I have absolutely no doubt that Rock Band: Beatles will be everything that everyone says it is and more; it’s the first time that I’ve been tempted to actually play one of those games never mind actually buy one, and that’s as due to my sad and holistic Beatles devotion as it is any desire to demonstrate to the world my distinct lack of musical ability (Said devotion is the kind of thing that makes me overly excited to buy the new remastered albums and hear if they’re as interesting to aural nerds as the reviews I’ve seen so far say they are, as well. Even if, admittedly, I’ll be more likely to cherry pick which albums I’m getting instead of picking up, say, Beatles For Sale again). But thinking about Rock Band: Beatles made me realize that there’s another iconic 1960s band that I want to see explored in video game format and, if Neversoft and Activision had any smarts, they’d… well, they’d probably ignore my idea. But nonetheless: I want to see Guitar Hero: Monkees.
Think about how awesome it would be - The Monkees’ story is - to me, at least - more interesting (and, considering that they’re all still alive, less sad) than the Beatles’ in terms of playable narrative: You have the auditions to become part of the Prefab Four in the first place (Don’t piss off Charlie Manson!), then dealing with sudden and unearned fame, before having to prove your musical chops before recording your own material with Headquarters, and then dealing with the artistic peak/commercial nadir of Head and 33 and 1/3 Revolutions Per Monkee before losing members and the final split - much better than the more straightforward “Friends form band, are successful, create what we know as modern pop music with a series of stunning albums that mix experimentation, creativity and melody in a way that makes them timeless classics, then grow apart and split and it’s not because of Yoko, haters” Beatles story when it comes to videogames, if you ask me.
And the songs! I know that the Monkees dislike has, happily, faded into the distance to some extent, but the band had some amazingly good songs that still don’t get the recognition they deserve. Things like “As We Go Along,” “I Wanna Be Free,” “PO Box 9847,” “Listen To The Band,” “Porpoise Song” or “Long Title (Do I Have To Do This All Over Again)” are insanely good, underrated classics that deserve to be resurrected in this awkward digital age, and then covered by some random Disney or American Idol moppet. Even just thinking about the potential of this idea makes me even more frustrated that it’s not happened yet.
If nothing else, I’d want to see Tamborine Hero: Davy Jones. I mean, look at how he shakes that mother here:
You know it makes sense, videogame makers.
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Content © Graeme McMillan, 2008-2009.
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