Partial Guitar Hero II Setlist

Eurogamer reports on the release of a partial setlist for the Guitar Hero sequel. From the article: "Ostensibly to trail its E3 showing next week, RedOctane's said we can expect Black Sabbath's 'War Pigs', Butthole Surfers' 'Who Was in My Room Last Night?', KISS' 'Strutter', Rush's 'YYZ', Reverend Horton Heat's 'Psychobilly Freakout' and Van Halen's 'You Really Got Me' in GH2. There'll also be an original recording by Drist called Arterial Black - and Drist, whose Marcus Henderson was the original Guitar Hero guitarist - will be performing in one of a few mini-concerts planned for GH2's showing in E3's Kentia Hall."

Comments

sabotage

[gEvil (beta)]

I really think they should have Sabotage by the Beastie Boys on that list. The guitar part to that is a tough one (nonstop muted string eighth notes)...

Re:sabotage

[Pootenheimer]

That may be true (and it'd be a cool song), but you have to remember that any palm muting is null and void with the current Guitar Hero controller. Straight eighth notes wouldn't be so hard compared to current songs, so the difficulty of the guitar on this song would be downgraded a bit from its difficulty on a real guitar.

Re:sabotage

[Anonymous Coward]

I think some of the classic Eddie Van Halen's nonstop 64th-notes trump that... (although, not in that particular track listed above) ... then again, I doubt many could accurately play it (as drunk as that guy is now adays, Eddie couldn't even do it himself probably).

Re:sabotage

[Anonymous Coward]

I would love to play one of their instrumentals, like Futterman's Rule, or Pow!

Covers?

[Rob T Firefly]

Any chance of getting the actual artists' recordings together, or will these be the standard studio-band covers one finds in such things?

Re:Covers?

[punkr0x]

They're still doing the covers.

Re:Covers?

[Blackwulf]

From what I read, there's IS some interest by the original artists of the more recent bands to go into the studio and lay down the actual GH-ready tracks themselves, rather than having WaveGroup do it. Because of the way they made the game, they can't just use the original recording. However, since MTV is now partnered with them and the first game sold so well, I wouldn't be surprised if a couple of the bands made good on their wish to come in and do their own version.

Granted, we're not talking the groups like Rush (although I would LOVE to have them come in and do it) but rather Franz Ferdinand, etc...

(Note: None of this is confirmed or anything.)

Re:Covers?

[Anonymous Coward]

MTV is partnered? Oh jesus... here we come with the mall punk non-stop. Lets hope these few actual rock songs they've announced aren't just anomalies.

Re:Covers?

[Anonymous Coward]

Did you not see the big MTV logo when you booted up the original Guitar Hero or something?

Re:Covers?

[jandrese]

Or as the FAQ said for the original game: No, they were not able to get Jimi Hendrix to come and perform his Guitar solo.

Re:Covers?

[ChaosDiscord]

Because of the way they made the game, they can't just use the original recording.

Assuming by "the way they made the game," you mean "as cheaply as possible," true enough. By rerecording the tracks they only need to pay the cover artists a flat fee and the songwriter a percentage. (Indeed, you don't even need their permission to cover the song if you're willing to pay the rates set by the copyright office. Assuming they didn't negotiate better terms, each copy of Guitar Hero sold included $2.73 for the compulsory rights.)

If they used the original tracks or got the original artist to re-record it, most of those artists would have wanted a percentage. It's the same reason that Karaoke Revolution uses covers. This also explains why the bonus songs in Guitar Hero are performed by the original artists: they're all much less famous bands who were willing to accept the free publicity in exchange for their music. For a relatively unknown band that's probably a good call. A group like Rush has no incentive short of being well paid (and perhaps a genuine love of the game); they're not going to get significantly new fans from the game.

Re:Covers?

[curecollector]

Well, for that to work, they'd need to go back to the original masters, first so that they can mix the backing track (everything but the guitar), and then to split the lead guitar track note-by-note. Licensing issues aside, I think it's just easier to assemble a cover track than to track down the masters / transfers of the individual unmixed tracks. As great as the originals would be, the covers, by and large, weren't terrible, at least.

