Last night, family came over, and it was cool. I got a bunch of tiny little liquor bottles, but other than that, nothing too exciting. I'm hard to shop for since I'm not really impulsive.
But the highlight of the night was when everyone wanted to play Rock Band, so we broke it out, and got to rockin'. The funniest part was when my older brother, half drunk, sang "Detroit Rock City", and halfway through was like "I don't know this".
Even better was that when everyone left, and we imported all the songs from Rock Band 1 (lil' bro got it for the PS3 only to return the next day), my Dad came in, saw "Tangled Up In Blue" and actually wanted to play. Granted, he sung, but still. He usually chides my and my brothers for not being that into playing sports (unless you count weightlifting a sport), and it was touching him wanting to be a part of our world. Then Mom sang "Should I Stay Or Should I Go".
First off and most importantly, my 21st Bitrthday! I want... uh... I don't know...a...multi-effects pedal? Any of these? Something Awful forum account? AC/DC track- Listen, I don't even have PayPal or GoogleAds, so I don't expect anything from you guys (all 3 of you).
Also, 2 things I won't even DARE to mention yet, since that usually jinxes them.
But more importantly, Tier 4. I haven't finished Limelight or Creep yet, but we can also vote on the DLC song! REMINDER: My choice for DLC song was Coheed and Cambria's "Ten Speed", because I love my brother for some reason, and that's his favorite song. And the lead singer has a funny voice.
"Saints Of Los Angeles" by Motley Crue- I don't really listen to Motley Crue, but it's interesting, since the Rock Band sales of this song were higher than other. traditional media.
"Going Mobile" by The Who- Because I wanted a Who song, damn it!
"Dammit" by Blink 182- Huh, how well that fits together. Yeah, Blink 182 fan here.
"3s and 7s" by Queens Of The Stone Age- I'll delve more into this if you vote for it or when I get to Guitar Hero 3, but note that this is a Tier 7 song in GH3.
"Bang A Gong (Get It On)" by T. Rex- Ever hear one of those songs all the time and can never put a name to it? Yeah, this is that song for me. Plus it'll get some Glam up in this.
"Dr. Feelgood" by Motley Crue- Someone reccommended this song (not for the experiment, just in General), and I like it. I now have a new name for...uh...nevermind...
"Hard To Handle" by The Black Crowes- Another song I hear all the time, love, but didn't know the title until Rock Band came along.
"Mr. Brightside" by The Killers- Radio-ready classic, that I'm 99.99% sure cribs "Ode To Joy"
"Rock n' Roll Band" by Boston- The only thing that disturbs me is that it sounds kinda like "Peace of Mind". Anything from Boston's self-titled album is gold though.
"Wonderwall" by Oasis- The basis for Green Day's "Boulevard Of Broken Dreams", and it sounds so similar, the two songs got mashed up into an awesome mix called Boulevard Of Broken Songs. The most accessible version (can't be bother to find a download link) is this cool video on NewGrounds.
"Stop!" by Against Me!- I have never heard this song I just picked it out at random
LEARN TO FLY Ha-ha! OK, there is one HUGE thing I have to get out of the way first: The real problem from this song comes not in the actual playing or instrumentation, but how the songs is mixed in Rock Band, versus the original song. Here's a video of Learn To Fly in Rock Band:
Here's the music video for Learn To Fly (featuring Tenacious D). Sorry, embedding was disabled.
When it goes to the chorus ("I'm looking to the sky to save me..."), in Rock Band it's a repeat of the verse (more or less). In the original version, it's a repeat of the intro.
It was remixed (they have all the master tracks, and rhythm/lead guitar was broken up) for the sake of changing up the difficulty/patterns, but it's still interesting to note.
