I play way too much Rock Band. This isn't a subjective observation, I genuinely do. I've shoveled hundreds, possibly thousands of hours into this game since the first one came out in 2007, and that's not even including the time I sank into Guitar Heroes 2 and 3. I've played it so much that I've gotten friend who've never even picked up a controller sick of it. Roommates and significant others of days past still shake their head when the game is mentioned.
Thing is, despite the mountains of shame heaped upon me by my associates, I'm not going to stop any time soon. I've had plenty of time to ponder why I play this silly little game so much (and it is, when it comes down to it, just that) - I'm not obsessed with it the way I get obsessed over other games like Borderlands or Mass Effect, I'm not crazed about it the way I am with sandwiches or hedgehogs. It's just my go-to activity when I have time to kill, or when I need a quick pick-me-up or a jump start to my day.
It got me thinking about my relationship with music. I've always been surrounded by it, whether it was learning to sing the Beatles with my dad or listening to my aunt play hymnals on the piano. I spent my high school days in every band permutation MHS had. Some of my best memories are of hitting the ska shows with my college buddies. But I'm no expert, no connoisseur of the field; I just enjoy listening to good tunes. It makes me happy.
And what Rock Band did was take something I enjoyed (music) and put it in a context I had a natural affinity for (games). It took the songs I loved listening to and let me be a part of them by adding buttons and points. And the further I delved into the DLC, the deeper my appreciation grew. I unearthed new aspects of songs I'd loved forever (who ever listens to that funky guitar line in the background of Walk This Way?), explored parts I'd never put much thought into (Nathan Watts, Stevie Wonder's bassist, is fucking insane). I found new artists to listen to (how have I gone this long without knowing who Jerry Naylor was?) and rediscovered classic songs I never knew the title of (so that's what that Buffalo Springfield song's name is).
And yeah, I probably could have learned to play guitar in the amount of time I've spent on the game. Probably really, really well by now. But that's not really the point. If I wanted to feel connected to the music in that respect, I could just read the sheet music and play it in my head. It's about feeling the stress of that riff in Thunderstruck and how it builds into the rest of the song. It's about singing backup on You Got It with my best friend on drunk nights in. It's about learning the lyrics to Du Hast and trying not to laugh your way through it.
It's about watching my dad smile at my girlfriend and I singing I Want To Hold Your Hand when the cancer took his voice. It's about my brothers and I feeling like a team for a few hours even if I haven't seen them in months. It's about getting an entire housewarming party to sing along to Love Shack.
It's about taking two things that I take a real and concrete pleasure in and putting them into one activity that I can enjoy by myself or share with my willing compatriots. So you know what? Fuck all y'all; I'm gonna keep doing it.
I am always the singer when we play Rock Band. Always. I want to learn to play drums. I guess I'll give it a try one of these days.
ReplyDeleteI fell in love with many of the songs that I first heard on Rock Band. The first one that comes to mind is Lush's "De-Luxe" followed by Death of the Cool's "Can't Let Go".
ReplyDeleteThis is me in so many ways! Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDelete