The Obligatory Rock Band "Songs We’d Like To See" List
January 3rd, 2008 at 10:32 pm
I actually wrote this post last night, only to have my machine crash (iTunes has been acting up) and lose it. As it was locking up, I snapped a photo of the post, but rather than typing it in, let’s use this opportunity to boil it down to its key points!
There have been many lists of this nature floating around since Rock Band’s release. The best I’ve seen so far has been Jane’s over at Game Girl Advance. I love the girl rock, and Elastica would be an especially fantastic addition.
My list is probably a bit more obvious than most. I’ll update it as I think of more. But before we get to that, I have to say that Harmonix absolutely needs to develop and patch in some sort of in-game song-purchasing interface for the game. Something along the lines of SingStar PS3’s SingStore. Xbox Live Marketplace is horrible when it comes to getting actual info about what you’re buying, and listing the packs and the individual tracks right alongside each other with a warning that you might accidentally purchase the same thing twice has “fix me” written all over it. The PS3 side seems a little bit better, as the PlayStation Store is better at presenting text, but navigation and finding the new stuff isn’t so hot.
With that out of the way, I bring you this growing list of songs and albums that I would immediately purchase if and when they turned up in Rock Band.
Juliana Hatfield - Universal Heart-Beat
Belly - Feed the Tree
Weezer - The entire first album.
Green Day - Dookie
Green Day - American Idiot
Frank Black - Los Angeles
Smashing Pumpkins - Zero
The entire soundtrack to Judgment Night
Bloodhound Gang - Fire Water Burn
Golden Earring - Radar Love
Doobie Brothers - Long Train Running
Duran Duran - Hungry Like The Wolf
Hum - Stars
Everclear - Santa Monica
Def Leppard - Photograph
The Distillers - City of Angels (this is mostly here to elicit a negative reaction from Alex, who both hates this band and songs about Los Angeles. Eat it!)
Hard-Fi - Suburban Knights
Rancid - Olympia WA, or just about anything else from “…and out come the wolves.”
January 3rd, 2008 at 10:58 pm
Ana Ng (and a few others) - They Might Be Giants
January 3rd, 2008 at 11:06 pm
Queen - Under Pressure
Fleetwood Mac - The Chain
Theres my 2 pence.
January 3rd, 2008 at 11:30 pm
Aquabats - Fury of the Aquabats
January 3rd, 2008 at 11:43 pm
How about the Violent Femmes first album? Acoustic bass would rock.
January 3rd, 2008 at 11:43 pm
Anything by Queen would be fantastic. It would also be insanely difficult but it would actually be worth two dollars.
January 3rd, 2008 at 11:43 pm
Pearl Jam has a bunch of songs that would work nicely.
January 3rd, 2008 at 11:51 pm
There is going to be a tippping point where bands beging to say. why are we not in this game?
January 3rd, 2008 at 11:57 pm
Brodie of the Distillers broke Tim Armstrong’s heart. I hate that bitch.
January 4th, 2008 at 12:15 am
What do you think about Linux?
January 4th, 2008 at 12:23 am
Seeing someone pull off the drums in Anthrax’s “Nobody Knows Anything” would be amazing. Hell, I would purchase the entire We’ve Come for You All album if it were made available. I’ve listened to that album so many times that I have fantasies of being Scott, Charlie, John, Rob or Frankie and performing those songs. MTV, let me pretend to live out those fantasies!
Also from Anthrax, “Crush” would be nice. The lead guitarist and bass guitarist wouldn’t have much to do, but the rhythm guitarist and drummer would be exhausted by the time they finished.
And unrelated to Anthrax, I would like “Song without Sin” by Living Colour and the the full Rust in Peace album by Megadeth (the original release, not that god-awful “remixed and remastered” version).
January 4th, 2008 at 12:28 am
Focus - ‘Hocus Pocus’ (Imagine the singers trying to imitate the yodeling… :D)
January 4th, 2008 at 12:30 am
Rock Band isn’t out until Spring in the UK, so I’m drumming my fingers until it comes out here.
2 songs I’d like to see available:
Stevie Wonder’s He’s Misstra Know it all - for me.
“Dead Los Angeles” by the Stranglers (from black and white), for Alex?
January 4th, 2008 at 12:44 am
The drums in “Assassin” by Muse would be fun.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36JKpTteiSw
January 4th, 2008 at 12:44 am
Die, asshole!
Also, I’d say significant chunks of either of the last two Modest Mouse albums or significant chunks of any of the last five Deftones releases ought to get shoved in there somewhere.
January 4th, 2008 at 2:34 am
What about:
Red House - Jimi Hendrix
Darling Nikki/Purple Rain - Prince
January 4th, 2008 at 3:08 am
i have said it once, i will say it again! DEAD KENNEDY’S!!!! (all albums)
January 4th, 2008 at 3:28 am
That Bloodhound Gang song would be great.
I’d like to have:
Machine Head - Imperium
Buckethead - Basicly everything
and of course the obvious choice as a german
Rammstein - Shouldn’t be hard to play,but fun none the least.
