A Pen, a Pique and a Plan

Rock Band DLC, week of 19 August

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 20:01:34 GMT

Ahh, now this week brings us some DLC I can really sink my teeth into.

"Girl U Want" by Devo (newly recorded for Rock Band)

"Through Being Cool" by Devo (newly recorded for Rock Band)

"Girls on Film" by Duran Duran (master)

"Rio" by Duran Duran (master)

"Get Your Rock On" by The Janitors (master)

$1.99/MS160 per track for Devo and Duran, $0.99/MS80 for The Janitors.

Mmm, new wavy. Yes please.

Suck on that!

Wed, 13 Aug 2008 23:00:36 GMT

YEAH THAT'S RIGHT

WHO MY BITCH NOW

Shenanigans!

Mon, 11 Aug 2008 02:43:37 GMT

Mike just beat Rock Band drums on hard an now he's got 10 more gamer points than me!

A Night in Review

Sun, 10 Aug 2008 03:24:38 GMT

I'm fresh from my consumption of the opening ceremonies ... relatively speaking, as I started writing this about 5 hours ago. I got up nice and early (a bit earlier than I wanted, in truth), got my shower out of the way, and settled in.

(He didn't get the chance, but Mike was going to print us up mock tickets, which I think is just about the sweetest thing EVAR, and earned him massive points.)

My watching began around 10a. We were going out to DVD at the same time, marking the first Olympics that will be all-digital archiving for us, and is probably more exciting than it should be. Seriously, I still have a stack of Olympic tapes from '88 to '04 that is probably taller than me, so this is huge.

I managed to finish just in time to rush out the door to work. Which now, naturally, leaves me with opinions a'plenty. And I, of course, must share.

First of all, they were beautiful. Gorgeous. The planning, the precision, was unrivaled. I really enjoyed watching them.

But they were by no means the best opening ceremonies I've ever seen or, I suspect, ever will see.

Bob Costas (typically a complete ass at these things but managing to actually NOT make me want to stab him in the face this time around, wonder of wonders) said that they should just hang it up and no future ceremonies will ever live up to these. I've seen the sentiment echoed a few times online, with both more and less hyperbole.

I don't see it.

Again, I emphasize that I thought they were beautiful, wonderfully choreographed, and it's very clear that no amount of time and effort (and money) was spared. Unfortunately, no amount of any of these things can infuse ... heart.

That's what I think was noticably absent. I think it's clear that China was using those ceremonies (and indeed, the Olympics as a whole) to change their image in the world's eye. While we were watching, Mike noted the lack intensity and bluster. It was all very subdued, nothing very much in your face -- save fireworks of course, but then, I'd like to see a subtle firework. "Pagentry" is really the best word for it. Lots of grace and style, all of which was certainly very specifically chosen. The world already sees China as a major force, harsh and aggressive. The last thing they want to do is feed into that image. Soft and beautiful, these were the buzzwords.

But still, despite this showcase to the world, I never felt the warmth that I've come to expect from the opening ceremonies. I felt like I was looking at a delicate glass sculpture, something I was invited to gaze at and admire but never, ever touch. I've never felt so detached from an Olympics opening ceremonies before.

I think that's probably more a commentary on China, and a result of just how very vitally important these games are to the country. I think they were so very desperate to have everything be perfect that they removed part of what makes art so important: the humanity.

They went for perfection and I think they darn near achieved it. The amount of precision necessary to perform these truly incredibly feats really didn't allow for anything less. Or, sadly, anything more.

I think the drum sequence in the beginning best exemplifies this. It was spectacular, truly fantastic. Until you got up close to the drummers themselves and their frozen, plastic, blank smiles. They were told to smile more because they were coming across too severe, but the total effect was to strip away a part of themselves and leave something hollow and empty in its place.

That's sort of how I felt after watching them too.

Really, I don't think any future games have a thing to worry about. London? Don't sweat it, you'll do fine. You can't compete technologically, and you can't compete in scope, but what's important to remember is that you don't have to. Be yourself. You never have a problem with that, do you? We'll watch some cool stuff, we'll have a pint, and we'll both be grinning before the night is out.

China? If there's a next time, please, don't try so hard. You want me to like you, but you're keeping me at arm's length. Loosen up a little bit, let me get to know you. But you can bring the flatscreen. I bet Heroes looks awesome on that.

The Torch Passes

Sat, 09 Aug 2008 04:06:17 GMT

Somewhere -- everywhere -- the opening ceremonies are playing.

But not here.

Here it's just me, my Olympicless monitors, and my calls.

I'm saying it doesn't bother me much, but it does. I've seen every single Olympic opening ceremonies, live, or at least as live as NBC will let us get these days, but that's a rant I won't get into now, especially not when I did it so well back in 2000 ... digressing. Let me start again.

I've seen every single Olympic opening ceremonies as live as possible since at least 1984. And possibly as far back as 1980, if my mother could remember if I was watching with her when we were in London.

But this year, I will get my Olympics on via TiVo, a casuality of my work schedule.

Mike's going above and beyond to make it special for me despite that. We have plans to spend all of tomorrow plonked in front of the couch where I can enjoy it all and pretend that it's the night before.

It won't be though.

It's my fault. If I hadn't waffled for months with my conscience about even watching them this year, I could've requested the day off in enough time to watch. But then I committed and it was too late.

Somewhere, a flame is burning. This year, it burns without me seeing it come to life.

Dammit.

Rock Band DLC, week of 12 August

Fri, 08 Aug 2008 20:05:34 GMT

This week brings us the "Roadrunner" pack, my guess is it's so named for the metal record label. And what does it contain?

"Runnin' Wild" by Airbourne - They didn't say they had AC/DC this week! Oh, wait, it's not? Well whatever, sounds like it really really wants to be and does a pretty good job of it too.
"Clouds Over California" by DevilDriver - Death metal. I can never make up my bloody mind on death metal. I'm very love/hate. Death metal would probably appreciate that.
"Constant Motion" by Dream Theater - Dream Theater are what I think Metallica probably could've (should've?) become 20 years or so back. This is a very good song and I think more than worth my dollar.
"My Curse" by Killswitch Engage - Tied into GH3 in my head and I didn't enjoy it too much there. Overall unimpressed.
"Aesthetics of Hate" by Machine Head - Thrash, which I'm often meh on, but fantastic guitar work. LOVE the arpeggio section. I'm still undecided though, and may want to see the chart on this one first. (As an aside, gotta appreciate the metal variety in this pack.)
"Sleepwalker" by Megadeth - I never really got too much into new Megadeth but this doesn't sound too bad, hm.

Obviously not a pack for the non-metal fans out there. But if that's not you and you're interested, you'll want to buy it in the first month. The price is $5.99/MS480 for the six-pack or $0.99/MS80 each. After the initial month, it'll go up to $9.99/MS800 for the pack or $1.99/MS160 each.

Oh. Well. Okay then.

Tue, 05 Aug 2008 07:25:12 GMT

Device shipped to customer - Your console has been repaired or replaced. We are shipping it back to you.

Okay, hands up that they pretty much just slapped a shipping label on a new console and pushed it out the door?

Red Ring Revisited

Mon, 04 Aug 2008 17:43:53 GMT

Update: Received at repair facility very late Friday, 1 August.

Bitch:

So the same day I RRoD'd, I called Microsoft. It was a painless procedure to get it confirmed that the thing was busted and get a pre-paid UPS shipping label e-mailed to me. Printed it out, had the console shipped the same day (Monday, 28 July).

Absolutely no complaints about this part. It was a smooth, hassle-free, and my primary goal of getting the thing to them so they can fix it was accomplished with zero headaches.

It's sort of from there that I'm starting to lose the hell out of my temper.

See, I had a concern outside of just the 360 repair. Mike and I have been talking about upgrading to an Elite. It's got the pretty HDMI (we didn't have our spiffy TV at the time we bought the console), has a hard drive that's about, oh, 6x bigger -- a big selling point with Rock Band 2 on the horizon and its ability to rip out the songs from Rock Band 1 to your HD -- and, given the current state of things, has the extra bonus of being here RIGHT NOW.

