June 17, 2008
This week four songs were released for Rock Band. Three of them were released for $1.99 a track. They are Afterlife and Critical Acclaim by Avenged Sevenfold, and Hammerhead by The Offspring. The fourth track, Rock ‘n’ Roll Dream by Crooked X was 99 cents. As usual I played the songs with the guitar while on my bike. I play on medium so your opinion my vary depending on what difficulty you play on. All three of the $1.99 tracks sounded like they would be hard to play on the drums or sing. I may have to try that out later on. Anyway here is what I think of each song:
Avenged Sevenfold – Afterlife: This song was actually hard for me. It was not impossible, but I had trouble when I played it the first time. That made it very fun, and I will play it more often because of that fact. I was looking forward to some Avenged Sevenfold on here, and I finally got my wish. The solo was fun, but not too hard. Most of the song went from picking to chords which helped break the monotony. This was a great way to start off the pack.
Avenged Sevenfold – Critical Acclaim: This song was a lot harder sounding than it really was. This was easier than Afterlife, but still a challenge. This song had two solos. The first was a breeze to play. The second one took you through the scales, and provided a little more challenge. Both of these songs were fun to play.
The Offspring – Hammerhead: This is their new single. I will admit that when I saw The Offspring on the site and did not know the song I was disappointed. I was hoping for something from one of the old albums. This song was actually very good though. It reminded me of the old stuff. Maybe these guys are making a comeback. This song was very chord heavy and had no solo. Neither of these things should have come as a surprise. For some reason I was challenged by this song as well. I just was not hitting the chords when I should have been. I still scored a 98%, but it was harder than it should have been. Maybe it was the fact that it was before six in the morning. This is the third song in a row that seemed as though it would be murder to play the drums or to sing.
Crooked X – Rock ‘n’ Roll Dream: I had never heard this song before so I looked it up on Youtube. The drummer looks like he is twelve. They do play some good music though. I heard these guys compared to Metallica, and after hearing the song I can say that they are no Metallica. They sound like a Disney version of a Rock Band. I got 100% on the song on the first run through. It only had 313 notes so it was fairly easy. It had two solos that were very easy although the second one was slightly harder. This was my least favorite of the four songs. It was good though, and for 99 cents how could you go wrong?
That is all for this week. Next week I will have the task of playing through all 18 songs on the Pixies album Doolittle.
June 10, 2008
This week four songs were available for download. I had never heard of any of the songs before once again. Some people online have complained about this, but I like it every now and then. Three of these bands won a MTV2 contest to get onto Rock Band. The fourth band is very big in Europe I have read. Hassellhoff big? I don’t know for sure. These songs will probably not get played when people come over, but they will be something for me to play when I am on the bike. Most people want to play songs that they know. If anyone I know has heard of any of these bands I would be shocked. The MTV pack costs 99 cents per song, and the Maximo Park song is $1.99. Here are my first impressions of these four songs:
The Myriad – A Clean Shot: This is the first of the MTV songs that were 99 cents each. I made one stupid mistake playing the song or I would have gotten 100% on it. The song was very easy. It was also chord heavy, but the same part over and over. That repetition could be bad or it could be good in the long run. There was also no solo, and a part in the song where you could put the guitar down for quite some time. That is a big deal for me because I play while on the bike. It was an okay song overall though. The drums did sound like they would be fun to play.
Them Terribles – Bullets & Guns: This song was even easier yet. Another 99% though (I hit a yellow note instead of a blue again). This song had very few notes, but was very catchy. It also had a solo which was rare for this pack. The solo was short and not very challenging.
The Material – Moving to Seattle: This song was the last of the MTV2 pack. It had a very slow opening followed by no guitar at all. The song picked up to the point where it was fun, but then went to nothing again. I was disappointed. I kept thinking will this song ever pick up? This song was by far the easiest of the three songs in the pack to play. It was not very challenging at all. I got 100% on it just sight reading it. The song had no solo in it at all. Some of the songs I give a hard time right away because they are not guitar friendly. This is one of those. The drums sound like they would be fun, and the song features a female lead singer so it has some things going for it. It just is not the best to play on guitar. It was probably my least favorite of the pack to play.
Maximo Park – Girls Who Play Guitar: This song was originally listed as being 99 cents, but actually cost $2. In all the four songs only cost $1.25 each so there is not too much to complain about. The song opens with a two notes…two notes…two notes pace that feels old very quickly. When the song does pick up it is fun to play. It goes into the tedious portion again, but only for short periods of time. The song is short and easy. I got 100% on it on my first read. There is only 395 notes so that is not saying a whole lot. The song is also lacking a solo, but a lot of newer music is like that nowadays. I guess I am part of the older generation who expects a solo in every song.
