Rock Band audio director talks song selection

by Justin McElroy { Nov 3rd 2007 at 2:10PM }

When MTV Multiplayer poses the question of how one narrows history's great rock songs to the just 45 included in Rock Band, try to resist the temptation to answer "Include more songs!" to your monitor. This is just the cynic in you talking, and, honestly, it's Saturday, you need to give him a break. Instead, read on as the audio director for the game, Eric Brosius, discusses the song selection process.

Brosius says that even though they whittled down a list of 3,000 to find their perfect songs, not all band members will have scintillating parts to play in every tune. "Sometimes we find songs that one or two instruments are just great even if the other two aren't the most interesting - that's what part of what being in a band is," he said. "Sometimes you get to step forward and do your thing, and other times you're just holding it together while other people in the band do their thing."

Those who can find a copy can start doing their thing Nov. 20.

Tags: ea, harmonix, mtv, rockband

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Rubang B (BRUSH WITH FAME) @ Nov 3rd 2007 2:28PM

Methinks 71 is better than 45.

That is all.

Burritoclock @ Nov 3rd 2007 2:46PM

Unless its 45 gold bars compared to 71 dog turds.

I like most of the GHIII song list, but percentage wise the Rock Band list is better (if you take out the 00's songs it AMAZING)so more is NOT always better.

Rubang B (BRUSH WITH FAME) @ Nov 3rd 2007 2:51PM

In games consisting of pressing buttons over and over to music, the most important part for me is the diversity of the music.

Also, if 100% of the songs in Rock Band are good, you only need 65% of the songs in Guitar Hero 3 to be good for it have more good songs.

copa @ Nov 3rd 2007 3:05PM

I like how Rubang counts main setlist + bonus songs for GH3, but only main setlist songs on Rock Band.

Rubang B (BRUSH WITH FAME) @ Nov 3rd 2007 3:08PM

OOPS dog. I thought that was the total. I'm always happy to eat words and crow when I err.

Quick glance at Wikipedia changes my 45 to 58. So change my 65% to 82%.

Burritoclock @ Nov 3rd 2007 3:24PM

And since nearly every "Bonus" song on GH3 is a steaming turd, I think its better to just compare the 45 of Rock band to the main list on GH3, and it's actually pretty damn close to even, of course this is all a matter of personal taste.

But then you add in ability to sing, and play drums, and Download songs, and to me it's not even close.

(Yes, I know GH3 claims it will have downloads to, but I will believe it when I see it.)

the_thriller @ Nov 3rd 2007 2:35PM

There is a big difference between "holding it together while other people in the band do their thing" and really boring parts musically. It's entirely possible to allow other people in the band to do their thing while still having INTERESTING parts to play.

As I'm only interested in playing bass in any of these games, and they opted to not include a bass career mode in Rock Band, I've opted to not be overly interested.

Tiger of PTS @ Nov 3rd 2007 2:42PM

Life is hard for musicians.

It's even harder for bassists.

Rubang B (BRUSH WITH FAME) @ Nov 3rd 2007 2:46PM

Bassists of the world unite!

:::still waiting for Bass-Off: The Game:::

F. Rocker or Fernando R.? @ Nov 3rd 2007 2:49PM

I play guitar... and some bass... for both you need practice. A lot of practice.

Tiger of PTS @ Nov 3rd 2007 3:11PM

Bass takes absolutely no practice, and I will defend this point up and down.

Neebs @ Nov 3rd 2007 3:13PM

Are you kidding me? It sucks to be a keyboardist...even Rock Band won't give you any fame.

How the hell can we play Longtime with no keyboardist?

gonk @ Nov 3rd 2007 3:20PM

yeah you'd think they would've included some primus or something with awesome bass

they did include rush, which is similar, but I hate all rush except YYZ

the_thriller @ Nov 3rd 2007 3:34PM

I agree with the Bass Off game, how about the name Bass Off: All Your BASS Are Belong To Us?

