For some of us, a kiss at the stroke of midnight on New Year¡¯s Eve is the perfect way to end the year. For everyone else, I suggest an even more memorable kiss: Yoshikiss. Take a moment to imagine what that word might mean ... and then brace yourself for something better.

This year, Japan¡¯s public broadcaster, NHK, has seen fit to stride confidently down a new avenue of attracting audiences by bringing aging 1970s metal monsters Kiss to the 70th anniversary edition of its perennial New Year¡¯s Eve show, ¡°Kohaku Uta Gassen.¡± Wait, it gets better. The masked musicians will be joined by none other than X Japan drummer Yoshiki ¡ª thus creating Yoshikiss.

The merging of these two powerhouses came about after Yoshiki made a guest appearance with the band at a recent gig in Tokyo. One thing led to another and, hey presto, your usual stock of veteran enka singers and shiny pop groups now get to share a stage with Gene Simmons and his infamously long tongue. And the rest of Kiss, of course.