Rock Band

[WayAbvPar]

An album has been announced. Seriously. And dates have been given.

Judas Priest's Screaming For Vengeance if you don't want to check out the link.

http://kotaku.com/381271/rock-bands-first-album-announced-our-harmonix-qa

Not one of the two they promised (WTF??), but good news! Would have preferred British Steel, but SFV will be fun. Playing 'You've Got Another Thing Coming" in GH at Furiously's house is what got me addicted to this genre in the first place. Now I can sing it!

Gotta find a place to buy some assless chaps now...

Edit- More good stuff farther down in the article!

What happened to The Who?
We will have a specific announcement about that coming up soon regarding some work that we have coming down the pike with The Who in general that I think people are gonna be pretty happy about...and in general what you're gonna see sorta deep dives with particular artists, where with some artists...of the appropriate stature, you'll see us doing more than whole albums, potentially even entire catalogs.

Sweetness.

[Samwise]

http://www.guitarrising.com/

[schild]

Would want, if the songs didn't suck my balls.

[Samwise]

Who cares how good the songs in the game are?  Get good enough at it and you can play any song you want, on a real guitar.

[sidereal]

Or you could just learn to play a guitar the old fashioned way. . by playing songs you like.

[Murgos]

Or you could just learn to play a guitar the old fashioned way. . by playing songs you like.

Because, frankly, that way sucks.

[sidereal]

If learning to play songs you like on a guitar is a sucky experience, that's a pretty strong signal that you're not really going to stick to the whole guitar playing thing. 

The idea that it's preferable to play songs you don't like, but for a high score, is. . perverse.

I've got an awesome game.  Download and print a chord fingering diagram.  Pick your favorite song. . any song. . and do a google search for '<your song name> chords'.  Play the chords, sing the song.  High score!  Give me 50 bucks.

[Murgos]

If learning to play songs you like on a guitar is a sucky experience, that's a pretty strong signal that you're not really going to stick to the whole guitar playing thing. 

The idea that it's preferable to play songs you don't like, but for a high score, is. . perverse.

Or, alternatively, I could play songs I like, with my friends, for high scores and thus, bragging rights.  Your way get's me sitting alone, making strange noises that no one wants to hear (including me) for hours and even days or weeks at a time for the immense privilege of, get this, learning 1 song, poorly.   

[Valmorian]

If learning to play songs you like on a guitar is a sucky experience, that's a pretty strong signal that you're not really going to stick to the whole guitar playing thing. 

Yeah, that's why I play GH and Rock Band, because learning to play an actual instrument isn't fun for me.

[Samwise]

Or you could just learn to play a guitar the old fashioned way. . by playing songs you like.

Nothing turns a song from one I like to one I don't more quickly than hearing it played by my own inexpert fingers.  I've never really gotten over the hump of being able to play well enough that I enjoy playing for its own sake.

This thing sounds like it'd be training wheels plus a positive feedback loop minus having to take real live lessons.  This seems to me like it would be a very useful thing.  To you musical prodigies, maybe not so much.

But we've already had this discussion.  Those of you who can play musical instruments, just go over there and play with your cool real-life rock bands and stop making fun of us retards kthx.

[Phildo]

Another advantage to guitar hero, assuming you're playing on a decent home system, is that you can enjoy a good mix while playing songs that you like.  Whereas in real life you're plagued by issues like feedback, drummers that just want to solo and having to change guitar strings every couple of weeks.

[schild]

And there's nothing more boring than a drum solo.

[sidereal]

Or you could just learn to play a guitar the old fashioned way. . by playing songs you like.

Nothing turns a song from one I like to one I don't more quickly than hearing it played by my own inexpert fingers.  I've never really gotten over the hump of being able to play well enough that I enjoy playing for its own sake.

This thing sounds like it'd be training wheels plus a positive feedback loop minus having to take real live lessons.  This seems to me like it would be a very useful thing.  To you musical prodigies, maybe not so much.

But we've already had this discussion.  Those of you who can play musical instruments, just go over there and play with your cool real-life rock bands and stop making fun of us retards kthx.