Oh, and Bass guitar requires just as much practice and skill as guitar. Unless you are content with doing nothing other than the root notes.

Kriegs @ Nov 3rd 2007 2:49PM

Just give me "Hot for Teacher" from Van Halen and I'll be happy!

Cesaria @ Nov 3rd 2007 2:54PM

the bass player never gets the pretty girl. he gets the pretty girls best friend.

"hey, is heather gonna be at the party?"

gonk @ Nov 3rd 2007 3:18PM

why didn't they pick paranoid android? creep sucks

and no zeppelin? beatles? pink floyd? i thought this was supposed to be a ROCK BAND game, wtf

the rock band setlist is extremely lacking

Rubang B (BRUSH WITH FAME) @ Nov 3rd 2007 3:24PM

Creep sucks ass. Radiohead even agrees. It's not fun to play for us or them.

AstronautDinosaurFiretruck @ Nov 3rd 2007 3:51PM

Maybe that's because Zeppelin and Pink Floyd are overrated bands for overgrown children.

I'll agree with you though that Creep is hardly Radiohead's best. They definitely should have gone with something off of The Bends.

AstronautDinosaurFiretruck @ Nov 3rd 2007 9:52PM

Oh fuck everyone who has voted me down Zeppelin fucking sucks and you know it. I have never met anyone who, once hearing better music (Sonic Youth, Husker Du, My Bloody Valentine, The Contortions, Sufjan, Stevens, Kraftwerk, Faust, Of Montreal and many many more) has not agreed that Zeppelin sucks.

And if you think that Pink Floyd is any good, maybe cut back on the pot just a little and listen to The Residents (who are like Pink Floyd but with musical fucking ability).

Loki @ Nov 4th 2007 2:23AM

Astro

More then half of those bands you named as being good, are shit bags..

And Alabama fucking blows, LSU beat you bitches...So fuck you and the dick sabian you rode in on.

Laggy @ Nov 4th 2007 8:02AM

@Loki

He's sharing his opinion, he obviously doesn't like certain bands you like, and vice versa. I'm not saying he isn't in the wrong, because you both are. But the fact is his opinion differs from the majority so you shoot him down.
He's allowed to dislike Zeppelin, and to say that Alabama sucks isn't going to make him stop liking them.

If people just respected other peoples fucking opinions...

License to ill @ Nov 4th 2007 10:34AM

@ Laggy

When you make statements like: Metal is for children who cannot wrap their feeble minds around the concepts of melody.

You are going to get some shit thrown back at you, get over it and welcome to the world of blogging...

And Alabama does blow.

Go Tigers...

License to ill @ Nov 4th 2007 11:09AM

Damn I meant When someone/not you makes statements like: blah blah blah....

Rubang B (BRUSH WITH FAME) @ Nov 4th 2007 3:24PM

All I know is he mentioned the Residents, so everything he says is right. The Residents are the greatest thing that ever happened.

And concerning Pink Floyd, what about Syd Barrett? You're not down with Piper at the Gates of Dawn and/or his solo work?

xGabrielx @ Nov 3rd 2007 3:57PM

Honestly, few songs in either game excite me, although Guitar Hero III has more of them. But it's a shame that the Rock Band developers pussied out and included a whole of two songs I would call metal.

AstronautDinosaurFiretruck @ Nov 3rd 2007 4:49PM

Metal is for children who cannot wrap their feeble minds around the concepts of melody and counter-point.

Markusdragon @ Nov 3rd 2007 5:16PM

Music elitism is for pretentious pesudo-artsy twats who forget that music is an entertainment as well as an art.

rivaldi22 @ Nov 3rd 2007 6:18PM

@Astronaut:

You obviously haven't heard all metal, then.

AstronautDinosaurFiretruck @ Nov 3rd 2007 9:44PM

@rivaldi22
IU used to be into metal when I was in high school, you know Cradle of Filth, Meshugga, System of a Down, Dimmu Borgir etc. and I started reading books without drag9ons and shit on the c9overs got a 4.0 in high school, got a scholarship to a good college and am pursuing a PhD in fine arts so I think I speak with some authority when I say that metal music contains zero actual thought beyond "Please, Please, Please God let me get laid tonight. Look I'm playing my guitar all squiggly like."

