Beatles Remasters=Yoko Gets More of My Money

I'm REALLY excited about September 9, 2009. That's the day that ROCK BAND:THE BEATLES comes out, which I'm sure is going to be awesome. But I read in the most recent issue of ROLLINGSTONE that on that very same day Capitol/EMI Records will release the complete Beatles discography completely 100% digitally REMASTERED. Now I know some of you non-music geeks will say, "But Jason, you're a true fan...you already own all The Beatles CD's why would you re-buy them?" To that question I ask: "Have you tried listening to the current CD versions with headphones on (i.e. on an iPOD)?" If you have, then you know how TERRIBLE, how GOD AWFUL those shitty 1987 masters are. You see, unlike most "classic" bands, that release "remastered" versions of their classic works every few years to raise funds (and pay for expensive drug habits) The Beatles have not released ANY remastered CD's since the original CD run in 1987--with two noteable exceptions: the "1" Greatest Hits CD (which I bought specificially because it was remastered) and the LOVE soundtrack. It is universally accepted that current Beatles albums on CD sound worse than the vinyl versions. They are muddy, clunky, ugly-sounding abominations. Even as a super-fan I feel as though I have no truly experianced much of The Beatles sound because I have mostly been exposed to their music via crappy radio and crappy CD's. Don't beleive me? Think I'm a sound-snob? Go pick up LOVE and listen to it--with earbuds. Then go pick up RUBBER SOUL on CD and try to listen to it. You can't. You fucking can't. The RS article goes on to say that besides new stereo releases, Capital/EMI is also putting out a "Mono" boxset. I don't subsribe 100% to the "mono is better" arguement...however, I do admit that when The Beatles recorded their earliest material, it was originally done in Mono. So perhaps those early records should be presevered in Mono, as that was the canvass the artist originally used. Not sure I'd want to listen to an album like SGT. PEPPER in Mono. But then again, what the hell do I know? The stero mixes though...those will be mine on September 9.

Bliss

I can't wait for this.

It's called ROCK Band...not COUNTRY Band!!!

So I woke up today, and for the most part everything was okay. Oh sure, my life is kinda shit right now (what with the Great Depression I'm facing...oh, and the economy is bad)--but for the most part life was livable.

Then I go to the computer and head over to Rockband.com (as I sometimes do). To my horror I find that CMT has announced that on December 16 of this year, a muther-fucking god-damn "Country" track pack will be released.

WTF???

Though no song titles have been announced, the artists have. Behold, the dumb-ass jug-bands that will soon grace Rock Band:

1. Brad Paisley
2. Brooks & Dunn
3. Dixie Chicks
4. Dierks Bentley
5. Miranda Lambert

These red-neck hillbillies must be stopped. Sure, I don't MIND that crappy country music exists...just so long as it stays out of my ROCK BAND game. But why Jason? You don't have to download it! True, but instead of releasing a cool rock song, on December 16 they're going to put out a crappy country music pack. Harmonix (the game developer) only puts out new music once a week (on Tuesdays). Ergo, this crappy-ness IS GOING TO HURT ME!!!

Possible "country" artists I could have tolerated:

1. Johnny Cash
2.
3.
4.

The Dixie Chicks? You gotta be joking...


P.S. Everyone knows Country music sucks...

"All You Need Is ROCK BAND"

Leah pointed out that today in USA Today it was reported that MTV Games/Harmonix are partnering with Apple Corp. on a new Beatles-music game.

Yes, that's right--my two great loves are getting married!

ROCK BAND+The Beatles=My money is about to fly out of my pockets.

The game will be a stand-alone game (not a ROCK BAND expansion, like the upcoming AC/DC track-pack--which I'm also buying) and will come out X-Mas 2009. Apparently George Martin's son is helping to produce the game. Awesome.

My only wish is that I can one day drunkenly sing "I Am the Walrus." Oh, and I can't wait to play the solo on "While My Guitar Gently Weeps."

