zwolanerd

Harmonix are the people behind Guitar Hero, Guitar Hero 2, and the Rock Band series (and the Dance Central series, but for the purposes of today’s list I will be ignoring that). In every one of these games, I have been introduced to music I was either unfamiliar with or hadn’t enjoyed until I got the chance to play it. I know that part of this is due to my changing tastes over time, but a lot of it is being given the opportunity to interact with the music more personally – the biggest strength, I feel, of these kinds of music games.

I’m breaking the lists down by game, as that helps me process it a little better. These are all songs that I have added to my playlist to listen to outside of the game as a direct result of playing them in the game. Many of these songs have driven purchases of the albums they are on as well. I don’t know if there’s much point in ordering each set, but I have bolded my favorite from each game to soften the pain from the loss of a numbered order.

Guitar Hero – Many of these were “As made famous by…” versions, but drove me to get the real version

• “Crossroads” – Cream
• “Godzilla” – Blue Öyster Cult
• “I Wanna Be Sedated” – Ramones
• “Iron Man” – Black Sabbath
• “Killer Queen” – Queen
• “Sharp Dressed Man” – ZZ Top
• “Take Me Out” – Franz Ferdinand
• “You’ve Got Another Thing Comin'” – Judas Priest
• “Ziggy Stardust” – David Bowie
• “Even Rats” – The Slip

Guitar Hero 2

• “Crazy on You” – Heart
• “Heart-Shaped Box” – Nirvana
• “Strutter” – Kiss
• “Surrender” – Cheap Trick

Rock Band

• “Black Hole Sun” – Soundgarden
• “Creep” – Radiohead – Getting the non-radio-edited version of this was a rude shock to my system, let me tell you.
• “Dani California” – Red Hot Chili Peppers
• “Detroit Rock City” – Kiss
• “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper” – Blue Öyster Cult
• “Foreplay/Long Time” – Boston
• “In Bloom” – Nirvana
• “Learn to Fly” – Foo Fighters
• “Maps” – Yeah Yeah Yeahs
• “Orange Crush” – R.E.M.
• “Run to the Hills” – Iron Maiden
• “Say It Ain’t So” – Weezer
• “Should I Stay or Should I Go” – The Clash
• “When You Were Young” – The Killers
• “Won’t Get Fooled Again” – The Who

Rock Band 2

• “Everlong” – Foo Fighters
• “Feel the Pain” – Dinosaur Jr.
• “Float On” – Modest Mouse
• “Lazy Eye” – Silversun Pickups
• “Let There Be Rock” – AC/DC
• “Our Truth” – Lacuna Coil
• “Pinball Wizard” – The Who
• “Psycho Killer” – Talking Heads
• “Round and Round” – Ratt
• “Shooting Star” – Bad Company
• “The Middle” – Jimmy Eat World
• “Today” – The Smashing Pumpkins

Rock Band 3

• “Bohemian Rhapsody” – Queen
• “Crazy Train” – Ozzy Osbourne
• “Foolin'” – Def Leppard
• “I Need to Know” – Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
• “Portions for Foxes” – Rilo Kiley
• “Stop Me If You Think You’ve Heard This One Before” – The Smiths
• “Werewolves of London” – Warren Zevon
• “Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots Pt. 1” – The Flaming Lips

 

If you had told me twenty years ago that I ever would have liked songs by Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath, AC/DC, and The Clash, I would’ve thought you were crazy.

Tags: Guitar Hero, Rock Band, Tuesday10

Written by: Mark