#I Pledge Alligiance to the State of Rock and Roll

[rolandrockover]

Tomorrow was Yesterday

I wonder how it works when you work with external songwriters? If you don't compose directly and together with them I mean. Do you get a catalog of demos to choose from, like an excited to hungry customer would from a restaurant menu? Or does it work more like a strict commission, just with the simple and kind request to make a song melody for a Kiss album planned for 1998 sound similar to, say, one of their own songs on an album from 1980? For example, of course.

And whether chance wants to be our friend or our enemy, one of the involved songwriters of I Pledge Alligiance to the State of Rock and Roll is the very person who was involved in that band's own album from 1980, not as a songwriter but as a keyboardist. I am talking once again about the great Holly Knight (1).

And to finally get a little more specific, in my opinion the song from Unmasked that has been mentioned several times must clearly be Tomorrow. One of my all-time-favourite Paul songs. Looking directly at the verses of both songs, I would claim, with as much reverence as cheek, that the term paraphrase was invented for just such a thing (1). However, this is less a criticism than a pure observation, because I know how to respect serial and varying thinking as long as the result is fulfilling. And I think you can say that in this case.

Nevertheless, if this doesn't seem convincing enough for some of you, how about another example, perhaps the bridge from IPATSSORAR (2), inbetween the verses and the refrain? You could probably ask yourself why these lovely Yeee-eeea-aahs! that stick to your ear canals like honey seem so familiar. It could have a little something to do with the fact that they sound a little bit exactly like the Tomo-rooo-ooow! chorus from Tomorrow, which incomprehensibly did not become a super hit.

The world we live in is far from perfect, but why don't you just click on the play buttons, then at least you will have certainty whether you are standing on the solid ground of tangible facts - or not. For my part, I prefer to continue to float in the ominous fog of Kiss' songwriting and their interwoven structures, while completely surrendering to my mantra.

OMMMmmm..!

Side Notes:

(1) To read how I speculate without restraint about their influence on (You Make me) Rock Hard click on this link!

(2) At this point I am only referring to the melodies and the feeling with which the verses of I Pledge Alligiance to the State of Rock and Roll are performed. But of course, if you wanted to, you could just as easily draw parallels to Destroyer via the lyrical content of the same verses, not to mention the chorus, but I'll leave that for another time.

(3) Try saying that as one word!

Tomorrow (1980) (Verse)

I Pledge Alligiance to the State of Rock and Roll (1998) (Verse)

Tomorrow (1980) (Refrain)

I Pledge Alligiance to the State of Rock and Roll (1998) (Brigde-Part)