Stuck in Our Heads - Vol. 16 - July 2008

I spent most of today toying with the idea of making this month's Stuck in our Head collector all about Rock Band. This is about how far I got:

"Because you're my favorite, I'm going to let you in on a little secret. There's something big on the horizon, and I want you to hear about it before everyone else does: Rock Band.

It's a video game, see? And, you and your friends can make beautiful music together by mimicking musical instrument gestures in order to press one or a combination of several buttons, each designated by a specific color..."

It was going to be awesome. I was going to sell you completely on the idea that I had discovered Rock Band before anyone else, even though you already know about it and, further, have probably spent a good chunk of time fact-checking the Wikipedia article about it.

Unfortunately, I just couldn't get going on it. There were all sorts of things distracting me. First, there was The Episode of the Lost Pieces of Paper, and that took up a good hour or so this morning. Then, there was the Case of the Verbally Abusive and Uninformed Rental Car Guy, which mysteriously sucked up about three hours this afternoon. Interwoven through those gems was the Mystery of the Dwindling Copier Toner and the comedy of errors known as The Hassle You Can't Refuse and that ol' rerun of A Bad Idea That Keeps Getting Worse. Somewhere in there, I took some time to eat lunch, too.

So, I didn't write my hilarious and cuttingly insightful tongue-in-cheeker about Rock Band, and, I know, we're all a little spiritually poorer for it, but there are real tragedies out there: let's not cheapen them and our experiences of them by getting too worked up over the Rock Band shtick that never was. This Project is about exploration, discovery, exploration, discovery, and repetition.

Let's keep our eye on the ball, no matter how surprisingly hard the Easy drum part on Margaritaville is to play virtually.


Title - Artist

Senegal Fast-Food - Amadou and Mariam
So Rich, So Pretty - Mickey Avalon
Feel Like Making Love - Bad Company
Kokomo - The Beach Boys
Don't Let Me Down - The Beatles
Timebomb - Beck
Walls - Beck
Screaming Target - Big Youth
Yes We Can - Bob the Builder
Golden Years - David Bowie
It's the Love - The Breeders
On No, Not My Baby - Maxine Brown
Bubbly - Colbie Caillat
Say Won'tcha - Chocolate Milk
Sailin - Christopher Cross
Lovers in Japan - Coldplay
Afro Blue - John Coltrane
This Shit Will Fuck You Up - Combichrist
Solid - The Dandy Warhols
Damaged - Danity Kane
Say My Name - Destiny's Child
Fire Smoke and Tone Loc - DJ Scholli
Est-ce que tu - Dusty Trails
Paranoiattack - The Faint
Learn to Fly - Foo Fighters
Virginia Moon - Foo Fighters
God Bless the USA - Lee Greenwood
Maneater - Hall and Oates
Private Eyes - Hall and Oates
Mandolin Rain - Bruce Hornsby and the Range
Run for the Hills - Iron Maiden
Bad Reputation - Joan Jett and the Blackhearts
All Summer Long - Kid Rock
Do You Hear the People Sing? - Les Miserables
The Other Side of Mt. Heart Attack - Liars
Prostitute 2 - Lil' Wayne
It's a Mistake - Men At Work
I'm Alright - Joe Dee Messina
Kids - MGMT
Little Green Apples - Roger Miller
Sweet Dreams - Roy Orbison
Fuck and Run - Liz Phair
You'll See - Rent
Don't Stop the Music - Rhianna
How Do I Live - LeAnn Rimes
Chocolate Milk - Scribble Monster and His Pals
Talkin' Seattle Grunge Blues - Todd Snider
Suits (Are Picking Up the Bill) - Squirrel Nut Zippers
America, Fuck Yeah! - Team America
Man! I Feel Like a Woman - Shania Twain
Holding Out for a Hero - Bonnie Tyler
Red Red Wine - UB40
Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia) - Us3
Life's Been Good - Joe Walsh
(Past Due) - The Weakerthans
Your Party - Ween
Pork and Beans - Weezer
Ebony & Ivory - Stevie Wonder and Paul McCartney
Maps - Yeah Yeah Yeahs