Thursday, November 27, 2008

Electric Skin!

Happy belated Thanksgiving everyone!

Remember, don't cook your turkey in an electrical oven, or else you'll get the titular result

Also, a DOUBLE SONG UPDATE? Haven't seen one of those in a while!

ELECTRIC VERSION
The problem with this song isn't that it's hard, it's just fast. The only part that I had to fudge around a bit on was the pre-chorus and chorus.

Pre-Chorus:
G--------9-9-9-------------------------
D-777---9-9-9--9---9-9---9-9-9-9
A-777---7-7-7--9----9-9---9-9-9-9
E-555------------7----7-7----7-7-7-7

Chorus:
E-----------x-x-7--x-x-9-----------
D---x-x-7--x-x-7--x-x-9---x-x-9
A---x-x-7--x-x-5--x-x-7---x-x-9
G---x-x-5--------------------x-x-7

CELEBRITY SKIN
Everything else can be mastered if you have a pulse, the bridge and last verse (using the same progression),... yeesh...

Basically, it's an arepggio of the A and D open chords, but it get pretty fast, and I find it hard to coordinate.
Start by switching positions every four beats, then get used to the string order.

Bridge
E----------------2---------------------2----------------------2-----------------------
B------2------------3-------2-----------3-------2-------------3--------------------
G---------2----2--------------2----2---------------2----2------------------------

D----2------0-----------2-------0-----------2--------0----------2b-----2b-
A-0------------------0--------------------0-------------------4--------4----
E------------------------------------------------------------2----------2--------

E---------------2---------------------2----------------------2-------------------
B------2-----------3-------2------------3------2-------------3-----------------
G--------2----2--------------2----2---------------2----2---------------------
D---2------0-----------2------0------------2--------0----------4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-
A-0------------------0-----------------0-------------------------4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-
E-------------------------------------------------------------------2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-


Look at this, Creep's going to be a bitch.

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

The Revolution May Or May Not Be Televised

From a Konami Press release:

The Rock Revolution contest is for bands, and involves getting your group’s song included as Rock Revolution downloadable content. You enter at Konami’s MySpace page, including your song in aac, aif, iff, m3u, mid, midi, mp3, mpa, mpeg, ra, ram, wav or wma format. The first place winner gets their song included in Rock Revolution, gets to record said song for the game in LA with Dave Jerden and Bryan Carlstrom, gets an Xbox 360 and the Rock Revolution bundle and gets to be in a Rolling Stone Rock Revolution ad. The ten runners up will receive copies of Rock Revolution for the DS, PS3, Wii or Xbox 360. Entries will be accepted until December 10, 2008, and the winning entry will be chosen around December 17, 2008.

I am definitely doing this. Granted, I might have to use some other psuedonym, but hey, I'm going for it.

I will eventually rent Rock Revolution. I'm a sucker for getting a game for only two songs I like regardless of the rest of the game. Past examples:
Aggressive Inline- "Sellout", Reel Big Fish; "Crawling In The Dark", Hoobastank
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1- "Superman", Goldfinger; "Police Truck", Dead Kennedys
Saint's Row 2- "Woman", Wolfmother; "Bat Country", Avenged Sevenfold
Hoping Saints Row 1 makes it to the PS3- "Look At Me! I'm A Winner!", The Aquabats.

Granted, this one has songs from Rock Band 1, 2, and DLC, but one stands out the most:
"The Spirit Of Radio" by Rush
FUCK YEAH!!
OF SALESMEN!!!

That long HOPO bit at the beginning has been neutered though:
How It's Supposed To Go
Actual Guitar Gameplay Video

In other news, regarding that "Open Mic Night" December 3rd, I'll probably do one of the Clash songs. They're simple, and have distinct cues so I can sing and play at the same time. Most likely "I Fought The Law".

Monday, November 24, 2008

Sad Bastard :(

:(

No guitar until I go home Wednesday. WHAT AM I TO DO?

Perhaps watch this cool video?


Pretty good OH SHI-


I just might have to my first video, playing Prisoners of Society, ON A BIKE. OR SKATEBOARD.

Friday, November 21, 2008

Nickelback? I Want The Full 15 Dollars!

On Destructoid, I found an article about another musician telling kids to put down the fake guitar and try the real one. OK, John Mayer said the same thing and it's opinion I respect (and took to heart as you can read). Both are fun, but there's more enjoyment in the real thing because it's ALL YOU. It's more tangible than the games.

The musician this time around?

Chad Kroger from Nickelback.

No, just, no...Shut up...