But there's the licensing thing.

The downloadable content you buy is licensed to you, but it's tied to the console as well. So if you have a licensed console, anybody on that console can play it at any time. But if you're NOT on a licensed console, then the owner has to be logged in and connected online to verify permissions. (God bless you, DRM.)

Recently, Microsoft put into place the ability for the user to switch their license to another console ... but you only get one shot per year.

My concern was this: if they replace my console rather than repair it, then does that replaced console become my "one shot" at license transfer?

I spent half that morning on the phone with Xbox support trying to find out.

I asked the first person I spoke to, the one who created my ticket. They said that yes, if the console was replaced, that would be my one and only license transfer for another year. But that was only after me having to repeat the question three or four times in different ways, and was a pretty shaky answer. Unconvinced that this person understood what I was actually saying, I said that I'd take a look online and call back when I'd done some reading on Xbox's site.

In the meantime, I gathered my stuff together, hit the UPS store and sent her on her way.

Returning home, I read through the License Migration FAQ on xboxlive.com and remained unconvinced that this was indeed the case. From what I could see, a repair was outside of the migration tool, with it even going so far as to say, "No, you do not need to use the tool. Licenses are transferred automatically during the repair process." in response to the "My console was recently repaired; do I need to use the tool?" question. I mean, if the tool doesn't need to be used then it shouldn't thus become my once-per-year use, right?

I call again to pose this question.

I interrupt myself here to say that I know phone support. Really, it's sort of depressing to say, but I've been doing it in some capacity or another for most of my working life. I feel that I can classify myself as quickly becoming a veteran of the Xbox Support Line, and as such feel completely qualified in saying that Holy Crap They Suck. Out of the now six people I've spoken to over the course of the past week, there has been exactly ONE who was able to speak to me with anything close to confidence and enabled me to feel that hey, this person actually knows something.

Now maybe there's a lot of newbies on the phone. I'm okay with that. You gotta start somewhere and it takes a while to feel that confidence. But holy cow, if there's one thing you should learn and learn FAST it's that you always sound confident. Even if you have NO idea, you sound like you do. If you have to, you put the person on hold so you can panic in the safety and security of your private little world, then you come back with the conviction needed to stop people from continually calling back because they don't have any faith in a single word you say.

Back to my second call, which was by far the worst of the bunch. It took me a good fifteen minutes to try and make myself understood. When it finally seemed I'd gotten through, he put me on hold to go find out for sure. By "put me on hold" what I really mean is that he hit the mute button on his headset, which leaves me listening to utter silence. Not that I WANT the musak, believe me (after about the 200th iteration, even the Halo theme gets old), but there's no difference between "silence" and "disconnected" you see, and it's reassuring to know that, whatever else, you're still in there rather than perhaps in some level of hell where your cell phone has really given up it just hasn't let you know it yet.

I wait for approaching five minutes when he comes back. And to be fair, he does sound pretty confident this time. Yes, if they have to replace the console, that will be my one license swap for the year. "Okay," I reply. "Then why does it say this on your website?" and I proceed to bring up the FAQ that I already mentioned above.

Well that throws him, and the thin veneer of confidence is shattered. He starts stammering and just repeating what he already said over and over again.

Now I don't as a rule "play the game". I'm usually happy to just soldier my way through whatever problem I have with whoever the support roulette wheel gives me. But by this stage I've been on the phone with this guy for going on half an hour and feel no closer to any actual answer. What's more, he's now shown me that there's someone out there who knows more than him, and by gosh and golly, that's the person I want to talk to. So I do it. I ask to be escalated. "You've been perfectly nice," I assure him. "I just feel that we're at a communication impasse and I think that talking to somebody else might help."

"You can try calling back and see if you GET somebody else," he replies.

Yes. That was his response.

I bite my tongue. I take the high road. I don't want to, but I do.

"I'd really rather speak to someone at the next level rather than try my luck again," I say. "I'd appreciate it if you could just send me to a supervisor or whoever's at the next step up."

He doesn't say anything. I return to The Silence.

I actually had to check and see if I'd been hung up on, it was so sudden. But no, still connected. My minutes continue to drain and for the first time, I think I may actually go over this month (thank you, AT&T Rollover). But I continue to wait patiently.

And wait.

And wait some more.

After approaching the ten minutes mark on mute, I'm really starting to seethe. My cell phone snaps shut with nowhere near enough force to make me feel even a little bit better. I jab redial. "Fuck you, Max," I say to the friendly computer routing program that greets me for the third time that day. "I'm sorry, I didn't understand your question!" Max burbles back happily.

I don't remember my third call. I know I placed it and I know I talked to a female this time, but as I was soon making a fourth call, I can guess the outcome.

Finally, FINALLY, I reach someone who doesn't have to use the word "uhhh" for every other syllable. Someone who can actually talk to me without the bloody script. (How many times in a day do I have to hear, "Don't, uh, don't worry ... uhhh <pause to check> ... Nikki. I can, uhh, I can help you, uh, with, uhh, with that." before I, in complete contradiction to the point, start to worry? Turns out one. One is the magic number.) He tells me that if it's replaced, the repair guys should transfer the license on their end, which would leave the license transfer tool unused. The problem would be if they, for whatever reason, DON'T, and then I used the tool, because their system doesn't care if it's being used due to repair or being used due to upgrade, it only cares that you've used it so that it can tell you you can't use it again. I get that, that makes sense. Finally, bless'd sense is being made. "And if the repair guys DID replace my console and they DIDN'T transfer the license, then what would be my best course of action to prevent me from having to waste my one shot?" "Call us."

And that's it. Question asked, answer given. Justin, wherever you are, I love you.

Now I'd probably have to give the wheel a spin 8 times or so before getting someone who would actually understand my situation and be able to help me, but two things to that point: 1) Justin has given me hope that there is in fact intelligent life on XBox Support, and 2) that THIS IS ALL HYPOTHETICAL. All I REALLY cared about was knowing if I'd be able to get the bloody stupid licensing to my new console or if it would be shut out automatically by the repair of the old one. Since I'm going to sell the damned thing once it comes back anyway, my only real concern was not screwing myself for a year on a new one.

Oh but wait. There's more.

I spend the rest of the week watching the package process. It arrives at the Xbox repair facility in Mesquite, Texas on Friday, 1 August at around 9.30p. XBox's "manage your device" website still says that it's waiting for it, but it's late on a Friday, so no worries.

All day Saturday, it says the same thing. Still a bit of wondering here, but okay, I'll let it go.

Now Sunday I check their website, and there's nothing. No ticket opened, no information about my console present, nothing at all. So I dive back into phone support.

Truly, guys? Dump the scripts. I know you think you're doing wonders for your consistency, but all you're doing is creating a league of meat robots incapable of going beyond what their screen tells them. Honestly, the most pleasant part of this process so far has been talking to the bloody voice bot at the beginning of the call. What does it say about your support line when the fucking COMPUTER sounds more human and personable than the people waiting to greet you on the other side. If you're going to structure your center in such a way that the people can't actually be people, granted leave to think and reason as people do, then just give all the scripts to the Max-bot and be done with it.

At any rate, after telling me not to worry 10 or 20 times, she finally lets me know that that portion of the system is down at the moment but my open ticket should reappear in about an hour. Fine, thanks, bye. And she's right, it does. Still isn't checked in, but it's THERE again, so I latch on to whatever improvement I can get.

Which brings us to today. I check my happy ticket at 8.30a PT and still nothing. But it's in Texas, so it's 10.30a there, and I'm thinking that maybe it should've turned up by now. I get that the repair guys are not the phone guys, but not exactly overflowing with confidence by this stage, so I figure what the hell, my account notes must be a hoot to read by this point, why not add? Besides, I miss Max. He's always happy to hear from me.

I call up and am almost immediately assured not to worry. I'm starting to wonder if I'm not part of some grander social experiment. I explain my situation: I opened a ticket on Monday, I sent it off Monday, UPS reports it delivered Friday, here it is next Monday and you're still saying that you're waiting for it, what up? She starts to gather information. Lots of information. My name, my address, my phone, my email, my ticket reference number, my console serial number. Ironically, she DIDN'T tell me not to worry this time, and now I'm thinking to myself, "Great, they lost it." and I'm wondering how many minutes I'm going to have to spend on mute this time. I'm wishing Max were here.

