Welcome to the first edition of Backstage Pass, our weekly DLC rundown for Rock Band. What's the purpose of this recurring feature, you ask? Well, EA and developer Harmonix are treading unfamiliar waters with their highly successful, weekly downloadable songs. Sure, other rhythm games have tried this sort of thing before, but nowhere near on this scale and with such regularity. Unfortunately, for all their strides towards innovation and progress, they've taken one big step back for the consumer – actually shopping for DLC in Rock Band can be a crapshoot at best. There's no way to preview a song before purchasing, and not knowing how a song plays or what it even sounds like can make anyone a little gun-shy.
That's where we come in. Each week, we'll give you a brief history lesson on the bands featured, maybe show a little video of the songs in action, and most importantly, fill you in on which tracks are worth blowing your paycheck on. Just because there isn't an in-game DLC browser doesn't mean you have to throw your money around blindly.
Week 11
“Siva” by The Smashing Pumpkins – $1.99 at the PSN Store or 160 Microsoft Points.
Hitting the scene in the early nineties, The Smashing Pumpkins filled a void rock music didn't even know it had at the time. While their grunge-obsessed contemporaries were content being little more than Nirvana clones, the Pumpkins brought something else entirely to the table – metal-inspired guitar riffs dubbed over one another, often completely out of control drumming from Jimmy Chamberlin, and some of the bleakest lyrics ever uttered on the radio. Producing a sound so unique for the time rewarded them with tremendous success – double-album Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness went platinum an astonishing nine times.
The Smashing Pumpkins, however, are a band that are equally known for their meteoric rise to fame as they are their sudden, violent implosion. Name any stereotypical rock career-killing mistake – the Pumpkins made it, probably several times over. On-again-off-again relationships between guitar player James Iha and bassist D'arcy Wretzky, heroin overdose leading to the death of keyboardist Jonathan Melvoin, and in-fighting between singer/songwriter Billy Corgan and pretty much everybody else resulted in the untimely demise of The Smashing Pumpkins. The band has since reunited – “the band” being Corgan, bassist Melissa Auf der Maur, and drummer Chamberlin – to record the 2007 album Zeitgeist, a record that went on to receive very mixed reviews from fans and critics alike.
“Siva” comes from The Smashing Pumkins' 1991 debut Gish, which means it's free of the electronica that tainted later albums like Adore. With gloomy lyrics that show modern bands like My Chemical Romance what it really means to be sad, “Siva” isn't exactly karaoke party material, but it can be a good time nonetheless. The guitar parts start off speedy and toy with some unusual timing, while the drums are consistent with Jimmy Chamberlin's reputation as one of the most powerful drummers in modern rock. Try not to get too complacent, though, as with many Smashing Pumpkins songs this one changes pace completely about halfway through. The slower, quieter parts provide a nice breather from some of the trickier chord transitions, but things pick up again soon enough. Overall, “Siva” proves to be about equally challenging as the stock Pumpkins track, “Cherub Rock”.
The Verdict: Gutsy drummers should pick it up for sure, while vocalists and guitar players will likely find “Cherub Rock” to be an overall better experience. Of course, that doesn't mean they're not both worth owning, and fans should pick “Siva” up for sure.
“Working Man” as made famous by Rush – $1.99 at the PSN Store or 160 Microsoft Points.
Rush, the preeminent progressive rockers, have been making waves in the music industry since the seventies. From their more bluesy beginnings to synth-heavy fantasy ballads, Rush's library is as varied as each member of the group is talented. Drummer/lyricist Neil Peart is infamous for not only having one of the most complex drum kits imaginable, but also for making number two on Blender Magazine's list of “40 Worst Lyricists in Rock”. Also a common point of criticism is the incredibly high-pitched voice Geddy Lee uses to belt out said questionable lyrics, but most people will overlook that because he's busy playing bass, keyboards, and working footpedals simultaneously. On guitar duty is Alex Lifeson, who is often overlooked as a spectacular – if unorthodox – guitarist due to the insurmountable stage presence of his two bandmates.
Together, these three very experimental musicians have influenced everyone from Primus to Metallica, and despite massive record sales and critical acclaim, Rush have yet to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. This hasn't really phased the band, however, as even they admit that people “either love or hate Rush.”
“Working Man” is a sharp contrast to “Tom Sawyer”, the Rush track included with Rock Band. While “Tom Sawyer” comes from their more experimental, synthesizer-packed 80's album Moving Pictures, “Working Man” harkens back to their blues and heavy-metal roots. Guitar parts in the song start off with a slow, simple, and crunchy riff and progress to some of the speediest, most difficult solos Rock Band currently offers. It's more manageable than something like “Green Grass and High Tides” or Metallica's “Blackened”, but it's still likely to catch you off guard. Bass players have Geddy Lee to thank for a song that isn't boring to play for once, and drummers have Neil Peart to thank for playing more mercifully than he did on “Tom Sawyer” or “Limelight”. Vocals, as with all Rush songs, are a bit of a curveball – if you can't hit the notes in either of the previous two Rush songs, don't expect to do well here either.
The Verdict: Love them or hate them, Rush songs translate very well to music games. “Working Man” offers a great time for all instruments involved, plus you get to laugh at your vocalist buddy as he strains to hit the high notes. Also, the cover version this time around is far superior to previous attempts at Rush songs in Rock Band, which is a major plus.
“Ten Speed (Of God's Blood and Burial)” as made famous by Coheed and Cambria – $1.99 at the PSN Store or 160 Microsoft Points.
If Rush was the most divisive, experimental band of the last 30 years, Coheed and Cambria will carry their torch for the next 30. They do more than just parallel their prog ancestor Rush – they seem to do everything in their power to one-up them. You think Geddy Lee has an off-putting voice? In addition to having the most ridiculous haircut in the history of human scalps, Coheed's Claudio Sanchez's alto vocals often have an almost feminine quality to them – save for when he decides it's time to scream. Maybe you find Rush's lyrics pretentious and inaccessible? Coheed and Cambria's entire catalog is written about a science fiction comic book called The Amory Wars. You won't find a better example in mainstream rock of a band that's carved such a very specific niche for themselves, and yet the fans they do have – just like Rush – swear they're the greatest thing since the invention of power chords.
“Ten Speed (Of God's Blood and Burial)” from the album Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV, Volume One: From Fear Through the Eyes of Madness – seriously, that's what the album is called – is apparently a song about a writer's evil thoughts manifested into a murderous bicycle. There's no joke that can be written that's funnier than the reality of that statement. Kidding aside, there's actually a decent song amongst all that indie pompousness, with an opening riff that almost recalls the wandering 8-bit masterpieces of the NES era.
The Verdict: Crazed indie kids will no doubt already have this one licked, but for everyone else it's not a bad song, either. The guitar is catchy and fun enough to satisfy most Rock Band virtuosos, and though the bass is still largely comprised of repeating green notes, it's a giant improvement over the included “Welcome Home” by Coheed. Drums are simple enough, though they gain a little complexity toward the end of the song. Because it's a cover the vocals are a little off, but their biggest failing is that they don't allow players to engage in the conversation with the titular bicycle around the middle of the song. "Yeah, but you say a lot of things... and how does that work? You're a bicycle."