I hate to turn this into a hatin' blog again (given yesterday), but Nickelback is the LAST band that should be telling us to try the real thing.

Maybe I should put it in context: Nickelback figures since everyone just finished touring or is recording, they can't get any bands to play with. So he wants everyone to start playing for reals.

Maybe the reason that Nickelback can't play with anyone is because...maybe...they suck?

Strike 1: "Someday" and "How You Remind Me" Sound Alike
Yeah... A bit more than a coincidnce.
The Bastard in me commends Nickelback for hitting on the "perfect radio formula", that same part of me also regards L. Ron Hubbard as an idiot savant for engineering the greatest scam ever.
The Rhythm in me condemns them for not doing a little fact checking first to see if it sounded EXACTLY THE SAME as one of their other songs.

Strike 2: In response to this video, bass player Mike Kroeger said “I think that’s remarkable for someone to notice that there is a hit quality. If all hits sound the same, then sorry. When you are a band that has a distinct style such as us or AC/DC, that happens. When you have a distinct style, you run the risk of sounding similar.”

Yeah, even as a fan, I do get a feeling of Deja Vu listening to some of their songs, but they have entire ALBUMS that sound the same. That's 12-15 different songs, compared to Nickelback's 1.
Also, AC/DC doesn't play wimpy acoustic rock.

Which brings us to Strike 3, today.

Now, for something completely similar:


No, there aren't any Nickelback fans in Portugal. And yes, they do want to hear rock and roll, so would you kindly get off the stage and let a real band play?

Sorry for the hatin', I'll get to work on those Tier 3 songs right away sir!

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Insert Scientology Joke

Because I finished "She Sells Sanctuary" by... THE CULT!!

But seriously, folks, that shit is much scarier than aliens and Tom Cruise's insanity.
And the funny thing is, the internet is kicking their ass.

On to matters that won't get me sued,
SHE SELLS SANCTUARY
What I find amazing about this song is that it utilizes only the middle two strings, save for one note, and even that you can always hit on a lower string.

The original recording used a flanger pedal to give the song an Eastern, mysterious vibe to the intro. I can't really explain it, but it's like delay and phase-shifting combined. A lot of popular songs have used it, like "Barracuda" and "Spirit Of The Radio".

The riff in question:
G---14---12---11---(7)---5h7-5h7-5--7---2-
D-0----0----0----0-----0-----------0--0---



B---------------------------------------------------15
G---14---12---16---14---12h14-12h14-12---14------
D
-0----0----0----0----0------------------0----0----

You can also use the 19th fret on the G string in lieu of that last note.

The main problem with this isn't that it's hard to play, it's that it requires your fingers to move quite a distance quickly.


SETLIST UPDATED

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

No! I Killed Him!

I'm going to temporary re-open the polls for about another week. If no-one answers, I'll pick one of the Dead Kennedy songs (Police Truck or California Uber Alles).

EDIT: Nevermind. I just saw two people voted.
Eh, screw it. California Uber Alles will ALSO be added!

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Christening My New PC

So as I said, this past weekend I had to bring my PC home. Got a new hard drive (160 GB), and I decided to burn a shitload of CDs onto it. Some were mine, some were "borrowed" from my Dad.

Figured it would be cool to show you what I got and give an insight of my music tastes. Here's the list:
2007 Warped Tour Compilation
The Rolling Stone Collection 1967-1969
The Rolling Stone Collection 1971-1973
The Rolling Stone Collection 1973-1977
The Rolling Stone Collection 1977-1982
The Best Of .38 Special
AC/DC- Back In Black
AC/DC- Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap
The Allman Brothers- Brothers and Sisters
The B52s- Cosmic Thing
The Beatles- 1
Billy Joel Greatest Hits
Blink 182- Enema Of The State
Bob Dylan- Blood On The Tracks
Boston- Boston
Brian Setzer Orchestra- The Dirty Boogie
Dead Kennedys- Give Me Convienience Or Give Me Death
Derek And The Dominioes- The Layla Sessions
Fastball- All The Pain Money Can Buy
Foreigner- The Best Of Foreigner
Green Day- International Superhits!
Green Day- Bullet In A Bible
Heart- The Road Home
The Kinks- Come Dancing With The Kinks
Led Zepplin- House Of The Holy
Lynyrd Skynyrd- Pronounced...
Madonna- Madonna
Pink Flyod- Dark Side OF The Moon
Semisonic- Feeling Strangely Fine
Steely Dan- The Best Of Steely Dan
U2- Achtung Baby
The Who- Quadrophenia
The Who- Who's Next
The Who- Tommy

Monday, November 17, 2008

It's Also A Soda

Sorry to keep you all waiting. Weekends are usually a hassle for me. Not because they're busy but because I have to lug my guitar on the train when I go home on the weekends. This time I had to bring my computer home, and was unable to play this weekend. I have to borrow my brother's acoustic. This is how the conversation went:
Me- Hey, can I borrow your guitar for, like an hour or so?
Him- I don't approve of you borrowing my guitar. (ACTUAL WORDS)
Me- But you're not playing it, you're playing Playstation. I won't break it or anything.
Him- Well, I think you would.