Then she says, "UPS says it was delivered Friday."

"Yes. Yes I know that. I told you that. See, this is how I knew you had it."

"Okay, well we received it Friday."

"But according to your site, according to my ticket, you're still waiting."

"I have a reference number for you so you can follow the repair."

I take it. It's long. And familiar. I read it back.

"Yes, that's correct."

"So you're giving me the UPS tracking number. The tracking number that I clearly already have because I told you at the beginning of this call that I was using it on UPS's site and had seen that you received it and signed for it Friday."

"...you can see there that it says it was delivered."

"Yes, I do, and that's would be why I called you. UPS is saying one thing, and you are saying another. They say you have it, you say you don't."

"I see that UPS says they delivered it."

"Very good. I can see that too. Looking at it right now. First saw it on Friday, in fact. We are in complete agreement in what UPS is reporting. I have no arguments on this point. The point that DOES concern me is your website and the fact that it says you're still waiting to receive that which we both agree was received four days ago."

"Our site should update within 2 days."

"Yet here we are on Day 4."

"....."

"Okay, maybe it was the weekend delay. But bottom line is that your site is just inaccurate right now and I'll have to check back, right?"

"Our site *IS* accurate."

"Well UPS says it's delivered, you agree that it's been delivered, and yet your site says it's NOT been delivered. They can't both be accurate, so which is it?"

"...."

"I'll just give it another day and then call back if it's not there."

She then -- and this was the funny part -- immediately and enthusiastically leapt upon her scripted closing spiel, clinging to it like a pre-worded, corporate-approved life raft. "So you were calling for your repair status and I was able to answer your questions."

I had to laugh there. "Yeah, okay."

"Thank you ... Nikki ... for calling XBox support, my name is [whatever it was], have a nice day."

Now in the time between that call and my writing this up, I've refreshed the XBL page and it does in fact now report that my console has been received. I suspect this was indeed just a weekend-delayed step of the process being performed by Repairs and due in no part whatsoever to the contributions of [whatever it was], as I have my doubts she knows when to take a breath without a script prompting her to do so every few seconds.

The final truth is going to be in the console itself. If it's fixed then I'm happy. If, in fact, I hadn't had that question in the beginning, I probably would've had no further reason to even call support, thus would've remained blissfully unaware of how truly shitty it is. Hopefully by this time next week, I'll be able to say that in the final analysis, it was as good experience, that my box is fixed, that all looks good.

But no amount of game time is going to make the pain of these phone calls go away. They have left scars that will linger.

Please don't make me ever have to call you again, Xbox support. Believe me, neither of us wants this.

Rock Band DLC (how behind am I?)

Fri, 01 Aug 2008 18:36:12 GMT

About three weeks, in truth. I've been THAT absorbed in The Who that I haven't even really cared too much about other DLC. Which is just as well, because the last three weeks haven't really been that exciting to me personally. But hey, songs are songs. So what have I missed?

Week of 22 July

"Burn" by Nine Inch Nails
"Capital G" by Nine Inch Nails
"Last" by Nine Inch Nails
"Devour" by Shinedown
"Junkies for Fame" by Shinedown (Rock Band chart vid, cleanest sound I could find)

The NIN pack is $5.49/MS440. Individually, each track is $1.99/MS160.

Week of 29 July

"They Say" by Scars on Broadway
"This is It" by Staind
"Electric Crown" by Testament
"Yomp" by TheNewNo2

Scars on Broadway are basically System of a Down without Serj Tankian (SO NO THANK YOU), and TheNewNo2 is Dhani Harrison's (George Harrison's son) band.
All songs are $1.99/MS160 save for TheNewNo2, which is $0.99/MS80.

Week of 4 August

"Rescue Me" by Buckcherry (can't find a vid yet, I'll add one later if I locate one)
"Face Down in the Dirt" by Mötley Crüe (old Crüe gotta be coming soon ... right?)
"Life is Beautiful" by Sixx AM
"BYOB" by System of a Down (holy mother fucking ear bleed, that's switched off by 25 seconds in never to be turned on again.)
...<shudder> "Toxicity" by System of a Down

So my most hated song of all time. I'm not even linking to it. If you want to hear it, you know where YouTube is. Needless to say, they could GIVE those SOAD tracks away for free and I'd rather eat fish heads than take it. Fuck that noise.

For those not quite so repulsed as myself, those two are $1.99/MS160.
The other three are combined into Crüe Fest 3 Pack 02 for $2.99/MS240 or $0.99/MS80 each.

Taps.

Mon, 28 Jul 2008 20:35:09 GMT

We sort of knew it was coming. She started to freeze up on Mike just a few minutes into a game last night, and wouldn't play. I tried this morning and it froze. Switched it off, turned it back on, and ... well. You can see.

This means the last thing she did was play "Freebird" on Guitar Hero 2. And I think that's somehow fitting.

I've already got a ticket in with Microsoft and dropped it off at the UPS Store about an hour ago. Because you're all so desperate to know, I'll keep you posted.

Hey, you.

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 19:20:17 GMT

Yeah, you reading this. Pick a number between 1 and 100.

Get it on.

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 21:19:12 GMT

Big birthday day in LJ land apparently.

But still.

Happy birthday, alessar. :)

So you'll stop wondering ...

Sun, 20 Jul 2008 05:45:17 GMT

I don't have an opinion on Dr. Horrible.

I haven't watched Dr. Horrible.

I DIDN'T EVEN KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT DR. HORRIBLE.

Or, at least, not until about a week ago. And only then because somebody (hi thar kate) asked me about it specifically.

I am that out of touch with the fan world right now.

I am a bad ashamed bad Jet Wolf. :(

A Pretty Butterfly.

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 15:59:51 GMT

So excited beyond my ability to excite.

I hoped this wouldn't look like it sucked.

Oh does it so not look like it sucks.

RB2 Setlist, revisited.

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 19:42:16 GMT

Same list, but now with links, for those "What was that song again?" moments.

"Let There Be Rock" by AC/DC - Not my favourite AC/DC songs, but finally, it's AC-bloody-DC. It's one of those awesome "Kick off the show" songs, has Bon Scott, and you know this isn't the end of their stuff. Really, there wasn't a bad choice to be made here.
"Girl's Not Grey" by AFI
"You Oughta Know" by Alanis Morissette - I made my thoughts known on this one when it was rumoured. Going to love it.
"Man in the Box" by Alice in Chains - Probably my favourite of the non-Nirvana classic '90s grunge songs on here. I'm not sure what exactly that says, but I'm saying it.
"Ramblin' Man" by Allman Brothers - Knew they had to get that southern rock in there (an odd weakness of mine).
"Almost Easy" by Avenged Sevenfold
"Shooting Star" by Bad Company - Don't you knoooooow ...
"So What'cha Want" by Beastie Boys - It's hilarious that this in Rock Band. I like the Beasties, but I've always hated this song. By contrast, Mike loves it. This has been a point of contention between us for pretty much all of our 16 years. It was with no small amount of glee that Mike read this out. Damn him.
"E-Pro" by Beck - Even funnier that it samples the above.
"Rebel Girl" by Bikini Kill - Ignore the fanvid, it was the best sampling of the song I could find.
"White Wedding Pt. 1" by Billy Idol - Just one example of the 80s presence in Rock Band, and so, so welcome. The bassline on this is a blast.
"One Way or Another" by Blondie - Let the Blondie flow and flow and flow. A perfect RB song.
"Tangled Up in Blue" by Bob Dylan - HOLY CRAP IT'S DYLAN. Blood on the Tracks Dylan at that. Taking bets on how freaking hard it's going to be on vocals.
"Livin' on a Prayer" by Bon Jovi - Damn them for ignoring me utterly!
"Hello There" by Cheap Trick - I'm no more or less meh about this now than I was when it was rumoured.
"Uncontrollable Urge" by Devo - For all of you who thought they only ever did "Whip It".

