YOUR verdict, week nine.

[The Curmudgeon]

Yeah, OK, we're technically into week 14 or something by now. Sue me.

Anyway, week eight had Mates of State, a band I discovered and have only ever heard of, through the internet. But they weren't the first band to be discovered by me that way.

That would be the New Pornographers, a band that is virtually unknown in the UK (and I'm not sure how famous they are in America, either). The only proof that they actually exist in the real world was when I managed to pick up one of their albums, second hand, at a record signing for another band. I wanted to trace down the original owner and hug him.

Anyway, they do smart, melodic guitar based pop better than most. And as an added bonus, it's only Tobias Fuenke in this video! Does it get any better?

www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpvqU2cmK8I&feature=PlayList&p=8AE102A5CE1E05EF&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=3

[trashcanman]

That video is hilarious. These guys had a song on a Rock band game. Not a very good band for that sort of thing, but musically decent.

[The Curmudgeon]

"Musically decent." Wow, glowing praise from Trashcanman there...!

I can't even imagine New Pornographers in a Rock Band game.. how that would work I've no idea. So what's your favourite song to play in those games, Trashy?

[trashcanman]

Out of all of em? "Kool Thing" by Sonic Youth, "When We Were Young" by The Killers, "Foreplay/Long Time" by Boston, "Synchronicity II" by the Police, "Cherub Rock" from Smashing Pumpkins, , and White Zombie's "Black Sunshine" are probably the most fun for me(in rough order of preference) out of the first two Rock Band games plus Guitar Hero 3, which are the only ones I own.

[The Curmudgeon]

So how does the game work? Sorry to sound like a newb, but I've never even seen the game being played. Do you start off as a budding musician and build your way up to different song levels or .. I mean, IS there a way to "complete" it?

[trashcanman]

In Rock Band 1 the only career mode was multiplayer so there was no real goal if you played by yourself aside form playing every single song in the game. Weak. Rock Band 2 had a really great career mode that you could go about any way you want, choosing venues to play and what songs to perform and how many and unlocking all kinds of cool stuff. There were also online challenges where you could compete against other players built right into the game so if you were connected they'd just show up among the other options. The "last level" was a blistering collection of metal songs and at the end there is this awesome fireworks display that you can actually control using the various buttons and things on the guitar or drum controller. I actually never got the nerve to try it on drums because just one of those songs would tire me out and it was 5 or 6 consecutive thrashers, but I'll bet it's fun as all hell to rock a drum firework show. Even after you "beat" the game, you're still free to continue playing shows and unlocking stuff.