Grazing Rites

It’s funny how almost everyone thinks my enjoyment of Rock Band is a bit of a surprise. The fact is I secretly wanted to be a drummer for ages. The problem is it’s not exactly something one easily takes up as a hobby. For one thing the start up cost is huge as is the potential to annoy other people. And then what if you suck? You’ve spent a bunch of money and annoyed a bunch of people only to embarrass yourself. I was far too pragmatic to advertise my secret desire.

So when I first saw that Rock Band had a drum set I knew it was just a matter of time. And I was very glad to discover that I didn’t suck.

It would be nice if there was a freestyle mode where you could just play the instruments for fun and have the game create and perhaps even record the musical output. I guess I’ll have to save that hope for Rock Band 2 which apparently will allow you to freeplay the drums over any mp3 file. It’s not exactly what I was hoping for but it sounds damned close. Unfortunately I may have to wait awhile as Rock Band 2 won’t come out for the Wii until December and as those of you close to me may well know I don’t buy stuff for myself in the months of September or December.

Songs I can’t wait to play in Rock Band 2…
Alanis Morissette – You Oughta Know
Beastie Boys – So What’cha Want
Billy Idol – White Wedding
Bon Jovi – Livin’ On A Prayer
Dinosaur Jr – Feel The Pain
Duran Duran – Hungry Like The Wolf
Foo Fighters – Everlong
Journey – Any Way You Want It
Pearl Jam – Alive
Red Hot Chili Peppers – Give It Away
Smashing Pumpkins – Today
Soundgarden – Spoonman

It also sounds like Rock Band 2 will allow for DLC on the Wii and you can get 20 free DLC songs with your Rock Band 2 purchase. Here’s my DLC shopping list…
Duran Duran – Girls On Film
Duran Duran – Rio
Foo Fighters – Monkey Wrench
Oasis – Wonderwall
Red Hot Chili Peppers – Under The Bridge
Stephen And The Colberts – Charlene
The Offspring – Pretty Fly
The Offspring – Self Esteem

Now Charlene is actually free so that only takes up 7 songs leaving me 13 more before paying an extra dime so I’m pushing pretty hard on the Rock Band forums for a variety of groups including:
54*40 (One Day In Your Life, Since When, Love You All)
Barenaked Ladies (The Old Apartment, Thanks That Was Fun, Alternative Girlfriend)
Bryan Adams (Summer Of ’69, Heaven, Do I Have To Say The Words)
Counting Crows (Mr. Jones, Omaha, Round Here)
Depeche Mode (Enjoy The Silence, Policy Of Truth, Precious)
Duran Duran (New Moon On Monday, Save A Prayer, Ordinary World)
Goo Goo Dolls (Better Days, Big Machine, Here Is Gone)
Green Day (Basket Case, Brain Stew, Time Of Your Life)
Hootie & The Blowfish (Hannah Jane, Not Even The Trees, Time)
Moist (Sliver, Tangerine, Theme From Cola)
Oasis (What’s The Story Morning Glory, Hello, Champagne Supernova)
Our Lady Peace (Somewhere Out There, Clumsy, One Man Army)
Pearl Jam (Jeremy, Even Flow, Daughter)
Pet Shop Boys (Home And Dry, The Night I Fell In Love, London)
Public Enemy (Bring The Noise)
Queen (Bohemian Rhapsody, Who Wants To Live Forever, Princes Of The Universe)
Stan Bush (The Touch, Dare)
The Tragically Hip (Music At Work, Poets, Silver Jet)
Toad The Wet Sprocket (All I Want, Windmills, Walk On The Water)
U2 (Electrical Storm, Where The Streets Have No Name, All I Want Is You)
Weird Al (Dare To Be Stupid, Yoda, Callin’ In Sick)

So join the Rock Band forums and back me up so we can make this happen!

This entry was posted on October 16, 2008 at 4:50 pm and is filed under Technology. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.