A few months ago I was going to do a write-up on the “music game” genre. More specifically, I was going to speak on the ridiculousness that has become the genre, and what I thought to be basic mediocrity. This was right around the time Guitar Hero 5 was announced as well as Guitar Hero: Metallica, Guitar Hero: Van Halen, Guitar Hero: Polka, and Guitar Hero: Roy Orbison. Okay, I made the last two up, but you get my drift. The market is too saturated for these games to matter. I don’t need anymore SingStar, RockBand, WiiMusic, Band Hero, Guitar Hero, Violin Hero, Spoonman Band, or any of the iterations that EA and/or Activision feel the need to pump out in a few months. Granted, I’m sure that at least 98% of my animosity towards these games has to do with the music. I like maybe 2 or 3 Metallica songs (and that’s stretching it), the same can be said for Van Halen. The Rock Bands and Guitar Heros are jam packed with music that I’ve never even heard. I don’t listen to the music that these games give us, and they don’t put enough of the older stuff that I actually like on the game disk. That’s another thing, why the hell do I want to pay like $200 for the game and instruments, then have to pay for more songs?? I have a hard enough time justifying paying for real music that I can actually listen to, like in real life , so I’ll be damned if I’m going to pay $3 for four Creed songs. (Side note: I’m originally from Tallahassee and that’s where Creed first made it big. I say big in very loose terms. Are they still alive even? I think the singer like turned into Jesus or something. God, Creed sucked.) What I’m trying to say is, these games may be fun and have their place in the world, but almost all of them are not for me. Almost…

Then came The Beatles: Rock Band and the upcoming DJ Hero. Let me be as blunt as possible here: I am hip-hop. It is more than just music to me. Other than Mrs. Mike, hip-hop is the most influential thing in my life. Even more important than The Spin, I know, I’m sorry. I am also a major fan of The Beatles. Who isn’t though? I think if you had to leave a full catalog from one artist in a time vault to be discovered in 1000 years, you’d have to leave The Beatles. I would have no problem whatsoever leaving their music for the Autobots who discover our planet in the year 3000 to rock out to. I have not played The Beatles:RB yet, and I’ve also not played DJ Hero, but they both look amazing. Thing is, they look great for different and the same reasons. If that makes sense. The Beatles looks amazing because of the music that is presented, as well as the way Harmonix has presented it. The fact that the music on the game is 100% Beatles is a major bonus. I don’t want to have to play through 4 songs by Death Cab For Cutie before I get to one song I’ve actually heard and like. (Side note: Mrs. Mike will argue that I have heard Death Cab many times and I do like them. I will deny this to the death!) DJ Hero looks amazing because of the music. It’s not just the fact that DJ Shadow, DJ Yoda, Grandmaster Flash, Z-Trip, J. Period, Cut Chemist, Jazzy Jeff, (I could go on for-effing-ever here except I’m a bit dizzy thinking about it), are all creating new music for the game, but that the music they make will be accessible to the masses. As a young backpacker this thought would have angered me, now I love it. Everyone should be able to hear the music that Daft Punk can make, or feel the emotion that Shadow expresses with a turntable. You’re going to hear a lot more about DJ Hero from me in the future, so let’s consider this part one of a running commentary. Below you’ll find a DJ Shadow interview speaking on the game, as well as some J. Period & Daft Punk gameplay. For an added bonus I’ll give you my favorite Beatles song ever done Wii style. Enjoy, and stay thirsty my friends.

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