Harmonix Requests Licenses For Rap and R&B Tracks
- Thread starter Greg Tito
- Start date
First thought: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
Second thought: WHY?!!
Third thought: Hmmmm. I might play some Guitar Hero.
Second thought: WHY?!!
Third thought: Hmmmm. I might play some Guitar Hero.
No. Just no. This is a bad idea and will not end well.
Just drop seeking the rap licenses and get "Stairway to Heaven" already!
Just drop seeking the rap licenses and get "Stairway to Heaven" already!
I'm getting tired of these really snide and smug little snipes at anything other than rock and metal music.Caliostro said:
I mean, GOOD ONE BRO! GIRLS ARE DUMB ANYWAY I WISH THEY WOULD LISTEN TO OPETH INSTEAD UGH MAYBE THEN THEY WOULD TALK TO US!
Nono... I'm not against other types of music, in fact I listen to pretty much every genre from Metal, Pop, 80's, Classic, and Opera to Reggae, Techno and even more alternative styles... The keyword there is music.Contextualizer said:
I've listened to some good raps. Some really good ones even. But I can't bring myself to call it music. Poetry maybe. Most of it quite dreadful, some of it good, with some rare gems of pure gold... But then again that describes most things that ever existed doesn't it?
My problem with rap and "R&B" is that they lack the essential part of music... The music. They have lyrics, some good, most seemingly written by a 12 year older with Down's Syndrome... But the lyrics exist. But where's the music? Ironically lyrics are not the fundamental part of music, they're complementary at best. The "music" in these genres is generally just samples they play with a synthesizer. If that's music I'm the greatest musician alive. I can play any genre and just about any music ever made that has an mp3 available, I just turn on Winamp.
It's bad enough that the whole genre of "rhythm games" is a sad joke, but pretending to be a band of a genre that doesn't really have any use for bands feels a bit like dedicating an entire Singstar game to techno music...
If Rhythm and Blues(See? no need for quotation.) isnt a valid form of music then I'm the pied fuckin' piper.Caliostro said:
Seriously, do you think that Chuck Berry was just looping tracks? Nat King Cole? ELVIS?
You don't have the facts, dude. Even rap has its roots so engrained into African American culture that its an insult to their history to say it will never be on the same level as your favorite bands. Nevermind the fact that groups like the Roots and the Beastie Boys show more integrity as well as lyrical and musical prowess than most of the drivel being pushed out by mainstream rock acts these days.
Bottom line, don't knock on something as big as rap and hip hop. And especially R&B. If you dont believe me about the contributions all three of those genres has given back to the musical community, look into it yourself. You might be surprised.
I should have specified that by R&B I meant the majority of junk pumped out these days that's labeled R&B to prevent being labeled rap. Mea culpa, should have specified.Thunderhorse said:
Ahaha... I see, this is the joke part.Thunderhorse said:
You know what else is big? MTV, The Transformers movies and Twilight... See a pattern...?
I'd imagine these songs are DLC, so I don't see the point in all the whining. Don't download it if you don't want it. I hate country, but there have been several country packs to come out on Rock Band, I simply didn't download anything. It isn't the end of the world.
Plus, they did say Snoop Dogg would be DLC at some point as well. That was some time ago.
Plus, they did say Snoop Dogg would be DLC at some point as well. That was some time ago.
Right, I'm a formally trained composer and musician and what you just said makes no sense. Hip Hop and R&B use the same exact compositional processes as the above genres you listed. They're just another part of the family of Western popular music. The only reason people hate them is because of antiquated and hilariously misplaced snobbish ideas about what is and what is not real music.Caliostro said:
Then again, I guess it must be pretty frustrating to just be an amateur musician or even just a listener who can't do anything more than disrespect what other people enjoy listening or making. I guess it makes sense though; what else can you do?
Umm, they've had Snoop Dogg licenced for ages
http://www.rockband.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1941121
It's just more variety
http://www.rockband.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1941121
It's just more variety
You weren't very good were you? If your comprehension of the English language is anything to go by...Contextualizer said:
And, again, to no one's surprise, you're wrong. I hold some rap/hip hop in high regard. For instances, I'm a big fan of Eminem's Mosh, and a lot of his stuff (definitely not all) due to it's satirical or introspective nature. Public Enemy were an absolute landmark as were Run DMC, for instances.Contextualizer said:
But as I specified above, my issue is calling it "music", because when it comes down to it it's all about the lyrics, not the music. Most of the times if the music was completely different, or not there at all, very little would change. The value they have is in the lyrics and the message they convey, not the rhythm or melody, which is often an afterthought, added with a synthesizer for the sake of having a "background" to the lyrics.
