Beating Guitar Hero 1 Is the Next Best Thing

Determination is a fine thing. Well, unless it’s combined with psychosis. You see, all the determination in the world will not help a human being fly without help, punch through a solid brick wall or, in my case, complete a certain song on Guitar Hero 2 in the Expert difficulty setting.

To set the stage, during my early days of playing this mind-wrenchingly addictive game, I never thought I’d even arrive in the golden halls of Xanadu—that is Expert-level songs. But I stuck with it. And what did it get me?!? Stuck! That’s what. As of today, I’ve tried to complete Freya about eleventy-kazillion times. Failure upon failure.

So, then I tried another tact. I borrowed Guitar Hero 1 from our friends and beat that.

Everyone knows that Expert on GH1 rarely approaches the ballistic speed of GH2 songs on Expert, but even still, it’s an accomplishment that I’m proud of. The image you see above it a poster for Pantera’s Cowboys From Hell album. (Such high minded pursuits, right?) This was the last song I had to beat in order to complete the game. If it weren’t for Star Power, I’d never been able to complete the feat, but I’m not complaining.

What comes next? Guitar Hero 2, of course! And… I need to learn whether my psychosis is real or imagined. Wish me luck.

Reggie Watts Needs No Instruments

Reggie Watts: Out Of Control on Vimeo

This is some fun stuffo. Make sure to watch the whole thing because there’s a slo-mo part in there that’s perfectly done.

Nearer Than Heaven by The Delays

One of the pure joys of running a blog is being able to post pretty much anything you like. So… viola! [Great song, crappy video]

Paladin’s Wishlist for New Guitar Hero Songs

I hear you now, “Guitar Hero? Again?!?”

Look! I’ve already admitted that I’m an addict, so GET OFF MY BACK! Cool? Let’s move on.

I’ve just spent the better part of 4 hours reliving old favorites thanks to a stellar site I found called iLike. (Yes, it’s an Apple product so it’s well designed and easy-to-use. Yummy.) So what I now present to you are songs that I hope beyond hope make it into some future release of GH.

Favorite Bands

These are some of my favorite bands growing up.

Rush – “Spirit of the Radio“
There are so many guitar-strong songs by Rush, I had a tough time choosing. With YYZ receiving grand praise on GH2, I’m hoping the good folks who make these choices will be adding another Rush song to the playlist. Other good choices would be: Limelight, Anthem, or La Villa Strangiato.

Van Halen – “Eruption“
The ultimate guitar solo of my generation. I get chills just hearing it. If you want to go with a more traditional VH song, “Panama” would kill. Yes, this would do nicely as an encore song.

Def Leppard – “Photograph“
Again, Def Leppard has a boatload of strong tunes to choose from, but from the opening riff, you know who this band is. Runner-up: “Armageddon It”

Journey – “Separate Ways“
Yes, the video may be one of the worst of all time, but the song is rocks. Journey is known for their love ballads so they don’t have that many hard rock-type songs so this is my pick. “Any Way You Want It” would also do nicely but I can’t stop thinking of Rodney Dangerfield dancing on the golf course.

Boston – “Don’t Look Back“
Boston was a breakthrough band with a totally new sound that took the country by force. “Don’t Look Back” led that charge. Runner Up: “Smokin’”

Led Zeppelin – “Black Dog“
Even though they were a bit before my time, their music was decades ahead of their contemporaries. “Black Dog” is perhaps their strongest guitar-based song. “Heartbreaker” would also be a great song for GH.

Huge Rock Bands

The following big guns in rock music are in alphabetical order. Each deserves at least one song in the playlist.

AC/DC – “For Those About To Rock”
Here’s a tough choice because “Thunderstruck” is also a strong song but it’s intro lasts just a bit too long, even though I really like it.

Cream – “Sunshine of Your Love”
Classic, classic tune. “White Room” would be great as well.

Eagles – “Hotel California”
Would they? Could they?

Foreigner – “Jukebox Hero”
It just makes so much sense. He “bought a beat up six string in a secondhand store” right? “Cold As Ice” would also be pretty cool.

Jimi Hendrix – “Purple Haze”
What the heck is “Spanish Castle Magic”? Why not “Purple Haze” or “All Along the Watchtower”?!? C’mon people… these things matter!

Ozzy Osbourne – “Crazy Train”
There are several killer guitar melodies in Ozzy’s music but “Crazy Train” is the premiere track and should be on Guitar Hero. I won’t take no for an answer. Well, unless they put on “Flying High Again.”

