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| | It's been a long time since I got excited about video games...probably about the time FPS' took off in a big way...but Guitar Hero, like near anyone who plays it, gets me going something fierce. People might scoff at the contraption, which involves a 3/4 size toy Gibson controller and an interface not unlike Dance Dance Revolution, but if you ask me, the game promotes exercise, lets loose with a little rock history, and perhaps has inspired some kids to pick up a real guitar. I see nothing wrong with any of that.
This winter break has been severely awesome, but I've undergone heavy Guitar Hero withdrawal. Reading Dan's Guitar Hero 3 Wishlist did not help matters, particularly since it was so good that it inspired me to write my own. Lord help us.
I'd be pretty embarrassed if Red Octane took my list, song-for-song, and created a game out of it for everyone to see, particularly since many of the songs aren't pointing in the direction that the GH series has been taking...i.e., longer, faster, more complicated solo-fests. Which are great and all, but most people tend to agree that, solid as the sequel is, the first Guitar Hero just had a better selection of songs that were fun to play. And as I scrolled through my iTunes, that was more or less the overriding theme of my list: What songs would I really enjoy playing?
"Devil in Me" by 22-20s
Maybe they could come up with a 3/4 size slide bar for the awesome slide guitar solo. Either that, or a slide guitar song is totally incompatible with GH and I'm an idiot.
"Shoot to Thrill" by AC/DC
More varied than your average AC/DC track. Probably could've picked a better solo by them, but I don't really care, this is one my favorites by them and that's that.
(Edit 7/7/07: Although, if we were aiming for mind-melting solos, I would look no further than "Riff Raff" or "Shake a Leg." Classics, no, but it kills naysayers dead who dare assume that Angus couldn't shred with the best of them.)
"Stupid Kid" by Alkaline Trio
If you're groaning at the inclusion of this song, you may as well shuffle off to youtube now or something, because there's a lot more good-ol'-times pop punk to come on this list.
"Yakety Sax" by Boots Randolph
Great bass part.
"True Believers" by The Bouncing Souls
See "Stupid Kid."
"Alicia Amnesia" by Butch Walker
Yeah yeah, here comes my Walker plug, but it's no joke: the guy can play guitar. And when it comes to throwback riff rock, this song is positively schizophrenic, hilarious and a lot of fun.
"25 or 6 'til 4" by Chicago
Yeah, that's my dad in me. If they can put in "Carry On Wayward Son," they can make a little room for Chicago.
"Rock & Roll Motherf***er" by The D4
The title says it, don't you think?
"My Own Summer (Shove It)" by The Deftones
Again, maybe there's not much to this song, but c'mon, when that chorus bursts in, you would at least enjoy it a little, wouldn't you?
RAHHHHHHSHOVEITSHOVEITSHOVEIT
"Have it All" by the Foo Fighters
Foo Fighters have a habit of making songs that are technically pretty easy chord-by-chord, but they play the hell out of them. GH2 already threw in "Monkey Wrench" (and kinda whiffed it, if you ask me), but maybe this tune is more up their alley.
"Blue Morning, Blue Day" by Foreigner
See "25 or 6 'til 4."
"Mexican Wine" by Fountains of Wayne
This song, as with others on the list, is bolstered mightily by its lyrics. Before you get all uppity about that even being considered a factor, remind yourself of how much fun "Cavemen Rejoice" was to play. Now think about all the growlcore crap they threw in on GH2, where you couldn't hear a single word, and tell me which one is more memorable.
"Superman" by Goldfinger
I think it should be a requirement to play ska tunes on GH with upstrokes. But then again, I am still an idiot.
"Jesus of Suburbia" by Green Day
A lot of Green Day tunes aren't a good fit because Green Day, when all is said and done, was never about complexity. Really, none of their old punk would fit if you ask me, but the variety and general epic-osity of "Suburbia" is different. The piano never overrides the guitar. "Holiday" would be pretty cool too.
"Welcome to the Jungle" by Guns 'N Roses
Throttles "Sweet Child O' Mine." Just my opinion. There's a reason this was their first single, even if it didn't take off as fast as the others did.
