Ames doesn’t exactly have the quintessential college music scene. That fact again became quite clear when it was announced that Aerosmith will be performing at Hilton Coliseum in October.

As great a band as Aerosmith is (or was, depending on your opinion of them), they don’t exactly appeal to the young college crowd of Iowa State. And while we’re sure plenty of ISU students are going to dish out the $40 or $50 to hear a 30 year old rock band perform all their radio hits from the 70s and 80s, it doesn’t say too much for the music scene in Ames.

If Iowa State Center is willing to spend the green to see a big-name band, why decide on Aerosmith? And, come to think of it, why Tina Turner? Or Sting? Or Kiss? Or Billy Joel? If this was 1983, we’d be doing pretty swell with our recent selections.

Sure, these classic rock icons are probably going to sell out a stadium, but is this the only reason for bringing them here? Bands like Aerosmith will bring in people from all over the state, but why not go out and shoot for a band that a majority of the student body here will want to go see live?

There are plenty of successful artists on tour not on social security who would have appealed better to the ISU community. The University of Iowa got the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Foo Fighters a few years back, sending masses of Cyclones to Hawkeye country to see a pair of popular rock bands.

Why not make it so we don’t have to make that trip?

Steven Tyler’s raspy voice on “Janie’s got a gun” is classic; we’re not denying that. Aerosmith certainly isn’t the worst option.

That being said, why not Weezer? Why not mix it up and go after a big hip-hop artist? We hope this isn’t the last big concert of the year, and if it isn’t, we also hope Alice Cooper doesn’t go back on tour.

editorialboard: Andrea Hauser, Tim Paluch, Michelle Kann, Zach Calef, Omar Tesdell