And shit, running out of time. Okay, comments reduced to about nothing now, just enjoy links.
"Feel the Pain" by Dinosaur Jr.
"Down with the Sickness" by Disturbed
"Panic Attack" by Dream Theater
"Hungry Like the Wolf" by Duran Duran
"Pump it Up" by Elvis Costello
"Go Your Own Way" by Fleetwood Mac - So excited to hear about this. More Fleetwood Mac!
"Everlong" by Foo Fighters
"Shackler's Revenge" by Guns n' Roses - Yeah, no track for this one. I'm still frankly reeling from shock that Chinese Democracy will actually be released. Check the sky, I think it's crumbling.
"PDA" by Interpol
"Mountain Song" by Jane's Addiction
"Aqualung" by Jethro Tull - Still on the fence.
"The Middle" by Jimmy Eat World - One of the more tolerable selections from early '00s pre-emo drudgery.
"Bad Reputation" by Joan Jett - ♥
"Anyway You Want It" by Journey - I'm still sort of eh on this song (never the biggest Journey fan), but I suspect it's one of those that's going to become a favourite to play.
"Painkiller" by Judas Priest - This is going to huuuuurt. (Thus rendering the title pleasingly ironic.)
"Carry On Wayward Song" by Kansas - !!!! moar GH plz
"Pretend We're Dead" by L7 - A pleasant surprise. I liked this when it came out but it slipped out of mind after.
"Our Truth" by Lacuna Coil
"One Step Closer" by Linkin Park

Ahh fuck it, gotta run. Finish list and re-stamp tonight after work.
"My Own Worst Enemy" by Lit - Bleah. Not System of a Down bleah, but bleah. Generic and monotonous.
"De-Luxe" by Lush - I run hot and cold on shoegazing, but I applaud HMX for truly branching out with the genres in this game. I mean, Lush alongside Journey alongside Bosstones alongside Priest. That's some serious freaking range right there.
"Colony of Birchmen" by Mastodon - I admit to never really trying Mastodon so I don't have an opinion of them yet. This song has some very interesting sounds though which is encouraging.
"Peace Sells" by Megadeth - Classic metal, another awesome bass killer here. (And hee, Jello Biafra.)
"Battery" by Metallica - Anybody else just amused by having Metallica right underneath Megadeth in the list here? No? Ahh well. A good Metallica choice, and surprising given GH:Metallica due out whenever the hell. But then again, I guess never underestimate Metallica's desire for every single freaking cent they can get.
"Where'd You Go" by Mighty Mighty Bosstones - I was surprised to hear the Bosstones would be in here. I'm STILL surprised. This is going to be a surprise killer on vocals.
"Float On" by Modest Mouse - Another group I never listened to but have heard mentioned frequently. It surprised me, I was expecting metalcore or something. Not so much. Time will tell if this grows on me, as the first couple listens haven't overly impressed yet.
"Ace of Spaces" by Motörhead - It's "Ace of Spades". Nothing else to say.
"Drain You" by Nirvana - Just one of many awesome songs on Nevermind, and I'm hoping with the new RB2 structure I won't start to get so bloody sick of it like I pretty much am now with "In Bloom".
"Spirit in the Sky" by Norman Greenbaum - Mike read this out and I had a "Holy shit, for real??" moment. Awesome choice, and I'm utterly shocked that they had usable masters. A personal fav on this setlist.
"Nine in the Afternoon" by Panic at the Disco - ...sigh. Okay, confession time. I actually really like "Sins not Tragedies". I hate that I do, but I do. And now I'm starting to like this one too. Go cry, Emo Wolf.
"That's What You Get" by Paramore - Rock Band introduced me to Paramore, and Riot! is actually a fairly decent album. A good choice as Harmonix continue to make a very concerted effort to include more female vocalists.
"Alive" by Pearl Jam - I'm very happy about this inclusion for reasons that are entirely selfishly personal.
"Lump" by Presidents of the USA - Thank the gods for the vocals being measured entirely by pitch, because if you think for a second that I'll be able to sing anything but Al's version, you are very high.
"Testify" by Rage Against the Machine - What still amuses me most here is their very inclusion. Tom Morello got essentially bitchslapped by GH3, and whether true or not, I am amused to think that this is his middle finger to Activision.
"Round & Round" by Ratt - Hee, I still have this on tape single. Fun fun fun. Cannot get enough hair metal.
"Give it Away" by Red Hot Chili Peppers - I mentioned it earlier and it's still true – I'm mostly just glad that my loathing of this song has tempered with time. Not hearing it every ten seconds has definitely helped.
"Give it All" by Rise Against - Singing this is going to be a night-ending throat killer, because I don't see any way to do it without REALLY doing it.
"The Trees" by Rush - I really wished I liked Rush better. Which is to say that I wish I liked Rush at all.
"Lazy Eye" by Silversun Pickups - Never heard of it until this track list, but that rhythm riff reminds me of something else I can't place and now it's going to bug me all day. As to the song itself, eh. Not striking me much yet. Doesn't immediately suck but doesn't immediately rock either.
"Today" by Smashing Pumpkins - :) It's not "1979" but it'll do. :)
"I Was Wrong" by Social Distortion - Really like Social Distortion, so yay for me. I would've preferred some of their earlier stuff, but the door is open and that's a start.
"Teen Age Riot" by Sonic Youth - Eh. Just not a big Sonic Youth fan.
"Spoonman" by Soundgarden - On the opposite end of my forgiveness spectrum we have Soundgarden. Totally utterly still sick of this song, even after 15 years. It's beaten out only by "Black Hole Sun" I think. So I'm glad to know that my unadulterated joy with that song will carry over from RB1. Yay!
"Cool for Cats" by Squeeze - I love the New Wave representation in RB2. The '80s are getting serious and long overdue love here. I'm really tickled that this song is in Rock Band.
"Bodhisattva" by Steely Dan - Video unrelated (though still cool), but was the best version of the music I could find. Rock Band fans, say hello to your new "Green Grass and High Tides".
"Rock'n Me" by Steve Miller Band - Little Steve Miller never hurt no one.
"Eye of the Tiger" by Survivor - Yeah, really.
"Chop Suey" by System of a Down - I'll let you all know how the "playing on mute" thing goes. Typical. The one group I swore would never touch my precious Rock Band now inescapably must infect my precious Rock Band.
"Psycho Killer" by Talking Heads - Qu'est-ce que c'est?
"Master Exploder" by Tenacious D - It's always the fake songs that kick your ass. And this is fine and all, but SPINAL TAP, C'MON.
"Souls of Black" by Testament - Eh, sounds like one of a dozen songs that've popped up in Guitar Hero before. We'll see how it plays.
"New Kid in School" by The Donnas - Eee, The Donnas. :)
"We Got the Beat" by The Go Gos - As I said before, I'm always up for Go Go's. And maybe DLC to come? Oh, so awesome.
"Alabama Getaway" by The Grateful Dead - The Dead pack has shown me that how it sounds matters pretty much nothing, and that it's aaaall about how it plays. Which I expect to be awesome.
"American Woman" by The Guess Who - W00t, Guess Who version! Going to lurve this.
"Kids in America" by The Muffs - Here, have a different fanvid with the song, since I can't actually find one with the group. Enjoy Advent Children. Anyway, probably my biggest non-System of a Down disappointment. Love the song, but this version? :(
"Come Out & Play (Keep 'em Separated)" by The Offspring - Awesome fun, and just one of the many rumoured upcoming Offspring tracks.
"Alex Chilton" by The Replacements - One of those groups whose sound I mostly only like when it reminds me of other bands. This is one of those songs, so I've no major complaints.
"Pinball Wizard" by The Who - More Who and from one of the greatest albums ever. Please and thank you.

Ahh fuck it, gotta run. Finish list and re-stamp tonight after work.

ETA: List complete with links and fun.

Portland, so tired of jokes about badger creationism and crème brûlée.

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 18:29:25 GMT

♥

♥♥♥♥♥

Easily one of the best events I've ever seen.

So. Freaking. Incredible.

(I'll give more of a concert/movie update in a day or so. I want to redo the RB2 setlist with links first as that takes way less brain power. But the Eddie love could not be further contained.)

