Aerosmith removed from roller coaster preshow at Disney's Hollywood Studios

What about my backstage passes??

I think something like Zootopia rockin coaster would have been a more relevant IP.

I don't know point you're trying to make with the AI stuff. What each area makes doesn't really have anything to do with what any individual people know and love, or more importantly how they are related. Disney and Sesame Workshop are totally separate entities, despite the shared lineage to Jim Henson.

Just trying to debate, understand (and share) the real-world popularity of the discussed IP(s). Pretty much what we do around here.

And I learned that the vast majority of Muppet popularity comes from Sesame Street.

Jeff:

Disney and Sesame Workshop are totally separate entities

I guess I never really thought about it in the business sense. Muppets are muppets. I never considered who owned what and where they made the revenue. (Kermit's ours, Cookie Monster is yours - it's so dumb - and that's why I inquired and then shared again with Sesame Street cut out of things)

I was basically just jumping in when the room started to think the bubble was the norm - like I do.

As far as gauging what people know and love - I was going to the cold hard facts thing this room loves so much. Best I could do was money. Brand popularity is often measued by sales. It didn't and still doesn't seem like an odd thing to do to me...especially since pretty much every Muppet vehicle since those Jason Segel films (10-to-15 years ago) hasn't really hit.

I guess still haven't learned after 25 years here when I'm supposed to lean on observation & anecdote and when to lean on stats.

The Muppets are NOT widly popular (They're still way more popular than I'd have guessed. I mean, one is greater than zero, right. *shrug*). They're a nostalgia act with some value left to ring out of them - just like Aerosmith! - although after seeing the Muppet numbers, Aerosmith migh be worth almost as much. It's a completely benign and safe choice that can sit overlayed on the roller coaster for another decade or two until either the coaster's useful life ends or the kids really are saying "What's a muppet?"

I'll be dead. It doesn't matter.

Beyond that, it's just funny to watch people angrily attack muppet-like characters.

At any rate, I've been consistent for over a decade - comments are fun.

I guess I just don't get it.

But then again, neither do a lot of Muppets fans. *ba dum ching!*

I’ve always been curious how Aerosmith got chosen to be the theme for that ride?

even when it opened in the late 90s, they were already on the downside of relevance.

I wonder who lobbied who more?

Disney wanted Aerosmith or Aerosmith wanted to boost their brand another 25+ years?

Didn't Steven Tyler make an obscene hand gesture or something that was in there for at least a decade before anyone noticed?

Lord Gonchar:

Kermit's ours...

That's a slightly more interesting story. Apparently Kermit originated on Sesame Street, but when Sesame Workshop fully acquired its rights from Jim Henson, they did not get Kermit. (Wikipedia)

Lord Gonchar:

At any rate, I've been consistent for over a decade - comments are fun.

I barely remember that. Never did watch it. Was it canceled after one season as expected?

Jeff:

Didn't Steven Tyler make an obscene hand gesture or something that was in there for at least a decade before anyone noticed?

I think it was only obscene in the super obscure, "you have to be looking for it" way. It was the "shocker" and I think they edited out one of the fingers eventually.

The_Orient_of_Express:

I’ve always been curious how Aerosmith got chosen to be the theme for that ride?

even when it opened in the late 90s, they were already on the downside of relevance.

Their music was all over the number one movie in 1998. When the decision was made to brand the ride, I would argue they were at peak relavance or at least resurgence.

The_Orient_of_Express:

I’ve always been curious how Aerosmith got chosen to be the theme for that ride?

That's a good question. Wonder if the answer is out there?

The_Orient_of_Express:

even when it opened in the late 90s, they were already on the downside of relevance.

Weeeellllll, in fairness, this WAS their biggest hit - and that was the Fall of 1998.

Rock N Roller Coaster opened 9 months later.

...

Oh my God, you don't think they...

Lord Gonchar:

Oh my God, you don't think they...

Ask AI to get your answer!

Shades:

Ask AI to get your answer!

Right off the bat, the very first step in the line of logic it used was:

"Verifying the timeline for the joke
The user's observation is a mix of humor and challenge."

As for the front door answer it gave me:

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You’re not wrong about the energy there, but your pregnancy math is a little drunk.

Timeline reality check:

“I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing” hits #1 on the Hot 100 on September 5, 1998.

Rock ’n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith officially opens July 29, 1999 at what’s now Hollywood Studios.

So that is just under 11 months after the peak of the song, not 9. Still very “we saw this thing chart and immediately shoved money and lawyers at it.”

Did Disney and Aerosmith “have a baby”?
Not biologically. Corporately, yes. That coaster is absolutely a brand-synergy love child:

Conceived in early 1998 when construction was already under way and Aerosmith got slapped on as the cool dad. Born July 1999 at 57 mph with 3 inversions and a terrible on-ride photo angle. Raised on late-90s rock branding and pre-show cringe.

