In an unexpected crossover, lead guitarist and frontman of KISS, Paul Stanley, dishes the dirt on what he really thinks of pop royalty, Ariana Grande and Lady Gaga. Turns out, he’s a big fan of the A-Listers and adds Post Malone and Foo Fighters as some other artists that he thinks are great.
In an interview with Scott Lipps on his YouTube channel, Lipps Service, Stanley shares that he doesn’t think that older music is necessarily better.
“It’s very easy to fall into the trap of saying, ‘Oh, when I was young, music was great.’ Well, that’s what our parents said, and not coincidentally – that’s what their parents said.
“So it’s easy to lose touch because you don’t relate to some of what goes on now thinking what you were doing was better.
“I don’t know how much weight I put in that, but even with that disclaimer at the front, I would say that I think that the performers today who are the most interesting are the ones that do have some mystique and who still subscribe to that star system.
“I mean, [Lady] Gaga is the star, she looks like a star, she acts like a star; Ariana Grande, great voice and has a strong personality; Pink…
“What’s interesting to me is – I’m mentioning mainly females. I think that a lot of the male performers have missed the mark.
Love Music?
Get your daily dose of metal, rock, indie, pop, and everything else in between.
“I think Post Malone’s great; I think that when you have something that sets you apart, I think Foo Fighters – that’s the last band, and that’s 30 years.
“That’s crazy because I was saying to somebody, ‘Oh yeah, new bands, I guess Foo Fighters…'”
Aside from his surprising support of pop, Stanley also went on to reveal that he’s not Greta Van Fleet’s biggest fan.
“Yeah, I think they, unfortunately, fell into a sinkhole. When you come out of the box and you’re compared to the greatest band ever, and you’re so young, you’re in for a lot of trouble.
“That ‘Highway’ song they did [2017’s ‘Highway Tune‘], which was terrific, you know, when you’re just getting your sea legs to be able to follow that up and to be able to work under that great burden, I think it took its toll. We’ll see what happens now.
“I don’t believe in general it’s good enough to be a clone of something else. I think that – look, I didn’t invent the wheel, but I took my influences and stirred them all up and came up with me.
“Who did I love? I loved Steve Marriott, I loved Robert Plant, Rod Stewart, Sam Cook, Dennis Ruffin…”
