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Rock Band Licenses The Beatles

eldavojohn writes "The Wall Street Journal is reporting that MTV's Rock Band has gained the licenses to an undetermined number of songs. Details are scant, but it would be nice to see a whole game based on just the evolution of The Beatles' music. According to Reuters, this has been in the works for months. Hopefully I can finally hide my strained vocals to so many beautiful songs within the privacy of my home instead of drunk off my ass at a bar."

19 of 266 comments (clear)

  1. They must be trying to change the game... by jskline · · Score: 5, Insightful

    This is tantamount to a complete change of rules in the sales of these. The original target markets are the youth. Most youth could care less about the Beatles and especially the early stuff. They want the metal, they want the punk-funk, they want that sort of stuff that is modern and from their era, not something from prehistoric times.

    I can say that with a little moniker of authority as I am a working musician, and have been for quite a number of years both professionally and privately.

    Also being a Dad, who at this juncture is 53 years old, (soon to be 54) with a 12 year old and 13 year old at home (yea' they're mine!), and a 20 year old that just moved back in. They like it when Dad plays his old Beatles albums (Yea, I still have the vinyl) and CD's, but when they are listening to their players or stuff on their computers, it's always their modern music that they like. Most times they tolerate Dad listening to this stuff in the car or van, but many times bring their MP3 players and plug their phones in their ears and they're off in their own worlds.

    So I have a thought that this will be a gargantuan marketing flop. I don't see much out there in the way of parents my age that would buy this sort of thing. I could be wrong but even my band mates have indicated that they wouldn't spend money on that.

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    1. Re:They must be trying to change the game... by DragonTHC · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I'm 32 and I listen to just about everything. My son will grow up listening to everything.

      I am a musician and my son will be as well. I am under the impression that children need indoctrination in music.

      The beatles will always be in my top 3 no matter what happens. I will try to instill an appreciation for all music in my son.

      So how do you deal with the 3-chord knockoffs being published these days? There's a very low wheat/chaff ratio.

      --
      They're using their grammar skills there.
    2. Re:They must be trying to change the game... by flitty · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Depends. If they actually make a separate game, like the Rock Band AC/DC disc, they will kneecap their potential customers. Personally, I, being a younger fellow, had never really listened to many of the older songs in Rock Band 1&2. I had heard them, but only in the background. When you are forced to play the songs, and really listen (when they are actually good songs), you get an attachment to the songs. They need to give out 3 free Beatles songs and 3 free AC/DC songs as promotional material for the separate games, and they could sell these add ons no problem.

      --
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    3. Re:They must be trying to change the game... by Junior+J.+Junior+III · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Really, the songs ought to just be add-on modules that you can install and play whatever you like. Games like Rock Band or Guitar Hero should be thought of as platforms.

      I'm 33 years old, I love video games, I like the Beatles, I play Rock Band/Guitar Hero, and there's several million people who are just like me. I think they'll be fine on sales.

      If they want to do a Jazz Band or a String Quartet game, I'll start worrying more about sales. Those would be pretty cool games, but probably won't have a mass market appeal in quite the same way as a game based on pop does.

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    4. Re:They must be trying to change the game... by Miseph · · Score: 4, Insightful

      "So how do you deal with the 3-chord knockoffs being published these days? There's a very low wheat/chaff ratio."

      There have always been bands full of low talent hacks, and the wheat:chaff ratio has always been low. The crap bands will be forgotten, and in 30 years when everything new right now counts as "classic" they'll wonder how we managed to have so much amazing music with so little shit. That's just how it works.

      --
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    5. Re:They must be trying to change the game... by ari_j · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Shockingly enough, that even applies to the 80's. If the 80's can have a later reputation for being full of great bands, then no decade is really in danger in those terms. It's mostly a question of what the next generation is exposed to - do their parents play a lot of Britney Spears and Miley Cyrus, or will the kids get exposed to actual talent? I have good taste in music despite my mother's bad taste when she was my age, but a lot of that may come from my father so I can't be sure if there are other avenues that my own children would have if I didn't have an unending playlist of good music for them to learn from.

