Stooges
Donna Summer

DALY TV: A sneak peek of my KISS interview

Despite the fact that (1) I'm swinging my arms like an orangutan in a suit and (2) I refuse to SHUT THE [BLEEP] UP, here's a quick look at my KISS interview. The full segment will run a little later. In my defense, this was my first "satellite" interview for TV and I obviously have a lot to learn. But jeez, I have the posture and body control of Rodney Dangerfield! When I eventually finish my wheezy 8-minute question, Paul Stanley has a pretty good answer as to why kids today are enamored with classic rock. WATCH THIS.

KISS plays the St. Pete Times Forum on Oct. 21. (TICKETS.) The band's first new album in 11 years, the retro-rocking Sonic Boom, comes out Oct. 6. Here's first single Modern Day Delilah. 

Tampa Bay's Must-See Fall Concerts: Shooter Jennings, U2, Metallica & more

Who will make your ears bleed faster: Metallica or Miley Cyrus? Who will wear more makeup: KISS or the Killers? Who will be happier: people who see David Foster & Friends or people who get a root canal? There are myriad questions looming over this stuffed fall concert season. (For instance, will Shooter Jennings, above, ever send me another bottle of Wild Turkey?) But there are five things we know for sure, and that’s the must-see shows coming to Tampa Bay. READ ON.

Questions for KISS?

Hey kids, next Thursday I'll be interviewing KISS via satellite for the folks at ABC Action News. I'll be doing it in the studio, with an ill-fitting earpiece and an ill-fitting suit. (Or maybe I should wear my leathers?) The segment will broadcast closer to the band's Oct. 21 show at the St. Pete Times Forum. No word when tix go on sale, but it's gotta be soon. Like, um, next Thursday perhaps? Anyway, let's play the game...

WHO HAS QUESTIONS FOR KISS?

Photo courtesy of the Associated Press