Awesome day, day of awesome.

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 16:37:54 GMT

Came home from work last night with my free Roku player. Nice to finally get to hook up what I've been helping other people hook up for the past few months.

Got up this morning and have been playing The Who tracks which only rule everything ever.

Yummy breakfast in our near future.

Downtown for Ground Kontrol and one of Mike's favourite traditions of the year.

Eddie Izzard gig tonight with the potential to hang out by the stage door after for his QA.

Followed by potentially more post-Eddie Ground Kontrol.

And all this interspersed with E3 news and a Rock Band 2 setlist which I still haven't had time to properly process.

Going to be an awesome day.

Track list, whoooo!!

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 21:33:18 GMT

Okay, no time to link and make comments before work, but I wanted to get this out there.

Just a quick copy/paste, I'll make it all pretty with notes later on. For now ENJOY AS I SURELY WILL.

1. AC/DC “Let There Be Rock” 1970s
2. AFI “Girl’s Gone Grey” 2000’s
3. Alanis Morissette “You Oughta Know” 1990’s
4. Alice in Chains “Man in the Box” 1990’s
5. Allman Brothers “Ramblin’ Man” 1970’s
6. Avenged Sevenfold “Almost Easy” 2000’s
7. Bad Company “Shooting Star” 1970’s
8. Beastie Boys “So Whatcha Want” 1990’s
9. Beck “E-Pro” 2000’s
10. Bikini Kill “Rebel Girl” 1990’s
11. Billy Idol “White Wedding Pt. I” 1980’s
12. Blondie “One Way or Another” 1970’s
13. Bob Dylan “Tangled Up in Blue” 1970’s
14. Bon Jovi “Livin’ on a Prayer” 1980’s
15. Cheap Trick “Hello There” 1970’s
16. Devo “Uncontrollable Urge” 1980’s
17. Dinosaur Jr. “Feel the Pain” 1990’s
18. Disturbed “Down with the Sickness” 2000’s
19. Dream Theater “Panic Attack” 2000’s
20. Duran Duran “Hungry Like the Wolf” 1980’s
21. Elvis Costello “Pump It Up” 1970’s
22. Fleetwood Mac “Go Your Own Way” 1970’s
23. Foo Fighters “Everlong” 1990’s
24. Guns N’ Roses “Shackler’s Revenge” 2000’s
25. Interpol “PDA” 2000’s
26. Jane’s Addiction “Mountain Song” 1980’s
27. Jethro Tull “Aqualung” 1970’s
28. Jimmy Eat World “The Middle” 2000’s
29. Joan Jett “Bad Reputation” 1980’s
30. Journey “Anyway You Want It” 1970’s
31. Judas Priest “Painkiller” 1990’s
32. Kansas “Carry On Wayward Son” 1970’s
33. L7 “Pretend We’re Dead” 1990’s
34. Lacuna Coil “Our Truth” 2000’s
35. Linkin Park “One Step Closer” 2000’s
36. Lit “My Own Worst Enemy” 1990’s
37. Lush “De-Luxe” 1990’s
38. Mastodon “Colony of Birchmen” 2000’s
39. Megadeth “Peace Sells” 1980’s
40. Metallica “Battery” 1980’s
41. Mighty Mighty Bosstones “Where’d You Go” 1990’s
42. Modest Mouse “Float On” 2000’s
43. Motorhead “Ace of Spades” 1980’s
44. Nirvana “Drain You” 1990’s
45. Norman Greenbaum “Spirit in the Sky” 1960’s
46. Panic at the Disco “Nine in the Afternoon” 2000’s
47. Paramore “That’s What You Get” 2000’s
48. Pearl Jam “Alive” 1990’s
49. Presidents of the USA “Lump” 1990’s
50. Rage Against the Machine “Testify” 1990’s
51. Ratt “Round & Round” 1980’s
52. Red Hot Chili Peppers “Give it Away” 1990’s
53. Rise Against “Give it All” 2000’s
54. Rush “The Trees” 1970’s
55. Silversun Pickups “Lazy Eye” 2000’s
56. Smashing Pumpkins “Today” 1990’s
57. Social Distortion “I Was Wrong” 1990’s
58. Sonic Youth “Teenage Riot” 1980’s
59. Soundgarden “Spoonman” 1990’s
60. Squeeze “Cool for Cats” 1970’s
61. Steely Dan “Bodhitsattva” 1970’s
62. Steve Miller Band “Rock’n Me” 1970’s
63. Survivor “Eye of the Tiger” 1980’s
64. System of a Down “Chop Suey” 2000’s
65. Talking Heads “Psycho Killer” 1970’s
66. Tenacious D “Master Exploder” 2000’s
67. Testament “Souls of Black” 1990’s
68. The Donnas “New Kid in School” 2000’s
69. The Go-Go’s “We Got the Beat” 1980’s
70. The Grateful Dead “Alabama Getaway” 1980’s
71. The Guess Who “American Woman” 1970’s
72. The Muffs “Kids in America” 1990’s
73. The Offspring “Come Out & Play (Keep ‘em Separated)” 1990’s
74. The Replacements “Alex Chilton” 1980’s
75. The Who “Pinball Wizard” 1960’s

Bonus Artist Bonus Song Title Decade
76. Abnormality “Visions” 2000’s
77. Anarchy Club “Get Clean” 2000’s
78. Bang Camaro “Night Lies” 2000’s
79. Breaking Wheel “Shoulder to the Plow” 2000’s
80. The Libyans “Neighborhood” 2000’s
81. The Main Drag “A Jagged Gorgeous Winter” 2000’s
82. Speck “Conventional Lover” 2000’s
83. The Sterns “Supreme Girl” 2000’s
84. That Handsome Devil “Rob the Prez-O-Dent” 2000’s

Discuss! Entertain me at work tonight.

ETA: There are also 20 free DLC tracks on their way in Fall '08.

And also, have a Rock Band 2 features press release.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Harmonix, MTV Games and Electronic Arts Set to Rock the World Again With Rock Band™2

For the First Time Ever in a Music Videogame Compete Against Other Bands Online; Export Music Tracks from Original Disc to Rock Band 2

Upgraded World Tour, Battle of the Bands, Set Challenges and Drum Trainer All Deliver an Authentic, Optimized Experience

Soundtrack to Feature Over 100 Songs From Unrivaled Blend of Classic,
Developing and New Artists

Rock Band is the first music game to Support Open Platform By Officially Licensing Third Party Rock Band 2 Instruments: Mad Catz Premier Guitar Controllers, Cymbal Expansion Pack and Professional ION Alesis Drum Set

Los Angeles, Calif. – July 14, 2008 – Harmonix, the world’s premier music video game development company, and MTV Games, a division of Viacom’s MTV Networks (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), along with marketing and distribution partner Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS), today revealed at the 2008 E3 Media & Business Summit new features for the next evolution of the groundbreaking music platform, Rock Band™ 2. With the original Rock Band title providing millions of players with a new way to interact with the music and artists they love, Rock Band 2 builds upon its core band foundation to offer an unparalleled, deeper, dynamic gameplay experience.

Rock Band 2 raises the bar in music gaming innovation with new features to rock the world:

- Local and global online modes to connect the entire Rock Band community
- World Tour mode, now online, simplifies the best of gameplay from the original Rock Band by fusing Solo Tour and Band World Tour modes and cranks it up a notch with an all new collection of opportunity gigs, challenges, cities, venues and hirable staff
- Tour Challenges that offer rockers a chance to play through mini-campaigns focused on the best songs by instrument, decade, genre, artist, album and more
- Battle of the Bands mode challenges players to go head to head against other bands in constantly refreshed contests* created by Harmonix (*internet connection required)
- Quickplay makes it easier than ever to get in and jam without hassle while allowing for new prefab characters or customized characters that can play on any instrument plus lets you make your own set lists and organize your song lists in a variety of categories (genre, era, etc.)
- Customizable Set Lists keep the music rolling and your band rocking in Quickplay mode
- Drum Trainer mode gives players the fundamentals of different beats and fills, translating gameplay into real drumming skills
- Character Creator completes your look with all new choices in clothing, accessories, tattoos, hairstyles, instruments and more to keep your unique rock avatar playing the full rock part
- Backwards compatibility with all Rock Band downloadable music content released to date
- Disc Export Feature gives owners of the original Rock Band the ability to export most of the Rock Band disc tracks and upgrade them into Rock Band 2 gameplay--the first time ever in videogame history!