I have never wanted to curbstomp a 16-year-old so badly.

ORANGE CRUSH
The chorus is the hardest part. Not too hard, but you will need to change up positions and it can get awkward.
First, know these 3 chords: E (022100), B (-24422) and, Fm (244322).
Arrpeggiate as such:
E----------0-----------------------------------------------2---------------------------------
B-------0-----0------------------4--------------------2----------------------------4--------
G----1-----------1------------4-----4-------------------------3-----------------4-----4-----
D---------------------------4-----------4----------4-------------------------4-----------4--
A--------------------2------------------------------------------4------2------------------
E--0-------------------------------------------2----------------------------------------------


The solo is simple, but all harmonics, and could take a while to get the sound right. Remember to hold your finger on the line between that fret and the next one.
E------12-----------------------------
B--12-----------------12--------7----
G---------------7---------12--------7-
D----------------------------7------
---

SETLIST UPDATED

Friday, November 14, 2008

About As Believeable As The Second Gunman

The Dead Kennedys are finally in Rock Band. I don't know how this happened! I love them and a ll, but you'd think with a song called "MTV Get Off The Air", a game published by MTV Games would be the LAST place they'd show up. For a while, I was going to do a song lesson video as a "Never 'Gon Happen Pack", featuring "California Uber Alles" by The Dead Kennedys, "Holiday" by Green Day, and "The Ocean" by Led Zepplin. I'll still do it, with the aforementioned "Get Off The Air Song"

The THREE pack consists of:
"Holiday In Cambodia"
"California Uber Alles"
"Police Truck"

MUST BUY for your systems equivalent $5.50 for the pack, $2 a piece.

All I know is: Jello is going to be pissed... He's held a very anti-corporate ethos and I wonder how what his opinion is on the Dead Kennedys being in Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, Tony Hawk's American Wasteland, Guitar Hero Rocks The 80s, Guitar Hero 3, and now this. He even accused his former band members of wanting to license "Cambodia" to Levi's for a commercial (which they denied) and condemned the use of the song "Too Drunk To Fuck" in Grindhouse.

I can understand WHY Jello is against licensing, and it's (probably) the same reason Muslims aren't allowed pictures of Muhammed in their homes or using the Quran in music. He wants the focus to be on the message and song, not the product. Otherwise, it becomes "that cool song from that commercial/game". Roger Daltrey said something similar. Nobody takes the time sit down and listen to a CD, album, whathaveyou anymore. Usually we have a song playing on our computer while we surf the 'net, or on our MP3 players on our way to work.

So every once in a while, take a CD, any CD (burn one if it's all on your computer), sit in a comfy chair, and just listen.

"Orange Crush" comin' soon, y'all.

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

I've Been Thinkin'...

Tier 3 DLC poll is up. I might add new features soon. Hopefully new song tomorrow.

I've been thinkin', there's this Cafe place on campus that holds Open Mic Night. Next one is December 3rd, gonna try to perform at that. See the setlist, suggest a song.

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Double Duty

Duty 1:
I FOUGHT THE LAW
The Clash: Punk Without Power Chords

Main riff is the D chord strummed quickly 5 times (x2) followed by the G chord 5 times, then the D chord again.

A pretty simple song, it's the quick strumming that's hard to get down.
As per the the hardest part, it's this lick at the end on the chorus:
E--0--------2-
B--2--------3-
G--2--------2-
D--2--0-------
A--0--2--4---
E-----3---2---

Try it now, go ahead!
...
Yeah, quite a lot to change positions that quickly, and sadly, there's no trick to it. The only recommendation I can make to do the A chord with the first three fingers since your index finger only goes up one string.

Also, there's this one part at the end that's kinda fun to play, and easier than the chart implies:
B-------------------------------------------7--
G-----------------------------------------7---
D-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0----------0-0-0-0-7-----
A--------------------0-0-0-0-----------------

Repeat Twice, then before you play the 7s again, play the lick mentioned above.