Pink Floyd – “Run Like Hell”
You just don’t want to go too mellow. “Comfortably Numb” is an awes0me tune, but “Run Like Hell” just begs you to play the lead.

REO Speedwagon – “Roll With the Changes”
“Ridin’ the Storm Out” is another great song. I’d be fine with either.

Steppenwolf – “Magic Carpet Ride”
I just hope Chevrolet hasn’t spoiled this song for all of us.

Styx – “Renegade”
A lot of Styx’s songs are symphony styled tunes, but not this puppy. “Blue Collar Man” would also work.

The Doors – “L.A. Woman”
Even though The Doors have mountains of hits, in so many the keyboard plays the primary melody so it’s kind tough finding the leading candidate, but you’ve gotta have a Doors song, right? “Love Me Two Times” would also work in a pinch.

The Scorpions – “Rock You Like a Hurricane”
Frankly, I’m surprised it didn’t make GH1 or GH2, I mean, it’s “Rock You Like a Hurricane.” My second favorite would be “No One Like You.”

The Who – “Won’t Get Fooled Again”
I went back and forth on this one. While, The Who isn’t my favorite group, they aren’t kind of legendary so you’ve got to include at least one of their songs right? “Baba O’Reilly” would also be fun, even though it’s less guitar focused.

ZZTop – “Tush”
I was thinking “Gimme All Your Lovin’ ” but it’s so similar to “Sharp Dressed Man” that was in GH1 that I said, “Nah.” (At least that’s what went on inside my head.)

Super Strong Singles

While these guys didn’t produces loads of great music, they did have some fabulous singles.

Sammy Hagar – “Three Lock Box”
One of the first songs that came to mind was this one. Oh pretty please.

The Outlaws – “Green Grass and High Tides”
You think “Free Bird” is a long song? Try this puppy out and see how long your fingers last.

Molly Hatchet – “Flirtin’ With Disaster”
Another classic southern rock song that thrills as it kills.

Ted Nugent – “Free For All”
The original Gonzo! “Cat Scratch Fever” would work as well.

Jane’s Addiction – “Been Caught Stealing”
Fun, fun and more fun.

Not 80s, But Monster Tunes

Here are some songs that came to mind that are newer than 1989.

Stone Temple Pilots – “Wicked Garden”
“Trippin’ On a Hole in a Paper Heart” is a good song, but “Wicked Garden” is just plain awesome. The massive grunge guitar effect calls to me as I sleep. “Vasoline” would also be good.

Smashing Pumpkins – “Cherub Rock”
Do any of my readers have special pull with Activision? Can anyone please make this happen?

Pearl Jam – “Evenflow”
While not my favorite of bands, this song is epic. It’d be great fun to play.

Nirvana – “Lithium”
This is the song they should have put in instead of “Heart-Shaped Box”.

Ok, now I’ve given you my favorites, what have I left off? What say the loyal 21st Century Paladin readers? There’s bound to be a song or two I’ve overlooked as my dementia is growing by the day.

Real Guitar Modded for Guitar Hero

You know, I thought it was possible, but it always surprises me just how fast someone out ther gets the job done. In this case, Toolmonger builds a Guitar Hero controller from a real guitar… and it’s wireless! Sweet!

The Future of Guitar Hero and How I Lost 6 Hours One Saturday

I’m sure some of you are sick of hearing me go on and on about Guitar Hero. That’s fine. I understand. You’re all stupid!! Ha! (That was the evil me speaking, sorry about that.) But it’s true that I’ve found something that’s created an almost instaneous addiction within me. It’s combined two of my life’s favorite pastimes—music and videogames. And for that, I’m eternally grateful to the kind folks at Harmonix. (Here’s hoping MTV doesn’t screw up a good thing.)

The latest news is that I’ve beaten all the songs on Hard mode and earned the coveted Snaketapus Guitar. (Actually, I didn’t purchase it… I’m sorry, but I’m not 9.) So I’m onto Expert mode where I hope to gain fame and fortune among all the today’s “cool” kids.

But what I’m even more excited about is… Guitar Hero III! Yes, you read that right. Now that Activision has announced they’re purchasing RedOctane, they’ve also announced there will be a Guitar Hero III available sometime at the end of 2007. Bet you can guess what I want for Christmas next year. There’s already a forum with 27 pages of song suggestions for the next release. I’ll be creating mine in the months to come, complete with compelling rationale, so stay tuned.

Are you ready for more? Can your heart possibly handle it?!? I’ve also learned that they’re going to release an 80s version of Guitar Hero! Can I get a “whoop whoop”? I knew I could count on you.

