Official Rock Band Thread

[Joe Molotov]

I'd buy that for a dollar.

[chronovore]

No way Zeppelin would have a song on RB.

I am under the impression that Zep songs won't appear in any game as long as the Plant/Paige contingency is controlling the catalog;they won't let their master recordings out, right?

[archie4208]

Next week's DLC:

• Anvil – “666”
• Anvil – “Metal on Metal”
• Anvil – “This is Thirteen”
• Dinosaur Jr. – “Pick Me Up”
• Dinosaur Jr. – “The Wagon”
• The Guess Who – “Hand Me Down World”
• The Guess Who – “No Time”
• Tenacious D – “Rock Your Socks”
• Tenacious D – “Tribute”

It's not the best week of DLC ever, it's just a tribute.

[pilonv1]

WHERE IS TAKE A RUN AT THE SUN??! OR START CHOPPIN

Friendship by Tenacious D would be better too.

[pilonv1]

Songs from musical comedy Flight of the Conchords may be heading to Rock Band, assuming what comedy duo Bret McKenzie and Jermaine Clement said on The Emmys' red carpet wasn't a joke. Frankly, we can't tell.
"You know what? There's going to be three songs on Rock Band," McKenzie, sporting a moustache, told a suited interviewer (video on Kotaku).
"I'm serious," he added. "That's serious," echoed Clement, grinning slightly.
"What are they?" asked the interviewer. "Don't know," replied Clement, deadpan. "Yeah, don't know," echoed McKenzie.
And that was that.
Each episode of Flight of the Conchords features a song of some sort, whether it be a rap about robots, a ballad about the most beautiful girl in the room, or funky jive to let us know it's "Business Time". It's brilliant.

BUSINESS TIME

[chronovore]

BUSINESS TIME

WILL BUY DAY ONE.

[ferrarimanf355]

Downloading the Backspacer tracks for RB now. 

I admit to playing it on easy because I just want to have fun with it, but why is my fanbase being capped at 260K? Is that the game nudging me to a higher difficulty?

[demi]

Um, yeah. Stop sucking you loser. How is Easy fun? Ugh.

[chronovore]

Downloading the Backspacer tracks for RB now. 

I admit to playing it on easy because I just want to have fun with it, but why is my fanbase being capped at 260K? Is that the game nudging me to a higher difficulty?

Yeah, but if you play RB2 I believe there's no maximum fans, only a greatly reduced number of "new fans" if your total fans has already hit the max for the difficulty level at which you play. RB1, you're just out of luck.

[ferrarimanf355]

Um, yeah. Stop sucking you loser. How is Easy fun? Ugh.

I'm too lazy to look at your gamercard, but have you even played Rock Band? And if so, why are you such a killjoy? I'm having fun playing stuff. 

[demi]

Yes distinguished mentally-challenged fellow I own both. I've finished them on Expert. Go fuck a goat you creep.

[ferrarimanf355]

Wow, can't make a reply to me without insulting me. Well, I'm not stooping to your level, you egotistical bastard.

[chronovore]

Reasonably speaking, if you're just playing them to have fun, who cares about your total fan count, right?

In related news, another thing Harmonix got right in RB2 is the "No Fail" mode, which allows you to play whatever level you like with no chance of being booed off the stage. You don't get to save, and you get no Achievements, but that's a small price to pay for no-one at your party feeling like they have killed everyone else's good time.

Lastly, if you ever want to compare your shit, here's something I've got as a bookmarklet:
compare games
- put a "demifish" after that equals sign, and you can see it all, baby.

[archie4208]

Alice in Chains pack next week.

Songs:
A Looking In View
Check My Brain
No Excuses
Rooster
Would?