Rock Band 2 features the largest music catalogue of any music-based videogame to date including:

- The Rock Band 2 soundtrack will feature over 100 songs - with over 80 songs on disc plus an additional 20 bonus tracks which will be made available for free download this fall .
- Unrivaled Blend of Classic, Developing and Emerging rock acts including Pearl Jam, Metallica, Allman Brothers, Motorhead, Devo, Jane's Addiction, Megadeth, Paramore, Modest Mouse and more.
- Rock Band 2 is the first and only video game to feature the music of AC/DC. It includes their epic rock anthem, "Let There Be Rock”
- After 14 years since Guns N’ Roses last official music release, Axl Rose selects Rock Band 2 to debut official new track, “Shackler’s Revenge” from the highly-anticipated album Chinese Democracy
- For the first time ever, music from American music icon, Bob Dylan, is featured in a video game with “Tangled Up In Blue”
- With ongoing weekly DLC releases including individual tracks, track packs and full albums, the Rock Band music library will feature more than 500 songs by year’s end!

From the solid officially licensed Rock Band 2 instruments to the expanded third party options, Rock Band 2 introduces new and improved choices that promise to deliver unsurpassed realism. In addition, Harmonix and MTV Games have become the first companies to officially support third party instruments and accessories in a music videogame.

Achieve ultimate stardom with the upgraded functionality and smooth new look of the official Rock Band 2 instruments.

- Fender Stratocaster Controller takes on a new authentic look plus adds a reinforced strum bar, quieter buttons, wireless functionality and a built in calibration tool that automatically sets your AV setup to an ideal setting for maximum rock.
- Drum set goes wireless while also featuring quieter, velocity sensitive drum pads and a metal reinforced pedal.
- Microphone showcases authentic styling and weight.

Kick up the intensity with officially licensed third party instruments from Mad Catz:

- Fender Telecaster Controller features soft buttons with lower action to help you shred faster than ever.
- Fender Bass Controller, the first bass guitar controller ever, takes the shape of the Fender P-Bass with extended length, tuning pegs and a split strum bar to replicate finger-bass style picking.
- Full-sized Squire Stratocaster Guitar Controller multiplies the authentic guitar experience by featuring a controller built into an actual Squire Stratocaster body.
- Cymbal Expansion Pack is a straightforward but amazing upgrade to the Rock Band 2 drum set featuring add-on cymbals.

Take Rock Band 2 instrument authenticity to a whole new level with a high-end peripheral from ION:
- ION Drum Rocker, a real electronic drum kit that functions as a game controller, brings the Rock Band fantasy to life featuring a simple substitution that takes the drum kit from a controller to a real instrument.

Rock Band 2 will make its debut on Xbox 360™ video game and entertainment system from Microsoft this September and have an exclusive launch window in North America. Rock Band 2 will be available for additional platforms later this year. Rock Band 2 will be available for the PLAYSTATION® 3 and PlayStation® 2 computer entertainment systems and Wii™ later this year.

As previously revealed today, Rock Band will ship with an exclusive launch window on the Xbox™ 360™ videogame and entertainment system from Microsoft in Italy, Sweden, Spain, Switzerland and Benelux July 24th, and on other platforms this Fall.

The Rock Band online music store recently surpassed 16 million paid downloads since the game’s launch in late November 2007. With more than 200 tracks available to date via disc and download purchase (complete list of tracks at http://www.rockband.com/dlc), the massive Rock Band Music Store allows players to preview and purchase downloadable individual music tracks, packs and albums from the vast selection of offerings available as they build their own custom Rock Band library.

Rock Band 2 is rated “T” for Teen (lyrics, suggestive themes) by the ESRB.

For more information on Rock Band and Harmonix Music Systems please visit www.rockband.com and www.harmonixmusic.com.

Okay, leaving now. (eeee)

Let's hear it for ...

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 07:45:25 GMT

WHOO!! Give it up for MAH BOY!

Do it here. Do it here (ultrace). But do it!

Rock Band 2, The Tracklist Begins

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 20:23:23 GMT

First up, HAHAHA typing with taped fingers. Tonight will be fantastic fun. Please forgive typos. The thumb was not in fact made for more than the space bar, no matter how you try to force it.

But okay, so the first 10 tracks have been leaked and confirmed for RB2. And what do you know, it's pretty much straight on with what was gleaned from the G4 screenshot.

The first ten confirmed RB2 songs are:

"Ace of Spades" by Motörhead
"Everlong" by Foo Fighters
"Pinball Wizard" by The Who
"Panic Attack" by Dream Theater
"Any Way You Want It" by Journey
"Chop Suey" by System of a Down
"Kids in America" by The Muffs (NOT Kim Wilde WOE)
"Give it Away" by Red Hot Chili Peppers
"Hello There" by Cheap Trick
"Pump it Up" by Elvis Costello

What's different from the leak: Adding in Elvis Costello (yay!) and making "Kids in America" some dreadful cover version (boo!). What the hell possessed that move, I have no idea.

Also, this isn't new, but I want to take a moment to weep openly about "Chop Suey". Holy crap, yo. :(

But that aside, this is a nice start. Looking forward to the rest. Come on, Tuesday!

So Jet Wolf, what's new with you?

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 17:13:18 GMT

Not much, ElJay, not much.

Work of course. And reaching the conclusion that I'm going to have to force myself to be productive beforehand, because if left to my own devices, probably not going to happen. I love working nights, but it's tough to not just wander through the day like a zombie. My days off still suck ass, and I keep hoping hoping for a change, though I have no idea if or when it'll happen. I'm settling in to it now, but it still sucks ass that pretty much everybody else has Saturdays and Sundays off while I'm like, "Yeeeaah, can't do anything. Have fun!" The work itself remains pretty fantastic though and I very much feel I'm getting the swing of things now. Which is nice for my stress levels. I really, really hate that settling in period with new jobs.

This upcoming week is going to be pretty packed. It's Mike's birthday tomorrow. Usually he gets King Treatment for a week, but seeing as how I'm working, that's truncated horribly, so I have to try the best I can otherwise.

I have tomorrow off (my first PTO!) and that night we're going with Amy and Scott to see The Police. I expect much awesomeness. (Tomorrow I think I may also try for an iPhone, but I still haven't decided yet.) Back to work for me on Saturday and Sunday, but we'll have the pre-work day to do whatever strikes Mike's fancy. Same with Monday, which Mike has off. Tuesday though is like my Saturday, and it's going to be PACKED.

Every year, Mike gets to go to Ground Kontrol with a ridiculous number of quarters and play. And play. And play some more. As much as he wants, as long as he wants. So that's what we're going to do. It opens at noon, and we'll be there at noon, ready to go. After playing all through the afternoon, we'll head out for some nice dinner, then make our way to the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall for the man himself, Eddie Izzard. Did I mention third row seats? THIRD ROW SEATS. After Eddie, we'll make our way back to Ground Kontrol for more playing, up to 2am, then drag our asses home.

Oh, and also, Tuesday happens to be the release of The Who pack on Rock Band. So we'll cram in as much playing of the new tracks as possible before having to leave. And, of course, Tuesday also happens to be when Harmonix are announcing all their Rock Band 2 goodies at E3.

It is not coincidental that I'm seriously considering having the web in my pocket by Tuesday.

Wednesday will be catching up on all the other stuff we didn't get done while I was at work. Sleeping in with cuddles, further enjoying our Who pack, dinner and a movie, etc.

In other news, I have seriously jacked up the first joint on my left pointer finger and I have absolutely no idea how. It's been about a week now. I think I may actually have to put some of that insurance I now receive to good use. Darn it. I think I'm going to tape it up this afternoon and keep it that way for about 24 hours, see if that helps. And it's going to make typing hilarious.

And also, a pony.