I think you have me confused with the artards who leave comments like "OMFG get reel drums!!" on kickass youtube videos of people playing Ride The Lightning on Expert.  I don't have anything against playing rhythm games with dorky plastic instruments that make you sound awesome.

I just think that Guitar Rising is a pretty cynical attempt to cash in on the Guitar Hero/Rock Band phenomenon without providing what people are expecting.

First, you're going to hear it played by your own inexpert fingers.  Rising pipes whatever you play directly to the speaker, rather than just triggering bits of the real track like Band/Hero.  Second, there's no multiplayer, so the idea of getting all of the buddies together is only going to work out if the buddies like to watch.  Third, it's not intended to be an instructional game.  Here's a nugget from someone who got an early look:

I don't see Guitar Rising taking off like Guitar Hero did if for no other reason - and this will sound strange - than it isn't as satisfying to play. Let's say you've never played a guitar and you pick up Guitar Hero. If you hit the notes you're tricked into thinking that you're rockin' the house. Even if you hit all the notes on Guitar Rising chances are you're still going to sound terrible without previous guitar experience because the game uses the real guitar output. There's a great deal of technique to play guitar on top of being able to hit the right notes in the right rhythm and this game won't teach that technique.

In its current state Guitar Rising isn't going to teach anyone how to play guitar. From what the developers told me the point of the game is not to teach but adding lesson functionality is something they are considering.

Fourth, even if it did want to teach you, it's doing it bass-ackwards.  The best way to learn guitar is to learn chords, which Rising doesn't even support.  They're easy and sound nice and teach fingering, key, and note locations.  Learning solos first and ignoring chords won't get you anywhere.

So, yeah.  I come to dash dreams.

Edit: Oh also Fifth, you have to buy a fucking guitar.

[Samwise]

Most of those points aren't troubling, since I own a guitar and I've gotten most of the mileage I'm ever going to get out of strumming chords.  I feel no burning urge to play Rhythm Guitar Hero.

The fact that they just play the raw audio output is disappointing, though.  It seems like with what they have so far (assuming the game tracks which notes you hit and which you miss, which it looks like it does) they could just treat the notes you play like button presses in Guitar Hero, and play the track as long as you're hitting the notes adequately for your difficulty level.

Oh well.  It's another big step toward the app that I want.

[Llava]

So anyways.

I like singing The Perfect Drug, and my friend who owns the game is just crazy enough to make it through that drum solo pretty flawlessly.

So that's awesome.

[cmlancas]

So... I vote more Metallica DLC. Also, I still think that RB needs to hear more about the lack of Dire Straits songs. 

Are we going in the right direction with the thread yet?

[Lantien]

I'm old, but I'm not old enough to enjoy any of the Rock Band DLC.  Are the Harmonix offices in a nursing home?  Where's the FUCKING BUDDY HOLLY?!

Track a song written between 1992 and 2002, plzkthx.

Apparently Harmonix (kinda) listened to sidereal....

http://www.rockband.com/forums/showthread.php?p=560218#post560218

These songs can be picked up individually for $1.99 (160 MS Points). And here they are:

The Mother Hips – “Red Tandy” (MASTER)

The Mother Hips – “Time Sick Son of a Grizzly Bear” (MASTER)

Smashing Pumpkins – “Zero” (MASTER)

This week's tracks will *not* be available as a pack, and must be downloaded separately.

While I like Time we Had, I'm probably skipping the Mother Hips songs.  That being said, I'm probably going to go right after Zero.

[cmlancas]

Zero is a great song. One of my favorites from Pumpkins for sure.

I'd be okay with buying all of the DLC if it had songs that I liked as much as Zero, all the time.

[WayAbvPar]

Sweet- I just saved $1.99 x 3 this week. Never heard of the first two, and would rather not ever hear Billy Corgan whine into a microphone ever again. It is amazing what a few years does for perspective- I used to be a casual fan of the Pumpkins. Now 99% of their stuff sounds like 2 cats fucking to my jaded ears.

[stray]

 Siamese Dream is one amazing sounding album (songwise, production wise). Love that one.

He didn't always whine. He used to be really cuddly and happy and shit.

[Murgos]

Today is the greatest... day I've ever known

A lot of the early stuff was very positive.  Not surprisingly much of that was also their best stuff.  Success tends to ruin bands more often than not.