[archie4208]

Next week's DLC got leaked (again):

[383, 384]Alanis Morissette- Head Over Feet-1995
[385, 386]Alanis Morissette- Ironic-1995
[387, 388]Electric Six- Dance Epidemic-2005
[389, 390]Electric Six- Gay Bar-2003
[391, 392]Electric Six- I Don't Like You-2007
[393, 394]Flobots- Handlebars-2008
[395, 396]The Raconteurs- Many Shades of Black-2008
[397, 398]The Raconteurs- Solute Your Solution-2008
[399, 400]The Raconteurs- Steady As She Goes-2006

[MyNameIsMethodis]

All terrible. We haven't got good DLC since Talking Heads

[Joe Molotov]

All terrible. We haven't got good DLC since Talking Heads

Tenacious D - Tribute

But yeah, 99% of Rock Band DLC sucks balls. Hurry up and release Queen, you douche nozzles.

[pilonv1]

Ironic?

Tribute was good, the Dinosaur JR songs could have been better (Start Choppin/Take a Run at the Sun).

I'm waiting for If You Want Me To (I Want You To).

[archie4208]

All terrible. We haven't got good DLC since Talking Heads

Tenacious D - Tribute

But yeah, 99% of Rock Band DLC sucks balls. Hurry up and release Queen, you douche nozzles.

There are rumors that Queen will get announced with their biweekly email zine tomorrow.

[MyNameIsMethodis]

smh archie I miss trolling you on GAF as Ralys  :'(

[Mr. Gundam]

QUEEN
Another One Bites the Dust
Crazy Little Thing Called Love
One Vision
Fat Bottomed Girls
I Want It All
I Want to Break Free
Killer Queen
Somebody To Love
Tie Your Mother Down
Under Pressure

[cool breeze]

I need to get some point cards now.  Rock Band

 

[archie4208]

It's missing Stone Cold Crazy and Flick of the Wrist, but that is what Queen Pack 02 is for

And Bohemian Rhapsody is virtually guaranteed to be in Rock Band 3

[chronovore]

QUEEN
Another One Bites the Dust
Crazy Little Thing Called Love
One Vision
Fat Bottomed Girls
I Want It All
I Want to Break Free
Killer Queen
Somebody To Love
Tie Your Mother Down
Under Pressure

FINALLY.
...of course, I still have no fucking ROCK BAND 2 disc, thanks to that damned cracked hub.

[Joe Molotov]

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHH WON'T YOU TAKE ME HOME TONIGHT

[Mr. Gundam]

So I sold my AC/DC track pack on Amazon Marketplace for $15, and in the item description I stated "The game is in great condition. DOES NOT INCLUDE VALID EXPORT CODE."

I just got negative feedback from the buyer saying that they're unhappy because they can't transfer the songs into their copy of Rock Band. Did they read my product description? I think it's pretty clear considering I was honest about the export code and even put it in caps. He isn't filing a claim, but it's still annoying.

smh stupid people and their lack of reading comprehension.

[chronovore]

Did you even all-caps it there? That would be a huge oversight if so.

[pilonv1]

no Bicycle no sale. only decent queen song

[Robo]

Harmonix really wants to sell me on LEGO Rock Band, don't they?



  

[MyNameIsMethodis]

Considering it's only going ot have three good songs in Let's Dance, the Talking Heads Song (PLEASE be Burning Down the House) and Final COuntdown, they have to do anything to not get embarrased by Band Hero.

[Robo]

I'm not gonna argue in favor of either of their soundtracks (although Lego Rock Band has more than three good songs and Final Countdown sure as hell isn't one of them), but Band Hero's is really fucking awful.  The only one being embarrassed by that is Neversoft.

[chronovore]

What's the difference between Band Hero and Guitar Hero? Are they taking the drums and vocals away from GH?

[Mr. Gundam]

What's the difference between Band Hero and Guitar Hero? Are they taking the drums and vocals away from GH?

Band Hero is "family friendly" Guitar Hero. The tracklisting is much more pop-oriented.

[pilonv1]

and they'll both have terrible charting

[archie4208]

David Bowie > Taylor Swift

[pilonv1]

Rivers > Bowie

[chronovore]

What's the difference between Band Hero and Guitar Hero? Are they taking the drums and vocals away from GH?

