Damn you, Mark Burnett

Bless me, father, for I have sinned.

I'm hooked on another mildly entertaining reality TV show, Rock Star: INXS. Granted, my penance shouldn't be too harsh as I don't watch American/Canadian/Hungarian Idol. At least I don't have to hear warbled Whitney Huston, and the contestants seem more like my people. Okay, except for that barefoot hillbilly guy.

I admit, I find it a little distasteful that INXS is doing this show, but I'm still watching. I realize this was their bread & butter, but c'mon. It's just bad manners. And can anyone else really sing Never Tear Us Apart? Michael Hutchence was an icon in his day. Even during his "Fat Elvis" stage (see the "Eloquently Wasted" video), he had a very compelling stage presence.

It makes me love Nirvana more.

I derided Van Halen when they went around changing lead singers (and, ironically, they approached Michael Hutchence once). I don't care how talented the rest of the band is, but most people identify a band by the singer. That would be like changing the voice of Kermit the Frog after Jim Henson died. It just wouldn't be the same.

That being said, I think there's some serious talent there. Deanna has a hell of a voice but are INXS really planning on hiring a female lead singer? Finding a new lead singer would change the band, but replacing Hutchence with a woman, sheesh, they may as well change their name. Actually, they should just change their name anyway, regardless of who they hire.

Mind you, I'm sure this is just a long probation period before they just hire Mig. Maybe because he's Australian and seems so polite, he appears to be a perfect fit with the rest of the band. If I learned anything about management and hiring, you gotta get along with the people you work with.

And, shit, if I have to hear Dave Navarro, a guy I USED to think was sooo sexy, refer to the female contestants as "sweetheart" again, I'm just going to use my old Jane's Addiction lps (yes, I'm that old) as decorative bowls.

Perhaps my penance should be to wait for Mark Burnett's other offering of crack, Survivor, to come back on TV. Maybe then I won't be wondering if J.D. Fortune (another contestant and, to my knowledge, not a porn star) will pick a better song next week.