Unless otherwise noted, all songs are 160 MSP ($1.99).

• Engel – Sense the Fire (2x Bass Pedal)
• The Faceless – XenoChrist
• Gatling – Absolute *
• Jerry Naylor – Mystery Train
• Sunny Side Up – Corporate Control *
• Swound! – In My Head *
• The Trews – Hope & Ruin *

* Denotes $.99 track.

ROCK BAND NETWORK 3/1 XBOX 360 PLAYLIST

[Official announcement]

For this week’s pick, I thought I would pay tribute to the sad news that Davy Jones passed away yesterday. So this week’s pick is the (cover) track from the band that he was featured in, the Monkees.

What initially started out as an idea for a television knockoff of The Beatles’ movie A Hard Day’s Night, the Monkees were assembled strictly for the show as a fictional rock band. Borrowing liberally from The Beatles, right down the alternative spelling of an animal, the show aired for only two seasons consisting of 58 episodes. That may not sound like much, but the show helped catapult The Monkees themselves into a hugely successful band in their own right, with over 65 million records sold.

The Monkees first single, our Thursday Throwpack pick Last Train to Clarksville, topped the US Billboard chart in November 1966, and remains one of The Monkees’ most successful songs. It is featured on their self-titled debut album, and was the first in a long line of super catchy and memorable songs such as “(Theme From) The Monkees,” “I’m a Believer,” and “Daydream Believer.” Released as a cover track (courtesy of WaveGroup) for Rock Band as DLC in January 2008, Last Train to Clarksville is the only song from The Monkees in the game.

The song starts with what some might see as an undertiered 4-tier guitar riff, which includes several hammer ons and pull offs, followed by lots of 3-chords. The 3-tier vocal chart features great verses, harmony-style chorus, and features lots of tambourine sections. The 2-tier bass includes multiple chart changes throughout the song, which while never difficult, keeps it from becoming too repetitive. The 3-tier drums features fast-paced drumming, but does have changes too.

Here’s your playthrough, provided by RBA regular thenewnoelisoncruz.

Do you like video games, movies and TV shows? Then I would appreciate it if you would have a look at my growing fansite, The Tribute Pages which features loads of tributes of video games, TV shows and movies. Thank you!

Here is this week’s lone Pro-Guitar/Bass chart for yesterday’s Huey Lewis and the News DLC from the always awesome thenewnoelisoncruz. Definitely check out and subscribe to his YouTube channel!

Huey Lewis and the News – I Want a New Drug

Attention. Because that last group of Pinheads wasn’t able to make the cut for the 1985 Hill Valley High School Battle of the Bands show (they were just too darn loud), we have to find other people to fill in. We can select up to three bands, and the prize is today’s Huey Lewis and the News DLC pack for the Xbox 360.

If you think you can make the grade, answer one of the questions below in the comments, and if you’re the first person to answer correctly, we’ll send a code your way ASAP (one code per person, please). First correct answer for each question in the comments wins the code. What are you waiting for? Check out the questions below before my bullhorn runs out of batteries!

1. What do John Fitzgerald Byers and Huey Lewis have in common (be specific)?
2. What is A.C. Slater’s connection to the Huey Lewis and the News hit “Heart of Rock & Roll?”
3. The first single for Huey Lewis and the News was “Do You Believe in Love,” and was featured in the movie “The Wedding Singer.” Not including this song, list three other songs either  featured on one of its two soundtracks or in the movie itself that are playable in Rock Band?

Answer quickly! Don’t make me get Mr. Strickland in here.

UPDATE: They’re all answered. Don’t worry, we’ll have more another DLC giveaway this Friday, as usual!

Arriving in the Rock Band library today is a three pack from 80s blues and pop rock chart toppers Huey Lewis and the News. Included below are playthrough videos of the DLC from the always awesome thenewnoelisoncruz. Definitely check out and subscribe to his YouTube channel!

Links to purchase DLC songs online at Xbox.com are included below for each track. All tracks are 160 MSP ($1.99). The Huey Lewis and the News Pack 01 is 440 MSP ($5.49). Pro Guitar/Bass charts are noted below where applicable, and can be purchased for an additional $.99. Playthrough charts for Pro Guitar/Bass will be posted tomorrow.

Directly below is a playlist of all the DLC videos, followed by individual videos of each DLC track after the jump.

Playlist of all new DLC:

Read the rest of this entry »

The Rock Band Network is an invaluable source of new music but, perhaps because of the quantity of songs or the unfamiliar nature of the artists, it can be a little hard to find the type of music you want. As a tester and charter for the Rock Band Network, I get a lot of exposure to songs coming through the pipeline and there are definitely songs that deserve more recognition. This feature will help you discover new favorites, find a new challenge, and support the independent Rock Band scene. Each week I’ll highlight one new Xbox 360 song, one new PS3 song, and even a song released awhile back – all of them worthy of a listen!

