A Musical Fundamentalist

A Musical Fundamentalist

By: Ghost Writer

So ok, at heart I'm a musical fundamentalist, a purist, I don't like the idea of watching Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons thinking they can still be called Kiss without the mighty Ace Frehley and the beloved Peter Criss, making records under the name of Kiss and exploiting nostalgia, for me, they are no longer Kiss, they are simply something else, a business, something about money, not music or art anymore, I don't like the idea of watching them in 2016 playing in Monterrey, the new “Cuba” for rebellious bands, considering that their best years are long time gone, yes, I was a big fan of the original Kiss, hell I even liked Unmasked and Music From the Elder, even though Peter Criss wasn't on that record, perhaps he wasn't even in Unmasked, at the time Criss was a complete drunk and replaced most of the time by Anton Fig, a great drummer that will appear in future Frehley records, and talking about Twisted Sister, I loved Stay Hungry a lot, they were one of my favorite bands of the 80s, but consider that they weren't able to continue after they broke big into the mainstream, after years as an underground sensation in the club circuit and a controversial tour in the UK, just think that Dee Snider is now making a ballad out of We´re Not Gonna Take It on his new solo record, what a shame!

Well, Brian Wilson is coming to Monterrey, I was the one who said that I would call the police if Mike Love´s Beach Boys played in my backyard, but I would love to hear Wilson again with the band, sad fact, Wilson is not Wilson anymore and although Mike Love´s version of the Beach Boys came to Monterrey once to play at a fashion parade, Wilson´s Pet Sounds concert apparently won’t happen, and I'm not happy at all, hell, I'm not buying a ticket to watch Wilson play on the 50th anniversary of the great Pet Sounds, one of my favorite records ever, the gig will be probably canceled for the low ticket sales, and it's a shame, Brian Wilson was god, and Pet Sounds will be a masterpiece forever, but honesty, I think Wilson should have retired long time ago, don't get me wrong, he made great solo records, he made so so solo records and he made mediocre solo records, unfortunately, besides the last Beach Boys reunion record, Wilson hasn't done any good music, Brian Wilson Reimagines Gershwin was just ok, In The Key of Disney was a walking shame, and No Pier Pressure was another confusing mess, I was expecting something interesting along Jeff Beck, but that record never came out, and honestly watching a bunch of strangers, along Al Jardine and Blondie Chaplin and a zombie like Wilson with an unplugged keyboard is something that doesn't attract me at all, somehow the guys known as The Wondermints did a great job by resurrecting Smile along Wilson, they did a wonderful job by helping Wilson take Smile ad Pet Sounds on the road the way those records were meant to be played live, but somehow they got lost, and I guess musical decisions started to leave Wilson's hands and landed on his label's executives. 

Today I learned Metallica is coming to play in México, I guess now México, you know, more musical misfits bands that come and rebel against Trump, even turning our sight towards China as new commercial partner is not a bad idea, is a bigger market than the USA, and the upcoming first economy in the world, the interesting thing here is that Iggy Pop was selected as the opening act for México, and honestly having Metallica and Iggy Pop on the same bill sounds wonderful, yes, this isn't the Metallica of Master of Puppets, but Hardwired... Their most recent recording is a welcomed return to their pre Master if Puppets records, I can't say that Post Pop Depression is one of my favorite Iggy Pop records, but unlike Wilson, it shows Pop in Lou Reed and Scott Walker fashion, reinventing themselves for the new times, could a Pop-Metallica record collaboration be near? I can imagine them already playing a mash up of Search and Destroy, and Seek & Destroy, as Wilson used to say "Wouldn't it be Nice?"