S5. Episode 4. Under The Rose

In this installment of Regarding… Music From The Elder, the panel gathers once more in the echoing halls of prophecy to determine what, exactly, just happened. And table read.

Chaz Charles, Greg “Wolfie” Wolf, Scott D. Monroe, Corey Morrissette, and guests Laura Morrissette and Michael and Debbie Pastore conclude their latest descent into KISS mythology by addressing the expanding cinematic ambitions of The Elder — including Scott’s taking up a quest to locate filmmaker Seb Hunter, who once attempted to turn the album into an actual motion picture.

Was it crushed by fate?

Was it too ambitious?

Did Bob Ezrin sneeze and blow several grand worth of Bolivian marching powder on the master and call it good?

No one knows. But we intend to find out.

The conversation drifts — as all noble quests do — into references to other towering rock epics, complete with knowing nods and the faint suspicion that everyone involved may have been borrowing from everyone else since 1969. There are priests, temples, and “great computers” briefly invoked, because of course there are.

From there, the tone shifts into something both reflective and mildly self-aware. The panel considers the peculiar joy of lovingly dissecting ambitious artistic misfires, acknowledging that ridicule and admiration can, in fact, coexist peacefully in the same medieval council chamber.

Scott’s screenplay project continues to loom large — a fully formed narrative attempting to give The Elder the structure it always seemed to promise. Whether this represents restoration or revisionism remains an open question. But it does involve sea monsters, councils, and an alarming amount of sincerity.

Guest Michael Pastore shares reflections on fandom, his book The Mighty Van Halen: One Fan’s Journey, and the enduring power of rock mythology — culminating in a wedding anecdote featuring Rock and Roll All Nite, because destiny occasionally wears platform boots.

By episode’s end, one truth remains:

The Elder may not have become a film.

But it has become a quest.

And we are apparently committed to seeing it through.

And Wolfie is committed to the musical...fully...completely. And you can hear it here.

The Regarding…Series — we listen so you don’t have to.

The Show

In this season of Regarding…, the panel tackles KISS’s Music From The Elder one song at a time—testing whether its epic ambition holds up under scrutiny. Alongside the analysis, Scott D. Monroe’s original screenplay tries to turn the album’s abstract mythology into an actual story.

Ambition meets accountability.

GO BONELESS

Certified boneless in the state of Ohio by the Boneless Podcasting Network. Go Boneless. Boneless Makes a Better Podcast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.