Nice Drum Solo, Mr. Furher

Listening to Don & Mike last night I heard the lovely folks from Fred Phelps' Westboro Baptist Church will protest at Heath Ledger’s funeral (guess why). Bile rising, I wondered: “Is there anything I could agree with him on? Other than the value of a good comb over and (possibly) simple arithmatic?

The next, (hopefully) more interesting question: If you could sit down and have a conversation with some of history’s great monsters, are there topics on which you could reach a meeting of the minds? Did Stalin like baseball? Could Pol Pot extemporize on economics? Given the opportunity, would Hitler throw down on Guitar Hero [Insert “99 Red Balloons” or “This rock will last 1,000 years!” joke here).

The best Wikipedia reference posted in the comments by Friday, February 1 will receive $3 from me via Paypal. Entries along the lines of “we both like expensive cars” or “I wish I had a harem” will be read with interest, but probably not rewarded. References to obscure, especially nasty fellows will receive extra points in my (entirely arbitrary) rating system.

Alternate post title: "God is the Toughest Movie Critic of All"

Why Rock Band has paved the way for Turntable Hero (DJ Hero? Hip-Hop Hero?)

When I googled "Turntable Hero" and "DJ Hero", the only article that seemed relevant was this article from a blog on MTV.com.

The main issue with "Turntable Hero" was the on-screen lyrics. Apparently, people are self-conscious of singing in front of others.

First, here's an article from WikiHow on how to get over being self-conscious.

Second, as the owner of Rock Band, I have seen several of my friends get on the mic and belt out some terrible versions of Bon Jovi's "Dead or Alive" and other assorted songs. And there's no shame in that.

Third, Turntable Hero (ok, maybe Hip-Hop Hero is better) wouldn't focus on the rapping, just like Rock Band doesn't focus on the singing. That is only one part of the fun in Rock Band. Turntable Hero would be about two turntables (and a microphone?)...scratching it out and laying down some phat fat beats.

Then, you can throw in the rapping. And maybe even dancing? Maybe that would be too much like Dance Dance Revolution. Maybe instead Break Dancing (Revolution) integrated into Hip-Hop Hero?

Maybe the kit should come with two sets of turntables from the beginning. DJ battles as well as rap battles. I can see people getting shot because of these ideas....

Back to the point about people being afraid to sing. Karaoke anyone? Plenty of people do karaoke and love it. With karoake, most of the time the motivator is booze (and/or boozed up friends). So, Hip-Hop Hero just has to market itself as a game to get crunk drunk and have scratch/rap offs with your friends.

Everyone wins.

As a totally non-scientific test to prove that video game singing technology is pretty good, I threw in Rock Band and started a career on Expert. I will say I am average to slightly above average at carrying a tune. I played enough piano that I should be semi-decent (10 years). I am in no way an American Idol.

That being said, I attempted to sing three songs. I knew the first two, but wasn't very familiar with the third. Here are the results:

• "Say It Ain't So" - 3 1/2 stars - 85% notes hit - 2 phrase streak - 41,630
  
• "In Bloom" - 3 1/2 stars - 78% notes hit - 3 phrase streak - 61,690
  
• "Paranoid" (Black Sabbath) - 31% complete - booed off stage twice

It is somewhat of a challenge to do well at the hardest level. So, for those who want a challenge, it is there (Hard and Expert difficulty). For those who just want to rock out, that is also available (Easy and Medium difficulty).


Thanks to Rock Band, people have become comfortable with the singing aspect of video games. Rapping is just another form of vocalization. Now that we've gotten over that fear, there are fewer barriers to entry for Hip-Hop Hero and an even bigger market. Come on Harmonix, let's make this happen....

[Insert Name Here] and the Lords of the Underworld

The list of bonus tracks for Rock Band has been released. My internal monologue while scanning:

Who are these people... I don't know any of these songs... Wait, what was
that!? OMFG they have Timmy and the Lords of the Underworld! OMMFG, how will the singing along work?! This will produce the BEST YouTube videos ever! Yes!
YES!!!

I can't wait.