One (Wo)Man Band

So there's this game called ROCK BAND 2 that's about to come out (next month). To gear up, my and Leah have been playing more ROCK BAND. We've both been working on our drumming, because it's not our primary instrument (I do guitar, she sings) and it's hard because it involves your hands/arms AND the use of your foot (for the bass drum pedal). Right now I'm getting about 99%-98% 5-stars every time I play on Medium (which is a lame/easy setting I know). HOWEVER, when I up it to Hard I get my ass-kicked (sometimes I even fail).

So more practice is needed.

Anyway, we were messing around last weekend and Leah took over the drums. I picked up the mike and sang (really badly) for a few songs. Somehow Leah got it in her head to play and sing. The drums are still a bit too hard for her, so she switched over to guitar. See, even though she doesn't play it anymore...she used to play GUITAR HERO 2 way back in the wonderful-magical "dorm days."

Don't believe me? Check out this Limemonkey file photo:



Leah strapped on the guitar and I held the mike. Her favorite song is "Maps" by the Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs...so that's what she tried. Even though she frequently has trouble multi-tasking in real life, Leah is a champ when it comes to video game multi-tasking. Not only did she do it, but she did pretty well at both. Here's her score (she was so giddy she made me take a snapshot of it):



I can't wait to see her play and sing Dylan's song in RB2. Truly that will be some awesome one-man-bandsmanship.

New ROCK BAND Avatar

Hey Amber, check out my new XTC t-shirt!





Also, I found an old Polaroid at work a few nights ago...still worked:

Guess What? It's B-A-A-A-A-C-K

That's right, today I got my XBOX 360 back from Microsoft. It only took a month, but I'm finally able to play HALO and ROCK BAND again! Me and Leah re-formed La La Munky and the Lucky Kitties tonight when I came home from work.



Much fun was had.

By the way, I'm still smoke-free.

After 'Da Party...

Well it's all over. I have some "groomspeople" picked out!

I was worried that everyone who said they were coming would come, but luckily most of the people I know are lame and bailed on me. Why is that good? Because the boys from the dorms came through and showed up! I figured they'd be the only ones to answer the call of "duty." Andy, Sam, and Mitch...the coolest guys from my old dorm all showed up together. We had pizza and played Super Smash Brothers Brawl on the Wii (I actually did pretty good, I even won a few times).

Oh, and Leah...turns out we don't have ALL the characters after all (not by a long shot).

Then we busted out ROCK BAND and jammed. This was what spawned the evening's best/most memorable moment--we had a giant sing-a-long to Weezer's "Buddy Holly." It was great. Then we YouTube-ed fights in Parliament (don't ask), and watched an episode of FLIGHT OF THE CONCHORDS (which none of them had seen). They all seemed very honored to be asked to take part in the wedding, and I now have my groomsmen (plus Becky--who is my groomsperson because she rocks and knows a lot about SharePoint).

A good time was had by all. There is a bunch of pizza left over, so I guess I'm having pizza for breakfast, lunch, and probably dinner (thanks for buying the pizza Becky!).

Some Highlights:









There were two people who weren't there (not through any fault of their own) who I really miss--my friends Katie and Paul. Paul was supposed to come, but something came up...Katie's been having phone issues so she didn't get the word out. Katie--if you see this: Paul and I want to get together the week of Spring Break! I'll email you this week.

Guitar Practice: Day One

So after my "pre-employment orientation" (which I attending a month after I got the job), I came home and hung out with Leah until her interviews (she had two today). Once she was gone, I got out the guitar and starting trying to figure it out. I've never mastered an instrument before, but I guess there's always a first time for everything.

Boy...there is a long road ahead.

Exhibit A: Me trying to play the opening riff to Deep Purple's "Smoke on the Water" (which is the traditional "first lick" all kids learn)

"...Rock'N'Roll ain't no riddle man. To me it makes good, good sense."

From the lead story on Yahoo! "Can Video Games Save the Music Industy":

Older bands have benefited from Activision's guitar monster [Guitar Hero], too. Cheap Trick saw digital sales of "Surrender" go from 58,000 in 2006 to 161,000 in 2007, and classic rockers Kansas watched downloads of "Carry On My Wayward Son" more than double from 119,000 to 297,000. Kansas also claims a more visible result of the video game effect: younger crowds. Where previously their shows might have been attended almost exclusively by an audience old enough to worry about interest rates and cholesterol, now they've got front rows "filled with young teenagers."

