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Rock Band Weekly: Busted, Flyleaf, Silverchair
Next week's Rock Band DLC contains three random singles and no track packs. With that said, Harmonix has already prepared for the backlash against this next update. Developer "HMXHenry" has posted a forum note to all the "Chicken Littles out there" that there is "loads more content in the pipeline, tons of awesome RBN tracks that are now coming out on the Xbox 360 AND the PS3." So, don't jump to conclusions, the sky isn't falling people! Check out next week's DLC releases after the break.
First Rock Band Network tracks coming to PSN tomorrow
The first songs from the Rock Band Network to be available on PS3 will be released tomorrow, April 22, 2010. The five selected songs are "some of the most popular tracks" from the full selection: Individual Tracks (with expected prices based on Xbox 360 RBN pricing) Flogging Molly - "Drunken Lullabies" (Live) ($1) Jonathan Coulton - "Code Monkey" ($2) The Shins - "Australia" ($2) The Slip - "Even Rats" ($2) Steve Vai - "For the Love of God" (Live) ($2) Harmonix explained that, due to the way submissions work on PSN, the company is "currently capped at 5 songs per week." The developer explains that despite "practical realities that aren't in [its] immediate control," it is trying to bring out as much music as possible. [Thanks, Benji B]
Left 4 Dead 2's 'The Passing' rolls into town next week
All right, so the Left 4 Dead/Left 4 Dead 2 crossover DLC "The Passing" passed March by. Valve just announced it'll be available for download next week! We're sure the content will still be fresh, and the zombies still putrid, in April! Valve promised to update the official blog next week with more details. Additionally, in the spirit of crossover ... ing ... ness ... the Left 4 Dead blog announced that two songs by the fictional Midnight Riders band have been added to the Rock Band Network. For just one dollar each, you can play "Midnight Ride" and "One Bad Man!" It would be appropriate to gather three friends to play the songs with. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]
Rock Band Weekly: Coheed and Cambria, Siouxsie, Supergrass, Violent Femmes
Vocalists, get out your water bottles and start warming up now because a Coheed and Cambria track pack is the highlight of next week's Rock Band DLC. Also, for the first time, The Violent Femmes are available on Rock Band with "American Music." Check out next week's full DLC release list after the break.
Rock Band Weekly: Serj Tankian, Smash Mouth, The Used
Serj Tankian or The Used should probably be our focus for next week's Rock Band DLC -- however, we can't get Smash Mouth's "All Star," also available next week, out of our heads. That song is the musical equivalent of one of those brain beetles from Wrath of Khan. Get it out, get it out, get it out! Ahhhhhh! Check out the full release list after the break.
Joystiq Podcast theme 'Gravity' now on Rock Band Network
Announced as a Rock Band Network release during PAX East, the Joystiq Podcast opening theme, "Gravity (Don't Let Me Go)," is now available for the Xbox 360 version of the Rock Band platform for 80 ($1). As with all RBN releases, the playable song can be demoed before purchase. The RBN version of the track, an update of the show theme, was authored for the game by Rock Band-alums The Main Drag and will also appear on Jon Black's upcoming EP The Beginning (Up From The Ground Vol. 1), available April 27. Joystiq Podcast host Justin McElroy wants fans of the show and of music to download the track immediately, saying, "If you're not using your fingers to play 'Gravity (Don't Let Me Go)' on Rock Band, just cut them off and choke yourself with them." RBN currently hosts around 210 songs, which are listed here. Now go drop "Gravity" onto your console.
More 'Splosion Man songs coming to Rock Band Network
We wish we possessed the kind of thought processes required to make the mental association between the release of the Rock Band Network and the catchy, quirky ditties from 'Splosion Man. The game's theme is already up on the RBN Store, but that's not the extent of the musical 'Splodiness -- in an interview with SavyGamer, Twisted Pixel CEO Mike Wilford revealed two other tracks from the game would soon hit the Network: "The 'Splode Beneath My 'Splosion" and "Donuts Song." No time frame has been given for the songs' release, but that hasn't stopped our excitement for the vocal part of "T'SBM'S" from growing to catastrophic, earth-quaking levels.