January 4th, 2008 at 3:29 am
Woohoo! I thought I was the only person in the world to love that Judgement Night soundtrack! Go Jeff!
January 4th, 2008 at 3:37 am
Comments 1 and 3 are correct.
Also, Weezer’s Pinkerton.
January 4th, 2008 at 3:42 am
I prefer the White Lion version of Radar Love myself, so Guitr Hero 80s satisfied me.
I would go with the entirety of Van Halen’s 1984, Dead Man’s Party by Oingo Boingo, Experimental Film by They Might Be Giants, Debaser by the Pixies, and of course Tribute by Tenacious D.
Oh, and I agree with Alex on the Modest Mouse songs. It baffles me that they didn’t get Float On in the game already.
January 4th, 2008 at 4:20 am
Ahem…
Pixies - Tame
Weezer - Photograph
Smashing Pumpkins - Today
Saliva - Rasie Up (Guilty pleasure)
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - No No No
Be Your Own Pet - Adventure
Clor - Love + Pain
Devo - Clockout
The Doors - Peace Frog
Franz Ferdinand - Matinee
Funeral For a Friend - Rookie of the Year
Queens of the Stone Age - Little Sister
Jihad Jerry and the Evildoers - The Owl
Kaiser Chiefs - I Predict a Riot
Maximo Park - Apply Some Pressure
Nirvana - Mexican Seafood
Oasis - Bring it on Down
Presidents of the United States of America - Lump
Radiohead - My Iron Lung
The Sex Pistols - God Save the Queen
System of a Down - Shimmy
We Are Scientists - The Great Escape
Babyshambles - Gang of Gin
Billy Talent - Try Honesty
Bloc Party - Helicopter
Foo Fighters - Monkey Wrench
The Ordinary Boys - Over the Counter Culture
The Von Bondies - C’mon C’mon (For the drums)
You know it makes sense.
January 4th, 2008 at 4:21 am
The Black Crowes - Hard to Handle
January 4th, 2008 at 5:07 am
tool- aenima
anthrax- caught in a mosh
metallica- master of puppets and battery
January 4th, 2008 at 5:27 am
Every album of The Beatles
January 4th, 2008 at 5:32 am
If you are going to ask for ask for Golden Earring Song, its gotta be Twilight Zone
January 4th, 2008 at 5:46 am
I had a dream I played “Zero” in Rock Band, it was harder than I expected, and I failed miserably.
January 4th, 2008 at 6:42 am
Good call on the Judgment Night soundtrack.
January 4th, 2008 at 7:23 am
Rock Band needs more Metal and a 2nd bassdrum, thats what rock band needs…
January 4th, 2008 at 7:28 am
Seriously, bad music would be fun to play with friends. I’m talking Linkin Park, Nickelback, Avril Lavigne, Kelly Clarkson…
Unrelated to the above, I also want Genesis.
January 4th, 2008 at 7:38 am
Nothing hateful about Zero, which I’ve long thought was the best Pumpkins song for a music game. Short but intense.
Now where’s my Jesus, I/Mary Star of the Sea? I demand 13 minutes of rock glory!
Or, you know… Stairway would be all right.
January 4th, 2008 at 8:27 am
JEFF!!! I’d really like to hear your thoughts on the returns from the Iowa caucuses and the upcoming primaries — do you support Barak Obama like I think you do…or did you march for Ron Paul in WOW? I’m not sure where else to ask you these important questions but here, in response to your wonderful article about Rock Band (by the way Jethro Tull tracks would ROCK). Please don’t dodge this bullet the way so many candidates would; your opinion matters. I want to know what issues you care about, which candidates seem most on the ball, and your thoughts about the future of America in a changing world. Thanks in advance!
January 4th, 2008 at 8:27 am
A passage of bang cock-rush
Battle of Evermore-Zeppelin
Money Talk-AC/DC
Under Pressure-Queen And David Bowie
January 4th, 2008 at 10:28 am
Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, The Doors, Jimi Hendrix, The Beatles. But not likely any of these will get the rockband treatment =(
January 4th, 2008 at 11:30 am
Bates and Rotzo, you should look a little closer. Little Sister, My Iron Lung, and Hard to Handle are all already downloadable.
January 4th, 2008 at 11:42 am
Albums that should be in the game are:
Arctic monkeys - whatever people say i am, thats what im not
Favourite worst nightmare
Babyshambles - Albion
Shotters nation
Black rebel motorcycle club - baby 81
The charlatans - Live it like you love it
melting point
Tellin stories
The coral - The coral
Nightfreak and the sons of becker
Dirty pretty things - Waterloo to anywhere
Editors - The back room
The end has a start
The enemy - Welll live and die in these towns
The fratellis - costello music
Hard-fi - stars of cctv
Kasabian - Kasabian
Empire
Kings of leon - youth and young manhood
Klaxons - myths of near future
Libertines - Up the bracket
The libertines
Milburn - These are the facts
Oasis - Definitely maybe
Dont believe the truth
Heathen chemistry
Whats the story morning glory
The pigeon detectives - Wait for me
Radiohead - pretty much every album theyve released
Razorlight - Razorlight
Stereophonics - Just enought education to perform
Pull the pin
Language sex violence other
The stone roses - The very best of
The strokes - Is this it
The Twang - Love it when i feel this
The view - Hats of the buskers
The wombats - A guide to love lost and desperation.
