Kiss, ‘Rocket Ride’ vs. The Kinks, ‘Supersonic Rocket Ship': Rock Star Wars

The first round of our Rock Star Wars battle finds the Kinks' "Supersonic Rocket Ship" and "Rocket Ride" by Kiss caught in a blaster duel.

To try and fill our days between now and the arrival of the new Star Wars: The Force Awakens movie, we’ve tracked down 32 space-themed classic rock songs and paired them off against each other in 16 first-round battles. The field will be halved every week based on your votes, until only the spaciest song in rock history remains standing.

"Supersonic Rocket Ship" is a lilting, escapist moment from the 1972 Kinks album Everybody's in Show-Biz. As steel drums emphasize the song's Caribbean undertones, the lyrics find Ray Davies fantasizing about leaving the inequalities of Earth's society far behind: "Nobody's gonna travel second class / We'll take this planet, shake it round and turn it upside down."

Founding Kiss lead guitarist Ace Frehley – who, along with David Bowie, could have filled up half this bracket of space-themed songs all by himself – has much simpler concerns on his mind with his former group's entry in our Rock Star Wars battle. "Rocket Ride," from the studio side of 1977's Alive II, is a song about his penis, thinly disguised as an invitation to explore outer space: "Baby wants it fast, baby wants a blast / She wants a rocket ride."

So, which of these songs will emerge victorious from this round? It’s your choice. You can listen to both tracks below, and vote once per hour in each of the this round's Rock Star Wars battles until polls close on Nov. 23 at 11:59PM ET. Your choice for our Rock Star Wars champion will be revealed on Dec. 22, 2015.

Listen to the Kinks Perform 'Supersonic Rocket Ride'

Watch Kiss Perform 'Rocket Ride'

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