Boredom-Fueled Blog

I got a new third generation 32GB iPod Touch. At my old 8GB iPod’s tightest point, it held the complete studio works of Simon & Garfunkel, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Led Zeppelin, Blind Faith, Traveling Wilburys, The Rutles, Cream, and The Beatles, not to mention your regular run of the mill albums by Pink Floyd, Bob Dylan, Creedence Clearwater Revival, and Jethro Tull. Not bad for an 8GB iPod. With my eventual plans to purchase the Complete Bob Dylan ($200 on iTunes) I knew I would need a bigger iPod.

Here is a break-down of the amounts of different musical groups I have on my new iPod currently:

My new iPod holds the complete studio works of The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Cream (it also houses the complete live works of Cream), Simon & Garfunkel, The Doors (minus the three post-Jim Morrison albums), The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Nirvana, The Rutles, Traveling Wilburys, and Blind Faith.
Longest song: “Dazed and Confused” (Live Version) – Led Zeppelin – The Song Remains the Same – 29:18
Shortest song: “Charlie Watts’s Introduction of Marianne Faithfull” – The Rolling Stones Rock ‘n’ Roll Circus – six seconds

Music iPod Touch

Basically there are three types of Wikipedia editors: 1) Factual editors, who actually contribute to the educational merit of Wikipedia, 2) morons, who think it’s funny to edit Janis Joplin’s Wikipedia page to say that she ate cats, and 3) very clever editors, who are the true topic of this blog post… So, I recently heard Phish’s cover of the Who’s “My Generation” and I checked the song’s Wikipedia article to see if Phish was listed under the “Cover Versions” section. They already were; I read the section anyway, and came upon a very clever edit (pictured right).

Music, The Internet The Who, Wikipedia

If you like nit-picking, you’re in for a treat. What we have hear is my incomplete list of the historical inaccuracies in The Beatles: Rock Band. I know that there was nothing the developers could’ve done about some of the things in this game – you couldn’t have Paul McCartney playing drums and bass on the same song, but I’m gonna go ahead and point out as many mistakes as I can find anyway. Note: I haven’t played this game yet, and I most likely never will. I am making a few assumptions with this list, mainly that every song will by default feature Harrison on lead guitar, Lennon on rhythm guitar, McCartney on bass, and Starr on drums seeing as how that’s how all of the promotional videos have it. If, after I get a better look at the game through YouTube and Wikipedia, any of the below claims prove to be wrong, I’ll update this post. Also, I’m assuming that Wikipedia’s credits of Beatles songs are accurate.
- “And Your Bird Can Sing”: The in-game venue is the Budokan, where the Beatles performed in June and July 1966. The song wasn’t released until August of ‘66; the Beatles wouldn’t have, and, for the record, didn’t play the song live before it was released.
- “Back in the U. S. S. R.”: Ringo Starr does not play drums on this track; Paul McCartney does.
- “Birthday”: John Lennon plays lead guitar, George Harrison plays bass and McCartney plays piano. To their credit, the music video for this song does have a weird psychedelic interlude that shows McCartney playing piano.
- “Dear Prudence”: See “Back in the U. S. S. R.”; the same applies for this song.
- “Drive My Car”: Paul McCartney (always the overachieving workaholic) plays both lead guitar and bass on this song, while Harrison plays rhythm and Lennon is confined to “vocals and cowbell.”
- “Get Back”: Harrison plays the rhythm part on this song, while Lennon plays lead guitar. It’s a shame that the game reversed this because this is some of Lennon’s tightest guitar work ever.
- “Good Morning Good Morning”: The “classic” instrument-Beatle configuration applies through most of the song, except during the brief but incredible guitar solo which McCartney, not Harrison, plays.
- “Here Comes the Sun”: Lennon doesn’t play anything on this track, and yet the game shows him playing rhythm guitar.
- “Hey Bulldog”: Lennon plays lead guitar; Harrison plays rhythm guitar.
- “I Am the Walrus”: This is one of my favorite Beatles songs so I’m especially sad about what they’ve done with this one; it’s a great song, but not for a Rock Band game. Lennon plays no type of guitar on this song; he plays piano.
- “I Me Mine”: 1) The in-game venue for this song is the Apple Corps. Rooftop; the Beatles did not play this song at their rooftop concert – personally, I think “One After 909″ would’ve been a better choice all-around instead of this song, but, you can’t win ‘em all. 2) John Lennon does not appear on this track; Harrison plays rhythm and lead guitar. (Lennon was too busy waltzing with Yoko Ono.)
- “I’m Looking Through You”: The credits on this song are a little muddled – It’s possible George Harrison doesn’t even play on this song, and it’s possible that McCartney played bass and lead and rhythm guitars, but there’s only four guys that would know for sure…
- “Revolution”: Lennon plays the bulk of the lead guitar here, but the game would have you believe that it’s played mostly by Harrison.
- “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band”: McCartney plays lead guitar on this track, not Harrison.
- “Something”: Lennon doesn’t play anything on this track (except for some piano); Harrison plays lead and rhythm guitar.
- “Taxman”: See “And Your Bird Can Sing.” The same applies for this song.
- “Ticket to Ride”: Paul McCartney plays bass and some of the lead guitar here.
- “While My Guitar Gently Weeps”: When I first heard this game announced, I was sure they’d put this song in, and I hoped to see a virtual Eric Clapton, but the game neglects him completely, and as a result, it’s all thrown off. In truth, Lennon plays bass, McCartney plays piano and Harrison plays rhythm guitar.
- “Within You Without You/Tomorrow Never Knows”: They’ve combined these two songs, but Lennon gets lost in the combination. Harrison’s sitar and vocals are coupled with McCartney’s bass and Starr’s drums, which leaves out Lennon (except for his spoken into).
Songs I have no beef with: “A Hard Day’s Night,” “Boys,” “Can’t Buy Me Love,” “Come Together,” “Day Tripper,” “Dig A Pony,” “Do You Want to Know a Secret,” “Don’t Let Me Down,” “Eight Days A Week,” “Getting Better,” “Hello Goodbye,” “Helter Skelter,” “I Feel Fine,” “I Saw Her Standing There,” “I Want to Hold Your Hand,” “I Want You (She’s So Heavy),” “I Wanna Be Your Man,” “If I Needed Someone,” “I’ve Got a Feeling,” “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds,” “Octopus’s Garden,” “Paperback Writer,” “With a Little Help from My Friends,” “The End,” “Twist and Shout,” and “Yellow Submarine.”

Music, Nintendo The Beatles, The Beatles: Rock Band