PRODUCTS OF THE ENVIRONMENT

Those who remember the late 1980s/early 1990s magazine Spy would say it was very much of its time.

Looking back, it turns out Spy had a feel for the future, too.

Once upon a time, Spy ran a hilarious spread in which it imagined how certain actors, athletes and musicians who died young would have fared had they lived. It included a mock billboard with a suit-wearing Jimi Hendrix and an attractive woman hawking a product called Purple Haze wine coolers.

Well, a real Hendrixian beverage will make its debut in April. That's when Beverage Concepts will introduce a nonalcoholic Hendrix drink called Liquid Experience.

Let the "selling out" discussion begin.

Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea has said that he's disappointed to see Hendrix's image "cheapened by base advertising." That's an interesting comment considering that Flea and his band appeared years ago in a Nike commercial with tennis star Andre Agassi.

Maybe Flea regrets doing that Nike spot. That said, there are artists changing their minds the opposite way: Once dead-set against such product associations, they're now taking the plunge. That would include John Mellencamp, whose "Our Country" can be heard in a current Chevy campaign on TV.

Given the economy in general, the music industry's struggles and the tight formats of many commercial radio stations, it's understandable why some musicians feel the need to explore any and all avenues for exposure and income.

To a fan, though, such decisions do seem to cheapen the music and the image of the artists -- no matter if they're dead or alive.