Rock Band Weekly: Anberlin, Hawk Nelson, Skillet, Superchick, Switchfoot & Thousand Foot Krutch
Next week's Rock Band DLC features a mix of bands. Although music afficionados may recognize several of the tracks, the only one that jumps out at us is Switchfoot's "Meant to Live" ... and the only reason for that is because it's on the Spider-Man 2 soundtrack. (Gawd, we are such nerds.) All of next week's tracks will also be available in Lego Rock Band. Check out the full release list after the break.
Rock Band 3 to have vocal harmonies, Harmonix (accidentally) confirms
At Harmonix's PAX East 2010 panel, five Rock Band designers answered questions from the audience for "An Awkward Hour" with one major stipulation: No questions about Rock Band 3. However, when an audience member inquired whether Green Day: Rock Band songs would still have harmonies when imported into RB2, Harmonix Project Lead Chris Foster began listing off the games with harmony support. "We've said Rock Band 3 would have harmonies already, right?" Foster asked his fellow panelists, who responded with a booming, "No!" Foster clammed up without revealing more details about Rock Band 3's harmonies (or even answering the attendee's original question), only mentioning, "It's been nice working at Harmonix." (We think he was joking about that last part.)
Rock Band nabs 'exclusive' Jimi Hendrix experience
[Jimi's last Guitar Hero appearance] True, he once exclusively rocked the World Tour, but there just ain't no telling with that Jimi Hendrix. Today, following the reveal of the Jimi Hendrix Experience DLC album Axis: Bold as Love for the Rock Band platform, MTV Games and Harmonix announced, "Jimi Hendrix's music is now exclusive to Rock Band with more songs coming to its industry-leading platform in the future." (An MTV Games spokesperson reiterated to Joystiq that "moving forward" Hendrix music-game releases will be exclusive to Rock Band, but declined to offer specifics on the deal with Experience Hendrix LLC.) Previously, several Hendrix tracks, including a DLC pack, and a digitized version of the, uh, "No. 1 guitarist of all time" were featured in Guitar Hero: World Tour, which, due to licensing restrictions, can't be imported into other Guitar Hero games. Even a Hendrix-themed Guitar Hero game was once allegedly in the works, having apparently slipped into the sea.
Rock Band Weekly: X, Carrie Underwood, Little Fish, Ace Frehley, OneRepublic
Despite American punk rock band X being next week's featured Rock Band DLC pack artist, we decided to go with a picture of Carrie Underwood. Why? Isn't it obvious?! Her single, "All-American Girl," available next week, speaks to the struggles of the middle-class American female. Of gender roles, a father's love and providing babies for your husband. It's like the "American Pie" of a new generation. So that's why Underwood gets featured with that "how do I spend my next million, y'all?" look. Check out the full release list after the break.
GDC: Harmonix on the ups and downs of creating the Rock Band Network
Eleven days ago, Harmonix delivered on a concept many of us had fantasized about since the very first time we ever played Rock Band: It democratized the track-making process. For the first time in the franchise's history, any schmo off the street with a bit of MIDI engineering experience and a song in their heart could put that song on the Rock Band Store for the world to see (and hopefully purchase). At GDC, Harmonix senior sound designer Caleb Epps and Rock Band Network producer Matthew Nordhouse sat down to speak about the challenges that came with opening up the game to user-generated content, and how its dedicated community has organically evolved the song-sharing process.
Seen@GDC: Some weird things happened at Harmonix's Rock Band event
You've already seen the (arguably) most newsworthy video we filmed during Wednesday's Rock Band Bar Night event hosted by Harmonix at GDC. However, our Flip Cam captured a few other magic moments which we'd be remiss if we kept to ourselves. They're not the most news-y videos we've ever posted on our own site, though one of them does feature a preview of the upcoming Lady Gaga DLC. That's gotta be worth something, right? Watch the whole sideshow after the jump.
Rock Band Weekly Redux: Lady Gaga, Cartman, 3 Doors Down, Mute Math, The Subways
Lady Gaga was already announced for Rock Band's DLC update next week -- but she's bringing friends along. The pop sensation will be joined by some, ahem, actual rock bands. Check out next week's full list of releases after the break.
