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Guitar Hero Must Die!
12:48 PM GMT 06/01/2009
The new generation of music games are sounding a widdly-widdly death knell for rock’n’roll, argues MOJO’s Mick Farren.
SATURATION YULETIDE ADVERTISING has finally convinced me that virtual music games like Guitar Hero and Rock Band, in which participants attempt to “play” classic metal solos by following flashing light sequences on guitar-shaped plastic peripherals, pose an even greater threat to the future of rock’n’roll than Simon Cowell.
For confirmation that these games are an unpleasant victory for short-attention commercial exploitation, we need look no further than a South Park episode titled Guitar Queer-o, in which Stan and Kyle become Guitar Hero heroes, and, when Stan’s dad attempts to teach the fourth graders to actually play a real guitar, Cartman scathingly responds that “real guitars are for old people”.
What’s being exploited here is as old as rock’n’roll itself. Few of us have not, at some time in our lives, or perhaps as recently as this morning, played clandestine air guitar or posed in front of a mirror pretending to be Elvis, Jimi, Joe Strummer, or even Joe Satriani. But the global electronic game corporations who have co-opted this youthful narcissism into a competitive game of manual dexterity, with plastic reproductions of Gibsons and Fenders, are having a negative impact on music’s future. OK, so we tolerated Tom Cruise dancing around in his underwear to Bob Seger in Risky Business, but enough is, culturally speaking, enough.
Guitar Hero and Rock Band broaden the perceived gulf between performer and audience by pandering to the most juvenile extremes of rock’n’roll idol worship. Worse than that, they betray the great populist promise of rock’n’roll – which has held good from the days of The Shadows – that any garage band with a set of cheap instruments and perfunctory chops can achieve icon status if it gets the breaks and is sufficiently relentless.
Equally unpleasant is the unseemly rush by many of our current guitar “heroes” to lease their music for inclusion. Among the shameless are Aerosmith, Metallica, Motorhead, AC/DC and the Sex Pistols, while The Beatles and the Jimi Hendrix estate are reportedly ready to deal. Whether or not this is more heinous than flogging one’s songs for TV commercials is open to debate, but the basic absurdity is underscored by the song Thunderhorse by DethKlok – the fictional death metal band from the US TV cartoon show Metalocalypse – being incorporated in Guitar Hero II.
At a time when musical education in schools has become a cause célèbre, the promotion of video games that offer nothing more than a closed loop of virtual experience, devoid of creativity, does nothing to help. A spokesman for the game makers has claimed that they teach “sensitivity to rhythm, as well as develop the dexterity and independent hand usage necessary to play the instrument”, but this seems disingenuous when the games do nothing to impart the real fundamentals of music.
And just to add injury to insult, an outfit called Mad Catz in San Diego, California will retrofit a perfectly good Fender Telecaster, replacing strings, pickups and fretboard with the input controls for Rock Band.
Is nothing sacred?
Mick Farren blogs at Doc40.blogspot.com
Posted by Danny_Eccleston at 12:48 PM GMT 06/01/2009
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absolutely correct i am fourteen and i play guitar and drums and i agree that guitar hero and rockband are so unrealistc especially the guitar used in the game
Posted by Luke O'Doherty at 12:41 PM GMT 07/01/2009 Report Abuse
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Seems like some people are taking these games far too seriously. Simply put, they are tremendous FUN. Easy to pick up and play, they are a good laugh and allow music fans who are non-musicians to live out their rock star dreams.
These games won't deter anyone with any real desire to learn an instrument from doing so. If someone is lazy enough to be put off by a game then what's the big loss? Not everybody wants to form a band or has the time (or even the ability) to master playing an instrument, but who doesn't want to emulate the feeling of blaring out some power chords, no matter how unrealistically?
And there is nothing wrong with "the most juvenile extremes of rock’n’roll idol worship" - sorry teacher, but rock'n'roll isn't school!
Posted by Ollie Thompson at 6:01 PM GMT 07/01/2009 Report Abuse
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and i thought i was an old man....
i'm 48,french (sorry for my english) and used to buy records from the age of 10.
There has been almost 8 years without buying a single lp or 12" because of the web.Yes,like a lot of people i download.Why pay something you can have for free ?
Since rockband & guitar hero i started buying again music to play guitar on.And my sons used to play on "highway star" then asked me to listen to the deep purple lp and discovered this music of the "ancient time" as they say.
These games ARE the future of rock n roll.No doubt...
Time is moving on with rock music.You stay far behind,it's your choice.
Remember the same story with synthetiser ???
Posted by jeeesus at 8:19 PM GMT 07/01/2009 Report Abuse
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It's all a load of bollocks.