Band Hero is "family friendly" Guitar Hero. The tracklisting is much more pop-oriented.

Oh. Hate to admit it, but I'll probably enjoy Band Hero more than GH. I likes me some hard rock and metalz, but they're not always my favorite to sing or fake guitar to.

[M3wThr33]

Apparently there's a press event for the Abbey Road/Queen DLC release next week.

[archie4208]

When is it?  I wonder if we will get any further DLC news. 

[archie4208]

• Motörhead – “(We Are) The Road Crew ‘08”
• Tenacious D – “The Metal”
• Testament – “More Than Meets the Eye”
• Black Tide – “Show Me the Way”
• Blink-182 – “What’s My Age Again?”
• Joe Satriani – “Satch Boogie”
• Joe Satriani – “Surfing with the Alien”
• Kansas – “Icarus (Borne on the Wings of Steel)” (Live from Two for the Show)
• Kansas – “Point of Know Return” (Live from Two for the Show)
• L7 – “Andres”

Joe Satriani.  Kansas.  The Metal.

[MyNameIsMethodis]

You mean a terrible week in all?

[archie4208]

Jimi Hendrix is in Lego Rock Band

The words "Lego Rock Band" make the pessimist in me conjure up images of plastic yellow midgets bipping and bopping to a setlist of Hannah Montana, Jonas Brothers, and Blink 182 in front of an audience of screaming tweens and a pile of dead parents who have blood running out of their ears. But given that the Lego brand of video games has a history of turning would-be gore and murder into family-friendly coins and hand-slapping without sabotaging any of the fun, I didn't need to worry.

Though Lego Rock Band sits well within the framework of its franchise by catering to kids - or more precisely, people with kids - it's careful not to dumb down the solid gameplay of Rock Band. The setlist does have corny pop songs like "Ghostbusters" by Ray Parker Jr, "So What" by Pink, "Kung Fu Fighting" by Carl Douglas, "In Too Deep" by Sum 41, and "Aliens Exist" by Blink 182, but it also chooses energetic and catchy tunes that have wider appeal like "Ruby" by Kaiser Chiefs, "Let's Dance" by David Bowie, "Walking on Sunshine" by Katrina and The Waves, and "Fire" by Jimi Hendrix.

As you might expect, a healthy portion of the 45-song setlist are guilty pleasures or songs that most of us will only sing if we have had somewhere between three to seven beers. (A case-in-point fill in the blank: I will sing "_______" before I sing Pink.) Since kids have short attention spans and probably won't understand the intricacies of Rush or Dream Theatre, the lack of hardcore rock songs is understandable. There's even a toggle for the short "radio edit" version of a track so that your hyperactive fourth-grader doesn't get bored by the sixth chorus of some song by The Police.

Any downloadable track for Rock Band that passes through a content filter can be imported into Lego Rock Band - you don't want little Timmy playing Nine Inch Nails next to grandpa on Easter. If you would rather play on Rock Band, you have the option to turn Lego Rock Band into what is essentially a 45-song track pack for a small licensing fee. As always, most pre-existing peripherals for Rock Band and Guitar Hero will be compatible, and thankfully, there doesn't seem to be any plans for a plastic guitar made out of brightly colored bricks (...oh, what have I done).

Several features have been introduced to make Lego Rock Band more accessible to children, notably the Lego credo of not being able to "die". Players who miss one too many notes won't fail out but instead lose all the studs (or points), the in-game currency, that they have earned in the song so far. But to be gentle, they can recover up to all of their lost studs if they hit the notes in the recovery phrases that follow. In addition to Super Easy mode where players only have to strum the notes at the right time (you can hold down any button), the option to automate the kick pedal for the drums has been added not just for kids with short legs, but for those with leg disabilities.

