Live! Tonight! Sold Out!

"We’re Not Gonna Take It."

A fierce battle cry from Dee Snider and the rest of Twisted Sister helped the New York glam band reach stardom. Now, more than two decades later, the tune is being used to hock hormone replacement therapy (HRT). Just one more instance of rock bands selling out in a world where nothing is sacred, including the rebellion and anti-establishment attitude of rock.

Rocks biggest whores, the Rolling Stones, have sold out numerous times, and I don’t just mean Madison Square Garden. Think back to 1995, when financial titan Microsoft launched Windows 95 and paid the Stones 10 million bucks for rights to "Start Me Up."  I’m sure all that money went to feed hungry kids in Africa and help illiterate kids here in the U.S. learn to the read.

It gets worse.

My beloved Aerosmith sold their flagship song, “Dream On” to Buick. Buick!?! How can rock icons hock Buicks? In under a month, NASCAR season revs up again, with Aerosmith as the official music act of the world’s largest spectator sport.

Here’s a quote on the “partnership” from guitar legend Joe Perry: “Aerosmith and NASCAR on ESPN and ABC couldn't be more appropriate. 'Go faster' is our middle name. Between the five of us, we probably own 25 or 30 cars and half of those are American muscle cars. In fact, when we're off the road and we can't find Brad [Whitford], he's probably on the infield at a NASCAR race. This is a dream come true for us. See you at the races!"

Good God.

Aerosmith taped a video of (gasp!) “Back in the Saddle” during a recent tour stop in Las Vegas. The video will be used in opening credits for all ESPN/ABC presentations of NASCAR races. No matter how hard I dig, I can't find how much this little partnership is worth. I can only assume a fat dime.

Think about all the travel commercials you see during the summer. Yes, that’s the Iggy Pop tune “Lust for Life” in all those Carnival Cruise Line ads. Makes you want to run to the dock and rock with the family, doesn't it?

The whole point of the tirade is this: if seminal bands like the Rollings Stones, Aerosmith, and scores more are in hot demand by record executives, then the music is still in hot demand by their loyal fans. There’s a reason why Madison Avenue isn’t calling  Diddy or 50 Cent for their next big ad campaign. You can bet Mick Jagger is sitting by the phone, waiting for his next offer.