    6. Re:They must be trying to change the game... by darkmayo · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I cant entirely agree with your assesment that the target market for Rock Band is the youth (unless you mean younger than you) I'm 30 and almost everyone I know who is 20-40 loves Rock Band, the diversity of the songs is quite apparent that they are targeting a broad audience. The amount of Rock Band parties that friends have and friends who arent gamers have had is astounding, when you go to bar and they have a Rock Band night you know this is not just for the kids.

      lets take a peek at the set list for Rock Band 2

      "Let There Be Rock" by AC/DC
      "Girl's Not Grey" by AFI "You Oughta Know" by Alanis Morissette
      "Man in the Box" by Alice in Chains "Ramblin' Man" by Allman Brothers Band
      "Almost Easy" by Avenged Sevenfold "Shooting Star" by Bad Company
      "So What'cha Want" by Beastie Boys "E-Pro" by Beck
      "Rebel Girl" by Bikini Kill "White Wedding Pt. I" by Billy Idol
      "One Way or Another" by Blondie "Tangled Up in Blue" by Bob Dylan
      "Livin' on a Prayer" by Bon Jovi "Hello There" by Cheap Trick
      "Uncontrollable Urge" by Devo "Feel the Pain" by Dinosaur Jr.
      "Down with the Sickness" by Disturbed "Panic Attack" by Dream Theatre
      "Hungry Like the Wolf" by Duran Duran "Pump It Up" by Elvis Costello
      "Go Your Own Way" by Fleetwood Mac "Everlong" by Foo Fighters
      "Shackler's Revenge" by Guns N' Roses "PDA" by Interpol
      "Mountain Song" by Jane's Addiction
      "Aqualung" by Jethro Tull "The Middle" by Jimmy Eat World
      "Bad Reputation" by Joan Jett "Anyway You Want It" by Journey
      "Painkiller" by Judas Priest "Carry On Wayward Son" by Kansas
      "Pretend We're Dead" by L7 "Our Truth" by Lacuna Coil
      "One Step Closer" by Linkin Park
      "My Own Worst Enemy" by Lit "De-Luxe" by Lush
      "Colony of Birchmen" by Mastodon "Peace Sells" by Megadeth
      "Battery" by Metallica "Where'd You Go" by Mighty Mighty Bosstones
      "Float On" by Modest Mouse "Ace of Spades" by Motörhead
      "Drain You" by Nirvana "Spirit in the Sky" by Norman Greenbaum
      "Nine in the Afternoon" by Panic! At the Disco
      "That's What You Get" by Paramore "Alive" by Pearl Jam
      "Lump" by Presidents of the United States of America
      "Testify" by Rage Against the Machine "Round & Round" by Ratt
      "Give it Away" by Red Hot Chili Peppers "Give it All" by Rise Against
      "The Trees" by Rush "Lazy Eye" by Silversun Pickups
      "Today" by Smashing Pumpkins "I Was Wrong" by Social Distortion
      "Teenage Riot" by Sonic Youth "Spoonman" by Soundgarden
      "Cool for Cats" by Squeeze "Bodhitsattva" by Steely Dan
      "Rock'n Me" by Steve Miller Band "Eye of the Tiger" by Survivor
      "Chop Suey" by System of a Down "Psycho Killer" by Talking Heads
      "Master Exploder" by Tenacious D "Souls of Black" by Testament
      "New Kid in School" by The Donnas "We Got the Beat" by The Go-Go's
      "Alabama Getaway" by The Grateful Dead "American Woman" by The Guess Who
      "Kids in America" by The Muffs "Come Out & Play (Keep 'em Seperated)" by The Offspring" Alex Chilton" by The Replacements, "Pinball Wizard" by The Who

      Add that with the stuff from Rock Band 1 (Boston, David Bowie etc)and all the downloadable content (i think at just under 300 some songs now) you have alot of music that not alot of "kids" would recognize

      As well there is an 14 song AC/DC live pack out in November

      Tack a price tag of the complete Rock Band kit (Drums,Guitar,Mic etc) at around $200 you cant tell me that this is a game aimed at kids.

      Another thing that Rockband and Guitar Hero are doing is introducing people music that they may not have ever listened to before. I knew who Boston was but until Rock Band I never actually listened to it, there is some great stuff there.

      The gamer audience isnt just kids, the people who grew up on video games are in there 30s/40s now and we still love our games.

      --
      "I am a kernel in the linux army"
  2. Please, nothing with Paul singing by Raleel · · Score: 1, Insightful

    Honestly, I just think his lyrics and singing are insipid and inane. He almost kills every quality that I could like in the Beatles.

    That being said, still a big fan of Sgt. Peppers and Yellow Submarine.

    --
    -- Who is the bigger fool? The fool or the fool who follows him? --
  3. Re:Bonus points by Enderandrew · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I really hope they would.

    I truly love the Beatles, but I wouldn't say most of their catalog lends to the Rock Band crowd.

