First of all, I think we can all agree on one thing: without Jimi Hendrix, there would be no such thing as heavy metal. The man revolutionized guitar playing, and is one of the few musicians who inarguably influenced literally everyone who came after him. Period.

So. It’s almost the fortieth anniversary of the man’s death, and I think all the legal issues surrounding his estate have finally been cleared up, which must be why there’s an abundance of cash-ins new Hendrix products being released in the coming months: for one thing, there’s going to be a new album of previously unreleased studio recordings, entitled Valleys of Neptune; you can watch the video for the title track, which wants really, really badly to appeal to stoners aging or otherwise, above. And then there’s gonna be a Hendrix-themed iPod for yuppies who want the world to know that they like good music.

On top of all of that, Hendrix’s sister, Janie – who controls his estate – apparently let it slip in a recent interview that there’s an edition of the video game Rock Band in the works which will center around her late brother. I guess Rock Band: The Beatles must have sold well despite the fact that rhythm games’ fifteen minutes are just about up.

Of course we have no way of knowing what Hendrix himself would have made of such a game, but… fuck it, I’d play it. If you can’t get right and pretend that you’re the rock god you’ll never actually be, why go on living?

-AR

[via Metal Insider]