KISS....really?

  I am an unabashed KISS fan.  For those who are saying to themselves "What the hell is KISS?", well, KISS is a band.  KISS was the first rock band that I got into and they blew my mind.  The opening bass riff to "Detroit Rock City" had me hooked.  It did not hurt that my uncle was a huge fan.  In fact, he gave me my first two rock albums, KISS "Rock and Roll Over" and Cheap Trick "Live at Budokan".  "Rock and Roll Over" had great songs like "Hard Luck Woman", "I Want You" and "Calling Dr. Love".  I have been a fan ever since.
  KISS has had a very storied history.  Band member changes and marketing ideas from condoms to caskets and Hello Kitty crap.  So, recently, the geniuses at the Rock and Roll Hall Fame voting committee decided to vote them in.  KISS had been eligible for 15 years and only got in due to some serious lobbying from Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine fame.  The Rock and Hall of Fame voters are, basically, comprised of current and former Rolling Stone writers, music executives and musicians. 
  A few notes about KISS and their accomplishments.  They have sold over 100,000,000 albums, have 28 gold records, close 100,000,000 DVD sales and are one of the highest selling American artists of all time.  Do they belong in the Hall?  Uh, yeah!
  Since KISS was formed in 1973, they have undergone a lot of line up changes, but, the most popular version has been Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Ace Frehley and Peter Criss.  They were the core of the band's highest selling and most popular music.  Thus, causing the Hall of Fame to induct these four members only.  Mind you, the band has had members Vinnie Vincent, Mark St. John, Bruce Kulick, Eric Carr, Eric Singer and Tommy Thayer as members, as well. 
  There have been huge amounts of acrimony over the years as Paul and Gene have denigrated and marginalized Ace and Peter's contributions to the band.  This has ranged from Ace and Peter's well known substance abuse issues, as Paul and Gene are notoriously clean and sober and always have been.  So, when the Hall came calling, Paul was steadfast in not playing a set with them and slandering them in the process.
  I watched the Induction on youtube.com.  I was pleasantly surprised that the speeches were from the heart and were complimentary of each other.  Awkward?  Hell yes.  But, the they were sure to say that each one was instrumental in their success, as a group.   It was great to see those four guys together on stage, even though they did not play and show us why the were the best at what they did for many years.
  I say thank you to those men for introducing me to music that really changed my life.  They gave me that rock and roll itch.  They expanded my musical horizons.  They allowed me to love the music that is so important to the world.  They gave artists such as Motley Crue, Pantera, Van Halen, Rob Zombie and so many others the inspiration to play the music that they do.  Thank you KISS for making me love rock and roll and hate over commercializing yourselves and making yourselves a laughing stock of the genre.  May you get back to worrying about sounding good and not selling condoms.