Yesterday, I threw some kudos at Roger over his book that just got released. Today, I'm going to throw some more as he's actually managed to publish two blog posts in two days and coincidentally, he's dived into a subject that I was going to talk about and managed to say most of what I had to say leaving me free to take a right turn on it.
Does the world think we're stupid? Does the music industry really think that as music fans we will be accepting of any madness they can think of in order to keep their own careers going?
To elaborate, something has happened within Aerosmith that I really don't care or want to know about but the upshot is that the press are bandying the names of Billy Idol or Paul Rogers as replacements for Steven Tyler.
Yeah. That's what I thought. While I kinda liked Aerosmith over the last 20 years, they ain't the Aerosmith I grew up with. Much like Kiss, Queen, Journey et al, they have become a money making entertainment machine and it's OK to buy into that so long as you know why you're doing it. They have written a total of zero songs that will appear in any top 100 list and the live experience is as squeaky clean as the engine of a BMW. In short, efficient but dull.
Guys, just call it a day. We hardly need Aerosmith to save us from ourselves anymore. We hardly need Aerosmith for anything apart from their back catalogue these days - we have Backyard Babies. The same goes for the other bands I mentioned - although I must say that I still love Kiss for all the wrong reasons. This is probably because Gene is very protective of his band and never really let it go down the pipes in the same fashion - and when it came to naming and shaming, he pulled no punches.
"Why did you sack me?"
"Because you're an unreliable drunk and the fans deserve more than that."
In my book that's pretty reasonable. Sad and disappointing, but you imagine being the one working all the hours the Gods send only to have it thrown in your face by somebody who can't be bothered anymore.
Just stop. This relentless quest for reforming/carrying on when it's not what we want is ridiculous. Bow out with at least a little pride - that's what you owe us. Not more albums, not more tours but some damned respect for the time we put in on your behalf. Nobody wants to come home to find their girlfriend in bed with their best friend and this is what it feels like.
Billy Idol is fine by himself. Aerosmith can fold. Freddie died and I don't need The Doors without Jim - Steve Perry? Stick to your guns Sir. I'm right behind you.
I once told Geoff Tate that I wished I could sing like he had on Empire. His response was that so did he these days and that's what we're up against.
Stop.
What was that tagline from Pet Sematary? Sometimes Dead Is Better.
