So I'm incredibly bored at work listening to the golden oldies on CBS FM (which now strangely incorporates Prince, I was hoping to get a morning of all great 60s songs, oh well) and I started reading articles about why people hate music games like Guitar Hero and Rock Band. Now I'm not a huge fan of the games, though I do admit I play Rock Band 2 every now and then, but I can't stand people bashing them because they're not accurate portrayals of what its like to be a real musician. As a musician, personally I consider these games an accurate portrayal of being a rock star, rather than being a musician, as it does emulate the thrilling feeling of being on stage and having a good time. Now for those who think that the games aren't realistic at all, honestly, play any video game and I'm sure you'll find maybe one in every 20 games that's an accurate portrayal of what its trying to be. For example, I play Street Fighter, now just because I'm the best SFIV player on the block doesn't mean I'll be able to protect myself against a gang in Newark. Maybe if we were all playing Street Fighter IV, but I don't think many gangsters in Newark rob people using Street Fighter. Honestly you can take any game and debate its legitamacy, but it seems to only be musicians who lash out at Guitar Hero rather than any other people bashing at any other games. You don't see mobsters lashing out at Grand Theft Auto saying "that's not how it really is, these kids are playing these games thinking they know how to rob people" and you don't see plumbers lashing out at Super Mario Bros saying "that's not plumbing, these kids are playing Super Mario Bros thinking they can go out and support a family on stomping Goombas all day."
So really, c'mon now, these musicians are just being Jesse Jacksons and Al Sharptons, they're talking about something they don't know anything about and bad mouthing it just for publicity.
As a matter of fact, I think that stuff like the Rock Band Network is where the music industry is headed. For those who don't know, the Rock Band Network is a series of tubes that let anyone make a Rock Band track and put it on Xbox Live as downloadable content. I'm excited to announce that I will be participating in this, and I think everyone should, its a great way to promote ones music and it keeps the game going. Most kids today like the bands they like because of Guitar Hero and Rock Band, so this is a great way for bands to get their songs out there and get them heard. Anyways, that's all I have to say about that. Too lazy to finish it in a good way.

Peace,
-Kail