Jack White & Jimmy Page: Not Fans of Guitar Hero/Rock Band 0
Are they out of touch? (Short answer: Yes.)
By Jeremy Azevedo
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While at a press conference for a boring documentary about the history of the electric guitar that no one will watch, Jimmy Page and Jack White were challenged to comment on the concept of music based video games. |
I am so goddamn tired of musicians ragging on the state of the music industry and bawling about how much money they’re losing (as if making millions of dollars a year to fiddle on thier little guitars is a right and not a privilege), then turning right around and attacking the only forms of music ditribution that real people actually still use (i.e. downloading services like iTunes and Guitar Hero/Rock Band games). Apparently these seemingly obvious concepts of industry evlution and supply vs. demand are entriely foreign to Jimmy Page and Jack White, who are not interested in participating in the music gaming fad/proven-effective modern business model. Relying on the age-old “it’s not like playing real instruments” argument, Jimmy Page had this to say:
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“You think of the drum part that John Bonham did on Led Zeppelin’s first track on the first album, Good Times Bad Times,” Page said. “How many drummers in the world can play that part, let alone on Christmas morning? Christ I’m old.” |
I find it unsurprising that someone as old and out-of-touch as Jimmy Page would find little to be excited about when it comes to music games. Led Zeppelin, once known as the “biggest band in the world” hardly needs the exposure.. They get played on the radio at least twice a day on every classic rock station in the world, and will continue to do so for the remainder of human history. But maybe it’s time for him to get with the times? Robert Plant is out winning Grammys for doing his own thing while Page is complaining about “those whippersnappers and their gol’durn newfangled electro boogie vidyuh-game devices”. Someone needs to calmly and carefully explain to this dude that f**king “Cream” magazine doesn’t exist anymore, and that “Rolling Stone” only covers Lady Gaga nowadays, amirite?
Jack White, who isn’t as old as Jimmy Page but wishes he was so that he could have more “street creed” also chimed in with his own personal tirade against arguably the most profitable sector of the music industry in the last decade:
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“It’s depressing to have a label come and tell you that [Guitar Hero] is how kids are learning about music and experiencing music.” While he added that he doesn’t try to limit “which format people should get their music in…if you have to be in a video game to get in front of them, that’s a little sad. Also, I am afraid of Terminators and even my cell phone is analog.” |
So here’s a guy that hasn’t made a good album since White Blood Cells in 2001, complaining about his label trying to sell more records for him by getting his music into video games so he never has to work another day in his life. Yeah that sucks dude! I totally feel you. You know what else sucks? Looking like a Jonathan Daivis’ gay little brother. What a f**ktard.
I don’t know if these people realize that the whole purpose for these kinds of games existing in the first place was (and still is) to give music fans the ability to experience their favorite music by actually participating in it instead of just passively listening to it. And it just so happens that in participating, you may discover that you actually quite like artists that you may have never given a chance before…
Just to put this in perspective, here is a short list of artists whose records or CDs I have bought in the last couple of years because I enjoyed playing their songs on Guitar Hero:
The Edgar Winter Group
Blue Oyster Cult
The Exies
David Bowie
Matthew Sweet
The Police
Kiss
The Pretenders
Valient Thor
Deathklok
Foreigner
Steely Dan
Fleetwood Mac
Dinosaur Jr.
Pat Benatar
Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band
Lynyrd Skynyrd
Creedence Clearwater Revival
Eagles
I am the type of person that buys albums and goes to shows and that is educated and experienced with virtually all genres of music. Guitar Hero and Rock Band are not the only place where I can find music. But the evidence is so overwhelmingly in favor of these games introducing kids and adults alike to new artists and widening their appreciation for the technical aspect of songwriting. I find it incredibly foolhardy that any artist would deny this, and offensive that an already established artist would act as if their participation was beneath them. Some people can’t play guitar in real life, I certainly can’t. Why shouldn’t we be allowed to act out their shreddingest fantasies I the comfort of our living room with friends? If the public wants to play along with The White Stripes, it should be an honor to those pricks, not an insult.
I’m sure the only “X-factor” here all comes down to money. I guarantee you that there is a specific dollar amount that will change Jimmy Page and the rest of Led Zeppelin into the world’s most enthusiastic supporters of music games when they have their own in development. As for Jack White, he clearly has some sort of vendetta against technology in general and will probably be living in a bomb shelter or something, collecting his toenail clippings in jars and writing manifestos by the time he’s 40. Here’s hopeing that someone on his management team will have the good sense to acquire the rights to his music by then so we can play The White Stripes in Rock Guitar Hero Band 35 when that day comes.