Sonic Youth. That's fucking guitar rock. The only thing that could improve the Rock Band playlist would be even less metal and "Candle" or "Eric's Trip". Or maybe some My Bloody Valentine, like "Do You Realise" or "Soon".

Metal fucking suck and I personally defy any metal fans to defend their music with intelligent musical and artistic points.

AstronautDinosaurFiretruck @ Nov 3rd 2007 9:45PM

Sorry, I went to Alabama for my BS and they just lost to LSU so I'm fucking drunk and I meant "Meshuggah" and "sucks" respectively.

Please forgive any other spelling and grammatical errors as I have drunk as much as Bama has fucking sucked this game.

miguelon918 @ Nov 3rd 2007 10:40PM

@Astronaut:

HAHAHA system and cradle of filth metal?? yeah right...iron maiden, black sabbath, judas priest have you ever heard them??? and led zeppelin sucks???! i totally hope that you are kidding...Jimmy Page can kick any other guitarist ass..

ColossalHat @ Nov 4th 2007 2:05AM

Hmm, just listened to a Sonic Youth song, and I've gotta say, it sounds like ass. But that Stairway to Heaven, man that's nice.

Here's the defense for metal fans. Most, not all obviously, metal contains empathic rhythms, vocals that aren't just a bunch of screaming, and let's not forget complex solos from nearly every instrumentalist in the band. Combine all that with progressive build ups from the beginning to the end of a song and you've got a metal song.

Now I'm not entirely sure what metal songs mr. dinosaur PhD has listened to, but let's get one thing straight, metal has some of the greatest musical merit there is in popular culture.

I've also noted that EVERY band you named was alternative rock, which isn't a bad thing, but just goes to show what kind of music YOU prefer.

I guess that's all there is to my essay here, music is about personal preference and creativity. I personally do not like alternative rock because it all sounds derivative to me, and when I compare it to Zeppelin, Queen, Muse, Guns N' Roses, and even Tenacious D I find that their music is has more feeling in the first five seconds of a single song than in the entirety of every alt. rock song I've ever heard.

xGabrielx @ Nov 4th 2007 3:42AM

Haha. And you expect me to take musical elitist twattery from someone who likes the pointless, "artsy" noodling of Sonic Youth? Get real. I like lots of different types of music, but frankly, metal (more like hardcore, actually) is where I get my kicks. Guitar Hero II had a whole bunch of songs that made me think "holy shit, that one's going to be fun to play". Rock Band doesn't. Big deal.

rivaldi22 @ Nov 4th 2007 10:44AM

Besides the fact that metal's biggest influence is the Classical Symphony.

I'm not saying most metal is awesome. I personally dislike most of it, but that doesn't mean it does not have musical merit.

why not the LS2/LS7? @ Nov 4th 2007 2:27PM

I like Sonic Youth. Always have. I sure don't like playing Kool Thing though. It's not too noodly to enjoy listenting to, but it's too noodly to enjoy playing.

whymog @ Nov 3rd 2007 11:22PM

People, people!

Look. It's obvious I have better musical taste than all of you.

Debate over.

Now can we focus on enjoying our new rhythm games? Thanks in advance.

Ed @ Nov 3rd 2007 11:52PM

You forget that he went to Alabama for my BS and they just lost to LSU so he's fucking drunk and he meant "Meshuggah" and "sucks" respectively.

Cesaria @ Nov 4th 2007 10:21AM

Neither Rock Band or Guitar Hero III will ever live up to anyone's potential. Everyone has such a differing taste in music that it's just impossible. I don't see them putting Modest Mouse, White Stripes, Voxtrot, or Wilco in there, but you don't see me bitching. It would be bitchin' if they did though. Sonic Youth was a good start to getting some indie cred in these games.