The fifth game in the core Guitar Hero franchise, and the third in the series from Activision and Neversoft. Though the game goes by the Guitar Hero moniker, it features full-band gameplay like its predecessor, Guitar Hero World Tour.
" The more I hear about this the more I sympathise with Activision (scary)... why is everyone so damn uptight. Hendrix, fine - Cash, sure - Cobain, OMFG MY FEALINZ R HURT!!11 "
Here's the difference: Jimi's only useable for his songs in World Tour; in addition, neither him nor Johnny Cash were notorious for being incredibly hostile towards exactly the kind of corporation Activision is, nor were they (more importantly, ultimately) the subject of a goofy, ridiculous video showcasing the absolute insanity of using either of them to play other people's songs in the game that quickly made its way around the internet.
" I don't get why this is a big deal either, how was he 'revolutionary'?"
Because Nirvana single-handedly killed more careers than any other band in history. Once Nirvana hit, groups like New Kids on the Block and "artists" like Debbie Gibson, Paula Abdul, Loverboy, etc etc...all that shitty music got destroyed...by shitty music.
Nonetheless, dood blew his brains out. People can suck it up. Courtney signed the paper. Maybe he should've left his estate in the hands of someone who gave a fuck.
Meanwhile, I can't wait to have Kurt singing Iron Maiden and Public Enemy.
God you guys are harsh in here. Kurt was a musical genius who deserves better than this! Shame on you Guitar Hero as you obviously have no respect for the artists which line your silver pockets. A lot of you younger guys need to listen to (and learn) some Nirvana songs cause they are pretty fucking amazing.
" People are upset about it because Cobain and a lot of grunge artists were against the corporate style put into pop music and his music went against everything that that stood for, so when his character is doing the exact opposite of what he believed during his life it's disrespectful. Basically if you died and Activision took your likeness and made you do a bunch of rascist things or something else you were against, that's what everyone's having a problem with "
I wouldn't mind if they did that to my likeness. Hell, I'd be dead. It's not like I could give a shit.
Back to the original post, as we have strayed far from it, I agree with the message they are giving but, come on, those dudes can't do anything about it! Activision has been lectured by powers much more powerful than the Foo Fighters and they won't change their views just by this.
I like Nirvana and I thought they were a very good band. However, my respect for Kurt Cobain isn't as high as others because the guy killed himself! I wish it didn't happen but he, in a pretty cowardly way, ended his life and left his rights with the druggy mess of a human being, Courtney Love. It's her fault that Kurt is in the game in the first place and now she is trying to lash out and say she didn't approve of it. Well you did.
I don't like the unspoken implication in all of this that somehow no other artists music has ever been worthy of Kurt Cobain, he was a good musician, a great musician, but he wasn't the second coming.
What the fuck should Foo Fighters care? Why should anyone for that matter, I don't find it to be as big a deal as it's being made out to be. Talk about storm in a pennyroyal tea cup.
Kurt ushered in grunge which killed big hair metal bands, so you show him some respect. Or would you still like to live in a world where Poison, Ratt, Motley Crue etc still rule the world of music?
@ninjakiller: Thats fine. But I don't see way you would release it as a statement of the band (Foo Fighters that is). If he wanted to express his opinion on the matter I am sure there were other methods available for him to do so.
" People are upset about it because Cobain and a lot of grunge artists were against the corporate style put into pop music and his music went against everything that that stood for, so when his character is doing the exact opposite of what he believed during his life it's disrespectful. Basically if you died and Activision took your likeness and made you do a bunch of rascist things or something else you were against, that's what everyone's having a problem with "
I wouldn't mind if they did that to my likeness. Hell, I'd be dead. It's not like I could give a shit. "
Well then we should hire you as official speaker for all dudes that ever died ever ;D
Well, I understand why no one cared about Jimi because he wasn't actually "playable". But I'm surprised that there aren't any old people complaining about how Johnny Cash is rapping. It's all about Cobain. I would actually bet money that Cobain would've liked this considering he liked Weird Al's "Smells Like Nirvana." Besides, you don't even have to see him rap Flava Flav or sing Bon Jovi or Megadeth, that's an option, not a required thing you have to see. Ugh, Screw this, I'm going to Nam. (after people complain about my comment) OH COME ON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Eh, the people who are alive, and signed off to be used in the game this way, whatever, that's their choice. Anyone who isn't alive to make a decision shouldn't be used as a puppet to sell activision's games. Cash, Cobain, Hendrix, it doesn't matter. I personally think Johnny Cash is just as disturbing and weird as Kurt Cobain singing Bon Jovi songs.
but then again, Bon Jovi singing Bon Jovi songs is pretty disturbing...
and so what that Cobain committed suicide? Does that mean we have to treat his memory/likeness like shit? Maybe he deserves it, i dunno.