More substantial, the traditionally straightforward and staid World Tour mode has been sprinkled with Lego cheer in the shape of adorable avatars and cut-scenes. Ninja, pirate, wizard, a werewolf with a pegleg - your character can be outfitted from everything within the fantasy realm of rock awesomeness where unicorns with glam hair gallop to power chords and apocalyptic thunder... or something like that. Using studs, you can purchase new clothing, new furniture, and new vehicles to get to new venues (no word on whether you can be Iggy Pop's or David Bowie's in-game Lego avatars, but one can dream).

Among the revised World Tour setlists are Rock Power Challenges, story-based tests that have your band channel the power of rock to solve a problem or defeat a boss like, say, a giant, angry mollusk. These challenges are the one exception to the "no fail" rule, serving as a reminder to children that video games are supposed to be tough and unfair and everything frustratingly wonderful we have come to love about them.

Lego Rock Band doesn't seek to conquer the world of music games but to share this world with the people who will hopefully come to learn and appreciate its riches. Let them be children, let them have fun. Check out Lego Rock Band when it snaps into stores November 3, 2009.

[MyNameIsMethodis]

Cool, doubt it will export if it didn't export in GHWT.


But I want to know what the fucking Talking Heads song is. I bet David Byrne in his fat suit is going to be the last lego celebrity.

[demi]

Man I downloaded the GH5 demo... what a confusing demo. And 3 horrible songs too.

[chronovore]

there doesn't seem to be any plans for a plastic guitar made out of brightly colored bricks (...oh, what have I done).

Would buy. Day 1.

Cool, doubt it will export if it didn't export in GHWT.


But I want to know what the fucking Talking Heads song is. I bet David Byrne in his fat suit is going to be the last lego celebrity.

Do you ever say anything that makes any sense? Ever?

[MyNameIsMethodis]

Yes, Jimi Hendrix's estate didn't allow his songs to be exportable in GHWT to GH5. What makes us think that all of a sudden their going to allow RB to do it?

[pilonv1]

WOW L7 ANDRE. Tremendous news.

Still no Friendship or Wonderboy from Tenacious D.

FUCK NINJAS AND PIRATES. Best Rock Band game yet!

[chronovore]

Yes, Jimi Hendrix's estate didn't allow his songs to be exportable in GHWT to GH5. What makes us think that all of a sudden their going to allow RB to do it?

So you weren't implying that Rock Band tracks won't export because GH doesn't export, only the Jimi Hendrix song based on its behavior in a different game. Out of all those bolded sentences, you were referring to one song without mention and only mentioning a different game series. You're not nonsensical, just incoherent.

Who knows what contractual situation exists between the estate or label handling Hendrix' catalog, and the vying for those rights between MTV/EA/HMX and Activision? There may be exclusives, or even time-limited exclusives. Who knows why 3 songs couldn't be exported from RB1 to RB2? Do you? I don't.

[MyNameIsMethodis]

Well considering I posted that right after Archie said

Cool, Jimi Hendrix in Lego Rock Band

, perhaps you lack some reading comprehension.

[chronovore]

Fair enough.

[M3wThr33]

Yes, Jimi Hendrix's estate didn't allow his songs to be exportable in GHWT to GH5. What makes us think that all of a sudden their going to allow RB to do it?

So you weren't implying that Rock Band tracks won't export because GH doesn't export, only the Jimi Hendrix song based on its behavior in a different game. Out of all those bolded sentences, you were referring to one song without mention and only mentioning a different game series. You're not nonsensical, just incoherent.

Who knows what contractual situation exists between the estate or label handling Hendrix' catalog, and the vying for those rights between MTV/EA/HMX and Activision? There may be exclusives, or even time-limited exclusives. Who knows why 3 songs couldn't be exported from RB1 to RB2? Do you? I don't.

