Judging by the amount of hits our post about new Journey frontman Arnel Pineda has received in the last year, classic bands replacing classic members remains a controversial subject among hardcore fans. The Washington Post takes a look at the 21st-century wave of reformed ’70s and ’80s hard rock bands who’ve replaced their singers to discover that (surprise!) “these bands are in the nostalgia business,” not willing to give up the tour and t-shirt gravy train just because the guy holding the microphone happened to quit or kick the bucket. Now while anyone should be able to enjoy a reconstituted Foreigner at their local amusement park amphitheater if that’s what gets their nostalgic rocks off, there was one quote in the Post‘s article that made us wonder: how many people paying $25 or $50 or $100 per ticket for big-name reunions would be just as happy catching a really boss cover band at their local sports bar for free? And will the same kind of nostalgia one day get you to pay big (or not so big) bucks to see your favorite band live, minus the voice that made it famous?
Be warned, TV news junkies: CNN is using Daughtry’s cover of Foreigner’s “Feels Like The First Time” to entice people to tune into its political coverage starting today. More »
Last time we heard from rock staples Foreigner, they were proving their bona fides among the 50+ set by teaming up with old-people organization AARP. Today comes news that they’re trying to embrace (slightly) younger potential listeners out there by pre-releasing their latest greatest-hits album, No, This Time, This Is Really The Best Of Foreigner, to jukeboxes hooked up to the TouchTunes network. And to sweeten the pot, the jukeboxes will “allow TouchTunes users to weigh in on a range of topics including ‘What makes a Juke Box Hero?'” Well, that’s certainly a question worth answering at any time of day, even when one isn’t at a bar and trying to kill time! So we’ve put our own version of that poll after the jump.
AARP is celebrating its 50th anniversary by sponsoring Foreigner’s Feels Like The First Time Tour, which will allow AARP members to get “priority seating” and meet the band during “exclusive VIP receptions.” More »