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 03:02:56 GMT

Mike has prompted me a few times to make my Rock Band 2 wish list before the actual list hits Teh Intarwebs. With the full track list set to be announced at E3 on 15 July (holy crap, could that day get more packed for me?) and a very solid busy week ahead, a post-shower cool-off seems an ideal opportunity.

I'm not going to Vegas Odds it like Mike did because I am numbers retarded. But I'll probably talk at extended length about how there's, like, no way woe :(

In order by artist.

"Thunderstruck" by AC/DC - Because really, we all want some AC/DC. If I have to say why I want this song, then you probably already disagree with my first statement and, not coincidentally, are wrong about everything ever.
"Smooth Criminal" by Alien Ant Farm - It's not often I like covers more than originals, but in this there's no contest. Michael Jackson's "Smooth Criminal" is a great song, but AAF's version takes it to the next level and makes this pop song totally rock.
"No Sleep 'Til Brooklyn" by The Beastie Boys - Much like I think "Sabotage" might've surprised people by how much it rocked, so too will "Brooklyn" probably take you by surprise. Not only is song a tremendous amount of fun, but listen to that solo and tell me that doesn't deserve Rock Band time.
The Beatles. Who really cares which song? Getting any one of them would open up the chance to get the others, so I would not be disappointed with any of them. If I was forced into saying specifically though, then my top choices would probably be ... hell, I dunno. "Help!", "Twist and Shout", "Hey Bulldog", "I Am the Walrus", "Come Together" or "Revolution". There.
"No Rain" by Blind Melon - Okay, so Mike picked it too and the drummer will have absolutely nothing to do for like half the song. Whatever. It's awesome. I did a home brew chart of it for GH2 and I think it'd be just a ridiculous amount of fun. Plus, it's one of those songs that just makes you want to dance and sing along. If that's not at the heart of Rock Band, I dunno what is. (If you haven't, watch the video. If you don't smile, you have no soul.)
"Raise Your Hands" by Bon Jovi - Because despite them not being my favourites, more Bon Jovi should really be in the game, and this is my favourite by them. What's that? You want "Livin' on a Prayer", "You Give Love a Bad Name", or "Bad Medicine"? Go make your own damned list.
"Lovefool by The Cardigans - Pure unadulterated fun. Drums would be deceptively hard on this I suspect. Plus we get the bonus of listening to all the little man bitches online whine about how this "chick song" threatens their tenuous grasp on masculinity.
"Johnny B. Goode" by Chuck Berry - I was saying to Mike how I think it's a damned shame that a lot of the founders of rock can't really be in these games, especially given the drive away from covers to masters. Mike then pointed out a damned good point – Chuck Berry's not just still around, he's still tearing that shit up. Rerecord maybe? Hmmmmmmm.
"London Calling" by The Clash - Need more Clash, 'nuff said. Though for my personal nostalgia, I have to say I wouldn't be upset to see "Rock the Casbah". Man, I loved this song when I was little. I had no idea what any of it meant but the young Wolf knew awesome when she heard it.
"Days and Days" by Concrete Blonde - Well, the complete absence of this song anywhere on YouTube or Google Video speaks to its likelihood. But then again, Mother Hips. HMX often surprise me. Anyway, if you can listen to it, it's track 6 on Bloodletting. Love the bass on this song.
"Tales of Brave Ulysses" by Cream - Give your love to the psychedelic rock. Just listen to that guitar. This would rock so damned hard.
"Bohemian Like You" by The Dandy Warhols - Dandys Rule, OK? This is totally Portland's theme song. Just a fun, boppy tune.
"Life on Mars?" by David Bowie - If they ever announced this for Rock Band, I might be forced to weep for joy. Of course, it will NEVER HAPPEN, since it's about 3/4ths Bowie and a piano. Lacking this though, I will accept, oh, any Bowie. Any. Really. I don't care.
"Black Night" by Deep Purple - That perfect deep, hard sound. There must be more Deep Purple in Rock Band.
Def Leppard are another "I'll take anything" band, but if pressed to name choices ... "Rock of Ages", "Foolin'", "Bringin' on the Heartbreak", "Photograph", "Women", "Rocket", "Pour Some Sugar On Me", "Armageddon It", "Gods of War", "Demolition Man" ... even some of their new stuff I'll have happily. "Go", "C'mon C'mon" ... Just give me some Lep, Harmonix. I'm dying here.
"Sultans of Swing" by Dire Straits - I've been lobbying for this once since before GH2 was announced. One day, one day ...
"Hey Jealousy" by Gin Blossoms - Yay for melodic alternative! Listen to me and not Mike, HMX. He's never right.
"Head Over Heels" by The Go Go's - I know "We Got the Beat" is rumoured, but dammit I love this song so much, I refuse to give up hope.
"American Idiot" by Green Day - Yeah yeah, I don't care if it was overplayed. Green Day are still perfect for Rock Band. I will also happily accept "Welcome to Paradise".
Guns 'n Roses. Another band everybody wants, and I'm certainly no exception. Sure, "Paradise City, "Welcome to the Jungle", "Sweet Child o' Mine are the standards. Or you could fastforward a little bit to Use Your Illusion and hope for "Don't Cry" (good luck holding that last note), "Civil War" or "Knockin' on Heaven's Door". But for me? I'm putting all my hope chips on my favourite GnR song, "Mr. Brownstone". That old man, he's a real motherfucker.
"All Along the Watchtower" by Jimi Hendrix - It's the obvious choice, but far and away the most awesome in my mind.
I'm not skipping Led Zeppelin, just that until the world falls down, why even set yourself up for disappointed by including them?
"New York, New York" by Moby and Debbie Harry - Never. Going. To Happen. It's all dance/electronica. But damn it all if this song doesn't make me happy as hell. (Another video watch recommendation, it's fantastic.)
"Dr. Feelgood" by Mötley Crüe - C'mon Crüe, we took all your new stuff. Reward us with old stuff.
"All the Young Dudes" by Mott the Hoople - Give me the one thing I regret not owning GH:Aerosmith for. And it's like a bonus Bowie song too! Linking to the Freddie Mercury tribute version because it's like the best EVAR.
Muse. Tough choice here. They gave me "Hysteria" already, which would've been my #1. That done, I will be happy to also accept "Stockholm Syndrome", "Plug-in Baby", "Time is Running Out", "Invincible", "Supermassive Black Hole" and, of course, "Knights of Cydonia". But let's face it, you can't go wrong with any Muse in my book.
Another whatever I can get band is, of course, Pink Floyd. All I can say here is that I will sacrifice any in-game song for The Wall full album. Probably my #1 want for Rock Band. I lack the ability to articulate how much I want this.
"Talk Dirty to Me" by Poison - I'd be happy with any old school Poison, but of them all, this would probably top my list.
"Middle of the Road" by The Pretenders - Not having any Pretenders in Rock Band would be a travesty. I waffled back and forth between this and "Back on the Chain Gang" ....aaand in fact I'm waffling right now too. Chrissy Hynde. <3
"What's the Frequency, Kenneth?" by REM - Not one of the bigger known hits, but probably my favourite REM song. I love the overdriven guitar, it's got an awesome beat, and is one of those songs where, whenever I hear it I am physically incapable of not turning it way the hell up.
Which brings us to Queen, and holy crap, how am I supposed to make a decision here? Sorry, I don't think it's possible. "Keep Yourself Alive". "Let Me Entertain You". "One Vision". "Bicycle Race". Go funk and bassy with "Another One Bites the Dust". Go totally fucking guitar epic with "Brighton Rock". Or how about we satisfy two of my loves simultaneously and just give me "Under Pressure"? Pick a song from Queen's massive discography and odds are good that not only will I know it, I'll want it and love it.
"I Don't Feel Like Dancin'" by Scissor Sisters. I can't believe I'd never heard of them before recently (thanks, Singstar). They cater to my love of '70s music in a gloriously camp kind of way. Speaking of which, "Take Your Mama Out would also rule. To get more female vocals in the game, I also would be 100% okay with "Kiss You Off"
"Run Runaway" by Slade - My love affair with this song is illegal in 7 states. I don't care what kind of mood I'm in, I don't care how dark and hopeless, this song never fails to bring my happy. Great guitar, a fun beat, and vocals that I defy anybody to not sing along with.
"1979" by Smashing Pumpkins - Rock Band is already so Pumpkins-friendly, could more be far away? May as well gun for my favourite.
"Cities" by Talking Heads - The game sorely needs more 80s representation. I could hair band all the live long day, but we also cannot neglect another important staple – New Wave. Blondie is filling that niche nicely so far, but the Heads deserve their place. Of all their songs, I think this one would be the most fun to play. Check that bass line out and tell me that wouldn't rock.
"Panama by Van Halen - Definitely an A-list band that fans have been screaming for since Rock Band was a glimmer in the eye. Mike mentioned it as well, and let's face it, as far as I'm concerned, this is THE VH song. If I can't have this though, then I'm going to go "Hot for Teacher". I think what most of us can probably agree on though is no Van Hagar. But hell, I'll try to be open minded. You going to make me take them that way, how about "Humans Being"? The guitar is old school Eddie, and with the talkie bits, you can pretend. (But come on, really. "Panama".)
Last but never least, we have ZZ Top. As with so many, I'd happiliy take whatever was offered, but in a perfect world? "La Grange". Oh yes.