"She's Got the Look" by Guttermouth
See "Mexican Wine." I cracked up laughing at this song...can't even remember how many times. As a tune, I think it goes the distance too. Hey, it's got a solo, which is more than you can ask of some of these other tracks I've picked.
"Everybody's Talkin'" by Harry Nilsson
Okay, maybe I'm not being very serious, though I would like to play this one as the Grim Reaper.
"Just Because" by Jane's Addiction
Jane's gets a lot of flack because some moron at Spin or Q or whatever decided to brand them the heirs to Led Zeppelin. Oh, and "Stop!" sucked. But this...this is more like it. Dave Navarro landed Carmen Electra for a reason.
"You Know What I Mean" by Jeff Beck
Let's get some Jeff Beck on GH, stat. I'm open to better suggestions than this tune, which only happens to be what came to mind first.
"The Middle" by Jimmy Eat World
The king of all pop-punk radio staples, and you know it. Good solo, and oh-lighten-up lyrics that defy the genre's typical angstitude.
"Heartbreaker" by Led Zeppelin
Hell. Yes.
"City Magic" by Les Dudek
Did my Dad write half this list or what?
"Ziplock" by Lit
You can probably tell by now I like my five-button toy guitar songs to give me good vibes as opposed to sounding like death rattle farts.
"Every Monday" by Marvelous 3
I snuck Butch on here again, in a slightly more popular incarnation. The only track any casual Top 40 listener could ever possibly know by them would be "Freak of the Week" (maybe "Get Over"), but this is my favorite and there you have it. If they covered this, the vocalist would simply have to meow along to the guitar solo.
"Master of Puppets" by Metallica
Dun. DUN DUN DUNNNNNNNNNNN...
Duh-duh-DUH-duh-duh-DUH-duh-duh DUN DUN DUNNNNNNN....
"Story of My Life" by Millencolin
Can't believe I still have this song laying around somewhere. God bless iTunes.
"Rock Candy" by Montrose
Hard, sweet, and sticky? Where do I sign up?
"Smells Like Teen Spirit" by The Hackley School Talent Show
See for yourself why this rendition of Nirvana's ubiquitous first single would be even more fun (and possibly much harder) to play than the original.
"God Save the Queen / Fat Bottomed Girls" by Queen
Is it cheating to throw in an opening instrumental salvo and then segue into a killer chant-a-thon of a song? Or is it worth it to do Queen some double-justice after phoning it in (with a poor choice at that) on "Killer Queen"? Whatever the case, it's my list and I'll indulge if I want to.
"Just" by Radiohead
Off The Bends, which (begin contrarian rock critic patois) is far superior to OK Computer in terms of guitar rockage. I knew if I had to pick something by Radiohead, who don't tend to really go full-bore Rock in any case, it had to be from this album, and "Just" is the best I could do. I really tried to consider "Paranoid Android," but nah.
"Calm Like a Bomb" by Rage Against the Machine
GH2's version of "Killing in the Name Of" was so execrable that I cried. For one thing, it's chief among Rage's most repetitive songs, so of course they changed it to near-irrecognizability, and the best part of the song (the string of profanities at the end) would obviously have to be cut out. Why even pick it? This one's got a great riff, and a solo from Morello that I think pretty well straddles that line between good and bizarre.
"Can't Think" by Riddlin' Kids
This one just shifts past 4th straight into Meathead Overdrive. I always liked it. The guy playing bass would have some fun too.
"Day of the Eagle" by Robin Trower
Trower's not much of a vocalist, but hey, that just means they have even less of a chance of screwing it up like they did with Skynyrd, right?
"Walk This Way" by Run DMC and Aerosmith
This was the first mainstream tune to ever successfully bridge the gap between rock and rap, so who could resist trying to incorporate some cheerful hip-hop into a guitar game? And remember, this is back when rap was still a burgeoning form, and not the all-oppressive, gale force market wind it is today, so the guitar work in this song is very present, very much a part of the tune as opposed to mere background notes.
"Love Theme From 'The Godfather'" by Slash
I know, I know. You can't seem to take this entry seriously. But seriously, Slash tears it apart on this. When I heard him wail on this song live, I thought "Gee, wouldn't it be fun to do that." And here you go. Plus, it would get the kids hip to one of the original, most rawkingest rawk artists of all time...Nino Rota.
