5 – The White Stripes
I have to believe that the only reason The White Stripes are not yet in Rock Band is that they’re missing a bassist. But so are The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and The White Stripes are about a thousand times better a band. So the great peppermint drought of Rock Band must end, and it must end now.
Song: You’re Pretty Good Looking (For a Girl)
Album: White Blood Cells
I’m a pretty huge fan of this band, and naming one album that’s their best is hard, but White Blood Cells is a delightfully concentrated dose of what makes the Stripes the Stripes.
4 – The Drive-by Truckers
Another band whose absence, even just in DLC, baffles me. This is the kind of driving, fun Southern rock that can make for the best mid-tier tracks in any of these games. And The DBT have so many songs that would just kick ass on Rock Band that their absence is, frankly, inconscionable. Fuck, I want a whole expansion pack of just the Truckers discography. But in the meantime I’d settle for a song. And while the song I want might create some issues with the censors because it talks about getting fucked up, it also perfectly encapsulates the absolute joy of rock music.
Song: Let There Be Rock (sorry, there were no cleaner versions on YouTube)
Album: Decoration Day
Southern Rock Opera is my hands down favorite DBT record, but Decoration Day is probably their most accomplished. But hell, I’d take both.
3 – Pink Floyd
Is this one of those ‘No duh’ choices where Harmonix has tried and tried to get Floyd but it just hasn’t worked out? Maybe, although I never felt that Floyd was as difficult as The Beatles or Zep. One of the more obvious problems with Floyd, though, is that their best stuff tends to be jammy and long and not always utilizing all four Rock Band parts at once. Listening to Shine On You Crazy Diamond Parts I-V you can’t help but imagine yourself holding that plastic guitar… until you realize that the first guitar part doesn’t kick in until minute two!
But Floyd does have lots of classic songs that are more conventional and would be welcome in the game. And imagine having a Rock Band party where everybody chimes in on the second verse of Another Brick in the Wall Part 2? Like duets, that’s something else this game needs lots,lots more of: chant along songs.
Song: Another Brick in the Wall, Part 2
I know I just said how tough Shine On You Crazy Diamond would be to realize on this game without killing a party, but fuck it. I want to see a DLC album that is geared for the really hardcore who want to experience the album. I’ll stand around, happily.
2 – Neil Young
Whether solo or with Crazy Horse, Neil Young quite simply demands to be in this game. His vocals might be tough to sing, considering his style, but the best voices are the most idiosyncratic. And with forty years of absolute gold, he has an incredible catalog from which to pick. And fuck it all, I just want to be able to shred guitar on Cortez the Killer.
Song: Cortez the Killer
Album: Harvest
There’s not a bad song here, and the country-rock stylings of the album would be a wonderful change of pace for the game. Harvest, Old Man, Alabama, The Needle and the Damage Done – damn it, I want them all.
1 – Bruce Springsteen
At first Bruce – especially E Street Band era Bruce – seems like a no-brainer. Then you listen to the albums and realize that the best stuff is the keys and the glockenspiel and a whole bunch of other non-Rock Band instrumentation. Clarence Clemons’ sax gets all the best solos. But dammit, I just want to be the guy who calls vocals on Born to Run at every party.
Song: Born to Run