So there we go. And that doesn't even make up half of the 80+ set list for Rock Band 2.

What do you think? I got a snowball's chance of even a handful of my picks?

Movie Weekend!

Wed, 09 Jul 2008 19:28:27 GMT

My weekend. Not your weekend.

So I've run through my four movies and had several requests for thoughts. I oblige.

Wristcutters: A Love Story
In a few words: It's good. It's really good.

Using more words (light plot synopsis spoilers):
I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this. It opens with a guy killing himself, but the real story is what happens to him after. He winds up in a limbo where life is pretty much just like it was when he left it, only more so. He goes on a quest to find his girlfriend after he learns she's killed herself too. Tagging along are his friend Eugene, a Russian rocker who killed himself by pouring beer on his guitar after one bad set too many, and a Mikal, a drug addict convinced that she's not supposed to be there at all and searching for whoever's in charge to plead her case.

So, sort of a really depressing Wizard of Oz.

Except, that's the thing. It's actually not depressing. The movie manages to be uplifting, not DESPITE the setting but because of it.

I was left with a ton of questions about the rules of world they inhabited and would've really liked some answers, but truly, that wasn't what it was about, so I wasn't too crushed at having so much left to my imagination.

Very well done film all around, recommended.

Dark City
In a few words: I really wanted to like it more than I did.

Using more words (general opinion, no real spoilers):
I was disappointed. I actually found myself feeling bored in places. Thanks to the quick advice of alessar and ross_teneyck I didn't get spoiled in the first 30 seconds (which, by the way, WTF, movie), so I was left to ponder what was going on as I probably should've been.

Things like this usually interest me, but I actually more than once was hoping that the movie would hurry it along. Also, which seemed weirder still, none of it really surprised me. Every revelation seemed like something obvious. I think I kept waiting to be truly surprised, and simply wasn't. What I can't tell is if that was because of the writing, or simply myself becoming apathetic by that point.

Now to be completely fair, I do have to note that I started this movie after Wristcutters, after only a few hours of sleep the night before and when the temperature was beginning to creep up on me. I was repeatedly nodding off for a few seconds at a time and having to fight hard to stay awake. What felt like boredom and apathy could've very easily just been sleep deprivation.

I've popped the disc back in the mail but I'm going to turn around and add it back to my queue to give it a second shot down the line. I really want to like the movie more than I do (mind that I don't HATE it, I just didn't really enjoy it much) and I want to give it another chance.

But that said, I've tried five times now to like The Princess Bride, and you know, I never, ever do. Only time will tell.

Loved Keifer Sutherland though. Because that's just genetic.

Zodiac
In a few words: Sort of okay for what it is, but nothing spectacular.

Using more words (fairly spoilery in terms of discussing the presentation, but it's nonfiction, so how spoiled could you really get?):
It's a serial killer biopic type of movie. And for being that, it does its job fairly well. If you're interested in the subject matter then you'll probably be interested in the movie. If not, then don't bother. There's nothing much else here to grab you.

In fact, it may just push you away. I think the movie may be its own worst enemy. It bounces around from being about the murders, to the societal impact of them, to the individual people working to catch Zodiac, but it never actually melds all of these elements together. Even when focusing on the people themselves, they seem broken up into separate parts that never really connect the way it looks like the creators want them too. You have parts where the focus is on reporter Paul Avery, then he pretty much just drunkenly saunters away, leaving you with what feels like an hour or so on Inspector David Toschi, before you go back to cartoonist and writer Robert Graysmith who, aside from Zodiac himself, opened the movie. For a bunch of people all involved so heavily with the same events, you'd think it wouldn't feel that disconnect.

Now I think on it, it's particularly noticeable that you never really fully understand Robert Graysmith's obsession with uncovering Zodiac. Sure, I get that he likes puzzles and the ciphers intrigue him at first, but he gets to the point where he's driven his entire family away and can barely even take care of himself, he's so into this. Sure, when confronted, he says that he has to do it because nobody else is doing anything and that he wants to look the guy in the eye and know it's him ... but that still doesn't get to the why of it. Which maybe wouldn't be an issue if the movie didn't try so hard to make you feel how personal this has become for Graysmith.

Even at the end it manages to ruin what could've been a powerful close. After Graysmith's "look him in the eye" confession, we have about half an hour or so more where he's utterly convinced Zodiac is Rick Marshall (to the point of screaming at someone he's interviewing, telling her to just say that it's Rick Marshall, no longer caring about anything but supporting his own theory) until he changes gears and becomes equally convinced that Zodiac is Arthur Leigh Allen. So he finds Allen working in a hardware store and just stares at him in the eye. It's a pretty charged scene, probably the most powerful that didn't involve someone getting murdered. They stay like that for a moment, just staring at each other, then Graysmith walks away.

I think that would've been a fantastic ending. You don't really know if Graysmith got what he needed, but you don't really need to know either. But instead, it tries to bookend itself. We're at an airport, seeing Graysmith's book on sale everywhere. A man (not Graysmith, presumably an investigator or agent) with a briefcase sits down in a secluded room, and he has a dog-eared copy of the same book. Then a man is led in – Mike Mageau, the only survivor that got a good look at Zodiac. He's shown a line up of faces and almost immediately picks out Arthur Leigh Allen. The detective smiles to himself, satisfied, thus vindicating all of Graysmith's determination.

Wait, what?

In a moment, the scene turns the whole movie into something almost smug. Like a, "See, we told you so!!" that's tremendously off-putting and undercuts the somewhat failed attempt to personalize the whole thing.

Hm, in writing this review, I find I'm liking it less and less. Really, the part I liked the best in the whole movie was the use of "Hurdy Gurdy Man" by Donovan. So I could pretty much just open iTunes and read Wikipedia to get a better experience.

Hard Candy
In a few words: See. This. Movie.

Using more words (general opinion, no spoilers):
Wow. Easily the best of the four I watched this weekend. Very intense, very well acted, and for being focused almost entirely on just two people and a lot of talking, incredibly engrossing. I won't talk too much about the plot here because I went into this not knowing anything about the movie (save my mother liked it and wanted me to watch) and so I had literally no idea what to expect, which added to the tension. What you mostly need to know is that it's really good and you should try it. It will absolutely stick with you and leave you thinking after the credits roll.

I'm definitely up for discussion on this one though, so if you've seen it and want to talk about it in the comments, just mark pretty clearly that there are spoiler so people can skip if they want.

And there it is. Sadly, I don't expect my Netflix stock to replenish for a few days, and Mike never has anything I want to see. Although, oo, he does have Colors right now and it's been a long time since I watched that. Hmmmm.

Round 2 ... Fight!

Wed, 09 Jul 2008 15:34:14 GMT

iPhone 3G vs. Sprint Instinct. Opinions? Go!

ETA: Meaning more along the lines of features/performance, not cost.

See? Look at that.

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 20:38:42 GMT

Now that's just beautiful.