Would you call Anne Franke's Diary a beautiful action game? Or Tarantino's Inglorious Basterds an exquisite poem? Or Team Fortress 2 an amazing movie?
I never claimed to be a musician. I appreciate music. I also don't create women, guns or videogames and I can appreciate them too. I'm guessing you don't either... Good one at least.Contextualizer said:
...But that was some nice projection though, how is it being a failed musician?
I would buy that in a hear beat. I wouldn't even play it but it would become my Number one game of all time.
I don't think you "get" hip hop or R&B. It is a style of music purposed for dancing, outside of the lame underground stuff no one except for nerds listen to. Believe it or not, but the lyrics come secondary to the music. If the music sucks, no one will dance to it. Ironically, the only stuff that places lyrics in front of the music is the lame underground stuff nerds on this very site would be so proud to point at as to what they listen to.
Of course, I can't imagine a bunch of nerds understanding the concept of dancing to music, so I won't hold it against you.
And you don't understand what compositional process is, do you? Nor do you understand the idea of ethnocentricity. Just because you have a narrow definition of what is music doesn't automatically make things that fall outside of that definition "not music."
Otherwise, I'd have to say everything you listen to is not music because it pales in comparison to Kazuhito Yamashita. The tripe you listen to is just fluff; it cannot compare to the melodic, harmonic, rhythmic, and dynamic sophistication of this Japanese classical guitarist.
Sorry man, it's true. Everything you listen to isn't music because it isn't as awe-inspiringly incredible as Kazuhito Yamashita. Why not try something that takes real talent and skill like him?
Is folk music not music because its emphasis is on lyricism? Is Indian classical music not music because of its emphasis on melody and rhythm and not harmony?
You are trying way too hard to mask your close-mindedness (or maybe it's just ignorance about music) as something justified and right. But let me guess, you are open-minded because you listen to everything from Led Zeppelin to Bob Marley!
Awesome.
If you want to see diversity, here's my charts as based on Last.fm:
If you can't recognize many of the names on that list, I think this discussion won't really be going anywhere fruitful.
Come again? I've enjoyed quite a lot of success and satisfaction from the music I've made. That's more than most people on here can say about the creative pursuits they're passionate about (if they are actually passionate about anything creative).
What the hell? Just like with DJ Hero, word gets out about a hip-hop themed music game and everything thinks the apocalypse is nigh on the horizon. Let yet another Guitar Hero spin-off drop - like, gods forbid, Green Day - and everyone will be on that like... how did my grandma put it? "White on rice", I think she used to say.
It's shame really. Great games of the past like the JSR series and Marc Ecko's: Getting Up get nothing short of shit on for no other reason than the fact the games are hip-hop themed (soundtrack aside, graffiti is one of the "central themes", if you will, of hip-hop culture). Can't he hip-hop heads get ours without everyone and their mom shunnig us more than they already do because of it?
On topic, this news implies that a hip-hop themed track pack if not full game is being dropped in the future by Harmonix. While part of me wants to welcome it with open arms ("Ante Up"? only one of the best fight songs in existence), another part of me is afraid that it will become a cesspool of unbearable nonsense like Lil' Wayne, Drake, and Gucci Mane, like that one game Scratch.
That said, I'll be reserving judgment until I get more facts.
It's shame really. Great games of the past like the JSR series and Marc Ecko's: Getting Up get nothing short of shit on for no other reason than the fact the games are hip-hop themed (soundtrack aside, graffiti is one of the "central themes", if you will, of hip-hop culture). Can't he hip-hop heads get ours without everyone and their mom shunnig us more than they already do because of it?
On topic, this news implies that a hip-hop themed track pack if not full game is being dropped in the future by Harmonix. While part of me wants to welcome it with open arms ("Ante Up"? only one of the best fight songs in existence), another part of me is afraid that it will become a cesspool of unbearable nonsense like Lil' Wayne, Drake, and Gucci Mane, like that one game Scratch.
That said, I'll be reserving judgment until I get more facts.
I know Harmonix did a Snoop Dogg expansion pack on Rock BandMushroom 118i said:
Didn't think Snoop Dogg was in that high demand