" Wow, I had no idea it was suddenly cool to hate on Cobain. Even if you don't like his music, to deny him being revolutionary in music is just being ignorant. There's a reason everybody knows about him, and it's not just because he commited suicide. He was huge before that, and he made the grunge genre what it was/is. "
Given that the band is fronted by Cobain's old band-mate, Dave Grohl, I think this a statement which should be taken pretty seriously. If it was up to me the Foo Fighters would be allowed what they want because I know how I'd feel if my dead friend was portrayed in a piece of media in a way I found distasteful. I doubt Activision will actually give them what they want but whatever happens the Foo Fighters have sure handled this a million times better than Courtney Love did.
" The more I hear about this the more I sympathise with Activision (scary)... why is everyone so damn uptight. Hendrix, fine - Cash, sure - Cobain, OMFG MY FEALINZ R HURT!!11 "
Here's the difference: Jimi's only useable for his songs in World Tour; in addition, neither him nor Johnny Cash were notorious for being incredibly hostile towards exactly the kind of corporation Activision is, nor were they (more importantly, ultimately) the subject of a goofy, ridiculous video showcasing the absolute insanity of using either of them to play other people's songs in the game that quickly made its way around the internet. "
Cash wasn't opposed to the corporate mechanism? Jimmy Hendrix wasn't? Do you know anything about any musician before the 1990s? What a joke.
Is it just me or is Dave Grohl the most like able guy in the music business? Every time I see him in a interview or whatever he seems like the coolest dude.
" Kurt ushered in grunge which killed big hair metal bands, so you show him some respect. Or would you still like to live in a world where Poison, Ratt, Motley Crue etc still rule the world of music? "
Actually yes, those peoples music were a lot better.
" What the fuck should Foo Fighters care? Why should anyone for that matter, I don't find it to be as big a deal as it's being made out to be. Talk about storm in a pennyroyal tea cup. "
Ignoramus. At the end of the statement it said it was from Krist Novoselic and Dave Groh, you know, THE OTHER TWO GUYS IN NIRVANA It wasn't a statement from the Foo Fighters, it was a statement from the rest of Nirvana.
Oh yeah, Kurt didn't commit suicide. Courtney killed him
I was part of the generation that had the huge pre-teen Nirvana fase and i must say Kurt was a hero to almost all of my friends. He was a big influence on us. While I'm not as outraged as some people, I think I'm about as dissapointed as Dave and Krist. It's just a dissapointment that Activision would be so insensitive. Anyone who listnened to even one interview of Kurt or one of his albums would know he probably wouldn't even approve of being in the game in the first place. We don't know whether or not he would approve in reality, but why not play it safe. Why make so many people angry just for a little pointless functionality in the FIFTH guitar hero game?
" Kurt ushered in grunge which killed big hair metal bands, so you show him some respect."
He didn't show his fans respect, so why the fuck would anyone want to show HIM some? He signed the record deal, he knew what could happen, and yet he still continued forward. Finally, when his music ended up being something to millions of people...which most artists only get to DREAM of doing...influencing an entire generation...he decides that instead of continuing that legacy, he's just gonna sit in a greenhouse and pop himself with a fucking shotgun?
Fuck that selfish prick. The minute that dood killed himself, I gave a shit less for him. I'll continue to feel the same way. It also makes me realize how pretentious his lyrical content was, thinking he was better than everyone else...then pulling this In Utero bullshit? "I wanted to make an album to get people to stop listening to our music". THEN PLAY IN YOUR FUCKING GARAGE!!! Don't put your ink on a fucking contract, ya dipshit! I don't give a fuck HOW high someone is - you are fully aware when someone tells you "hey, sign this contract".
MEANWHILE...you look at someone like Brad Nowell, who was also a hardcore heroin addict, and you realize just how much that dood went out of his way to appreciate his fans. Instead of Brad Nowell...a superior guitar player, superior musician, and superior live performer...being hailed as something, Cobain is fucking recognized. FUCKING STUPID!
It has nothing to do with "it's cool to hate Cobain". I've been hating Cobain long before his face showed up in a video game. It's not like the dood had a mental fucking illness. He was just a pussy ass junkie. That's it - plain and simple. He was selfish, and instead of thinking of the legacy he had helped create, the music he had helped destroy, and the future of his daughter...he decided that a greenhouse floor and a Remington 20 gauge. As a drug counselor once said to me, "there are just some people that don't want any help, and they never will". Cobain...was not one of those people. He was just a selfish prick. Look at the woman he married and loved for evidence of that...
" The more I hear about this the more I sympathise with Activision (scary)... why is everyone so damn uptight. Hendrix, fine - Cash, sure - Cobain, OMFG MY FEALINZ R HURT!!11 "
Here's the difference: Jimi's only useable for his songs in World Tour; in addition, neither him nor Johnny Cash were notorious for being incredibly hostile towards exactly the kind of corporation Activision is, nor were they (more importantly, ultimately) the subject of a goofy, ridiculous video showcasing the absolute insanity of using either of them to play other people's songs in the game that quickly made its way around the internet. "
Cash wasn't opposed to the corporate mechanism? Jimmy Hendrix wasn't? Do you know anything about any musician before the 1990s? What a joke. "
Thank you ryanwho. My point was that their presence in the game went against all of their images. Yeah, playing as Kurt (and Cash, but no one cares about Cash for some reason) takes it a step further, but it's all a video game. Everyone really needs to loosen up on this "issue".
