5 Bands Who Deserve Their Own Version of Guitar Hero

No disrespect to Van Halen, who is going to be the next band to get their own Guitar Hero, but this is more about the Smash Hits version of the game. If Red Octane didn't want to dedicate a game to these bands I'm going to select one song that could go in for them. In some cases that was harder than others.

I am sure there will be an outrage for some of these but if you have a problem with the selections...make your own blog! Kidding folks, you know the deal, got something on your mind? Drop it in the comments. Now, in some particular order...

5 Bands Who Deserve Their Own Version of Guitar Hero

Led Zeppelin "Heartbreaker"

As I have begun to research this I am reading that Jimmy Page, the epic guitarist for the above mentioned band, will not sell out (in classic rocker form) to GH. He is strong arming both GH and Rock Band not allowing either to have the rights to their music. It hasn't stopped people from using the music studio to make up their own(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lv43Usi3b_k ) however its not the same. In fact people will make just about anything. Some don't even sound like the real thing. The one above is the actual track but another one I heard just made me yearn for the band to allow the songs to be in GH. In case some of you are completely clueless as to their work, here is a short list for you....

"Immigrant Song", "Dazed and Confused", "Kashmir"(P. Diddy knows how awesome this song is, he ruined it...I mean remixed it...seriously Page you let P. Diddy have it), "Rock and Roll", "Whole Lotta Love" (awesome guitar solo 3 minutes in), "Stairway to Heaven"(no Stairway...denied!), "Black Dog", "Moby Dick"(awesome drum solo), "Ramble On", "Livin Lovin Maid", "Achilles Last Stand", "Trampled Under Foot", "All My Love", "Communication Breakdown", "The Battle of Evermore" (Lord of the Rings geeks UNITE!) and oh god so many more. If you are still completely clueless then Youtube it up and search the band/song titles. Please Mr. Page, let them turn all your music into a game!

Green Day "Longview"

If I told you these guys have been around for nearly 20 years would you believe me? Well people you should because this band has been rocking out ever since their debut album Dookie. Just look at the tracklist on this album alone, nearly the whole thing could be on GH. There is "Longview", "Basket Case", "Burnout", "Welcome To Paradise", "When I Come Around", and "Chump" to name a few. Focusing on the main song out of the bunch, "Longview" has a bass line starting off the song that any fan of the genre knows. There is a problem with some of their songs being edited but we can look past that. An F bomb here and there can easily be dropped out(like it is on the radio). This isn't the only group of hits the band has. Looking at their other albums you can find a lot of other GH worthy songs like...

"American Idiot", "St. Jimmy", "Holiday", "Prosthetic", "Suffocate", "Nice Guys Finish Last", "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)", "Wake Me Up When September Ends", "Boulevard of Broken Dreams, "Know Your Enemy" and many more. Unfortunately I have not heard their new album but I am sure there is more then one worthy song from it(after a recent purchase there is). In addition to their music (like they have with all other band games) Red Octane could have some music from bands who inspired them or who they are fans of. It would be the most punked out GH ever. EVER! Also, for those Simpsons fans out there, get Green Day's version of the show's theme song (from The Simpsons Movie). Hard to mess up those lyrics right Billie Joe (lead singer for the clueless ones out there, its okay I forgive you)

DA DA DA DADA DA DA DADADADADA DA DA DA DA DA DA DA DA DA

Nirvana "School"

As much as my girlfriend who loves hair metal and all that 80's crap hates that this band ended all the fun in her favorite type of music("They killed it," she scoffed as she read this blog), she still appreciates their awesomeness. This is a much harder song than the previous one that was in the game. Now GH 5 is coming out with two songs from Nirvana however that is still not enough. Although they are one of only two bands who got two songs(Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers are the other) so that is pretty sweet. Their choices are some what obvious with "Smells Like Teen Spirit" and "Lithium" however, after an apparent 3 year dispute, the game has Kurt Cobain as a playable character. Anyway back to the point at hand. The band deserves their own game, I mean hello they helped start a new genre and make it popular.

Other than the above mentioned songs, if you peruse through their albums you will most definitely find at least 60 tracks that are dubbed worthy for GH. I will not bore the faithful (or unfaithful readers) with a huge list just a short selection. "Lake of Fire", "Dumb", "Pennyroyal Tea", "Rape Me" (even though the opening riff is similar to "Smells Like Teen Spirit" I digress), "Floyd the Barber" (sit down on my chair, don't be afraid), "Come As You Are", "Polly", "In Bloom", "You Know Your Right", "The Man Who Sold The World"(sorry its better than the Bowie version but hey GH Metallica didn't have the band's version of "Stone Cold Crazy" as opposed to Queen's version, still awesome by the way...moving on), "Imodium", "Scentless Apprentice", "Love Buzz", "Breed"(the opening is awesome), "Downer" (fast and short), "Territorial Pissings" (have you noticed I am into some hard, fast Nirvana), and holy crap so many many more. I do not pride myself on music knowledge so I am sure there are some songs that aren't on here that deserve to be. In no way should they be ignored so put some suggestions in the comments. Of course the drummer from this band formed another very worthy band of their own GH. Care to guess?

