The Current Music Blog: November 6, 2006 Archive

The Buffering Stream11/4: Good morning! How are you?

Posted at 7:00 AM on November 6, 2006 by Hans Eisenbeis

Ross falls in love with the Chili Peppers all over again.

Chris eventually gets around to telling the story of the Refugee All Stars.

More CMJ Music Fest news and photos than a reasonable person can tolerate. And even more here.

Frank Black, marriage counselor:Friendly divorces are harder than hostile ones.

Shirley Manson is working on a solo album--with Blue Nile's Paul Buchanan. Cool!

Practice Makes Perfect

Posted at 3:00 PM on November 6, 2006 by Hans Eisenbeis (23 Comments)

Of course, many novelists enjoy reading in their down-time, some beer brewers drink the occasional mug of suds, and many stay-at-home mothers indulge a few hours a day in playing house.

According to today's Wall Street Journal, rock stars are going crazy for "Guitar Hero." The air-guitar video game has become a staple on tour buses across the land and across all music categories. Jonathan Davis of Korn is into it, Rascal Flatts is into it, Tool is into it, Band of Horses is into it. In all likelihood, the St. Olaf choir is into it.

"Intended for air guitarists who might not be able to play the real instrument, the $70 PlayStation title has also won a following in the music world. Its devotees range from alternative-rocker Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails to country stars Rascal Flatts, whose tour manager, Chris Alderman, says he frequently has trouble tearing the musicians away to conduct preconcert sound checks...

...Many professional rockers, however, say the game lets them act out a fantasy that their real lives don't quite match. Sometimes, pretending to be a rock star for a few minutes can be more fun than being one."

It's reassuring to know that there is yet another resource for the onanism of American rock stars, who simply work too hard, struggle with too much sobriety, are never allowed to indulge their more animal appeitites, and never receive nearly enough crowd adulation. All rock and no play makes Jack a dull celebrity. Right?

Image courtesy Activision games.

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