So the honest version is:

Aerosmith has their biggest power-ballad moment in late ’98. Within a year, Disney opens a high-speed indoor shrine to them.

It is not a coincidence. It is corporate sex with safety restraints.

And now, in true Disney fashion, they are quietly phasing out the aging rock-star dad and re-theming the baby for The Muppets. Which is the most Disney thing possible: kill the old relationship, keep the ride hardware.
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People arguing about whether the Muppets are relevant enough for one ride when Mickey Mouse is right there. Has that guy even been in a movie since Fantasia?

Aerosmith removed from roller coaster preshow > RRR

Your AI has a lot more personality than the one I use for coding. It seems to have assimilated your understated dick-head personality, and I mean that in the most affectionate way, because no one does it as well as you.

Sidebar, I'm having a lot of fun with AI, quite literally building a social network that's actually social. But the limitations that I've noticed is that the input is still human stuff, which isn't great at critical thinking or best practices. So in the case of coding, most code is crap, so it struggles to code at my level. I imagine that will only get worse as influencers continue to build what they think are "killer apps" but definitely are not. See also, clear ice.

Lord Gonchar:

It is corporate sex with safety restraints.

And here I thought that's what caused the Cedar Flags merger.

I had forgotten “I don’t want to miss a thing” was a huge power ballad at the time. Featured in the Disney/Touchstone movie classic Armageddon.

Wasn’t even their song. Written by outside songwriters. 😝

The worst part of that is that Diane Warren wrote that song, not Aerosmith. This is what I hate most about the industry now, is the lack of songwriters who are actually in the band. Those bands still exist, but people aren't paying attention to them. (Wolf Alice is my current fascination.)

As a songwriter and collaborator, I totally agree with Jeff. Although, I can understand why some songwriters might want to mix things up a little by playing a song that didn't come from their own imagination. Creators do get bored with their own style sometimes.

I don't think Aerosmith belongs in the same conversation of bands who don't write their own music. They're literally the opposite of that, and what's really incredible is that "I don't wanna miss a Thing" is their greatest commercial hit. It was sheer coincidence that they ended up recording that song. Warren has written a lot of hit songs for a lot of artists; that's literally her job.

And since we're on the topic, Kermit the Frog didn't even write what was arguably his greatest hit, "The Rainbow Connection". It was written by two guys named Paul Williams and Kenneth Ascher.

I guess Aerosmith and the Muppets really do have a lot in common.

Jeff:

Your AI has a lot more personality than the one I use for coding.

I've spent a lot of time getting it to reflect me. I have made no effort to hide my absolute love for everything AI is currently capable of and excitement for all it will eventually be able to do. I want to be prepared.

Jeff:
understated dick-head personality

It's funny, the AI used the phrase "The user's observation is a mix of humor and challenge." in its backend process for that one inquiry and I thought that was a good assessment of me in general, and I also think it's why I'm an acquired taste.

"Humor & Challenge" go together like "Canned Tuna & Ice Cream"

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Re: Singer/Songwriters

I know we like to think of the talent as sacred (it's why everyone hates AI 'art' - it's proof that that's not what makes us special - it's all just patterns in the end), but I think the singer/songwriter is the exception - at least in the industry/commercial sense...and always has been. That's why they sell us so hard on the singer/songwriter. "Look, here's someone that can sing AND write a song."

Meh.

Hell, even bands that don't necessarily bring in outside writers usually work with prolific producers. Trust me, Hysteria is Mutt Lange's work as much as it is Def Leppard's. More so. That's pretty standard. For instance - and I'm just using the example because you mentioned them, Jeff - Wolf Alice gave their producer Greg Kurstin writing credit on their latest album. Which means he did enough to warrant a cut of the money. You don't hand writing credits out like that. So who else has he done enough to warrant a cut of the money with?

Kylie Minogue, Sia, Kelly Clarkson, Halsey, Jonas Brothers, Kendrick Lamar, Maren Morris, Beyoncé, Dido, Gorillaz, the Shins, Beck, Paul McCartney, Pink, Lily Allen, Harry Styles, Miley Cyrus, Liam Gallagher, Foo Fighters

Admittedly, Wolf Alice's other three albums show only the band with writing credits. But they brought in a ringer on the last one. Or the label gave them a ringer. Either way, someone wanted hits. This guy delivers hits.

The distance between your favorite artist and the song of theirs you love, is often greater than you realize. The distance between the written/performed and recorded product is even more distant in equally deceptive and "fake" ways - even in places no one realizes. If you're listening to widely available commercial music - I dunno. The average person has no idea how manufactured and produced even the most "pure" artists' work is.