I'm kind of depressed to see so little sympathy with Grohl and Novoselic's of view. Nirvana were a hugely important band. Kurt Cobain didn't believe in compromising art for commercial ideals. He didn't believe in making music that you didn't stand by 100%. It's horrible to see a Cobain look-a-like singing Bon Jovi and similarly vacuous bullshit, when Cobain's own inability to compromise his artistic ambitions for the sake of crass commercial expectations drove him to suicide.
Cobain clearly had problems. Courtney Love is clearly a moron. I don't blame Activision. I don't blame anyone. It's just tasteless and I'm surprised that this got to the final game code.
" The more I hear about this the more I sympathise with Activision (scary)... why is everyone so damn uptight. Hendrix, fine - Cash, sure - Cobain, OMFG MY FEALINZ R HURT!!11 "
Here's the difference: Jimi's only useable for his songs in World Tour; in addition, neither him nor Johnny Cash were notorious for being incredibly hostile towards exactly the kind of corporation Activision is, nor were they (more importantly, ultimately) the subject of a goofy, ridiculous video showcasing the absolute insanity of using either of them to play other people's songs in the game that quickly made its way around the internet. "
Cash wasn't opposed to the corporate mechanism? Jimmy Hendrix wasn't? Do you know anything about any musician before the 1990s? What a joke. "
Not in the same way that it was wrapped up in both his image and a lot of his message. No need to be a jackass, pal.
Oh and by the way, if you're going to critique my knowledge of music before the '90s, at least get Jimi Hendrix's name right.
" @natetodamax: It's not that big of a deal to me, but Cobain is considered "revolutionary" and the fact that Courtney Love freaked out doesn't help anything. "
The fact is is that she freaked out and she's the one who signed the contract for his likeness to be used in the game.
" Why do people have a problem with Kurt Cobain but they don't have a problem with Johnny Cash or Jimmy Hendrix being in Guitar Hero 5? "
Cobain is Darth Vader, while Cash or Hendrix are closer to Han Solo and Chewbacca. You wouldn't let Darth Vader play a harp sitting in a bed of flowers, would you?
"People are upset about it because Cobain and a lot of grunge artists were against the corporate style put into pop music and his music went against everything that that stood for, so when his character is doing the exact opposite of what he believed during his life it's disrespectful. Basically if you died and Activision took your likeness and made you do a bunch of rascist things or something else you were against, that's what everyone's having a problem with "
Yeah, he stood against that. Except for the fact that his candyass was ok selling millions of copies of his albums. If these grunge rockers believed in that so much, they would try to live that artist lifestyle, be homeless and just make music. There is nothing wrong with trying to reach as many people as possible with your music unless you say that is not the point but do it anyway. Other people could only hope to live on in anyway so that the world would remember them. Someone also posted, how would John Lennon or George Harrison feel abou the Beatles Rock Band? From what I read about Lennon and his feelings about his music, and the beatles and their interviews and their feelings on their music and being "Bigger than Jesus" I am sure they are glad to be reaching more people, younger people. I actually think lennon would have campaigned for his and Paul's solo songs to go on there as well.
" Why do people have a problem with Kurt Cobain but they don't have a problem with Johnny Cash or Jimmy Hendrix being in Guitar Hero 5? "
Cobain is Darth Vader, while Cash or Hendrix are closer to Han Solo and Chewbacca. You wouldn't let Darth Vader play a harp sitting in a bed of flowers, would you? "
He always reminded me of Jar Jar Binks. Misunderstood.
We've reached the point where creating a random character can very closely resemble that of a person in real life. There's a reason films and such have the warning in the credits "Characters in this film are entirely fictional and do not represent people in real life..." etc. Maybe games should start having something similar?
here's an article which you guys might find interesting relating to this topic: http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/issues/issue_215/6394-Attack-of-the-Uncanny-Valley
" Why do people have a problem with Kurt Cobain but they don't have a problem with Johnny Cash or Jimmy Hendrix being in Guitar Hero 5? "
Cobain is Darth Vader, while Cash or Hendrix are closer to Han Solo and Chewbacca. You wouldn't let Darth Vader play a harp sitting in a bed of flowers, would you? "
He always reminded me of Jar Jar Binks. Misunderstood.
"
Okay maybe I'm missing something but are you two seriously comparing musicians to fictional Star Wars characters?
This edit will also create new pages on Giant Bomb for:
Beware, you are proposing to add brand new pages to the wiki along
with your edits. Make sure this is what you intended. This will likely
increase the time it takes for your changes to go live.
Comment and Save
Until you earn 1000 points all your submissions need to be vetted by other
Giant Bomb users. This process takes no more than a few hours and we'll
send you an email once approved.
Log in to comment