"YOU ROCK! And so do you, and you and you." The growing popularity of Guitar Hero

You walk out on stage, pick up your guitar and strum while extending the first note as long as possible, so as to bask in your own glory, knowing that for tonight, you are their god!  Then your alarm clock goes off and you realize that your aspirations might have to be put on the back burner for a bit, until you can save up enough money to buy a guitar and then maybe eventually learn how to play.

Luckily, for those of us in the current youth population, we have been provided a safe haven, a portal between the realms of reality and the rock star lifestyle: Guitar Hero.

Artwork by Adam Meaney

For many classic rock fans, the music they know and love is buried beneath the R&B, hip-hop and rap of the modern-day music crazes.  For these individuals, the invention of Guitar Hero is a way for them to connect with the popularities of today, while still being able to enjoy their satisfying hits from yesteryear.

The game evokes plenty of emotion, which is partially why it digresses from (or clenches to) one’s appeal. A lot of that emotion comes from the music featured.  Rock and roll admiring players are stressed because they form a large demographic of the game’s admirers. Whether it is older adults who grew up listening to the music, or teens who just really don’t like all that new-age stuff, the songs featured in the games are golden hits for the legends that made them famous. They are the songs that induce similar feelings to listening to the radio in your car when that one great song comes on, and you have no choice but to crank up the volume and drown yourself in the melodies (while hopefully still staying focused on the road, of course). For those who absolutely detest Rock and Roll, a similar emotion is usually associated with the game on account of growing annoyance. Yet a portion of those who prefer a separate musical genre can attest to finding at least some of the songs “catchy.” These senses account for most of the game’s notoriety in society. This awareness and incipient dispersion of the ballads is not only creating a fabulous pastime, it is also helping to re-introduce to the mainstream classic rock music.

Aside from the music re-entering modern day culture, the concept of the game itself has roots in former teen hobbies as well. How many of today’s teenagers make air bands anymore?  Not a whole lot, at least where I come from. In the era when most of the music featured in Guitar Hero was released, air bands were the “in” thing to do. You were completely “tuned in” if you could dress up in some glam-rock Scorpions-like outfit with your invisible guitar and zero musical talent.  But, if you had the moves and a good enough sound system to distribute the gold, you were “like totally rad man.” It seems odd to think of it now, but is it any different than using a plastic guitar without any actual strings? I bet that if all those famous air banders of the 70s could have played with a machine like that they would’ve had many more groupies. Who knows -- are Guitar Hero bands yet to come?

Not only does the concept derive from a retrospective outlook, but the game revolutionizes an ever-present, never-fading pastime: karaoke. Singing along to music while following the words with a bouncing white dot -- where timing is everything and your lack of musical talent really doesn’t matter (especially if played in a bar) -- sounds similar to playing along while following the color-coded notes, doesn’t it? Guitar Hero is the modern-day karaoke. The only difference is that the sounds coming out of the television are much more appealing and the game system is judging you, not your peers (which, for some, can be a plus).  But the concept of taking a musical instrument and turning it into a coordination game is age-old, as karaoke can attest.  Quite evidently, the nature of these types of games is appealing as well, since the creation of Rock Band is also becoming a quick success, encompassing both karaoke and guitar-playing along with the addition of drums as well.

The creation of Guitar Hero was not simply about the introduction of a game.  For some, it served as a long overdue trip down memory lane. It did not function as a ground-breaking invention, like the internet, but as more of a revolution. In terms of the music, it was a look back at what once was, as well as an attempt to re-create the present based on the past.  It has opened our eyes and turned our heads to former musical hits that are slowly being rejuvenated at a pace propagated by the game’s popularity.  Essentially, it is not the birth of a new fad, but a musical re-awakening.

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