Some of us are just born to rock

Update: Blogger finally reloaded my post I see. I've had to recreate the last paragraph or so, from memory. But I guess I was one of the lucky ones, as most people haven't had their posts reloaded, and have had to recreate their work. Some of them even lost their entire blogs as a result of the botched maintenance. Let's hope this never happens again, Blogger.

"Should I get it?" Vay was asking us. We were in the nearest EB Games, with Tooch and Vuthy, looking at the Guitar Hero pack which came with a game and a guitar. I had a feeling Vay was just fishing for the first sign of approval from any one of us, actually, it could've been from anyone. "You there, should I get Guitar Hero?" "What?" "That's it, I'm getting it." He didn't even need it really, but he was going to get it anyway. I was vaguely reluctant, but was soon outweighed by Vuthy's, Tooch's and the random passerby's encouragement.

It wasn't going to be a cheap purchase, not from EB anyway - god they're a rip off if there ever was one - so we decided to try our luck at good ol' Big W. At the risk of getting someone fired, the sales guy went all the way to the back of the warehouse behind the plastic flapping doors (I've always wondered what kind of mysterious artefacts they have in there) and pulled out a Guitar Hero set COMPLETE with a drum kit, guitar and the game, which I can't recall (Guitar Hero World Tour or something, meh, they all sound the same) for the bargain basement price of $98. We couldn't believe our luck (Vuthy: "Sure he didn't say a HUNDRED and 98?") and needless to say, we thought there must be some mistake, surely (not that we were going to say anything then, god no, goes against the rules of negotiation, you see).

So before the guy realised his mistake (IF there was one, mind you, Big W, in case you're reading this - low prices every day and all) we bought it there and then. Hee hee! Got away with it!

First things first. We had to get the baby home and set it up properly, in the living room, with everyone putting it together like it was a piece of ikea furniture. As none of us had prior experience with guitars and/or drums, it was left to Vuthy to demonstrate how to use the contraptions. Apparently he was a natural. Vay had a go at the guitar and was fairly competent at it, and we soon discovered that Tooch was quite good with the drums. Yes, a little too good.

And then it was my turn.

First I tried the guitar, and it was just such a struggle. I couldn't get my goddamned fingers to align with the fretboard, which is critical to actually playing notes on the thing, and THEN you had to STRUM the thing once you had the correct fingers on the correct notes AT THE SAME TIME. It was just too bloody hard. Well, I gave that up quick smart, and was soon relegated to singing off key with the microphone. Well at least I could do THAT.

Homer: Kids, you tried your best, and you failed miserably. The lesson is: never try.

Then it was time for the drum tryouts. After watching Tooch playing with some formidable dexterity, I was nervous. After my experience with the guitar, I knew that hand and eye coordination wasn't my forté. How was I going to cope with 2 sticks, 3 toms, 2 cymbals and a foot pedal? I tried to remember Vuthy's advice. The colours of the drums and cymbals corresponded with the colours on the "highway" on the screen, "it's not that hard" - ok, he didn't actually say that, but I'm pretty sure he was thinking it.

The songs were rated according to the level of difficulty (depending on how fast the beat was, or how many colours needed to be hit in sequence) so we started with a relatively easy song for me. I can't remember what it was, I was too busy just trying to keep up. I was all over the place at first, even though it was just 2 colours. The thing with the drums was, you had to keep up with the beat, as the tutorial told us that the other players would rely on your timing. No pressure or anything. And if you happened to mess up a sequence of beats, well you'd be "cancelled out" until you got your act together again, and then it would be up to the other players to keep up the score. And if you didn't? You'd lose the whole game. Besides, it would just start sounding shit. SHIT, I tell ye. And nobody wants that.

Gradually though, I could feel myself getting better. I wasn't up to Tooch's level, god no, but I was getting there. The fascinating thing about playing was, all of a sudden I had a new found appreciation of rock music. I even felt like listening to rockier songs in my playlists, and found myself listening out for the drum beats in the song, and imagining myself playing along. And it doesn't stop there. I even downloaded songlists with my preferences highlighted that I'd get Vay to download for me once the playstation network is back up. Which could be by the end of the month, they said. God, it'd better be. There's at least 50 songs I want, damn it. Hmm, yeah, I think I'm getting a tad obsessed.

Woman: Gavin, don't you already have this game?
Gavin: No, Mom, you idiot! I have Bloodstorm, and Bone Squad, and Bloodstorm II, stupid.
Woman: Oh, I'm sorry, honey. We'll take a Bonestorm.
Gavin: Get two. I'm not sharing with Kaitlin!

Anyway, the point is, this is the greatest invention in the world, and it's disappointing that they may not be making more games due to lack of public demand. God, what is wrong with you people. Apparently the music gaming industry is dead and/or dying. As John Bonham once said: "There were times when I blundered and got the dreaded look from the lads. But that was a good sign. It showed I'd attempted something I'd not tried before."

And isn't that the true meaning of life? Meh, whatever, I just wanted to end on a philosophical note.