Rock Band Music Catalog Is Over 2000!

Harmonix and MTV announced today that next week's downloadable songs will take the Rock Band music catalog past the 2,000 song barrier.  Next week, tracks from The Jimi Hendrix Experience's album, Are You Experienced, will be released, and, perhaps appropriately, "Are You Experienced?" will receive the honor of being the 2,000th song.

When Rock Band 3 releases later this month, PS3 and 360 rockers will have access to the full music library representing over 300 different bands through on-disc content, downloadable content, and exported tracks from Rock Band, Rock Band 2, LEGO Rock Band, Green Day: Rock Band,  AC/DC Live: Rock Band Track Pack and a variety of others.

Congrats to the Harmonix team!

Rock Band 3 will be released on Oct. 26 in North America and on Oct. 29 in the rest of the world for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Nintendo Wii, and Nintendo DS.

Harmonix Would NEVER Leak a Setlist Before They're Ready...

There's been an awful lot of rumor-spreading going through the interwebs recently, regarding the upcoming Rock Band 3.  Supposedly, someone got their hands on the leaked 83-song on-disc set list and it spread through the gaming sites like Ryo of Wildfire.

But the good people at Harmonix have sent out a video from their booth at Gamescom to address the rumors.  Because they'd NEVER release a set list until they're ready.

In other news, here's the setlist:

1. Amy Winehouse – Rehab
2. Anthrax – Caught in a Mosh
3. At the Drive-In – One Armed Scissor
4. Avenged Sevenfold – Beast and the Harlot
5. The B-52s – Rock Lobster
6. The Beach Boys – Good Vibrations (Live)
7. Big Country – In a Big Country
8. Blondie – Heart of Glass
9. Bob Marley & The Wailers – Get Up, Stand Up
10. The Bronx – False Alarm
11. Chicago – 25 or 6 to 4
12. The Cure – Just Like Heaven
13. David Bowie – Space Oddity
14. Deep Purple – Smoke on the Water
15. Def Leppard – Foolin’
16. Devo – Whip It
17. Dio – Rainbow in the Dark
18. Dire Straits – Walk of Life
19. The Doobie Brothers – China Grove
20. The Doors – Break on Through (To the Other Side)
21. Dover – King George
22. Echo & the Bunnymen – The Killing Moon
23. Elton John – Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting
24. Faith No More – MidLife Crisis
25. Filter – Hey Man, Nice Shot
26. The Flaming Lips – Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots Pt. 1
27. Foreigner – Cold as Ice
28. Golden Earring – Radar Love
29. HIM – Killing Loneliness
30. Huey Lewis and the News – The Power of Love
31. Hypernova – Viva la Resistance
32. Ida Maria – Oh My God
33. INXS – Need You Tonight
34. The J. Geils Band - Centerfold
35. James Brown – I Got You (I Feel Good)
36. Jane’s Addiction – Been Caught Stealing
37. The Jimi Hendrix Experience – Crosstown Traffic
38. Joan Jett – I Love Rock N’ Roll
39. John Lennon – Imagine
40. Juanes – Me Enamora
41. Lynyrd Skynyrd – Free Bird
42. Maná – Oye Mi Amor
43. Marilyn Manson – The Beautiful People
44. Metric – Combat Baby
45. The Muffs – Outer Space
46. Night Ranger – Sister Christian
47. Ozzy Osbourne – Crazy Train
48. Paramore – Misery Business
49. Phish – Llama
50. Phoenix – Lasso
51. The Police – Don’t Stand So Close to Me
52. Poni Hoax – Antibodies
53. Pretty Girls Make Graves – Something Bigger, Something Brighter
54. Primus – Jerry Was a Race Car Driver
55. Queen – Bohemian Rhapsody
56. Queens of the Stone Age – No One Knows
57. Rammstein – Du Hast
58. The Ramones – I Wanna Be Sedated
59. Raveonettes – Last Dance
60. Rilo Kiley – Portions of Foxes
61. Riverboat Gamblers – Don’t Bury Me… I’m Still Not Dead
62. Roxette – The Look
63. Slipknot – Before I Forget
64. Smash Mouth – Walkin’ on the Sun
65. The Smiths – Stop Me If You’ve Heard This One Before
66. The Sounds – Living in America
67. Spacehog – In the Meantime
68. Steve Miller Band – Fly Like An Eagle
69. Stone Temple Pilots – Plush
70. Swingin’ Utters – This Bastard’s Life
71. T.Rex – 20th Century Boy
72. Tears for Fears – Everybody Wants to Rule the World
73. Tegan and Sara – The Con
74. Them Crooked Vultures – Dead End Friends
75. Tokio Hotel – Humanoid
76. Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers – I Need to Know
77. The Vines – Get Free
78. War – Low Rider
79. Warren Zevon – Werewolves of London
80. The White Stripes – The Hardest Button to Button
81. Whitesnake – Here I Go Again
82. The Who – I Can See for Miles
83. Yes – Roundabout

More Details on 'Rock Band 3' Pro Mode and Instruments

Following up on yesterday's announcements, Harmonix has released some screen shots of the upcoming Rock Band 3, giving us a taste of what we can expect to see in the upcoming rhythm game.  The screenshots, tangentially, also enlighten us as to how the Pro mode will be played on the guitar, the keyboard, and drum set.

