Remember the Guitar Queero episode? Where Stan and Kyle get noticed for their ‘talent’ and are asked to ‘perform’? It’s pretty ridiculous, the idea that skill at a video game makes you a musician. It’s like saying that being good at DDR makes you a dancer.
At least, that’s what I thought until about a half hour ago.
At Best Buy I noticed an announcement for ‘Rock Band 2 Live auditions’. I shit you not, they are having a contest to see who does the best, and then the winners get to ‘perform’ in front of a live audience.
Eh, at PAX (Penny Arcade Expo, big gamers convention) there was a full-bracket Rock Band competition. It was alot of fun, for the paticipants and the crowd. Does it somehow bother you that people are having fun with the game, much like Stan’s father does in the episode? For shame I say!
You’re way behind the news. There was a whole guitar hero two series of tournaments with cash prizes. Some of the best guys traveled around the country playing on stages and then judges graded them.
Someone sitting at a piano reading sheet music in front of them and playing perfectly–matching the proper buttons in the proper sequence in the right timing… it’s entertaining to watch people that good at anything, even if you dont particularly enjoy the music.
Or consider it “music” at all for that matter.
The music isn’t always the most amazing aspect of some concerts. It’s the skill.
When you break it down, Rock Band isn’t much different. Keys or buttons… primitive or high tech… piano, or rock band, doesn’t matter. You’re still just pressing buttons. It’s the machine doing the work. Unlike a horn or woodwind or string, not everyone can even play a single perfect note. I couldn’t pick up a violin and play an A, even if you showed me which string it was. It takes skill just to play the note. Same with blowing properly into a trumpet. You can’t just point at the valves and expect someone to be able to play that note without practice.
A piano, though, doesn’t take practice to press a button. Anyone can play a single note on a piano. Hell, anyone could play an entire scale up and down with no practice at all. It’s simply pressing a button. But strangely enough, people enjoy pianist concerts.
Press a lot of buttons… press them fast enough and in the right sequence and with the proper timing, and that’s something! It’s something not everyone can do. So it is entertaining to watch such a thing, even if you dont enjoy the music.
Believe it or not, I’m actually dying to see this. Why you might ask? Well, because my beloved, Mr. Alice Cooper, will be a “judge” (of two; the other is Sebastian Bach) each week. It starts on Sunday on either of the major music channels, I believe. I can’t remember now because I’ve already set the DVR to record and therefore it isn’t necessary to keep up with it.
Well, because my beloved, Mr. Alice Cooper, will be a “judge” (of two; the other is Sebastian Bach) each week. It starts on Sunday on either of the major music channels, I believe. I can’t remember now because I’ve already set the DVR to record and therefore it isn’t necessary to keep up with it.