kiss

This Oct. 11, 2012 file image released by Starpix shows, from left, Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Eric Singer, Tommy Thayer of KISS as the band arrives at SiriusXM offices to promote their latest release "Monster," in New York. Kiss will be inducted into the 2014 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on April 10 at the Barclays Center in New York.

(AP Photo/Starpix, Amanda Schwab, File)

Four months from now, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame will welcome a group of shock rockers from New York into its ranks. After several unsuccessful bids, KISS has finally received its nod from the venerable Cleveland institution.

KISS -- a favorite among fans -- ousted Yes, Deep Purple and a number of other groups to nab one of the six spots in the Hall this year. And, sure, they've left their make-upped stamp all over rock and roll, but what's their real legacy?

Something founding drummer Peter Criss said in an interview today, I think, sums it up best.

"We were four guys from New York City who brought Barnum & Bailey into rock and roll," Criss told The Associated Press. "We changed music by insisting you can't go up there and just sing anymore. That's going to stand forever."

Now, granted, KISS was not the first band to incorporate antics onstage. The New York Dolls were doing it before them, and Alice Cooper even before that. Heck, Elvis shaking his hips in the 50s was nothing short of pornographic. But KISS was organized, choreographed and, arguably, more over-the-top than anyone else at the top. They had face paint, costumes, fireworks and soaring sets.

And it's that "over-the-top-ness" that ultimately led to their touring success, infamy and, now, the Rock & Roll HOF. Let's face it: take away the antics and these guys are a slightly above average early metal band. They're about the show much more than the sound. Criss nailed it: the "Barnum & Bailey" of rock and roll.

Why, then, are we so eager to hail KISS as rock revolutionaries, but scorn today's edgy pop stars like Miley Cyrus for their shocking onstage antics?

Let's back up and take a brief look at Barnum & Bailey's founder and namesake, P.T. Barnum. Here was a remarkable showman motivated by appearances more than substance. Barnum was the first true master of marketing and promotions who knew how to drum up interest in things that, frankly, weren't that interesting (Feejee mermaid hoax, anyone?).

So, in a way, Criss is right: KISS is the "Barnum & Bailey" of rock. They're all show and little substance. A "freak show" of ancient metal. In 1983 they embarked on a tour without the makeup. It was one of the band's least successful tours to date.

So KISS can take all the credit they want for "changing music." They paved the way for groups like Insane Clown Posse and GWAR. But they also paved the way for Miley Cyrus and Ke$ha. They proved that if your music is just average, you can still be legendary by having the most blustery presence onstage.

Though it may be an inane arbiter of our times, KISS's description via Wikipedia pinpoints the group well: a band known for, "members' black and white face paint and flamboyant stage outfits...fire breathing, blood spitting, smoking guitars, shooting rockets, levitating drum kits and pyrotechnics."

I must have missed the part about their music.