earsucker

The Atlantic has a really groovy article on Jerry and the gang:

Oddly enough, the Dead’s influence on the business world may turn out to be a significant part of its legacy. Without intending to—while intending, in fact, to do just the opposite—the band pioneered ideas and practices that were subsequently embraced by corporate America. One was to focus intensely on its most loyal fans. It established a telephone hotline to alert them to its touring schedule ahead of any public announcement, reserved for them some of the best seats in the house, and capped the price of tickets, which the band distributed through its own mail-order house. If you lived in New York and wanted to see a show in Seattle, you didn’t have to travel there to get tickets—and you could get really good tickets, without even camping out. “The Dead were masters of creating and delivering superior customer value,” Barry Barnes, a business professor at the H. Wayne Huizenga School of Business and Entrepreneurship at Nova Southeastern University, in Florida, told me. Treating customers well may sound like common sense. But it represented a break from the top-down ethos of many organizations in the 1960s and ’70s. Only in the 1980s, faced with competition from Japan, did American CEOs and management theorists widely adopt a customer-first orientation.

Who would have thought: doing unto others as you would want for yourself is a good way to act in this world? Tee hee at the irony.

Image credit: Zachariah O’Hora

With the Grammys wrapping up Sunday night, we’ve had a moment or two to reflect on the talent that has received those awards.

Deserving or not, if they made a splash last year, then they probably were awarded a Grammy. Not to say that Taylor Swift didn’t deserve her Grammys, but it’s giving way to more popular folks getting the awards, rather than those who actually deserve to win, strictly based on talent.

I was given a link to this nifty website, which points out the top ten musical talents who never received recognition by the recording academy.

The top ten:

• 1. The Who
• 2. Bob Marley
• 3. Diana Ross
• 4. Led Zeppelin
• 5. Grateful Dead
• 6. Queen
• 7. Jimi Hendrix
• 8. Lynyrd Skynyrd
• 9. The Doors
• 10. Buddy Holly

Are you surprised at this list? Some of the most prominent names in Rock N Roll today are on this list. They built the foundation for which rock music was made and yet, were never recognized by the recording academy. Yet they grant four Grammys to Taylor Swift. It just doesn’t make sense to me.

Your thoughts?

The Guitar Hero franchise has become quite the staple of family gaming in my house. We love them, the kids love them, and seemingly, the rest of the music gamers out there do, too.

Alas, this is the only Guitar Hero game we’ve yet to purchase, but never fear, we will soon. We’ll play it until the disc dies, I’m sure.

What if you could choose which rock gods came out with a Guitar Hero game? Who would you pick? Here’s my favorite top eight choices, in no particular order.

8. KISS

Can you imagine jamming out to Love Gun or Strutter? How about rocking out to Detroit Rock City or Rock N Roll All Nite? I can’t figure out why Gene Simmons hasn’t capitalized on this idea yet. He’s got the Kiss name on everything else under the sun. Why not a video game?

7. LED ZEPPELIN

This one was just obvious for me. Who wouldn’t break out that Les Paul and wail along to some Led Zeppelin? I want to play Black Dog, Rock And Roll, Misty Mountain Hop, and some Kashmir. This band was a fixture in the 70′s, 80′s and they still are. I wish they would get back together already.

6. VAN HALEN

Jump, Why Can’t This Be Love, Hot For Teacher…I could go on. They could even add some of David Lee Roth’s solo stuff as an added bonus. I’d buy it. Van Halen rocks. Heck, they could probably throw in some Sammy Hagar for good measure, it’d still be alright.

5. ELVIS

There, I said it. Elvis Presley deserves a nod on this list, too. He was a great singer and did some guitar playing in his day. If the powers that be at Activision can add Cream into the mix, then why not some of the King? They could put in Don’t Be Cruel, All Shook Up, Heartbreak Hotel, and Blue Suede Shoes. If you haven’t heard of these, please consult the wonderful people at Wikipedia.

4. NIRVANA

Nirvana also deserves a mention on the list of bands that I would love Guitar Hero to make into a new version of the game. Why? Because THEY’RE NIRVANA. Courtney Love can’t take away what they’ve already done for the music industry, but she could probably give this one the go-ahead. Maybe one day in one of her drunken/druggie rants on MySpace, she might have a moment of enlightenment and think of Kurt’s fans. They could include the entire Nevermind album, along with In Utero. I’d eat it up. I always wanted to play Smells Like Teen Spirit, Come As You Are, Heart-Shaped Box, and Lithium, to name a few.

3. OZZY OSBOURNE

Enter in The Prince of Darkness, Ozzy Osbourne. I know that he wasn’t the guitarist on any of his albums, but how could you ignore the music that he made. Don’t you want to play Crazy Babies, Crazy Train, or any other “Crazy” stuff he can come up with? I do. He’s classic, for sure. I want to rock out to Mr. Crowley, Goodbye To Romance (even though that’s a slow one), Iron Man (this one would go without saying), and Suicide Solution. RIP Randy Rhoads.

2. GRATEFUL DEAD

A classic band if there ever was one. Even though the lead singer, Jerry Garcia has passed on, him and the Deadheads will always live on. I’d play Touch Of Grey, wouldn’t you? If you were born after 1980, then you’ve probably never heard of these guys. Truckin’ was also a good song to play the guitar to, along with Johnny B. Goode. I know it wasn’t there’s originally, but the Activision gods would probably get somebody to cover it anyways.

1. THE BEATLES

It was already rumored last October that Harmonix (which means it’s likely to go the route of Rock Band) was thinking about doing a video game for The Beatles catalog, so let’s hope that comes to fruition. I want to play Can’t Buy Me Love, Help, Let It Be, which is heavy on the piano playing, but would still make a good track to include. RIP George Harrison and John Lennon.

Who would you add?

Images Courtesy of Amazon.

Image Used with Permission by Converse

Speaking of The Grateful Dead, Converse kindly sent my boyfriend a complimentary pair of these rockin’ kicks. And I do have to say, they hold the legacy of the group as it should be.

They were lookin’ pretty sweet and if you’re a Grateful Dead fan like we are, then you need to get the jump on these while they’re still in stock. They feature the skull logo and if you’re into your Chucks, then these are perfect for you. Buy them here.

Converse pays homage to The Grateful Dead as musicians who have changed the world of music featuring these shoes designed to honor the people who were known to disrupt the status quo. Luvs them.

Harmonix and MTV Games announced that yesterday, they have made available for download, Greatful Dead tunes for Rock Band. The first six of 18 were added yesterday.

Those tracks are:

Gamers looking to channel their inner Dead-Head can download six of the legendary band’s most popular tracks, including “China Cat Sunflower” (from ’69′s Aoxomoxoa), “Casey Jones” (from 1970′s Workingman’s Dead), “Sugar Magnolia” and “Truckin’” (both from 1970′s American Beauty), “Franklin’s Tower” (from ’75′s Blues For Allah) and “I Need A Miracle” (from ’78′s Shakedown Street).

How cool is that?

For more hippie news, head on over to Hippie Sounds and check out what Stacey is up to. Great stuff there :)