It's a whole new ballgame, all thanks to video games


Like AC/DC said:

"We're just talking about the future/Forget about the past/It'll always be with us/It's never gonna die, never gonna die."

Future "Life-Projects" #1

Well, blame The Beatles for inspiring another crappy musician. I've talked about how we don't have cable here at the Casa de Limemonkey, right? Well we still don't have that luxury, so most of the time we watch DVD's. We've been watching ER (a guilty pleasure of mine), but last week we were in between seasons 4 and 5 with nothing to do (season 5 was on it's way to us). So, for whatever reason, I decided to watch The Beatles Anthology.

I got it for Christmas a few years back, and I've seen it all before--just not in order. I liked to skip around. Well, as most of you know, I'm a big Beatles fan, but what you might not know is--I don't trust people that say they hate the fab four. Leah, however, falls into a more difficult category. Since I've known her, she's claimed to love The Beatles, but when pressed it was obvious that she knew very little about them. So together we spent last week watching The Beatles Anthology. Now that her knowledge of the Beatles is where it should be, I have no problems marrying her.

ANYWAY, when it was all said and done with--I found myself wanting to make music. Rock Band didn't cut it. So I called home, and asked about my guitar. About 5 years ago, I bought a (fairly decent) black Ibanez acoustic guitar. I enrolled in lessons out at Longview, but I had to drop them (and all but one of my other classes) because I was working full-time at Uni-Guard (and my grades were suffering). All I remember about my lessons was that the guy was creepy, and we were always in this cramped little photo-booth of a room.

I didn't practice...at all, so it's no great shock that I didn't learn how to play. I think I went to three lessons before dropping out (the last class was basically me showing up and telling him I was dropping). Then, once it became clear that playing guitar was "too hard" I gave up and filed my black beauty into my closet.


Meemoe with my guitar (on Acid+Photoshop)

Well, I want it back. I called home on Saturday and worked it out so my sister Amber is going to meet me in Columbia (the half-way point between STL-land and KC) with my guitar on Friday. Now, I know what you're thinking, "Jason! You have no money, you can't pay for lessons!" You're right, I can't. But then I remembered my dorm-mate Mitch, who used YouTube videos to learn how to play bass. Viola! I'll use the net and books to learn! So that's what I'm going to do. The internet guides I've been reading say that I need to practice for 30 minutes 5 days a week (easy, I'll just do it first thing when I wake up). I found this "most excellent" Asian kind who is like a prodigy, on YouTube...he's already taught me two riffs I'm itching to work on ("Smoke on the Water" by Deep Purple and "Come As You Are" by Nirvana).

I'm working on memorizing the strings and fret positions tonight at work (actually, a lot of this stuff can be done with a pen and paper) and I'm working on learning guitar tabs. All the while STILL working on my book and STILL looking for a job.

Fantastic.

They tell me this is the main riff to "Smoke on the Water." Sweet.

Limemonkey's Life UPDATE

So I'm working (yay). That's about all I can really say about it. There isn't much to my new job, I'm a little disappointed. But that's to be expected (and actually a good thing). I'm more motivated than ever to get back to writing (soon) and keep my eyes peeled for a "real" job. But at least there is money coming in.

Inspired by the new Ringo album, I picked the ROCK BAND drums back up again today. I'm on the last set of songs (on Medium--though I can play on Hard, and actually finished a song (barely) on Expert).

That is my life...that's what's going on with me right now (exactly...boring). I work in the evenings during the week and on Saturday I open and close (9:00am to 7:00pm). I've been told Saturday's are the one of the slowest days (less than 50 people in 10 hours), so I'm toying with taking a book to read--and possibly reading the 200 pages I have written...I want to get back to working on my book, but honestly--it's been so long I need to re-read what I have to see where I was!!! Me have short memory...