---------------------------------
DLC Time!
MY CHOICE- "Limelight" by Rush- Seems like a fair Rush song, with plenty of good riffs. Thank God I don't have to drum.

READER SONGS-
1. "Breaking The Girl" by The Red Hot Chili Peppers- Looks pretty straightforward, with a hypnotic melody

2. "Crushcrushcrush" by Paramore-
I've been a fan of them ever since I went to those 2007 Warped Tour.

3. "Die, All Right!" by The Hives-
Tick Tick Boom I knew how to play prior to this actually, and it's a lot of fun, with plenty of energy. This looks no different.

4. "Fortunate Son" by Credence Clearwater Revival-
The band's name makes no sense, but it's about time we got some folk rock with some edge to it. FUN FACT: It was used in a Wrangler Jeans commercial, because it sounds patriotic, but if you listen to it, it's really about the privlages politicians and the rich get:
Some folks are born silver spoon in hand,
Lord, dont they help themselves, oh.
But when the taxman comes to the door,
Lord, the house looks like a rummage sale, yes,
It aint me, it aint me, I aint no millionaires son, no.
It aint me, it aint me; I aint no fortunate one, no.


5. "Juke Box Hero" by Foreigner-
In the words of that drunk chick at a party: "THIS SONG IS SOOOO ABOUT ME!!" Shit, I might have to weasel those lyrics into the mission statement somewhere...

6. "Message In A Bottle" by The Police-
I eventually plan on featuring the Guitar Hero games as well, and I'm not too sure if I should do this right now, but if it gets voted on, I'll do it.

7. "More Than A Feeling" by Boston-
See above.

8. "Pretty Fly For A White Guy" by The Offspring-
I'm 20, meaning I was growing up when they were on the radio ALL THE TIME, and I used to think that this stuff was the hardest rock in existence. This song takes me back to the days of Darkwing Duck and long afternoons of Goldeneye 007 with my friends, listening to these guys share airspace with Blink 182's "What's My Age Again?" and Smash Mouth's "All Star" as we drove in my Dad's beat up minivan to Little League practice. So now, more than five years later, you can go up on a steep hill in Las Vegas and look West, and with the right kind of eyes you can almost see the high-water mark - that place where the wave finally broke and rolled back. Where was I?

9. "Still Alive" by GLaDOS-
Make no mention of the cake and move on.

10. "Syncrinocity II" by The Police-
It was between this and "Limelight", but since I already chose The Police for Tier 1 DLC... Oh, and see "Message In A Bottle"...also by The Police

11. "Teenage Lobotomy" by The Ramones-
This is about as hard as their songs are going to get, but it's one of their lesser knowns. Speaking of which, "Blitzkreig Bop" has been in, what 3 music games since the release of Rock Band 1? Why not every other game have "I Wanna Be Sedated"? I know the Ramones are simple, and everyone loves them, but dig a little deeper! The only exception is "Rock and Roll High School" from the recent Alvin and the Chipmunks game and don't ask me how I know that...

12. "This Ain't A Scene..." by Fall Out Boy-
Yes, Fall Out Boy, the most tolerable Emo band. Still, I like how it switches up tempos and intesity, so IT'S NOT THAT BAD!

What did I say? DOUBLE DUTY!!!

SETLIST UPDATED

Monday, November 10, 2008

My Two Favorite Games Combined

That I cannot play while up at college...





I swear to GOD I'll do double duty tomorrow. I just don't like a long time inbetween updates.

Saturday, November 8, 2008

Oh Yes, It Is So

DUH DUH (bwah wah) NUH NUH (bwah nah)

SAY IT AINT SO
Ha Ha! Success!

Yeah, so as for the hard parts, the entire goddamn song. For the main riff, this guy has your number. Bar chords ahoy.

For the three parts I mentioned, buckle in it's gonna be a loooong ride:
First Interlude-
E---------------------------------------------
B------------9----10/12-10--------------9---
G----9-9----9----11/13-11--9h11p9-----9-9-
D----9-9h11---11--------------------11----9-
A-11------------------------------------------
E---------------------------------------------

The only real problem is playing it up to speed. Other than that, keep the index finger over the ninth fret is the best I advice I can give.

Second Interlude:
E-----4-4---x-0--------------5--5----------7--11-7-9---7--------------
B-4h5-5-5--x-0------0-------5--5----9----7----------9---7-9--7------
G-4---4-4--x-5------5----5/-6--6-6--9----8------------------9---9--
D-4h6-6-6--x-6-----6-----6/-7--7-7--9----9--------------------------
A-4---------x-6-----6-----6/-7-------7---------------------------------
E-----------x-4------4----4/-5----------------------------------------

Right here-----------------------------^ Pick in the (slightly) adjusted chord form, then it's pentonics all the way.

