Rock Band vs. Real Band

I love music, all sorts of music. I used to play many different instruments and sincerely appreciate the skill it takes to play an instrument with skill as well as the skill required to compose and spontaneously create music. For some reason the video game marketers decided that we needed a way of imitating all the things about music that I love. First there was Guitar Hero and now EA is releasing Rock Band. The guitarist for Sleater-Kinney (a band I know only by reputation) has taken on the challenge of comparing Rock Band to what it's like to be in a real band. It's an interesting article that makes some good points for the music aficionados amongst us. (Note: there is one instance of crude language). It's worth a read.

And, really, if you are going to play the game with a group of friends for more than a night, shouldn't you just form a real band? There is something sad about the thought of four teenagers getting Rock Band for Christmas and spending all of their after-school time pretending to know how to play.