If I would be a famous rock artist, I definitely would demand local AA meeting schedules, a sub-machine gun, a 12-foot boa constrictor and a jar of Grey Poupon mustard. And I am not making these ones up; this is straight from Mötley Crüe´s rider.
One of the most famous demands has been the removal of brown M&Ms for Van Halen, which according to urban legend resulted in trashing the hotel room when there were some brown candies in bowl. While at glance it is on the same level of ridiculousness as a rainbow on wheels, it actually served a practical purpose.
During the time this request was made, Van Halen was the biggest, loudest and flashiest of the metal bands. This resulted that their show was also demanding from technical perspective not only with their riders with KY tube jelly. Some of the venues were old and not necessarily that up-to-date with technical or safety requirements. Brown M&Ms served as an indicator of how seriously the concert organizers paid attention to detail. If there were brown candies, that meant they should probably check the technical setup on stage as well. David Lee Roth explains the thinking below:
Attention to detail is an important skill; because it is the most visible manifestation of that you give a shit. If you have job application full of typos and presentation with wrong date, it gives a message that essentially you do not care.
All relationships are based on passion & reliability, and you have to be able to convey both of these traits. One of them can be the driving force, but you cannot neglect either of them if you want to make it last.
You also have to know when to switch details-mode off. There is a time when everything needs to be 100% and there are moments when you can be more relaxed. I have seen so many perfectionists already burn themselves out on trivial tasks and then failing in game-changing moments. It is probably the most important skill to learn in work: when to put it all in and when to just wing it. Some idealists can say that you should always give all in, but that just leads to exhaustion, depression and broken dreams.
It is like sports. You do not need to run as fast as you can as long you run faster than others.
Stand-Up Strategy 