And thats all i can think of for now.
January 4th, 2008 at 1:36 pm
Let’s focus on getting some more actual artists before more songs. The covers are quickly outnumbering the originals, and unless they change their tune it will start to effect the number of purchases. I stopped after Sabbath, and as much as I’d like that new Rush track it’s time to make a stand.
Some Queen would be awesome. Dragon Attack just screams to be playable.
Some Judas Priest is missing too. I know it got early play in the Gh games but we still don’t have Breakin’ the Law or Livin’ After Midnight.
January 4th, 2008 at 2:01 pm
Soundtrack to Judgement Night. Yes.
January 4th, 2008 at 2:50 pm
I failed to find anything from the 60’s on you list, and since ‘66-about 72, were the best era for rock music, I can’t see why you wouldn’t mention anything.
Some Zeppelin, Floyd or Clapton would be appreciated… Hendrix is an option, but perhaps not that exciting for the bass or drums.
January 4th, 2008 at 3:38 pm
yeah i cant really say much since its not out over here just yet, but more friggin Coheed, just more Claudio Sanchez would make my day! everyday!
lol at Alex
January 4th, 2008 at 3:57 pm
You forgot the entire Kamelot and Nightwish discographies =D
January 4th, 2008 at 4:33 pm
Thanks for that Banana Kid, I’ll need to check that out. Little Sister on Rock Band- that’s exciting.
January 4th, 2008 at 5:05 pm
What Daan said.
January 4th, 2008 at 11:44 pm
They should totally put some spice girls or ricky martin on that thing. Put out a 90’s Magic pack or something
January 5th, 2008 at 12:00 pm
Nice list there jeff….also:
Kids Of The K-Hole by NOFX
Airbag by Radiohead
Tommy The Cat by Primus
Stockholm Syndrome by Muse
Liberate by Slipknot
Tribute by Tenacious D
Possum Kingdom by The Toadies
Freedom by Rage Against The Machine
The Enitre Blue Album by Weezer
Beautiful Disaster by 311
Unsung by Helmet
California Uber Alles by The Dead Kennedy’s
January 5th, 2008 at 4:37 pm
Nice list, I would really like to see
Hotel California by the Eagles
January 5th, 2008 at 10:40 pm
Put in the discologies of Nightwish, Thunderstone and Dragonforce and I’m in.
Tarja Turunen’s new solo album would rock nicely too.
January 6th, 2008 at 3:53 pm
I would recommend some Rage Against the Machine, but I’m afraid most of their songs would be ruined because of censorship. :s
-S.C.I.E.N.C.E album by Incubus, excluding the instrumental songs.
-Can’t Stop by The Red Hot Chili Peppers
January 9th, 2008 at 11:07 am
What is up with the fact that none of these rhythm games have any Def Leopard? Licensing? You read my mind with Judgment Night.
January 9th, 2008 at 10:17 pm
Very good call on the Judgement Night album.
Also some Australian music would be great. If anyone finds Cromagnonman by Snout on torrent download that and tell me it would not be great on Rock Band.
Anything by You Am I would be absolute gold as well.
January 10th, 2008 at 8:00 pm
Some good choices there. I made my own list although I think it would appeal to Alex more. See the link
January 13th, 2008 at 6:59 am
Thumbs up on the Hard Fi reference, I loooove that album, bit bold brassy sound. Saweet!
P
January 14th, 2008 at 6:26 am
Back when Rock Band put up the site that took song requests, I entered a few, and they actually put one in (Orange Crush) which was totally awesome. Then I played it and they fucked it up, cutting out the main vocal part (which they treated as background vocals). Guess it should be in Rock Band 2 or whenever they feel the need to support a second microphone.
Me, I’ll bother getting the game when they release a full R.E.M. CD.
January 15th, 2008 at 1:06 pm
Good call, but you missed Primus.
January 16th, 2008 at 12:30 pm
The Portal Song since it was published by EA
January 20th, 2008 at 10:29 pm
Sorry, Jeff. But Super-Connected (King) or Slow Dog (Star) are way better songs than Feed the Tree. And, although Low Red Moon is one of my favorite songs off of Star, I couldn’t see putting it up for a place on Rock Band.
I will give you props on Zero, though, as it is my favorite song on Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness.
But, we all know we need Springsteen’s Born to Run on there. And anyone who disagrees is a commie, and they know it.
February 8th, 2008 at 9:22 pm
Rancid songs that would be sick:
Coppers
Start Now (this song pumps me up)
Cash ure and
Time
Ruby Soho
As wicked
and pretty much any rancid songs.
Other picks
Interpol: EVIL
Sublime: What I Got
And any linkin park song (You Can Do It!)