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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: Rock Band

Rock Band stories: 15 news summaries

 Rock Band Hits the iPhone 

Popular video game makes its debut as iPhone, iPod Touch app

(Newser) - Rock Band has arrived on the iPhone, complete with a Bluetooth multi-player mode that allows four people to jam together. The $9.99 app, also available on the iPod Touch, includes 20 tracks, among them the Pixies' "Debaser" and two Foo Fighters songs; of course, more can be purchased... More »

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iPhone iPod Touch Rock Band iPhone applications video games

opinion
(Newser) - The album is dead. Touring is on the fade. File-sharing is killing download profits. Adieu, music biz? Not so fast, reports The Wrap, which offers five fixes:
  • Drop the price. Ninety-nine cents for a song? Try 10. "Lower the price point, and you undercut the very foundation of
... More »

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music industry iTunes file sharing Guitar Hero Rock Band record label Jack White

Pepsi Buys Branding Rights to MTV Award

Congrats! You win
best 'Pepsi Rock
Band Video' honor

(Newser) - This Sunday, MTV will bestow its first Video Music Award on a non-professional. It also happens to be the first time the network has sold naming rights to an award, reports Advertising Age. Hence, the prestigious “Best Performance in a Pepsi Rock Band Video Award.” The winner will... More »

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entertainment television music Pepsi award show branding Rock Band MTV Video Music Awards Moonman Harmonix

 Stones Legend 
 Bashes Guitar Hero 

Real instruments gathering moss, Wyman complains

(Newser) - The growth of video games like Guitar Hero and Rock Band means fewer real guitar heros in the future, complains former Rolling Stones bassist Bill Wyman. Playing the games "encourages kids not to learn, that's the trouble. It makes less and less people dedicated to really get down and... More »

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Rolling Stones Beatles rock bands Pink Floyd Guitar Hero Rock Band rock music video games Jay-ZTV Bill Wyman

TECH REVIEW

 Rock Band Matures 
 With Beatles Edition 

Game is good, clean cross-generational fun

(Newser) - The Beatles: Rock Band successfully brings the winning music-game formula to one of rock’s biggest names, writes Elizabeth Landau for CNN. Designed to be played by as many as six, the game "does make for a great time and will probably be a hit at parties." Meanwhile,... More »

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baby boomer Beatles Rock Band video game reviews video games tech review Jay-ZTV

celebrity advice

 Bathroom Is 
 for Texting, 
 Not Talking: Pitt 

Brad doles out etiquette tips for the Internet age

(Newser) - The times, they are a-changin’—and that calls for new rules of etiquette. To help out, Brad Pitt addresses issues ranging from inter-Rock Band dynamics to texting in the bathroom for Wired:
  • Problem: Your Rock Band bassist sucks. Solution: “Fire his ass. Bonus: It'll put the others
... More »

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entertainment Internet Brad Pitt cell phones celebrity text message World of Warcraft Rock Band Twitter advice advice columnist

(Newser) - The Beatles are getting a long-awaited makeover. The group's entire music collection, including all 12 studio albums released in stereo, is being digitally remastered for release in September, the UK Times reports. It will be the first time the first four Beatles albums will be available in their entirety... More »

REVIEW

Wii Music Offers Cute Fun
and Some Lessons

Don't expect your teen to embrace (outwardly) Nintendo's new offering

(Newser) - You might not rock out with Nintendo’s new Wii Music the way your teen would with Guitar Hero, but that won’t stop the family from having a ball with the game, Katherine Boehret writes in the Wall Street Journal. The game stays true to the Wii tradition of... More »

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Nintendo Wii Rock Band video games Guitar Hero: World Tour Wii Music

Analysts Fear Recession
Will Kill the Video Star

November sales dip aside, titles remain popular with gamers

(Newser) - With many Americans singing the recession blues this holiday season, they may not be willing to shell out $200 to groove to Guitar Hero or Rock Band. Some analysts say the dueling, popular video game franchises are beginning to peak, MarketWatch reports. “The music game genre is getting a... More »

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recession Guitar Hero Rock Band video games

Gaming Sets Hopes on Teenage 'Guitar Hero' Whiz

Guinness record holder is unsure about celebrity; 'I just play video games'

(Newser) - The video game industry is ready for its closeup, and a shy Minnesota teenager just might provide the face. Chris Chike, 17, is a wizard on "Guitar Hero" who has millions of online fans, a world title, a growing list of endorsements, and even a few marriage proposals, the... More »

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YouTube Rock Band Guitar Hero 3 Guinness World Records video games Chris Chike

 Rock Video Games Compete for Top Acts

Guitar Hero, Rockband become major music markets

(Newser) - Aerosmith didn’t release an album in July, but still had their best sales week ever thanks to Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, which bowed to a cool $25 million. Video games have become music’s hottest market, Rolling Stone reports: Rock Band and Guitar Hero are battling for top... More »

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music industry Guitar Hero Rock Band Guitar Hero: Aerosmith video games

Rock Band Indeed: Beatles Pursuing Game Deals

Fab Four reps in talks with Guitar Hero and Rock Band makers

(Newser) - Representatives of the Beatles' companies are meeting with video-game outfits to hash out the rights for possible Beatles-themed games. The reps are holding discussions with the makers of Guitar Hero and of Rock Band, the Financial Times reports. Analysts say that a deal might lead to more licensing of Beatles... More »

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OPINION

 'Rock Band'  
 Reinvents the
 Cover Band 

Video game may spell end of bad cover acts

(Newser) - The hugely popular "Rock Band" is more than just a video game—it's a musical revolution, Brett McCallon writes in More Intelligent Life. The game, which expands "Guitar Hero" to two axes, a drum kit and a singer, finally realizes “the democratizing dreams of the punk movement.... More »

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Guitar Hero Rock Band rock music video games

Bruckheimer Inks Vid Game Deal With MTV

Action maestro will make games the way
he makes movies

(Newser) - When MTV heard that Jerry Bruckheimer wanted to make video games, the company jumped to sign him. Sure, Bruckheimer’s never made a video game before, but he doesn’t think it’ll be too different from making Pirates of the Caribbean or "CSI." “Get creative... More »

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NEW RELEASE

Be Your Own 'Rock Band'

Harmonix's new game allows Guitar Hero-style play for every rock instrument

(Newser) - The immensely popular Guitar Hero "rhythm game" franchise has a new competitor: MTV Games/Harmonix's Rock Band. The game ups the ante on the Guitar Hero concept by moving beyond guitars: a microphone and drumset controllers, along with guitar, are included in the game's $170 pricetag so that in multiplayer,... More »

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