Well, 9/9/9 is here at last, and so is The Beatles: Rock Band, the coolest fake music game ever made. Now that the Fab Four have finally caved into the digital universe and given its music away to gamers, I picked five tunes from Beatles Rock Band that I can’t wait to play, and five that should have made the game but didn’t. What, no “Strawberry Fields Forever?” Are you kidding me?
“Helter Skelter” from The White Album
The loudest rock song The Beatles ever made, this finger-blister has been revised by Aerosmith, Siouxsie and Autolux (and has been utterly misunderstood by the ultimate frustrated amateur, Charles Manson). Originally designed by Paul McCartney to outdo the dirty rock of The Who, it has become legend to rock pros and pretenders worldwide. If you’re a Beatles nut for everything after Rubber Soul, chances are this is the first tune you’ll play when you unwrap the package.
“I Want You (She’s So Heavy)” from Abbey Road
While jagged imprecision rules “Helter Skelter,” hypnotic precision hammers this rock epic down the gravity well. An eight-minute blast of sexual yearning and head-bobbing chord progressions shot through with sinister groove, the power of “I Want You” is simply narcotic. “Helter Skelter” has volume, but this unusual entry weighs heavy like a black hole. It’s all in the title.
“Birthday” from The White Album
Crackling riffs, Ringo’s roughest drumming, and unrestrained vocals help this monstrous stomp stand out from the Beatles’ densely populated pack of winners. Singers won’t have to stress on the lyrics, of which there are few, but their throats will probably be sore when it’s over. It would have been a mind-wipe to watch the Fab Four perform this burner in the flesh — performing it with your pals is probably the next best thing.
This article appeared at WIRED
Let It Be’s Recombined Reality Programming
Geek The Beatles
John Lennon Sketchbook Officially Debuts Online
McCartney Talks Technoculture, Tape Loops, Digital Libraries
McCartney Brings Tomorrow Never Knows Back to the Future