E--------------------------
B---------------------------
G--9br-8h9----6h8---6---
D-------------------9---6-
A--------------------------
E---------------------------


Solo:
E----------16-----------------16-------)-------
B--------17--19p1716-------17--19p1716
G-16s18-------------16s18-----------)

E-----------16--14---------16br-14---16-----
B--------17--------17--16~---------------17--
G-16s18-------------------------------------

Speedy Pentonics all the way. I used Power Tab to lower the BPM, then gradually work my way up.

Not a whole lot of "reccomendations" this time around, other than just working on dexterity.

"I Fought The Law" by The Clash is the DLC song.

SETLIST UPDATED

Thursday, November 6, 2008

...Awesome

"Say It Ain't So" is coming along, got the first interlude down.

Commercial teim now... Let's take a look at the commercials for the current generation of music games:
ROCK BAND 2

All right, good job. Advertises rocking, AC/DC, and bands. Doesn't show a whole lot of band play though, but still good enough to psyche you up to play.

GUITAR HERO: WORLD TOUR

OK, overdone and says "WE HAVE THIS MUCH MONEY!", but shows a bit more gameplay than Rock Band 2 shown, and is silly enough to get people talking about it.


This wasn't used because this is apparently a sexual fantasy of mine they used without my permission. And they left out the part where I come in. In other words, GOT MY ATTENTION!!!

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

OM NOM NOM

Obama was elected President... Yay!

Right, so remember how yesterday I said how Say It Ain't So was really hard? Well, apparently I some kind of breakthrough, and managed to get the main riff. There's still a bit to go, but right now there are three key areas that give me trouble:
1. First Interlude
2. Second Interlude
3. Guitar Solo

Heh heh heh, that's going to be quite an update.

Now, on to Nine Inch Nails:

THE HAND THAT FEEDS

The only hard part about this is the "solo" that's really a synth, and even that isn't too hard:

D------------------------------10p0-10p0-12p0--
A--12p0-12p0-12-10p0-10p0--------------------
E---------------------------------------------------

D---------------------10p0-10p0-12p0-12p0-----------
A-10-12p0-12p0-12---------------------------13/12-13/-
E---------------------------------------------------------

SETLIST UPDATE

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

News Stuffs

IT'S ELECTION DAY. VOTE BITCHES.
--------------------------------------------
Remember how a few weeks ago I called the Rock Band Stage Kit stupid and impractical?

I take back the first part, and the second if you have friends. Found out via FakePlasticRock that it ain't half bad. Looking at some of the videos, it seems like a worthy buy for frequent party people. The effects range from OMG!AWESOME! to Eeeehhh.... and it feels like the game.

BUT HOW? You ask,
Apparently the company making the kit worked with Harmonix, so that everything syncs up with the virtual light and game effects, so everything is all programmed in.

It looks good, but $99 is a bit too much for me right now.

I leave you know with Boston:

------------------------------------------
"Say It Ain't So" is really hard for a Tier 2 song. I guess I'll do "Hand That Feeds" in the background.
-------------------------------------------
The reason Harmonix is now the true overlords of has right to the Beatles songs, is accountable to one thing: flexibility.

I guess this means with royalties or branding, whereas Actvision would want the games in the Guitar Hero franchise, I have no idea what this game is supposed to be. Harmonix just wanted it more and would be willing to do something else entirely rather than say BEATLES IN ROCK BAND NAO! Sometimes it's not who gives you the most, but who gives up the most. Both companies stance have something, but again, I would like some more details. Holiday 2009?!? I still don't know what the hell I'm doing for Holiday 2008!

Sunday, November 2, 2008

No Songs Were Mutilated

Workin' on "Say It Ain't So" (again, hardest song in the bunch), but since I couldn't come up with any news this weekend, here's a new song!

WAVE OF MUTILATION
This song took me about an hour. Yeah, it's easy.

It mostly centers around these chords: F5 (133---), G5(355---), A5 (-022--), Bb5 (-133--)
The only interesting thing to note is that most of the chords look like this (1x3---).
All that is is putting you middle finger on the string below the one you normally would to bridge the two. There weren't any hard parts, just remembering the chord changes. This (requires Power Tab) has all you need.

Although I must admit, this part was a cool hook:
G---10--10--9--9--10--10
D----x---x---x--x--x----x
A----8---8---7--7--8----8

SETLIST UPDATED