"Flo" by Smashmouth
Smashmouth's first album has none of the radio sheen and a lot of fast, heavy stuff that I'm a sucker for. This song, about a frustrated guy whose bi girlfriend clearly still carries a torch for her old same-sex lover, is two minutes of goodness. "Walking on the Sun" would be my choice instead, if there were more to it.
"Rusty Cage" by Soundgarden
Anything by Soundgarden, really. This was back when Cornell's voice was still in ear-splitting shape. A lot of Soundgarden tracks end up sounding more like Throat Hero than anything else ("Jesus Christ Pose" among them) but this is a sweet exception. Kim Thayil sure is cool.
"Love Ain't Enough" by Southgang
And g*ddammit I snuck Butch in yet again, this one from his hair metal days. Southgang was unjustly maligned for being a hair metal band that arrived to the scene much too late (as in, a year or so after Nevermind late). But, cheesy lyrics aside, they really weren't bad, and this band is the only proof that Butch in fact can play Guitar God quite convincingly; after this band quickly folded, he was mostly about creating a simple, good song as opposed to showing off. And yeah, that's nice and all...but...
"Down" by Stone Temple Pilots
A pretty easy riff that's more heavy than a bag of bricks tied to your momma. Cool solo, too.
"Kick Some Ass" by Stroke 9
Fun as hell, please don't start crap with me about it. I understand the chorus would have to use the radio edit version, which isn't as egregious a settle as "Killing in the Name Of."
"Wonderboy" by Tenacious D
Dan already got to "Tribute," so I'll have to go with this, which in many ways is still really fun. "City Hall" was a temptation, but in the end turned out to be much more talking than I remembered.
"Graduate" by Third Eye Blind
By now you've formed your opinion about me and my taste in music already, so is this a surprise? This one really isn't as, sigh, insufferable as their other hits when you go back and listen to it, guys. In fact, you might go as far as to say it sort of...does...rock.
"Possum Kingdom" by The Toadies
Don't I know that this sounds like a super-indie song-and-band title. (Stoner accent) Man, you don't know nothin' about good rock music, man! You gotta listen to "Possum Kingdom," by one of the greatest post-grunge underground acts, the Toadies, dude!
But actually, if you haven't recalled it already, you most likely have heard this song (it has nothing to do with possums or kingdoms), and it's good, and it's twisted as hell.
"Battle Without Honor or Humanity" by Tomoyasu Hotei
Yeah, from the Kill Bill Vol. 1 trailer. I already mentioned these were songs I personally would enjoy playing. If you just had the guitar follow the horn line when those parts are prominent, this really wouldn't be a poor choice at all. And that rumbling little riff is irresistible to me.
"Eruption / Hot for Teacher" by Van Halen
I know that "You Really Got Me" is actually what follows "Eruption," but we already went down that marginally disappointing road, didn't we? Yes, I again find it warranted to re-introduce Van Halen with a combo of songs: One of the greatest guitar solos of the 1980s (fight me) followed right the hell up by a surprisingly difficult-sounding classic. Save this one for a later tier, trust me. And yes, a close runner-up was "Panama," but I'd get a kick out of this more. Heard you missed us, we're baa-ack!
The really sad thing is, if it's true that the only reason they picked "You Really Got Me" was because of rights issues that a cover song (such as "Me") could bypass, the only chance we may have of playing Halen again might be "Ice Cream Man."
"Ball & Biscuit" by The White Stripes
There's really not a heck of a lot to do inbetween the three or four solos that Jack White whips out in this 7-minute blues track, but the first time I heard them, he surprised me quite handily. They're not tough, but so off-kilter and screamingly loud that all of it can only mean Fun.
"Here I Go Again" by Whitesnake
The first forty seconds are synth, but meh, they could fix that. Everything else is day-glo cheesetastic. It makes you want to learn to ride a motorcycle, or barring that, buy a moped and go find Tawny Kitaen. Probably too obvious a choice, yet despite that, I say whatever.
At some point I'll go back and throw in more appropriate dinosaur rock and some eight-minute fret exploding headaches from Yngwie Malmsteen, or maybe not. I love my list!
(Goes and hugs list)
| | | Posted 12/29/2006 6:31 PM - 2 comments
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