Rock Band Weekly: Lady Gaga, Cartman's 'Poker Face'
Don't even lie! You're just as excited as any club kid that boundary-pushing pop sensation Lady Gaga is coming to Rock Band next week. So, in the privacy of your living room, break out the tight-fitting pleather and get your jam on (to the tracks you, publicly, tell everyone you hate). Of course, you could pretend you "accidentally" bought the Gaga Track Pack, when you actually meant to purchase South Park chubby charmer Eric Cartman's rendition of "Poker Face." Yup, that lil' ditty will also be available. See, now you can cover up that undeniable desire to go goo-goo for Gaga with a veil of irony! Check out the full release list after the break.
Rock Band Weekly: The White Stripes
It's a great time to be part of a two-piece Rock Band ... band. Next week, a three-pack of songs by The White Stripes will be released, each from a different album. In what might be the most appropriate music game DLC ever, "Fell in Love with a Girl" is totally playable in Lego Rock Band. Other tracks to be added next week include songs from The Futureheads, The James Gang, Shaimus, and, for those of you who are both Canadian and four-armed mutants, Rush drummer Neil Peart's version of the classic Hockey Night in Canada theme song. While you wait on that stuff, why not browse the new Rock Band Network selections? If you're playing on Xbox 360, that is. Everyone else: continue waiting.
Rock Band Network live on Xbox 360, 105 songs available
The Rock Band Network has gone live on Xbox 360 with a catalog of 105 songs. With over 4,000 registered authors and peer reviewers participating in the program, we're guessing a lot more tracks are in the pipe; and Harmonix and MTV Games have teased that tracks from from Flight of the Conchords, The Smashing Pumpkins, Twin Atlantic, All That Remains, Clutch, Prong, The Gaslight Anthem and hundreds of other artists are on the way. Song prices currently range from 80 to 160 ($1 and $2)*. A nice new feature of the Rock Band Music Store offshoot is that players will be able to download RBN samples to demo tracks before they buy. Songs will debut exclusively on Xbox 360 for 30 days, after which "a selection of standout tracks" will become available on PS3 and Wii. *Artists who submit songs receive a 30-percent royalty of the RBN retail price (excluding tax) for every track purchased. Update: List of RBN launch tracks after the break. %Gallery-71018%
Rock Band Weekly: Disturbed, Mother Hips, Silversun Pickups, TRUSTcompany
Next week's Rock Band DLC is quite ... eclectic? Yeah, let's go with that. With such variety, there's sure to be something that people will love -- or love to hate, which is typically the case. There's a track pack from chart-topping band Disturbed, with three songs off its 10th anniversary edition of The Sickness album. Meanwhile, Grammy-nominated band Silversun Pickups also contribute a couple more tracks to the DLC pile. Click past the jump for the full list of new additions!
Rock Band Weekly: HIM, Marilyn Manson, The Police
Last week, the Rock Band Store got a few healthy slices of Americana with tracks from Otis Redding and the Brian Setzer Orchestra. This week's offerings are much more foreign -- there's a three-pack from Finnish rock band HIM, a song from Britain's One Night Only, a track from The Police, and a song from Marilyn Manson, whom we all know actually descends from an extinct alien race whose name our human tongues could never hope to pronounce. Click past the jump for the full list of new additions!
EA: Rock Band deal with Viacom only through March 2010
If you're wondering where Rock Band 3 is, a year and a half after Rock Band 2 and five months after the launch of The Beatles: Rock Band, it seems EA isn't sure it's going to get to publish it. During an investor conference call, EA execs revealed that the publisher's deal with Viacom (the company that owns MTV, Harmonix, Rock Band and maybe you as well) is only active through fiscal year 2010 (which ends March 31). Presumably the deal somehow includes the yet-to-be-released Green Day: Rock Band -- but EA's unlikely to announce any more Rock Band games until it knows it has the license locked down for another year. [Update: An MTV/Harmonix spokesperson has told us "The previously announced Green Day: Rock Band will be published by MTV Games and distributed by EA. Stay tuned for news of MTV Games' other titles soon."]
