Thursday, July 16, 2009

Would We Buy Backspacer If It Was a Mookie Blaylock Album?

 MTV News recently published an article making the case for the Sears Tower's name change by arguing that changing names has been good for several artists in the music world.  One of those artists?  Our own ... Mookie Blalock.



Pearl Jam: Though they have always recorded as Pearl Jam, the grunge-era quintet originally began its life as Mookie Blaylock. What's a Mookie Blaylock? He was the point guard for the Atlanta Hawks in the early '90s, and most of the bandmembers were big basketball fans. They switched to Pearl Jam in time to sign their recording contract, but they still paid homage to their former name on their first album Ten, which was Blaylock's jersey number. 



Why It Worked
: Though "Pearl Jam" still sounds a little silly 20 years later, it seems unfathomable that the band would have gotten the amount of respect that they've accumulated had they stuck with their original name.