Might as well give you the whole damn song now anyways (or at least a fair chunk of it): INTRO/CHORUS G--4--44-444-/-6-66--6b-6-6/4-4-444-444----- D--x--xx-xxx--/-x-xx---x--x-x/x--x-xxx-xxx----- A--2--22-222-/-4-44--4b 4-4/2-2-222-222-----
Real simple: index finger on the second fret of the A string, held against the D string (just touch it) and ring or pinky on G string (heh, G string). It's shaped like a power chord, but it's called an octave chord (hitting the same note (B), on the next higher octave). Slide up, bend the strings up, then slide back down.
The verse give us our good old friend Mr. Arpeggio!
The chords you're going to need to know are: Bsus2 barre chord (-24422: index on 2nd fret, ring on 4th fret D-string, pinky on 4th fret G-string) F#5 power chord (244---: all you need to know is ring on 4th fret A string, pinky on 4th fret D-String) E chord (0221--: We should all know this by now)
INTERLUDE (ripped off from here): -G5---------------A5-------E5 Only me, I can't quite make it alone G5---------------A5-----B5 Try to make this life I own, fly
Right, so I was going to talk about how bitchin' the Rock N' Roller Coaster was, but then I checked StatCounter, and that a lot of my referrals have been coming from a website called AltStrum. Out of curiosity, it turns out that I'm one of the links in their sidebar. Thanks a lot guys!
I've plugged Fake Plastic Rockbefore, so now AltStrum deserves similar attention. Unfortunately, it hasn't updated in a while (ahem), but still gets a plug. It posts up more newsy stuff like DLC releases (so basically it's like the Guitar Hero or Rock Band section of a bigger game blog), but it does put up some stand outs, like the charts of said DLC, and these:
100% FCs of Impossible Songs- This article links to videos of Full Comboing (the ENTIRE BAND) "Snow (Hey Oh)" and "The Devil Went Down To Georgia". This article introduced me to a YouTuber named GuitarHeroPhenom, a name that, while too arrogant for my tastes, is rather suitable.
Guitar Hero Rehab Patients- As an engineering major, I find this kind of stuff to be awesome. Basically, scientists rewired a Guitar Hero controller to respond to the movement of fingers in an amputated hand (i.e. Touch thumb and index for one fret, middle to thumb for another, etc.). Their scores are middling (70% at best), but it's still an amazing design.
Through The Fire In Flames in Lego- Pssh. Bet he can't do that on REAL Legos. Then I'll be impressed. Or at least until he builds a Lego guitar. That can play Guitar Hero.
GH:WT vs. RB2 Note CHart Comparisons- Some of the videos aren't availble, but what is there shows some very interesting differences (like how Everlong seems easier on GH:WT).
N.B. Actually, it updated the 7th, RIGHT AFTER I posted this entry.
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Aerosmith's Rock N' Roller Coaster was kick ass. Basically, it's this limo that speeds you through "Los Angeles" through corkscrews and loops, because you walked in on an Aerosmith recording session and they like you so damn much. The Tower of Terror (also in Hollywood Studios) was, as the kids say, bitchin', and wasn't that scary actually. It's more of the atmosphere that gives you the willies, and that's fine by me.
However, Aerosmith severely overestimates the lengths people will go to see on of their concerts. THINGS I WILL TO DO SEE AN AEROSMITH CONCERT: -Wait in line for an hour. -Spend below $100 (goes for all concerts. I know, I'm a Cheap Bastard as well) -Call a radio station to win tickets. -Ride a roller coaster -Ride in a limo -Start a band that opens for Aerosmith.
THINGS I WILL NOT DO TO SEE AN AEROSMITH CONCERT: -Pay more than $100 -Ride in a limo that practically flies through LA, or any vehicle where I would need a safety restraint. -Take down the New Order Nation in a dystopian 1996. -Pay money to play Revolution X -Failing that, wasting enough quarters to play the game from beginning to end. -OR, wasting more than an hour of my life playing the ROM to Revolution X. -Fight through legions of anything, unless they're people I already have a problem with (Nazis, mass murderes, my little brother, emo kids, scenesters, etc.)
N.B. All sexual favors are on a case by case basis. ---------------