This screenshot illustrates the Rock Band setup we all know and love (right-click and "view image" for full size.)  Not much has changed, but the visual style has been ramped up a bit.  The keyboard, at its easiest, only requires you to hit a key within the range defined as "red," "green," or, in this case, "yellow."

This shot illustrates Pro mode enabled for the guitar, bass, and keyboard.  As you can see, Pro mode shifts the look accordingly.  Guitar and bass now work on a six-string note highway, with a number illustrating (presumably) the fret to be pressed.  (Yes, bass guitars use six strings here, instead of the more common four.)

The Pro keyboard demands that the proper notes be hit at the appropriate times, instead of the just "hit a note in the red area" from the easier modes.  According to Harmonix, once you learn the keys in this game, you will be able to sit down at an actual piano and play out the song -- that's how accurate the notation is.

While pro drums aren't illustrated, the press release states that the drums will incorporate the three cymbals, each one differentiating between toms and cymbals to be played accordingly.

Hit the jump for shots of the instruments (you'll want to see the Stratocaster and cringe in fear) and the press release, which details more info on the gameplay modes and social aspects, including Facebook and Twitter integration.

Click to read more ...

'Rock Band 3' Features Midi Keyboard and 'Pro' Mode

When Rock Band emerged from the whole Harmonix-RedOctane-Activision fiasco, the game took the world by a musical storm.  The game was like nothing we've ever played when it was released in November 2007.  While reminiscent of its fan-favorite predecessor, Guitar Hero, the game had an entirely new flavor of its own predicated by the notion of "band" -- friends who play together.

Since then, the saturation and sheer costs of the music game genre brought on by various Guitar Heroes, Band Heroes, Rock Band: [Insert Artist], and other various copycats (I'm looking at you, Rock Revolution) has brought a "music game fatigue" to the industry and the public.

Amidst that sea of fatigue and complacency, Harmonix releases Rock Band 3, with two particular upgrades to the series that the company hopes will reinvigorate the genre and "help feed the appetite for music for years to come":  a 25-key midi keyboard and a "Rock Band Pro" mode.

As originally reported in the USA Today, Rock Band Pro mode fixes a criticism that has plagued the music game genre since the beginning:  "it doesn't really teach you how to play an instrument."  The new mode uses six-string guitars and requires proper fingering in contrast to the single-strum, color-coded system we're used to.  Pro mode will also be available for drums and keyboard.

The keyboard, an instrument I've wanted integrated in to Rock Band for years, opens a whole new set of possibilities for awesome songs, and Harmonix isn't one to disappoint.  In their partially release Rock Band 3 track list, they're bringing kareoke fan favorites (Queen, the Doors, Whitesnake, and many others) to the peripherally-laden game.  Other bonuses in RB3:  three-part vocal harmonies, better story mode storylines, easier menus, and other little tweaks.

While I have certainly been feeling the music game fatigue of late, I can honestly say I'm excited about this.  I will have to find a place for all of my old plastic peripherals, though, because I know I'll want the full-sized, fully-functional, fully-armed, and fully-operational six-string Fender Stratocaster for Pro mode along with the improved drumset and keyboard.  Small price to pay.

Rock Band 3 is currently slated for release this holiday season.  No price has been announced.

Partial track listing after the jump.

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Green Day: Rock Band Track Listing Unveiled

Entertainment Weekly's Music Mix Blog got their hands on the 47-song track list that will be launching with the upcoming Green Day: Rock Band straight from Harmonix's mouth.

As announced earlier, the track listing includes the entire American Idiot album, but, in a pleasant surprise, the game will also include the entire 21st Century Breakdown and Dookie albums.  Rounding out the list are a few memorable tunes from their Warning, Nimrod, and Insomiac albums.  As a bonus, all 47 tracks will be exportable for use on Rock Band, Rock Band 2, and the upcoming Rock Band 3.

Green Day: Rock Band will come as a standalone game for the Xbox 360, PS3, and the Wii.  A special edition (Green Day: Rock Band Plus) will also be available for the 360 and the PS3, which includes the full game, a free export key, and the six Green Day DLC tracks.  See the full track listing after the jump.

Click to read more ...

Rock Band 3 Announced: Plastic Peripherals Shudder in Eventual Obsolescence

Like this, except a "3" where the "2" is

Philippe Dauman, President and CEO of Viacom, officially announced the not-so-surprising follow-up to the Rock Band series in a conference earlier this morning.

Distributed by EA, Rock Band 3 is promised to "innovate and revolutionize the music genre once again," reports the newly-updated Facebook page.

Rock Band 3 is slated to arrive in homes this holiday season.

While I'm not entirely certain what they can do to "revolutionize" the genre again (it's been more evolutionary than revolutionary since the first game launched), I admit that I do miss hitting those plastic keys with friends in my cramped apartment.

Having successfully warded off the desire to buy Rock Band 2 and The Beatles: Rock Band for the sake of my bank account, though, I think it's high time for an upgrade.  Unfortunately for you, my dear current set of plastic instruments, I think your time may be at an end.