When Harmonix made GH1, their Jimi Hendrix COVER SONG didn't have any words. They will bend over backwards to get music sometimes. Lego Rock Band only exists to get Warner music back in. Beatles compromised half the crap that made Rock Band fun. (And don't get me started how they ruined a big advantage over Guitar Hero by having all-black fretboards, then TBRB fucked that up with the Beatlemania texture that makes the game nearly impossible to play on some TVs)

All I know is that the only article mentioning the export didn't EXPLICITLY state either way AND it is now taken down.

The way DanT (Lead game designer) posts on SA, he could have cooled down the arguing instantly, but the guy is so transparent. He only comments on false rumors. I totally bait him just to get responses sometimes, because their PR fucking sucks.

They're too busy delaying the PS3 patch. Before Lego Rock Band? 2010? Ever? They are totally in Microsoft's pants.

[MyNameIsMethodis]

Which is fucking sad because they used to be in Sony's pants and they made better games back then.

[M3wThr33]

Which is fucking sad because they used to be in Sony's pants and they made better games back then.

Yeah. Amplitude was really polished and arguably had better music, but FreQuency had better play style. You could loop around, instead of hitting a wall, and the Multiplier indicator in Amplitude would often cover up notes. Plus they were the first music games to have online play.

But with MS, they're 360 exclusive for a while for games and DLC, to the point where they got FUCKED UP in Europe and Australia (Australia still doesn't have RB2) because of delays. And all the OFFICIALLY LICENSED accessories are 360 only, like 90% of Madcatz guitars, the Stage Kit, Microphone, etc.. 360 version gets RBN, patch first, Message of the Day, song deletion and caching to make boot-ups faster, songs two days early and a bunch of other shit.

Really, they could launch the DLC at anytime, but they choose to do it three days before the PS3 just to be dicks. (Monday at midnight is Tuesday for them)

How about that Rock Band Japan? I swear their PR is god damn horrible. Announce, then never comment again.

Yeah, I'm ranting, I'll be done now, but I'm sick of how everyone is all over Harmonix's dick.

[pilonv1]

I thought Sony only allows updates on Fridays.

[Mr. Gundam]

I thought Sony only allows updates on Fridays.

The Japanese store updates whenever they feel like it. Europe and North America appear to be Thursday only unless it's something special (E3, Gamescom, etc.).

[M3wThr33]

I thought Sony only allows updates on Fridays.

I meant for the 360.

SCEA is obviously Thursday afternoon, but for some reason they do it two days earlier on the 360.

It's not a horribly big deal, and it helps as a kind of review system to protect against stuff I might not want to buy (Snow is REALLLY boring and Papa Roach's Last Resort has FUCKED UP vocals), but it just serves as a reminder each week that "Oh yeah, 360, MS, give us money. Nnnnggg. Beatles Rock Band at E3 at MS conference? With the real Beatles? Of course! 360 only... _{DLC for 3 months on a crappy song.}"

[The Fake Shemp]

Sounds like you should have bought a Xbox 360.

[MyNameIsMethodis]

I hate how harmonix lies, especially in the case of that papa roach song. Don't tell me it's the fucking album verison when it's clearly not .Same with El Scorcho.

[M3wThr33]

I hate how harmonix lies, especially in the case of that papa roach song. Don't tell me it's the fucking album verison when it's clearly not .Same with El Scorcho.

Yeah, it's clear they just take what the studio gives them without questioning it. Like the Fall Out Boy song that censors "God" in "It's not a scene, It's an arm race."

The label provides everything, Harmonix does no censoring, but apparently they were fine leaving that GAPING HOLE in the song, while El Scorcho has it in there.

And holy fuck, have you played Clint Eastwood? It goes on for like 20 minutes. At least GH5 added a song length display to the chart. I wish either one would be like Amplitude or Singstar and show a line of song progress. You can SORT OF judge by stars you earned, but seriously, 4 years of these games and no song length indicator?

[MyNameIsMethodis]

Yeah I got burned ont he music store by that. I was exploring on the music store, heard "Thank You Boys" by Janes Addiction and thought it was some jazz fusion song, bought it for FULL PRICE and got burned because it's only like :30 long