The Lessons of Rock Band

First off, this just happens to be my 100th blog.  WOOT ME!

I was flipping through some of my old entries and noticed one back in January of '08 just after I had purchased Rock Band.  At the time I wasn't even sure if I could get past easy drums.  I didn't know if I'd keep playing or if the appeal was worth the $150 I spent.  Now I can't imagine a time were I wouldn't want to play and playing drums on easy would be about the most boring experience I could have in the game.  It did get me thinking about some of the things I've learned about the game, myself and some bands over the last year.

1. Angus Young IS AC/DC.  He doesn't get much mention when "Best Guitarist" lists start popping up and maybe he's not the most technically proficient player out there.  However, he has created more memorable riffs than any other guitarist I can think of.  The rest of the band is fairly boring.  Angus is what makes it work.

2. I don't get the love for Mick Jagger.  That guy can't sing on key if he had to.

3. Speaking of bad singers....Bob Dylan, just because you can write songs doesn't mean you should sing them.  Sometimes it's perfectly fine to write for others.

4. Thank you Harmonix for including some Avenged Sevenfold in your game.  Without it, I wouldn't have realized what a great band they are.

5. Realizing what parts suit you best will influence what songs you enjoy most.  Most know that drums are one of my favorite things to play.  I rarely play guitar and sometimes will pick up bass.  I do enjoy vocals though, maybe almost as much as drums.  It's with that knowledge that I learned something.  Growing up there was the crowd that listened to classic rock and metal and they had almost no love for the hair bands that I enjoyed and often made fun of me for it.  I wouldn't dare admit listening to Bon Jovi, Journey or the like for fear of being called a girl.  Moving forward it seems there's a similar backlash against emo bands and the like.  Then I started playing Rock Band and it became clear why...  I enjoy singing.  Emo bands and Hair bands feature melody and harmony in their vocals.  They tend to be able to sing on key and without simply shouting.  At the same time those bands may also not have the most proficient instrumentalists.  I'm generalizing here of course.  Since I couldn't play guitar and had no interest in it, I also had no interest in Hendrix or SRV.  Shredding through 15 minutes of guitar solos from Metallica or Megadeath had no appeal.  Again I'll generalize here but, I'm pretty sure that the same guys who'd bust my chops for listening to Warrant probably couldn't carry a tune with a wheel barrow. 

I'm not saying one preference is better than the other, just that once I started seeing how charts were done and what songs I liked compared to some others I realized that the songs I didn't like as much tended to be these long, almost monotone songs from bands that a lot of the guys I grew up with considered "the best".  Of course, I'll never get through them on a guitar either. :)

6. The Police have no clue how to just end a song.  Every song of thiers in the game ends with a mindless chanting of the hook line over and over until you just want to throw a mic or drumstick through your TV.

7. Run to the Hills may have been a bitch of a song to play but it's still one of my favorites. I sure hope they can get rights to the original.

8. Kieth Moon was a beast.

9. Be careful what you wish for.  Just because you love a song on your mp3 player doesn't mean it would translate well into a fun song to play in RB.  Conversely, there's been a ton of songs that I thought were blah at best and horrible at worst when I heard them on the radio, but when I played them in the game I really really  liked them.

10. If you haven't had a chance yet, play this game with a live local group.  Playing with a bunch of friends in one room together is the ultimate RB experience.  Doing so one time will get you hooked on this game.