    --
    http://blindscribblings.com - Tasty pop-culture in conceptual fashion.
  4. Re:Idiom "could care less" by Abcd1234 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Because in practice, "could care less" is short for "could barely care less" or "could care less, but it would be a chore".

    No... it really isn't. :) It's just a misstatement of the phrase by people who don't think about the words they're speaking or typing.

  5. No new games, please by LordNimon · · Score: 4, Insightful

    but it would be nice to see a whole game based on just the evolution of The Beatles' music.

    No, actually it wouldn't be nice to have another whole new game just for one band. What would be nice is to be able to purchase and download individual songs at a reasonable price. The AC/DC version of Rock Band costs $40 for 18 songs, and you can't buy individual songs - it's all or nothing. This shit has gotta stop.

    --
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  6. Re:Short straw has to be Ringo! by John+Straffin · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Um... maybe because it's a game?!? Lots of folks who play air guitar or hum along with the radio have no interest in actually learning to play a real instrument or take voice lessons. You actually pointed out the major difference in your own post: "You can do your own recording and production work...". It's work to learn to play an instrument. Sure, it's worthwhile work, if you care about the learning and playing, but it's still work whereas Rock Band/Guitar Hero/Donkey Konga are games, played for fun. You know about fun, don't you?

    --
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  7. Re:Rock Band before iTunes? by Thyamine · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I know you were being funny, but I think at this point who knows how things will go. It used to be that having your music in a commercial was 'selling out'. Now bands/musicians realize it's a crazy good way to get themselves in front of people. Games are the same way, especially a music oriented game.

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  8. Re:Rock Band before iTunes? by ShieldW0lf · · Score: 1, Insightful

    I know you were being funny, but I think at this point who knows how things will go. It used to be that having your music in a commercial was 'selling out'. Now bands/musicians realize it's a crazy good way to get themselves in front of people. Games are the same way, especially a music oriented game.

    There are a lot of beautiful whores in the red light district in Amsterdam, sitting naked behind glass windows where walkers buy can see them. It used to be that those girls just shared their beauty with those that they cared about. But now they realize that it's a crazy good way to get their beauty in front of a lot of people and make some money.

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    -1 Uncomfortable Truth
  9. Re:In the mean time... by cowscows · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I'm not trying to knock on your decision to try a real guitar, but at such a novice and uncommitted level of playing, are you really doing anything more useful than what you'd get farting around with RockBand?

    You're not likely to build a musical career out of it. You're not learning any special skills that are applicable to the rest of your life (at least not any that can only be learned through "real" guitar playing).

    If you're having fun with it, that's great. But the suggestion that everyone who's enjoying guitar hero or rockband would be better served with a real guitar is missing the point of those games. And stating that messing around with a real guitar is inherently a more worthwhile activity than a video game is short-sighted as well.

    --

    One time I threw a brick at a duck.

  10. Re:Bonus points by Abreu · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Sorry, but Ringo and Paul were the tightest rhythm section ever. Most bands tend to slow down or speed up the tempo at the beggining or the end of a song. Not Ringo.

    Besides, there's a lot of reasons why an aspiring young drummer should listen to the beatles, for a quick start, read here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ringo_starr#Drumming_ability_and_appreciation

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  11. Re:Short straw has to be Ringo! by bigstrat2003 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Why the hell is this popular?

    Because it's a fun game, and they aren't uptight dickwads about it.

    Are all these people idiots?

    No, but you certainly are. Games don't have to model something you can't do in real life to be fun. No one bitches about how people playing Call of Duty should pick up a real gun and join the real army. The only people who bitch about games like Rock Band are musicians who act all fucking cool about it. Grow the fuck up.

    And yes, I play real guitar (as my nick might indicate). I don't feel the need to be a prick about it to everyone who doesn't, though.

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  12. Re:Bonus points by diskofish · · Score: 2, Insightful

    The majority of music in Rock Band/Guitar Hero is pretty popular. I've heard every single song on the radio. Yeah it's rock, but the titles are also Rock Band and Guitar Hero not Pop Singer.

    I am a big fan of hip-hop, but I don't think it would be that much to play in a rock band setting. It's centered around rhythm and lyrical flows rather than a melodic progression. There are of course as always, exceptions.

    As for the next version of DDR,I wish they'd license some Wu-Tang.

  13. Re:Short straw has to be Ringo! by Chris+Burke · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Blah blah blah.

    Since you say in another post you're against adults spending weeks gaining skills in 'inane games of pretend', your obviously not a fan of video games in general (since that's what they all are). That's nice for you, but why don't you just avoid game-related stories since you don't belong and have nothing to contribute to them?

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