Posted by Sweary Stan at 12:24 AM GMT 08/01/2009 Report Abuse
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if anything we need less kids forming bands - it's not like there's a rock music shortage, is there? if guitar hero has done one great thing for music it's kept talentless idiots from actually bothering to learn instruments and form appalling rock bands.
Posted by mat at 9:51 AM GMT 08/01/2009 Report Abuse
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"Technology risks killing Art"
- Marcel Duchamp
Posted by Alan Lord, Montreal at 3:34 PM GMT 08/01/2009 Report Abuse
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"Technology risks killing Art"
- Marcel Duchamp
Posted by Alan Lord, Montreal at 3:38 PM GMT 08/01/2009 Report Abuse
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This is ridiculous !
People are getting far too carried away.
My brother recently got 'guitar hero world tour' for christmas.
My boyfriend and I have often played on it and whilst realising that it's NOTHING like playing a real instrument (he used to play bass and me, guitar), we genuinly had alot of fun.
I think it's all being taken way too seriously and I think people need to grow up about the whole thing and realise that rock 'n' roll is about having a good time - and thus, it does just that.
Infact, if anything it's encouraged me to pick up my guitar again and have a good play.
To be fair, as my brother pointed out, people most just tap the buttons, bang the drums, whatever. They play it like it's a game, not like it's a musical instrument.
It's like those steering wheels you get for car computer games... chill out !
No one is stealing your thunder all you musicians out there !
Posted by missxamber at 5:50 PM GMT 08/01/2009 Report Abuse
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This is ridiculous !
People are getting far too carried away.
My brother recently got 'guitar hero world tour' for christmas.
My boyfriend and I have often played on it and whilst realising that it's NOTHING like playing a real instrument (he used to play bass and me, guitar), we genuinly had alot of fun.
I think it's all being taken way too seriously and I think people need to grow up about the whole thing and realise that rock 'n' roll is about having a good time - and thus, it does just that.
Infact, if anything it's encouraged me to pick up my guitar again and have a good play.
To be fair, as my brother pointed out, people most just tap the buttons, bang the drums, whatever. They play it like it's a game, not like it's a musical instrument.
It's like those steering wheels you get for car computer games... chill out !
No one is stealing your thunder all you musicians out there !
Posted by missxamber at 5:50 PM GMT 08/01/2009 Report Abuse
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The interesting thing is that the game is quite metronomic so is a good trainer for rhythmic time. If you play guitar or drums- it helps you get a strict idea of how rhythm works. To say that rock band and guitar hero are some how detrimental to the development of good music or even to the good old rock and roll attitude is silly. Equivalent to a preacher saying rock is evil when it first turned up in the world over 60 years ago. It is just a video game for f*ck sake.
Posted by sonardog at 5:37 AM GMT 09/01/2009 Report Abuse
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I get so annoyed with people who write blogs or articles criticizing people for doing things they enjoy doing. Not only that, but you are so out of touch with your understanding of what these games do for the people that play them, and music as a whole.
The statement by the game makers is right on, and consider the skill required to see numerous button combinations at sometimes ridiculous speeds and react as well as keep timing with the song. In addition to this extraordinary display of reaction time, it opens up the ears to all instruments within the songs, something that casual listeners do not pay attention to. The amount of brain stimulation in these games is actually amazing, and if anything, they are inspiring for those casual music listeners to become more interested in all the music out there and learn about and appreciate music that they may not have been familiar with before.
If you want to become great at music fundamentally and realistically, then you are going to take the strides to become knowledgeable and pursue that. How these games negatively affect that, I cannot figure out based on your blog.
You don't have any evidence to support this argument and quite frankly, if you are attributing a correlation between crappy bands in today's popular music to video games, then you must have missed that whole period from the 70s to now where popular music slowly deteriorated in quality and creativity due to the ruthlessness of record companies and the ignorance of listeners.
You really make it sound as if people can't have a guilty pleasure and enjoy something that is just fun for them. Whether it merits any value musically is not always the point; sometimes people just enjoy things because it's time off from the real world. If you listen to music, you listen to it because you enjoy it and it means something to you. Well maybe the same thing holds true for the people that love these games. Get out of your pretentious little box and realize that people do things because it makes them happy, accept that truth, do your own thing, and stop complaining. Unless of course complaining is your thing, then feel free to do so for the people who care. The majority of people and myself don't.
Posted by James Minock at 5:24 AM GMT 10/01/2009 Report Abuse
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This too shall pass.
Posted by J Neo Marvin at 5:58 AM GMT 10/01/2009 Report Abuse
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RE: Alan Lord, Montreal
Art is an expression.. Technology can only kill art once the commodity can get there hands on it. Once that happens you start making art for that reason. The commodity. Embrace technology. Im not for or against here, i've never understood why some ppl just cant let sleeping dogs lie.
Posted by Merlyn at 3:59 AM GMT 14/01/2009 Report Abuse
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I've played guitar for 20 years and I thought it was pretty good fun; chill out it's only a game.
