baD kARmA INk

So, where do you get your music from?

It’s a pretty basic question that could have a myriad of answers.   The radio, local shows, internet sites…the list goes on and on.

And, for the newer generation, there is one more source that can be cited.  

Video games.

Now, I am a gamer.  I play the console games, the MMOs and the table top RPGs.  I have portable games (Gameboy and DS) that I take if I anticipate the need for instant entertainment.  If I am in a pinch, I got games on my phone I can play to pass the time.  However, I am also a musician, or at the very least a music enthusiast.  Therefore, it is practically a given that I would be drawn to rhythm-based games such as Guitar Hero or Rock Band.  However, there are more benefits to playing these games than to live out your inner rock star dream and push your button-pressing skills to the extreme.

Think about it for a moment.  Take your average band simulation video game.  Me, I have Rock Band for my Wii at home, with the drum set, guitars, and microphone stored in various areas of the apartment.  How many different songs are on the game?  Now, how many of them have you actually heard before?  If you are like me, there is always as least a handful of songs that I haven’t heard before…songs that I would probably have never considered listening to previously.  And, with the two major franchises offering downloadable content, more songs are being added constantly that open the harmonic horizons for the average plastic guitar-shredding player, namely you and me.

I will fully admit to it.  I did not listen to Jonathan Coulton until I heard the song Still Alive.   I know I committing a geek moral sin by admitting to it, but it’s true.  I just didn’t hear any JoCo songs with the usual musical sources I took part in at the time.   Yes, I was rather sheltered.  However, that all changed with the onset of Rock Band and the inclusion of Still Alive as free downloadable content.  It is the same sort of thing with the synthpop band Freezepop.  It wasn’t until Guitar Hero II that I discovered the electronic pop awesomeness of the group from Boston.  I know that Freezepop is on a lot of  Harmonix games, considering former member Kasson Crooker is a Senior Producer at Harmonix, but that doesn’t matter.   The point is that I probably would not have heard of Freezepop if I did not play GH2.  My musical perspective may not have changed because of this fact, but the opportunity would not have existed at all without the introduction provided by Harmonix and GH2.  

It also works the other way, too.  In much the same way that I am discovering new music, the younger generation is out there discovering the older music.  Artists like Alice Cooper, Steely Dan, The Pretenders, Cheap Trick and Rush are gaining exposure to a whole new set of future fans through the use of their songs featured on popular music video games.  Band-specific game titles such as Guitar Hero Aerosmith and Rock Band: the Beatles help to demonstrate the various musical influences of each group, as well as present some of those rare songs that people may not hear all the time on the radio.   Over the audible click of plastic on plastic and the tortured strains of the vocals, the kids are gaining musical appreciation of the people that blazed the trail before the era of American Idol and YouTube.

So, in the name of melodic diversity, feel free to wail on the microphone, pound on the plastic drums, and raise that plastic guitar neck to the heavens in your quest for video game rock star supremacy.  Don’t be afraid to try that new song you never heard of before.   You might discover some new music you like, and you get to have fun with your friends while doing it.