Re:Covers?

[Pootenheimer]

Even though what you're saying may be true, by "the way they made the game" I think he meant single recordings can't be used since the game has a separated guitar track (or two) that is interactive with the player. Splicing the guitar track from the original recording would be too difficult/expensive to do, so making a new recording with a separate, distinct guitar track is necessary for it to work in the game. Using the original recordings would be theoretically easier (if it were possible), but since there needs to be an additional guitar track for the player to play along with, it's impossible with a single-track recording.

Re:Covers?

[Blackwulf]

Actually, I was more talking about how they needed to seperate the instruments and break them down note by note so they could be used during gameplay - when you miss a note, that note doesn't get played, or if you hit it just a little bit late, it plays a little bit late. Most original recordings don't break it down like that. But I'm sure they COULD have edited the original recordings to strip just about everything out if they had the master tracks.

But pretty much I heard that many of the original artists refused to "stoop to the level of a video game" (that's why there's no AC/DC songs even covered in the original, for instance) but now that the game is a successful franchise, they're more willing to do the work needed.

Re:Covers?

[PhoenixOne]

They'll most likely have to do it with their studio-band. But their studio-band rocks! I'm not the worlds biggest audiophile, but I find it very hard to hear any difference between the Hero songs and the ones I hear on the local FM station.

Re:Covers?

[Anonymous Coward]

Too bad Franz Ferdinand is horrible, then. On the up side, we may well be able to get some genuine tracks from bands like Incubus, since they already did the soundtrack to Halo 2... so obviously they're "down with" video games...

Re:Covers?

[NBarnes]

I also heard that they weren't able to get Freddie Mercury to come in and do vocals for 'Killer Queen'. >_>

YYZ: Donkey Konga Edition

[gEvil (beta)]

They really need to find a way to tie these various music games together. And I nominate YYZ as the song they use to do that...

Re:More 'News' from Zonk

[Blackwulf]

Actually, as a fan of the Guitar Hero series, I do find an announcement of some of the songs in the sequel to be newsworthy.

Re:More 'News' from Zonk

[DorkusMasterus]

Normally I wouldn't chime in to just say "I agree" but in this case, I feel it is entirely merited...

I enjoy Zonk's stories, even when they're often not 'amazing' or '100% final fact', usually because with games especially, there's so much rumor and not fact, when a game comes out. I mean, being a gamer means you realize that development schedules and deadlines change constantly, and therefore not a whole lot is released about a game, and not much is really "certainly" known until release. Therefore, no, there's not a whole lot of "news" but there's definitely a lot to report on, and therefore, I enjoy what Zonk brings to the table for the Games side of things. So yeah, mod parent up and all that, cuz as a Guitar Hero fan also, I too enjoy hearing about the likely songs to be in GHII.

Re:More 'News' from Zonk

[Anonymous Coward]

Digg has better content filtering then /.? Are you high?

Non-sellout

[FryingDutchman]

As 'obscure' as many of these tracks will probably be to the masses I am glad to see that they're sticking to a palatte of songs that one could quantify as 'their roots' (or even venture onto a limb and claim a relation to 'keeping it real'). One fear I have had since reading GHII was in the works was that it would turn into a "Now that's what I call [shitty pop] Music!" where whatever crappy Ryan-Seacrest approved tune would be pandered to us by Bo Byce and that Fantasia woMAN.

I'll be happy to see anything from one of the following; Probot, STP, Sublime, or TOOL. "Hooker with a Penis" has infinite unlockable content possibilities.

"will these be actual recording artist tracks"

Probably not. Not only are rights an issue, but you'd have to get the artist to re-record it. Re-sampling it would sound crappy.

OMG

[Loquis]

What no stairway - denied dude

Re:More 'News' from Zonk

[SkyWalk423]

This was news to me, asshole.

