Rock Band reviewed by a rock guitarist
November 29th 2007 01:45
Well, Slate did, and Carrie Brownstein, guitarist of Sleater-Kinney, wrote a fascinating piece about her interaction with the Rock Band kit.
Brownstein was a consultant on the game, though, as she writes:
"The creative directors told me that the ideas were funny but that I "wasn't putting rock on a pedestal" in a necessary way. Apparently, the other writing team took music more seriously than I did. It was like waking up and realizing I had been in Spinal Tap all of these years."
Musicans pooh-pooh Rock Band as a way for the 'normals' to taste a bit of rock n' roll, and they're quickly dismayed to find how their beloved chops and licks have been simplified into Fisher Price colours and buttons.
Brownstein played the game with one of the sales reps, and she thought it was passable. After he left, she packed it away and went back to her everyday life... only something gnawed at her...
"At approximately 8 p.m., I plugged in a guitar, selected solo tour mode, and played Rock Band for three hours straight. I was sweating, quickly developing a callous on my thumb, and had a splitting headache. Still, I could not stop. My "band" had worked its way up from our hometown of Paris all the way to New York! We had a manager, a tour bus, and were able to afford better clothing and fancier instruments.
Even though some of my band mates—all avatars—had green dreadlocks or belly button rings (things that I usually find offensive), it didn't matter; we were good, we were going places. And probably the best part about the tour with my Rock Band band was that even though I went to sleep feeling like I had been inside a shopping mall for the past few hours, I slept in my own bed that night."
Even though some of my band mates—all avatars—had green dreadlocks or belly button rings (things that I usually find offensive), it didn't matter; we were good, we were going places. And probably the best part about the tour with my Rock Band band was that even though I went to sleep feeling like I had been inside a shopping mall for the past few hours, I slept in my own bed that night."
She quickly came to some conclusions about the game, and found it to be a good enough replica of the experience... though nothing can beat the sheer thrill of playing to 80 000 people at Madison Square Garden, it comes close, with those powerful graphics processors cranking out enough virtual fans to scream at you.
In case you're not sure who Sleater-Kinney is, watch their performance on Letterman:
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