In addition to launching a spirited competition between me and my 13-year-old niece for axe supremacy, the Wii Guitar Hero World Tour game has introduced me to a lot of good music. For both of those reasons, I treasure it.
I thought about doing a whole theme week of songs I’ve grown to love through Guitar Hero, but then I realized my only association with them is the game and I didn’t know what I’d say about each, apart from “lots of tricky chords in this one” and “hard to hit star power in this one without screwing up my streak.” So I’ve chosen one song to represent the bunch. Perhaps I’ll revisit the others (by such bands as Jimmy Eat World, Paramore and Foo Fighters) at another time.
The song I’ve chosen to highlight is Anouk’s ‘Good God,’ which I discovered the other night while tackling a new gig in my pursuit of Guitar Hero-dom. I had just played a 4-song set by Tool, a band I hope to never hear again in my life, and before this song started I declared (out of hope and desperation) “This will be my new favorite song.”
And I’ll be damned if it didn’t rise to the occasion. A bluesy stomp in the vein of Amy Winehouse’s stuff, but a little more chaotic, it was the perfect antidote to all the Tool wankery. I pictured a heavy black woman singing it and was surprised to see that Anouk is a willowy Norwegian woman with a powerful voice and a tendency to spaz out in her videos.
Meet Me In Montauk 
So the real reason why we have your children this week is revealed the morning we are to return them. The pursuit of Guitar Hero-dom is noble, to be sure. Your niece,shockingly, has not had a chance to pick up the axe this week 😛
Don’t recall hearing this song as Maddie climbed her way toward Hero status, but I tune a lot of those songs out. Still, I like the theme idea. I know what you mean,. I feel that way about American Idol, too. Especially for the kids. I’m not sure I’ve been introduced to many new songs, but the kids have been introduced to a slew of them. And I have certainly been exposed to different versions, most notably the Chris Cornell (whose name I didn’t even know, pre-Idol, much to Alex’s chagrin) inventive cover of “Billie Jean.” The fact that Idol enabled us to give our children a little glimpse into the music of MJ – first through David Cook’s “Billie Jean” last year, then through an entire evening devoted to MJ’s music at the start of this season, is rather wonderful. They’ve seen George Michael and Stevie Wonder perform (the first horribly, the second joyfully), as well as being introduced to the music of the “Rat Pack” this past season and Andrew Lloyd Webber the year before. When Jason Castro said, “I didn’t know it was sung by a cat” about “Memories,” I could laugh, but neither did my children, of course. They get to discover a lot of this music alongside the young musicians who are having to master it in a week’s time when they’ve never heard it before. When 16-year-old Allison took on Janis Joplin, it was an education for her and us.
So… I, too, value the musical education that comes alongside the family bonding time in these entertainment endeavors. But I’m not sure about your new favorite song.
It always comes back to American Idol for you, doesn’t it? It’s a sickness, woman! 🙂
yes, it does always come back to Idol. This second video is for Daniel, who adores Danny Noriega. And who now adores “Proud Mary.”
The song is pretty cool, but, while I admit that I am listening to it at work through low volume on compter speakers, I really don’t hear the guitar in it. I’m curious how guitar hero works on this song.
And, as Amy said, your leisurely hours on guitar hero will be coming to an end….TONIGHT!
for those who never got to see Kelly Clarkson at the start of her career. Here she channels the “Big Band” vibe brilliantly.
I have been introuced to alot of new songs from both American Idol and Guitar Hero. Was’nt very good at Good God because I did’nt remember it, although I must have played it. For me, Guitar Hero lets me become more familiar with songs that I have heard before like `Misery Buisness’ by Paramore. I have also learned alot of new songs that i really love now such as `The Middle’ by Jimmy Eats World, and `Monsoon’ (not sure about the band) I think the more familiar you are with the beat of the songs you play in Guitar Hero, makes the songs much easier to play. Maybe one of the reasons you were able to beat me so badly in `Good God’ 😛 Another reason could be that you stay up until 2 am practicing to beat me 😉 I have information from an unknown source. As for American Idol, it isnt so much of a sickness as it is a way of life 🙂