Pay the AC no mind... that kind of response is an inevitable side-effect of allowing anonymous posting.

Re:More 'News' from Zonk

[Aranth Brainfire]

Hahahahahahaha.

I just went to Digg.com, and... EVERY article is less news-worthy, on the front page. And lower-quality writing, to boot. I personally like the articles about "Amazing pictures of sand!" and "Web Will Run Out of Addresses by 2012"

Fail.

Where's Joe Stump?

[mobby_6kl]

What the hell, why I don't see anything by Joe Stump?

I mean, just the song/album names would make GH2 worth buying:

• Night Of The Living Shred
  
• Paganini's Revenge
  
• Psycho Shred Suite 1st Movement
  
• 2001: A Shred Odyssey
  
• Where No Men Dare Shred
  
• Strat Attack
  
• Survival Of The Fastest
  
• Prestissimo/Facemelter
  

Re:Where's Joe Stump?

[Anonymous Coward]

What the hell, why I don't see anything by Joe Stump?

Probably because this is a PARTIAL setlist and there's been like a bazillion incredibly good guitarists over the years.

Go to the GH web site and complain in their forums. Ya know, someplace where you might actually be heard.

Go go Zonk!

[Tipa]

I love Guitar Hero - really the only console game that can drag me away from my Oblivion/MMO-of-the-day PC. The game also teaches two essential lessons that translate directly into real musical performance - KEEP THE TEMPO and GET OVER YOUR MISTAKES. Plus, it's just plain fun.

I always enjoy Zonk's games posts. Games and gaming are a passion for so many of us.

Or Frank Zappa?

[mad.frog]

I mean, the man recorded an album titled "Shut Up 'n Play Yer Guitar"...

Deliverence?

[OtakuMan]

Dude! We need Dueling Banjos! That would be the greatest two player song ever!

Partial comment about partial track list

[Tedium Unleased]

This is a perfect example of wh

Warpigs

[Nightspirit]

Awesome, I may just pick up Guitar Hero II afterall. Warpigs was the whole reason I picked up the guitar.

Kinks

[Castar]

"You Really Got Me" was covered by Van Halen, but written by Ray Davies of the Kinks. Credit where credit is due!

Of course, the song may be based on the Van Halen version, but since it's going to be performed by a cover band anyway, they should at least credit the songwriter. (Not that "You Really Got Me" is anywhere near the best of the Kinks' work, but they get little enough credit as it is).

Re:Kinks

[FryingDutchman]

"Higher Ground" was a Stevie Wonder song but Red Hot Chili Peppers were given the "as made famous by" credit because it was there version and as the subtle disclaimer says, it's not "as written by" or "as performed by" but it's "who people associate the song with".

Having said that if I see the words Dave Matthews following the inevitable "All along the Watchtower" I'll shoot someone.

Re:Kinks

[FroBugg]

It's important to remember that the game isn't so much about the song as a whole. It's not about the lyrics or even the drums, keyboard, or whatever else. The game is all about the guitar, and Van Halen is all about the guitar. The Kinks version just wouldn't have what it takes to be included in the game.

Re:Kinks

[Anonymous Coward]

Yes, but do people associate "You really got me" with the van Halen version?

I don't. Not that I'm a Kinks fan, or a van Halen fan for that matter, but I can't even remember hearing a/the van Halen cover.

Why are they in Kentia hall?

[Syncdata]

Kentia hall is the ghetto of E3, reserved for peddlers of weird accessories. I would think that red octane/harmonix had gained enough cred to get in a proper hall (despite the fact that the controller for their game is weird, yet awesome). Hell, they were backed by MTV. They couldn't get a booth? Guitar Hero deserves better.

Re:Why are they in Kentia hall?

[Anonymous Coward]

are you serious? have you ever been to E3 before? In the two main halls it's so loud you can't hear the person yelling next to you half the time. If I made a game that was mostly music based and actually wanted people to hear what was going on, I'd be right in the front of kentia.