Re the end of Aerosmith as we know them.

Steven Tyler's recent announcement that he's leaving the legendary band Aerosmith--plus Joe Perry's "we're looking for a replacement lead vocalist" tweet on Twitter--will probably cause both fervent and casual fans to say "uh-oh."

To me, Aerosmith carrying on without Tyler would be akin to The Rolling Stones without Mick Jagger.

I'm assuming that Perry thinks that soldiering on with a ringer lead vocalist is financially viable since bands like Journey and Foreigner (the latter called "faceless" by ROLLING STONE) have drafted sort-of-soundalikes and have continued their careers (though on a second-tier, we-know-we're-an-oldies-act basis).

At this point, Perry and the rest of the band would be better off persuading Tyler to do a career-spanning-with-special-guests farewell show (which can be further monetized by DVD and/or pay-per-view). Then, the remaining members should retire the name and regroup if they so choose.

As long as they decide on a name other than The Joe Perry Project.