Music ID

http://hub.guitarhero.com/#/GuitarHero101

http://www.rockband.com/

What else has inspired this return to Classic Rock roots? Many would say it’s a new media: video games. The two leading competitors in music gaming are Rock Band and Guitar Hero. Although neither began with the support of mainstream rock bands, especially Classic Rock bands, they have morphed into a legitimate advertising venue for this music. In fact, now are musicians not only liking the idea of sharing their music, they want to become more involved. http://games.gearlive.com/playfeed/tag/guitar+hero According to a news post on this blogging site, more and more artists will be signing with a specific company like Aerosmith with Guitar Hero.

 An article for msnbc.com states that kids and teens are enjoying more music from the past as a direct result of these video games. “It’s not an isolated case. “Guitar Hero” and “Rock Band” are exposing kids to music that they otherwise wouldn’t pay attention to on the airwaves.” (Mary Jane Irwin http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/23579676/) In fact, the article even implies that youths can become more connected to their parents in this manner, by identifying with the old folks music. Could this possibly be a method of combating the ever worrysome teenage rebellion epidemic? Could this be a way to mend the often strained relationships between teens and parents?

            Others view the games as a dilution of  musical purity. http://mikebm.wordpress.com/2008/07/03/the-truth-behind-music-playing-games/ The author of this blog argues that the playing of the music as a game diminishes or entirely eliminates the artistic and creative quality of it. He does admit that it has been influential in the popular “discovery” of less well-known bands and the rebirth of the classics. But to many “true” musicians, the game is not only frustrating for them to play because of the lack of actual connection between the game and the skill, but also insulting. Now every kid can think they are some sort of Rock legend because they can simply play a plastic model of a guitar. This attitude could be compared to the teenage gamer who believes they can drive a racecar or fire an automatic weapon. In actuality, the game mimics the appearance of the skill, but not really the technical aspect. (Even with the drums, which could be the closest replication of the real deal, the timing of the player is slightly off of the screen prompt, so what feels like proper rythym is not correct for the game.)

            I must ask the rhetorical question: what will become of the neighborhood garage band? Since teenagers no longer need to actually play the instruments in order to play the songs, will they even try? The games give almost instant gratification. Instead of spending long hours developing skills and practicing techniques, a person can reach faux celebrity status with the push of a few buttons in succession. Will our youths cease to become creative themselves in the pursuit of imitation?

            So these games may have helped to bring back the popularity of Classic Rock but at what cost? Are bands trading the idealism of Rock for the idolatry of money? Are they sacrificing respect as brilliant musicians for gaining a new fan club? And what kind of fans are these gamers, can they really appreciate the music that they find so easy to replicate?

            What is obvious is that the comeback is nothing like the original. It must be weird for a musician to see oneself as a computer generated image on a bigscreen.  Instead of collecting albums and actually learning to play the songs on real instruments, kids now only have to plug into the TV and they are instant Rock Stars! 

This entry was posted on Thursday, November 13th, 2008 at 3:03 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.