I'm not normally given to simply copying and pasting text from the press releases I receive, but I thought the recent unveiling of Rock Band 2's track list might be occasion for an exception (see below).
Announced Monday evening, the 84 tracks that will come with the game when it releases this fall are all master recordings and bridge more than 40 years of pop music, from The Who's "Pinball Wizard" to Modest Mouse's "Float On."
However, the songs that really have me gripping my mic in anticipation are Talking Heads' "Psycho Killer," Billy Idol's "White Wedding Pt I," and Blondie's "One Way or Another." (Yes, I'm a man, but it's okay; my voice has a sort of heavenly androgynous quality that allows me to get away with such shenanigans. My rendition of Yeah Yeah Yeahs' "Maps" in the original Rock Band brings tears to my band mates' eyes.)
Without further ado, the list:
1. AC/DC "Let There Be Rock" 2. AFI "Girl's Gone Grey" 3. Alanis Morissette "You Oughta Know" 4. Alice in Chains "Man in the Box" 5. Allman Brothers "Ramblin' Man" 6. Avenged Sevenfold "Almost Easy" 7. Bad Company "Shooting Star" 8. Beastie Boys "So Whatcha Want" 9. Beck "E-Pro" 10. Bikini Kill "Rebel Girl" 11. Billy Idol "White Wedding Pt. I" 12. Blondie "One Way or Another" 13. Bob Dylan "Tangled Up in Blue" 14. Bon Jovi "Livin' on a Prayer" 15. Cheap Trick "Hello There" 16. Devo "Uncontrollable Urge" 17. Dinosaur Jr. "Feel the Pain" 18. Disturbed "Down with the Sickness" 19. Dream Theater "Panic Attack" 20. Duran Duran "Hungry Like the Wolf" 21. Elvis Costello "Pump It Up" 22. Fleetwood Mac "Go Your Own Way" 23. Foo Fighters "Everlong" 24. Guns N' Roses "Shackler's Revenge" 25. Interpol "PDA" 26. Jane's Addiction "Mountain Song" 27. Jethro Tull "Aqualung" 28. Jimmy Eat World "The Middle" 29. Joan Jett "Bad Reputation" 30. Journey "Anyway You Want It" 31. Judas Priest "Painkiller" 32. Kansas "Carry On Wayward Son" 33. L7 "Pretend We're Dead" 34. Lacuna Coil "Our Truth" 35. Linkin Park "One Step Closer" 36. Lit "My Own Worst Enemy" 37. Lush "De-Luxe" 38. Mastodon "Colony of Birchmen" 39. Megadeth "Peace Sells" 40. Metallica "Battery" 41. Mighty Mighty Bosstones "Where'd You Go" 42. Modest Mouse "Float On" 43. Motorhead "Ace of Spades" 44. Nirvana "Drain You" 45. Norman Greenbaum "Spirit in the Sky" 46. Panic at the Disco "Nine in the Afternoon" 47. Paramore "That's What You Get" 48. Pearl Jam "Alive" 49. Presidents of the USA "Lump" 50. Rage Against the Machine "Testify" 51. Ratt "Round & Round" 52. Red Hot Chili Peppers "Give it Away" 53. Rise Against "Give it All" 54. Rush "The Trees" 55. Silversun Pickups "Lazy Eye" 56. Smashing Pumpkins "Today" 57. Social Distortion "I Was Wrong" 58. Sonic Youth "Teenage Riot" 59. Soundgarden "Spoonman" 60. Squeeze "Cool for Cats" 61. Steely Dan "Bodhitsattva" 62. Steve Miller Band "Rock'n Me" 63. Survivor "Eye of the Tiger" 64. System of a Down "Chop Suey" 65. Talking Heads "Psycho Killer" 66. Tenacious D "Master Exploder" 67. Testament "Souls of Black" 68. The Donnas "New Kid in School" 69. The Go-Go's "We Got the Beat" 70. The Grateful Dead "Alabama Getaway" 71. The Guess Who "American Woman" 72. The Muffs "Kids in America" 73. The Offspring "Come Out & Play (Keep 'em Separated)" 74. The Replacements "Alex Chilton" 75. The Who "Pinball Wizard" 76. Abnormality "Visions" 77. Anarchy Club "Get Clean" 78. Bang Camaro "Night Lies" 79. Breaking Wheel "Shoulder to the Plow" 80. The Libyans "Neighborhood" 81. The Main Drag "A Jagged Gorgeous Winter" 82. Speck "Conventional Lover" 83. The Sterns "Supreme Girl" 84. That Handsome Devil "Rob the Prez-O-Dent"