Tomorrow is one of my days off, me and Leah are playing on going to the movies (CLOVERFIELD, the first time for her, the third for me). Her sister in New Mexico gave us a bunch of free AMC movie passes, so it won't cost us anything. Which is good, because we're poorer than I've ever been in my entire life...which reminds me, BURNOUT Paradise (5) came out on Tuesday (smash-em-up racing game)...I downloaded the (free) demo on XBOX Live--it f-ing rules. Becky, if you're reading this...get online and download it. It's great. Leah also pre-ordered the new SMASH BROTHERS game (for free, once she traded in a bunch of old games) for the Wii. We'll get it whenever it comes out (it keeps getting delayed).

Anyway, that's it for now. Tomorrow I'll try to write something more meaningful/insightful.

ROCK BAND DLC Better than expected

With Leah gone, there is very little for me to do but play ROCK BAND. When I bought RB, I was excited because I knew Harmonix (the creators of GUITAR HERO) wouldn't let me down when it came to new content. Apparently they set up an advisory board, who meet and decided what songs should be added to the game. This board is headed up by Little Steven (from The E Street Band and "Little Steven's Underground Garage"--the finest rock radio broadcast currently going).

I loved how, unlike the GUITAR HERO content, users can pick which songs they want (as opposed to having to buy songs in 3-pack bundles). This means that I don't have to download songs I don't want. Sounds obvious, but it's innovative. Every Tuesday, without fail, there are at least 3 new songs for download (at $1.99). That sounds like a lot, but each song works for the both lead and bass guitar, drums, and vocals. That's like downloading 4 new levels (per song). Sometimes the tracks are cheaper, last week's All-American Rejects tracks were only $.99.

Last week was a good week--I downloaded "Give Me Three Steps" by Lynyrd Skynyrd, "Hard to Handle" by the Black Crowes, "Limelight" by Rush, and two All-American Rejects tracks "Move Along" and "Dirty Little Secret." But that's not what's got me excited...no, no...

I just went online and saw what's coming out tomorrow...oh boy...

"Action" by Sweet (shit yeah)
"All the Small Things" by Blink 182 (okay...I guess)

AND I can't believe they are including this track because it's so strange (but I can't wait to play it)

"Last Train to Clarksville" by the Monkees. The Monkees!!! Are you kidding me???

How much longer before they land The Beatles? How much longer??? And where the fuck is Led Zeppelin?

G.H.3

I got up early and took Leah to work (Rams game). After I got back from downtown, I met Paul and Amber for breakfast (IHOP). By 11:30, they were gone and I couldn't help myself...I just couldn't.

I went to Best Buy and bought Guitar Hero III. I played it--a lot.

Currently, I'm 7 songs away from having the damn thing beat (on HARD no less!!!). It's good, not as good as GH2 (this one was made by a new company, the original company Harmonix is busy making ROCK BAND). Anyway, I went the cheap route and just bought the game. I held the new wireless Les Paul controller at a Gamestop over the weekend...I dunno, something about the collapsible neck didn't feel right, like it wasn't very sturdy. Anyway, I saved like $40 by just getting the game (instead of the wireless guitar/game package). So that's good.

I was worried about this game interfering with my novel (only a few days till November) but frankly, I've nearly beaten the damn thing. I think two things happened--first, they made this game MUCH easier than Guitar Hero 2. Secondly, I have gotten MUCH better than when I bought GH2 (I'd never played a Guitar Hero game before, so I guess that's why it took me so long to get through GH2).

The song selection is better this time around ("Welcome to the Jungle" and "Painted Black" and neither are covers!!!). But the character models don't look as good, neither do the venues (though they are pretty inventive). I think this is because the game was ported over to so many different systems (GH3 is on EVERYTHING). Oh well, when you're busy playing, you're too busy to notice how ugly the background looks.

As for the "online" play...I tried to get on and play today, but being the launch day the server was packed with people (either that or they were having too many bugs). Overall, it's a good game. Not a classic like GH2, but I'm glad I got it.

Oh and Kaiser Chiefs "Ruby" is a bonus song. Nice.