Foo Fighters "This is a Call"

Dave Grohl is just awesome, drums/guitar/bass/bongos/harmonica/spoons whatever the instrument he plays it and is great. This is one of the shocks to me that this song hasn't already appeared in a GH tracklist. Its one of their more played songs on the radio and, for lack of a better term, its awesome. All instruments are used well as for most/all of Foo. Mr. T was quoted as saying, "I Pity the foo!" I believe that this has something to do with the snubbing of their own GH. As much of their music that has been in GH we all know that it has to be in the works. They already have one of the more awesome songs with "Everlong" but there are just so many more. GH Metallica also had one that I wasn't familiar with "Stacked Actors"(I don't know everything...unless its fantasy football then I think all is known by me). So there are many that have been used (and if Red Octane can't find all they need then pilfer some Nirvana/grunge bands for some tunes) but here are a few others then the above mentioned that should be used.

This list like the above could go on forever "I'll Stick Around", "All My Life", "Times Like These", "Alone+Easy Target", "Good Grief"(awesome opening, very fast paced), " My Hero", "Weenie Beenie"(how can it lose, its got Beenie in it), "For All the Cows" (starts slow but speeds up in sections), "X-Static", "Generator"(yeah so what for like 3 seconds in the beginning it sounds like its a Bon Jovi song, just deal), "Overdrive", "Learn to Fly" (whatever it was in Rock Band so what), "Wattershed", "Low", "Disenchanted Lullaby" (slow songs are a part of GH, as long as they are still awesome...unless of course its GH Metallica, they didn't make a slow song), "Tired of You", "Breakout", "No Way Back" (from Madden fame, 2006 version), "In Your Honor", "Gimme Stitches", "Aurura", "Best of You", "Last Song", "DOA", "Hell" and many more (not just from the In Your Honor album I swear)

In addition to Nirvana how about some Queens of the Stone Age, their first album...with Grohl on drums and their original bassist (because his, the bassist, solo from "No One Knows" is freaking insane) and Queen could make another appearance since Grohl did help induct them into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (the one and only thing awesome in Cleveland). Hit me with some more suggestions if you think I completely bombed on something. I'm just saying the game makes itself people.

Black Sabbath "Children of the Grave"

This song is from their Sabbath Bloody Sabbath album(the whole album could be on GH) and it just oozes GH worthiness. The song has a great drum/bongo rhythm throughout that can easily get stuck in one's (my) head. As many can guess I am going to suggest that the game use Ozzy tunes as well. The band wasn't the same without Ozzy (Ronnie James Dio replaced him...yeah seriously look it up. Holy dive on that! Went/Go by Heaven & Hell whenever they tour with him at lead vocals, quote Michelle, "Dio sucks!") so why not include some of his more memorable tunes along with some classic Sabbath. The only song to don a GH game is "War Pigs" and rightfully so. The song is well known and, in the words of Peter Griffin, "freakin' sweet." For those who need some OZ-ucation (no not the old prison show from HBO, its a great show but not what we are talking about) here are some suggestions for GH immortality.

"Iron Man" (unleash your inner Beavis and/or Butthead), "Paranoid" (sampled in the great SNES game Rock and Roll Racing), "The Wizard" (anyone for Harmonica Hero), "If I Close My Eyes Forever" (Ozzy doing a duet with Lita Ford, stellar combo), "Hellraiser" (GTA fans UNITE! Oh so many hookers and innocent bystanders perished to that song on the streets of San Andreas), "No More Tears", "Black Sabbath", "Over the Mountain", "Miracle Man", "Flying High Again", "I Don't Know", "Mr. Tinkertrain", "Mama, I'm Coming Home", "Perry Mason", "Bloodpath in Paradise", "Shot in the Dark", "Tattoed Dancer" (then you can be his little tattoed rock and roll dancer to), "Sweet Leaf" and so many more that my little mind can't handle.

So there you have it. 5 bands that deserve their own GH. Some that didn't quite make the cut were Motley Crue (I'm not in love with a stripper so I just couldn't pick them), The Who (they already have their own Rock Band pack) and AC/DC (same reason as The Who). If you want to yell at me for not picking your favorite band (no Antoine Good Charlotte does NOT deserve their own GH) then let me read about it in the comments. Until we read again....