June 7, 2008
Tonight I went and saw the new Adam Sandler movie ‘You Don’t Mess With the Zohan.’ I had read some bad
reviews of it, but I really enjoyed it. I usually do enjoy the comedies that get a horrible review. This movie was a little over the top, but it was funny. It was not his best movie. It is a good movie though. He has a great supporting cast once again, and that helps make his movies better. Rob Schneider is great once again in a Sandler movie. Thank God for Sandler, because Rob would have a lot of spare time without him. That is too bad because he is very talented. John Turturro is great as Adam’s rival in the movie. This film was made for some over the top acting, and everyone delivered. Like I said I went in wondering if it would be good after seeing some reviews, and walked out of the movie thinking that I would go see it again if the opportunity presented itself. Once again Adam and Dennis Dugan deliver. I would go see any movie involving these two.
June 6, 2008
Next week four tracks will be available for download on xBox live. I have never heard of any of these bands, but I guess that they won some sort of MTV contest to get onto Rock Band. The songs are .99 cents each. Because of the low price I will probably get all of these. I will have a review of them on Tuesday. Here are the tracks:
MTV2 Pack
The Material – Moving to Seattle
The Myriad – A Clean Shot
Them Terribles – Bullets and Guns
Bonus Pick
Maximo Park – Girls Who Play Guitars
June 5, 2008
Ever since Guitar Hero released the free Aerosmith song on a Thursday and I missed it I check the marketplace on Thursdays to see if something new came out. Today I was greeting with a three pack of songs from Motorhead. Apparently they have a new cd because all three of the songs were from 2008. I played them while I rode my bike tonight, and I really liked the pack as a whole. Here are my thoughts on the songs:
Stay Clean - This songs was simple. I breezed through the 413 notes getting 100% on my first time through the song. The song itself was not bad. The chart was pretty boring though. You basically had to master a couple of sections, and then repeat. I remember thinking how upset I was that this was like a Rock Band chart.
(We Are) The Road Crew – This song was a little harder. I pulled out a 98%, but it was hard fought. I would put the difficulty of this song at medium/hard. I really liked how the song challenged me. There were two solos that were hard, but that challenge will get me playing this song until I get them. It is fun when you are trying to get the notes. With Rock Band most of the songs are a breeze. This pack made me remember why the Guitar Hero brand is much more fun to play on the guitar.
Motorhead – If the last song was hard, then this song was uber hard. Wow! I got 91% of the notes, and I don’t know how I did that. This was a fun song to play though. The notes came fast and furious, and that will keep me coming back. This pack went from very easy to Holy $%&@ in a heartbeat. We need some more of these!
June 4, 2008
This has to be one of my favorite Sandler movies. I am watching it as I write this, and I remember why I like it so much. Once again Drew Barrymore and Adam are paired together. They pick up where they left of in the Wedding Singer. They are great together, and the movie is the better for it. Rob Schneider is once again a great sidekick to Adam. He just seems like he cannot miss in these roles. Dan Ackroyd and Sean Astin also are great in the movie.
This movie is so great because of the ways that Adam tries to woo Drew everyday. He has to get her to accept him, and then when he does he has to keep her. This is made near impossible by the fact that she lost her short term memory, and cannot remember him the next day. This is a great movie for date night, or just when you need a movie to make you laugh.
This movie once again has a great soundtrack. They remade a bunch of eighties hits with a Hawaiian flavor. It is great during the movie, and later on in the CD player.
June 4, 2008
Last Night I watched Big Daddy. It had been a while since I had seen the movie. This was one of the first DVD’s that I purchased in college when I bought my first DVD player. I have seen this movie so many times that I burned out of it for a while. Looking back now I really appreciate how good the movie really was. It was still a Sandler comedy, but it was a little more grown up. Rob Schneider once again is a sidekick with a crazy accent. The two twins who played the boy did a great job. In this movie you laugh, but you also feel for the main characters.
June 3, 2008
Adam stars in yet another remake. This one is the updated version of the Frank Capra classic Mr. Deeds Goes to Town. Sandler plays the title role of Longfellow Deeds a simple country man who comes into billions and moves to New York City. He then falls for a girl (Winona Ryder), and cannot get used to being constantly followed by the media. Things get further complicated when he finds out that his love is part of the media.
This movie is great because of the supporting cast. Peter Gallagher plays a great villain. Winona Ryder is very attractive as the leading lady. John Turturro steals the show though as the butler. He makes every scene that he is in much better. Allen Covert also is great again in a Sandler movie.
June 3, 2008
Here is a classic Sandler movie. Set in 1985 it follows Robbie Hart a singer who lost his rock career and now of course sings at weddings. He falls for Drew Barrymore (who is great in it by the way) who is planning her wedding to Miami Vice loving playboy. Will Robbie get the girl? Once again you will have to see the movie to find out.
This movie works because most of the things that they make fun of were what made the 80’s so much fun back in the day. His friends Allen Covert, Robert Smigel, and Jon Lovitz all are great in the movie. Adam and Drew have very good chemistry. You really think that they must have had a blast making the movie. This was a great movie to watch in college. The soundtracks also helped bring back my love of eighties music.