Legends of Rock Demo

Well it's nearly here, Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock comes out this Sunday. I had a plan on how I was going to snag the game. It involved me going to the store, and using my last $100 from Uni-Guard (uniforms) to buy it...

But, things change. The more responsible part of my brain took over. I'm nearly out of school. I just got HALO 3 (which is only now starting to loosen it's strangle-hold on my time). Next month I'm planning to write my first novel. It was that last one that finally convinced me to put my money to other things (namely Leah's birthday party, which is this weekend).

So today, I took the last of my Uni-Guard blood-money, and deposited it into my bank account. Then I went to the grocery store and bought stuff for Leah's B-day. She wanted something called "red velvet cake." Only Leah would want something that strange (and girly). On the way out, I stopped by the magazine stand, and what did my eyes behold!!! The latest issue of XBOX: The Official Magazine!!! Tucked inside the wrapper was a demo disc for many games...including Guitar Hero 3!!! I was excited. So, despite costing $10, I bought the magazine and went home.

Though the game comes with a new, wireless controller, I was able to use the GH2 controller. I put the disc in...and played 5 new songs:

1. "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" by Pat Benatar
2. "Even Flow" by Pearl Jam
3. "Lay Down" by Priestess
4. "Rock You Like A Hurricane" by The Scorpions
5. "The Metal" by Tenacious D

All the songs rocked! The over interface has changed (new developer on the project). Gone are the cartoon-like characters and setting...everything now also seems to have a glossy, metal look to it (appropriate). I'm a little peeved that so much of the game now seems to be (from what I've read) geared towards multi-player (no one wants to play with me...I'm too good for my friends/Leah, and the XBOX Live People will eat me for breakfast). Overall, though, this demo made me want the game even more!!!

But, as I said...I must be responsible. I'm going to ask for the game in December (the time of gifts). Plus, I just have too much on my plate right now for a game that's going to make me want to skip class and shirk my writing duties.

Yikes...when did I get so damn responsible(?).

HOLY SHIT!!!

After dinner tonight, I picked up Guitar Hero...and man, was I on FIRE!!!! I got 6 STARS!!!! I didn't even think that was possible!!! And check out that SCORE!!! AMAZING!!! I am a GOD at this game!!!

Welcome to the 400,000 Club

Shit yeah!!! Joined the 400,000 club..finally!!!

The 300,000 Club

The new My Chemical Romance song pack is great!

"Teenagers"
"This is How I Disappear"
"Famous Last Words"

They're all really super-hard, but "Famous Last Words" is by far the easiest (I could only get 3-Stars the first time I played the other two). Because "Famous Last Words" is both long and full of double notes...I was finally able to crack the 300,000 score mark.

'Tis a very schweet thing...

New DLC for GH2

I wonder why the downloadable content never caught on for Guitar Hero II? Hmm...let's see, maybe because it:

1. Costs too much

and

2. YOU NEVER KNOW WHEN IT'S UP!!!

If you're a putz, you check Microsoft's official XBOX website to see when new downloads are available. They must never update that thing, because on IGN today I saw that there is a brand spankin' new My Chemical Romance song pack up on XBOX Live. So I checked the official page--nothing up about this. So I got off my duff and fired up the XBOX 360. Yep, there it was.

Oh and one other thing...

There was also another song pack (Song Pack #4) that I didn't even know existed!!! Grrr...how long has that been up Microsoft!? And they wonder why no one was downloading this stuff. I mean sure, I know that SOME people just have their 360's always online...but I don't. I didn't go buy the $40 wi-fi set up. I still use the cable--so it's a bit of a deal to get my system online.

Anyway, I downloaded Song Pack #4 and played the songs (it's great!):

"I Wanna Be Sedated" by The Ramones
"Smoke on the Water" by Deep Purple
"You Got Another Thing Coming" by Judas Priest

Can't wait for the My Chemical Romance pack to download...



Not bad for a first run through (the score is rubbish, but I got 5 stars!). I hadn't played for a few weeks too!

Low Tech/High Tech