OK, I’ll stop now and let your heart rate return to normal. But you are warned… more GH madness shall follow. Oh yes, it shall.

Angels and Airwaves Live in Cincy

My brother treated me to an early Christmas present last night. We headed to Cincy for the last stop on Angels and Airwaves maiden voyage. Their debut album was stellar and the concert had the same kind of energy which pretty much blew out the small venue. Other than DeLonge‘s immature antics, I thought the performance was very good, especially the wild, but under complete control, drummer Atom Willard.

Big thanks to Andrew for a fun night and great start to the holiday season!

Video Editing: 400

‘Amateur’ by Lasse Gjertsen is just plain cool.

Rodrigo y Gabriela Play Tamacun Live

Rodrigo y Gabriela can flat out rock. I’m constantly amazed at the complete accomplishment that some human beings can have in different fields. Bravo!

Blur’s Memorable Video

Making my way through the Top 100 videos and came across this gem—Coffee and TV by Blur. So much personality, I just had to share.

Carter Beauford Is a Machine

A while back I posted about the amazing job Bobby Standridge did modeling Neil Peart playing YYZ. Later that day, my brother sent me this link but I forget to post it. Then today I find this lonely, little shortcut icon on my desktop thinking, where’d that come from? So here it is! This might not be the toughest song that Carter plays on tour, but it certainly shows off his amazing percision and control.

Study: ‘Music’s Message Hurting Kids’

Today the following study was released: Exposure to Degrading Versus Nondegrading Music Lyrics and Sexual Behavior Among Youth.

Researchers followed 1,461 teens for three years and compared music they listened to with their self-reported sexual activity. It compared those who listened to such music with those who did not. The study also found, significantly, that “large numbers of sexually active teenagers…wished they had delayed sexual initiation.”

Parents need to be aware of the harmful messages in much of today’s music and they help their kids find more positive alternatives.

Angels & Airwaves New CD

It’s been awhile since I heard new music that touched me. Far too long really. Then yesterday I heard the beginning of a song. I thought it might be The Killers, who I like quite well. But as the song progressed, I could tell it wasn’t them. It had a quality that reminded me of some my favorite music back in the 80s. A bit of early U2, some The Fixx with a measure of The Flock of Seagulls.

It turns out to be a band called Angels & Airwaves. It was started by Tom Delonge who made his name with Blink 182. Now I really can’t stand Blink because their music is so repetitive and dull while their lyrics are mentally AWOL. But this new stuff, I just love. So I have to imagine that like most musical artists, Tom’s tastes have changed and matured.

The only downside, is that for some reason, Amazon is currently pricing their clean version CD $2 more than the same album with the parental advisory label. So they’re pushing kids towards the harsh language, I don’t know, seems odd. Anyway, The Adventure is the song that’s getting airplay and it’s currently haunting me.

I can’t live. I can’t breath. Unless you do this with me.

Going through the valley that I’m in right now, I think the very same thought about my beloved at least once a day.

Neil Peart in 3D

As I’ve stated previously, Rush is the great rock band of all time. No other band comes close to the inventiveness, progression and musicianship. Sure, they don’t have any “hits” like Brown Sugar, but true music strikes at a much deeper chord.

So when I got this link from my brother Andrew, I thought, no way does this guy does Neil Peart justice. Simply said, I was wrong. “A Digital Man” is an animated video by Bobby Standridge and now my favorite animated music video of all-time.

The Delays Own Me, Part Deux

Haven’t done a post about music in some time, but I can’t wait any longer. The Delays new CD, You See Colours, has some of those hauntingly addictive songs that resonate in my brain for days, even weeks afterwards. It’s a musical version of crack is what it is. And the worst part? They know. So they’ll make more and I’ll just have to buy it. I’m an addict!

And you know how I know this? It’s because of they way they slowly release singles. Oh sure, the first taste is free, but then they’ve got you.

I usually buy my music from Amazon, but get this, their new album is $29.99 on Amazon! Even at that price I’m tempted to buy it, I’m that far gone. Better yet, jump across the pond and buy it at HMV for 6.99 in British pounds. (That’s $13.21 at our current exchange rate.) Then they get you with shipping! Oh the relentless calling!

I guess I could buy just the single they’re promoting on their homepage, Hideaway. But at 3pounds, that’s like $5.50. I thought songs should be a buck?!? Oh, this lingering, persistent yearning. What’s a man to do?

I’d listen to it at Napster, but it’s not there yet, while their first CD is. In the end, all I was able to do was find this… Enjoy! (And yes, I do get a kickback from every junkie I infect.)