It’s a shame INXS has stooped as low as reality television to find a singer to replace Michael Hutchence, who committed suicide in 1997. Presumably, Rock Star: INXS, which premiered Monday on CBS, is an American Idol/Survivor-like contest in which 15 contestants are vying to, ahem, make the band. I say “presumably” because I did not nor will I watch; I only know what I’ve read. And I read that Dave Navarro is one of the hosts of this show. Didn’t his 15 minutes expire on that god-awful MTV show where he and Carmen Electra pranced around in fits of self-aggrandizement?

I so much like INXS and its catalog — is there a more compact and concise piece of pop-rock than Kick? — that this whoring out to CBS makes me sad; then again, I’m kind of surprised Fox didn’t think of it first. But what guitarist Tim Farriss had to say to Associated Press makes me downright depressed: ” … It’s really an organic way to find a new singer. It’s the best way we could think of.” I’m sorry. What is so “organic” about selling out your respectable legacy in music to dive into the perverse orgy of reality TV?

Let’s remember the better times, shall we?

INXS — Heaven Sent
INXS — Need You Tonight
INXS — Not Enough Time
INXS — Beautiful Girl
INXS — Kick