Posted by Mumble Fish at 5:18 PM GMT 14/01/2009 Report Abuse
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This article does bring to light the absolute cynicalism that we have seen in the music industry today. As a guitarist, I find the games demeaning of the art. Sure, it shows kids who only listen to Akon and Shakira one song by many great classic rock artists, but do they know who Echo and the Bunnymen, Celtic Frost, or Rory Gallagher are? No. Also, it cuts out the joys of learning the music of one's heroes and songwriting with the new chops one learned.
Posted by Brendan Rome at 10:07 PM GMT 24/01/2009 Report Abuse
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Right on! I totally agree.
If you really want to hear some (classic) kick ass guitar playing, check out
Richie Callison (former vocalist for Geezer Butler). Classic Les Paul-Marshall riffing. You can only get that good by years of playing! This aint no American idol shit!
I found it on itunes & myspace.
Posted by MT at 2:58 AM GMT 25/01/2009 Report Abuse
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This was bound to happen. The economy's tanking, keeping people from having the money to buy real instruments. Plus, more people are increasingly living in shared housing or apartments that are not conducive to playing live instruments. This game isn't a phase; it's here to stay as long as we maintain a poorly realized, limited society.
Plus, raise your hand if you've tried to start a band but had conflicting schedules with 9 of the 10 people you play with. Perhaps I'm getting personal here but I can't be the only one that finds it tough to start an actual band up.
Posted by Sergei at 8:51 AM GMT 30/01/2009 Report Abuse
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Mick baby...do you have kids? If you do and your kids play GH you would realize how the game has the exact opposite effect than your referenced South Park episode. My 11-year old son has been a Cream fanatic for the last two years because of he heard Sunshine of Your Love on GH. Now we discuss classic rock details like how George Harrison played lead on Badge, or who is the better guitarist, Hendrix or Clapton? Come on man, the world is changing, rock and roll MUST change. Sorry dude, but you really do sound like a relic when you slam things your really aren't in touch with. I should also mention that everyone has sold out in one form or another---The Stooges, Search and Destroy for Nike ring a bell? Buzzcocks, Ramones, etc. etc., etc. Further, while they are great rock and roll songs, what are we supposed to do, lock them in time box for a couple of hundred years? I could go on and on. The bigger question is...why has rock and roll become a career choice rather than a true act of rebellion.
Oh, did I mention that my son has been practicing acoustic guitar for the last year, and is actually getting pretty good, all because of that evil GH? And while I may have given him a tiny push, there's no way in hell that he would have gotten off on a Rolling Stones song without GH, no matter how much I would have tried to convince him just how great they were in their heyday. From my perch, it seems that the game turns kids on to classic rock and forces them to think about how someone like The Who can result in Guided by Voices so many years later. I was clueless to this kind of thinking when I was 11...I though ELP were great.
Posted by on enterFrame at 2:48 PM GMT 31/01/2009 Report Abuse
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Mick baby...do you have kids? If you do and your kids play GH you would realize how the game has the exact opposite effect than your referenced South Park episode. My 11-year old son has been a Cream fanatic for the last two years because of he heard Sunshine of Your Love on GH. Now we discuss classic rock details like how George Harrison played lead on Badge, or who is the better guitarist, Hendrix or Clapton? Come on man, the world is changing, rock and roll MUST change. Sorry dude, but you really do sound like a relic when you slam things your really aren't in touch with. I should also mention that everyone has sold out in one form or another---The Stooges, Search and Destroy for Nike ring a bell? Buzzcocks, Ramones, etc. etc., etc. Further, while they are great rock and roll songs, what are we supposed to do, lock them in time box for a couple of hundred years? I could go on and on. The bigger question is...why has rock and roll become a career choice rather than a true act of rebellion.
Oh, did I mention that my son has been practicing acoustic guitar for the last year, and is actually getting pretty good, all because of that evil GH? And while I may have given him a tiny push, there's no way in hell that he would have gotten off on a Rolling Stones song without GH, no matter how much I would have tried to convince him just how great they were in their heyday. From my perch, it seems that the game turns kids on to classic rock and forces them to think about how someone like The Who can result in Guided by Voices so many years later. I was clueless to this kind of thinking when I was 11...I thought ELP were great.
Posted by on enterFrame at 2:48 PM GMT 31/01/2009 Report Abuse
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Wow. This is a huge load of bullshit. Just straight up, biased, unfounded, uninformative, fallacious bullshit. Of course, some people have elaborated on what I mean (in much less colorful language mind you), but if this isn't the most generic and repetitive form of trolling towards rhythm gamers, I don't know what is. This time in blog form. YAY!
Posted by francisco at 1:02 PM GMT 13/02/2009 Report Abuse
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