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Rock Band vs. Real BandSleater-Kinney's guitarist tests out the new video game Rock Band.

By Carrie Brownstein
Posted Tuesday, Nov. 27, 2007, at 3:07 PM ET

(Continued from page 2)

The touring life

Rock Band: You never have to convince yourself that Ruby Tuesday is a good restaurant or that five days is an acceptable amount of time to go without a shower. Your spouse, significant other, dogs, and kids all get to come along without making anyone mad. One major drawback is that you haven't actually left your house, nor has anyone actually attended your shows. You do save on gas.

Real band: You see the world, you see your friends, you try different foods, and you meet new people. Getting out on the road is the way you discover that you're not alone.

I suppose it's pointless to try to break it down in this way, into a dualistic Rock Band vs. real band. Not even the creators of Rock Band could possibly believe that playing the game is tantamount to making your own music. There is, however, a sad similarity between Rock Band and some actual bands, and that is the attempt at realness. With so much of music blurring the lines between ersatz and authenticity, at least the Rock Band game is a tribute to rock, rather than an affront. In the realm of fakery, I would choose Rock Band over American Idol or over any of the other flimsy truths masquerading as music. With Rock Band, you can play along to Black Sabbath or Nirvana and possibly find new ways of appreciating their artistry by being allowed to perform parallel to it. Rock Band puts you inside the guts of a song.

These days, it might be easier to exalt the fake than to try to make sense of the genuine. But maybe by pretending to be in a band, there will be those who'll find the nerve to go beyond the game, and to take the brave leaps required to create something real.

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Carrie Brownstein was a guitarist and songwriter in the band Sleater-Kinney. Her writing has appeared in the Believer and Pitchfork, and she writes a music blog called Monitor Mix.
Illustration by Robert Neubecker. Image of Rock Band avatar © 2007 Harmonix Music Systems Inc.
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Remarks from the Fray Editor

Anse just wants Sleater-Kinney back, thundercracker puts the argument that someone else should have written the review: "Really? Slate couldn't find one intern that has both been in a band and played video games beyond Mario Bros?" And Cranky1000 is to be congratulated for a real Rock'n'roll ending to his post, below; we didn't want to spoil it, so we bravely left it unedited.

Remarks from the Fray

If Rock Band is even a bit successful in getting the average listener to appreciate the dyanmics of putting together musicians of differing levels of skill to create something moderately Rocking to Face-melting, then it has done a great service to the music which the creates of the game wish to put on a pedestal. To put it another way, a way that takes all the fun out of it (joy!) Rock Band is an interactive learning tool for the development of muscial connoseuirship. I have looked over this post and see that I have a legion of spelling and gramatical errors. Hooray!

--Cranky1000

(To reply, click here)

My husband and I got Rock Band day 1 and positively love it because it combines my love of Karaoke Revolution with his love of Guitar Hero. I am actually a singer but Rock Band (or Karaoke Revolution for that matter) definitely don't improve my skills but rather I have to bastardize them much like an actual guitar player must pervert his skills to succeed at this. My point? It's not just teenage boys spending 5 hours a day at a video game. My husband would rather play this game a few hours several day nights a week after a hard day of work for fun than spend those few hours trying to learn actual guitar which would be more work than hobby for him. And if there wasn't this simulation game, he wouldn't want to play the real guitar, he would just play another game to relax.

At Thanksgiving his whole family played with us and it was a blast. I never knew his mother's fondness for the song Cherry Bomb or that his brother could shout Beastie Boys with best (or worst) of them. The video game demographic has long since left the 15 year old boy as the majority. People play the game for fun, as you and your friends [did] at that party. Those who want to learn how to play an instrument will, but for others there is Rock Band for a quick rock star fix.

--Puckish

(To reply, click here)

(11/28)

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