Xbox 360: MC Lars feat. MC Bat Commander and Suburban Legends – This Gigantic Robot Kills

In the history of Rock Band artists this song must be near the top in terms of longest name. MC Lars joins fellow artist MC Frontalot to fill out the nerdcore hip-hop niche of the Rock Band Network and brings his merry band of MCs including Bat Commander and Suburban Legends. It’s like a convention in here! Nerdcore hip-hop, aside from a heavy focus on rap, is famous for the deluge of pop culture references and this song is no different. Where it stands apart from artists like MC Frontalot is in its approach to one of music’s most unfairly maligned genres – ska!

This Gigantic Robot Kills, from the album of the same name, begins quietly but once the horns and band kick in you can’t help but smile. There’s nothing too complicated here – vocals are fast and distractingly clever, name-checking fellow ska bands including The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Save Ferris and Reel Big Fish. Judging by Reel Big Fish’s high position in the Rock Band Facebook request app, the RB community is asking for ska and this will easily tide you over until whenever more ska filters through official channels. Changing tempos, a bouncing bass line and catchy guitar riffs mean the song always holds your attention whatever part you pick.

The vocals are the real treat of the song with harmonies only adding to the crazy fun. Rattling through so many pop culture references, samples and sing-along choruses is exceptionally fun especially with such bizarre imagery as an attack on The OC featuring Mischa Barton’s spine. Seriously.

Ska is another genre in Rock Band that is always fun to play simply because of the jaunty nature of the music. This Gigantic Robot Kills is short, yes, but every moment is filled with something interesting for every instrument. Ska is not dead indeed!

Sounds like: Ska mixed with nerdcore rap. A fun combination!
Perfect for: Harmonies, Vocals, Bass

PS3: Rishloo – Diamond Eyes

Ethereal and atmospheric. Delicate yet powerful. Rishloo have impressed Rock Band players with their songs available on the RBN. Diamond Eyes is no exception bringing a rich textural sound, soaring vocals and prog rock sensibility.

This track is an interesting one for guitar – there’s a lot of pedal-modified sound with a good selection of different parts to grasp. There’s fast, thrash-speed strumming, hammer-ons aplenty and slower sections. Prog rock is a safe bet for guitarists – an ever changing structure means that there is something new to play with every passing minute.

The powerful vocals will take a fair amount of attempts to master – there are quiet and loud sections and just as you think you can predict where the melody will go it shoots off into another direction. Andrew Mailloux has such a distinctive voice it’s a real challenge to emulate his particular intonation and sound.

Bass, especially towards the middle section, starts to develop into more than a root pattern. Working out the new tempo and rhythm can be awkward at first but that remains part of the challenge of the song.

While this might not be the best Rishloo song available on the RBN it is still thoroughly enjoyable to play. The remainder of the album is (or soon will be) complete to buy and every song offers a similar prog atmosphere. Definitely worth a look!

Sounds like: Hard to discern… a mix of alternative and progressive rock.
Perfect for: Belting vocalists, fast-strumming guitarists

Throwback: Jukebox the Ghost – Schizophrenia

Jukebox the Ghost also already have almost an entire album available through the RBN. Having never heard of them before discovering them through DLC, I can honestly say it’s one of the most consistent albums I’ve heard in a long while – with tracks ranging from the fun to the sublime it’s brilliant to see that they’ve given huge support to the RBN. Although not as old as other throwback selections, the track Schizophrenia was the first by the band to be released and is a perfect example of RBN2.0 features in action.

A bright piano riff opens the song, featuring as the main melody for most of the instruments making for especially vocals. Going quickly from really high to really low while working down octaves needs a fair amount of skill so it’s no small relief that, aside from the ‘Here they come, here they come’ sections, the remainder of the song is fairly simple.

A devious, but not impossible, synth solo complements the piano riff during the majority of the song, giving keys players a moment in the sun. The drums are consistent but not boring while the guitar is subtle in the mix but vital to the sound of the song.

The harmonies are another hard part to nail down but with practice they could sound sublime. From experience they can be hard to judge – the guide tone in the practice room will be your friend on the first few playthroughs.

There are many more Jukebox the Ghost songs available and all well worth recommending. It’s likely that they’ll crop up in a forthcoming throwback pick, but for now Schizophrenia is a fantastic introduction to a band that really does stand out on the RBN!

Sounds like: Jukebox the Ghost have been compared to bands like The Kinks…
Perfect for: Vocalists, keyboards

Tune in next week for more recommendations! If there are any songs you’d like us to mention, feel free to specify them in the comments.