[Stephen Zepp]

Call me a "pop" fan, but the only SP song I really enjoy a lot is Bullet with...possibly Disarm, but I don't see that as being particularly fun in Rock Band/GH.

[cmlancas]

Heh. Disarm used to be my cell phone ring. Then I changed it to Clocks.

Cracks me up when I start to think of pop songs as cell-phone jingles.

[Mortriden]

Today is the greatest... day I've ever known

I was under the impression that "Today" was actually a song where he was talking about his suicide.

[WayAbvPar]

Somehow I never noticed this before: I am being charged tax for buying Live points. That sucks ape cock.

[Big Gulp]

I was under the impression that "Today" was actually a song where he was talking about his suicide.

No, that'll be the greatest day I've ever known.

***Hates Billy Corgan and his whiny, bald, fetus-looking ass.

[stray]

Still though, even despite the whining, I can't help but like the dude for being a good guitar player. Had some cool riffs, and was really creative in how he recorded. And he never tried to play down shredders (always talked about worshipping EVH and guys like that), which started becoming the "thing" to do among bands that were popping up around the same time.


[edit] Video killed the radio star.

Seriously though... Just listen to Siamese again one day, without the Uncle Fester images in your mind. Fucking killer guitar album.

[Engels]

I love that song 1979 myself. He can sound whiny however. Took me a while to get into them.

[WayAbvPar]

I was under the impression that "Today" was actually a song where he was talking about his suicide.

No, that'll be the greatest day I've ever known.

***Hates Billy Corgan and his whiny, bald, fetus-looking ass.

Heh. Ditto.

Siamese Dream (along with the song Drown) is tolerable, but oh god the rest. Mellon Cholie and the ....FUCK YOU BILLY.

[Mortriden]

I was under the impression that "Today" was actually a song where he was talking about his suicide.

No, that'll be the greatest day I've ever known.

***Hates Billy Corgan and his whiny, bald, fetus-looking ass.

I fully agree.  He needs a major cockstab in his leprosy infected face, not by me... those tickets are being sold -> Thataway.   I have to disagree about 1979, pure whine and dogshit.  That is the song that made me hate Billy with the passion of a thousand burning suns.

[cmlancas]

This thread is filled with too much hyperbole. The same kind of hyperbolic whining that marks the very thing you hate!


You should feel ashamed, all of you.

Oh, and I liked MC....

[stray]

Well, my hyerbole is accurate at least. It really is a killer fucking guitar album. 

[Selby]

Siamese Dream (along with the song Drown) is tolerable, but oh god the rest. Mellon Cholie and the ....FUCK YOU BILLY.

No, Adore and Machina are the "FUCK YOU BILLY" albums in my opinion.  Mellon Collie was good (to me) despite the fact that 1/3 of the songs were filler (hey, with 2 hours of music it is bound to happen).  I respect his playing and songwriting abilities (he wrote and played like 95% of their music minus drums on the studio recordings) and the fact that he could really shred if it fit the song when most "alternative" bands of the day were just trying to play chords over and over again with no real variety.  Doesn't change the fact that his public personality is that of a dick who doesn't care about anyone and that he has driven 2 bands to fall apart.  Whether that is really who he is or not, who knows.  I still own and listen to SP regularly after all these years.

And yes, "Today" is about it being the greatest day because he decided he is going to kill himself and had nothing more to worry about.

On a side note, the other half got one hell of a blister on her hand drumming the other night.  It was mildly amusing.  I keep being tempted to go online and download songs, but that costs like money and stuff and I'm too lazy to figure it out.

[WayAbvPar]

DLC adds about 10000000% of fun for BWT stuff. Randomized setlists can get pretty interesting 

[Grand Design]

Time to fire up Rock Band again:

"The Cars" Album
Build your Rock Band library by purchasing this song game album:
"The Cars" Album. This album includes "All Mixed Up," "Bye Bye Love,"
"Don't Cha Stop," "Good Times Roll," "I'm in Touch with Your World,"
"Just What I Needed," "Moving in Stereo," "My Best Friend's Girl," and
"You're All I've Got Tonight" by The Cars.

  Cars