It seems unthinkable that now, in middle age, I would insert myself into a story that started almost fifty years ago. They were just a brand of hamper that, for reasons I still donвЂ™t understand, my mother deposited into the corner my bedroom. They were the most famous band I ignored. In the 90s, I played вЂњBlack DiamondвЂќ quite a bit, but the version I enjoyed was The Replacements cover from вЂњLet it Be.вЂќ Whatever it was - fear, pretension, timing - Kiss was simply not a part of my life. In the 80s, IвЂ™d changed the channel when the band came on MTV, unmasked, for the вЂњLick it UpвЂќ video. IвЂ™d wrongly assumed that вЂњNew York GrooveвЂќ was a Kiss deep cut (I now know that it was a cover on the Ace Frehley solo album from 1978). IвЂ™d heard about вЂњBethвЂќ and her soapy Rock opera. Aside from the live version of вЂњRock and Roll All Nite,вЂќ I had not ever willingly listened to a Kiss song until quite recently. And Kiss is also, without a doubt, the most successful band about which I know the least. They were more likely to be seen on screens or in comics than heard on the radio. Their legend will survive many years after much greater bands have been forgotten. Gene Simmons is reportedly one of the twenty wealthiest living musicians. A 1977 Gallup poll named them the most popular band in America. TheyвЂ™ve had thirty Gold albums, more than any other band before or since. To this day, IвЂ™m not sure what my mother did with that demon hamper, but I hope she buried it deep.ДЄs music success stories go, KissвЂ™ is perhaps the most unconventional. So, it just sat there, used but strenuously avoided, until 1991, when I replaced it with a New York Giants laundry bin. But, I was too afraid to get rid of it, secretly assuming that if I did, Kiss would return in spirit form, with twice the bloodlust. And, for most of the 80s, I could not name a single song by them. Neither of my parents were fans of the band. I honestly have no idea how it got there. I could not see the star power or the science fiction or the glam. In fact, I generally tried to avert my gaze from it. Really, it was just an aluminum cylinder into which I tossed my dirty clothes, but which I never touched. I guess it was not technically a hamper because it had no lid. For about a decade - between 19 - a Kiss hamper sat in the corner of my childhood bedroom.

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