I’ve always wondered what musicians thought of music/rhythm games like Guitar Hero and Rock Band. Like, do they feel as if it’s a shoddy knockoff and an insult to their life’s work? Or do they think it’s really cool to let everyone feel like a rock star, and do they wish their music was in it?
Five-time Grammy winner (and Rolling Stone-sanctioned “New Guitar God”) John Mayer is apparently in the former camp. According to CVG (via Entertainment Wise), Mayer told Rolling Stone that he is anti-Guitar Hero because he feels that it makes it easy for people to pretend that they’re, well, actual guitar heroes:
Guitar Hero was devised to bring the guitar-playing experience to the masses without them having to put anything into it. And having done both, there’s nothing like really playing guitar. I mean, what would you rather drive, a Ferrari or one of those amusement-park cars on a track?
I absolutely love John Mayer’s music -- I own his first EP and his three studio albums, and I saw him in concert twice last year -- but I’ve always been annoyed and angered by what I like to call the “go play a real instrument” people. I’ve been playing the guitar for about six or seven years now, and while I agree with Mayer in principle -- that the feeling obtained from mastering a song in a music videogame doesn’t come close to the elation you get from doing so on the real instrument -- I also understand that it’s a game, and I don’t see any problem with letting regular people feel like they’re rocking out. After all, isn’t that what videogames are all about? Living vicariously?
In any case, this saddens me, because I’ve always wanted to see some of John Mayer’s music in Guitar Hero or Rock Band. Oh well. For some reactions from my colleagues, hit the jump.
[Via Entertainment Wise by way of CVG -- thanks, Adam!]
Adam Dork: Don’t most musicians have trouble playing Guitar Hero? Maybe he is just upset that they wouldn’t include any of his songs in the game.
Chad Concelmo: What a jerk! John Mayer, I mean, not you, Samit. :) :) :)
Samit Sarkar: I actually agree with him, in a way. I mean, the “go play a real instrument” people always pissed me off, but he’s right -- I play the guitar as well as Guitar Hero / Rock Band, and strumming away is pure bliss. Plus, it totally gets me all the hot chicks.*
*Claim unverified
Also, how could you call him a jerk? He’s so dreamy...
Nick Chester: This claim is bullshit, and there’s no comparing the two. It's like Larry Bird calling shit on NBA Live, or Mario Andretti talking shit about Gran Turismo. I can play guitar, bass, drums (poorly), and can sing. I have done all of those things with human beings, including studio recording and live shows (clearly never to the extent or success of Mayer, mind you). I’m not using one experience to replace the other or give myself a false meaning of talent or purpose any more than I think GTA IV has prepped me for a life of networking with criminals.
I don’t mind Mayer, and he’s a talented, generally funny and seemingly likeable dude. But this is just stupid, and I think even he probably knows that.
Colette Bennett: He sounds like a raving douchelord to me.
Alan “Gameboi” Johnson: Mayer can play the hell out of a guitar, but I agree with Nick on this one (even if I can’t play in real life). What the man said was self-righteous bullshit.
Contest:
3:28 PM on 06.07.2008
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rock band is especially great, as i can "play music" with friends who have no idea what octaves are
So don't worry, Mayer, "the masses" aren't intruding on your craft.
And, yeah, I'll take the amusement park if the Ferrari takes fucking YEARS AND YEARS to learn how to drive, even with no guarantee you'll be any good. I hate you John Mayer. I hated you before, and I hate you more now.
I still hate the kids who think they can play GH think they're hot shit on a guitar yet can't play a real one. But that doesn't give me the right to say they shouldn't enjoy playing a game based on it no?
Word up.
guys a hack that plays boring music anyway. When are people gonna get the simple point that GH and the like are _games_ and nothing actually playing an instrument and thus shouldn't even be compared.
I play games to do stuff I can't do in real life. Being a rock star is one of those things.
And working with his analogy, hell yeah I'd love to drive the Ferrari! But, given time by skill by effort, I'll take the "less gratifying but big fun in its own way" amusement park cars in a heartbeat.
I cant stand Mayer. "Your Body is a Wonderland" Whats that shit???
Anyway, to call him a jerk and whatnot because he doesn't like a game, how immature. He's not on some crusade to ban rhythm games, a magazine asked him his opinion, and he gave it. I can see where he's coming from. If everyone who played Guitar Hero decided to learn to play an actual guitar (like fellow commenter Merry Ho, above), then there'd be more music for everyone to enjoy. But if people just learn to play the 5-fret, 1-string, plastic guitar, then they can only play pre-made songs. No artistic contribution is made.
Besides, those people who flaunt their Guitar Hero prowess do get very annoying, very quickly. If you just want something fun to do, Guitar Hero (or Rock Band, if you have friends), but to dedicate so much time and practice into these games... I think that's what John Mayer thinks is stupid. On that point, I whole-heartedly agree.
Also, I though Destructoid was ripping him a new one until I read the original CVG article. Good God, people.
Finally, does John Mayer have a brain tumor, or something? He always gets the strangest looks on his face when he plays/sings. Other than that, I'd say he is pretty dreamy.
No homo.
Also, the same for Leisure Suit Larry and sex.
Decent or not, the man understands how to play an instrument, and decent is also a subjective term. I agree with him though, as someone who's spent 9 years playing both the Guitar and Bass Guitar, it's a bit of a pain to see how people undermine music theory and learning how to competently play the guitar. Regardless of what you think of his music, he's proven to someone that he can play, and he's a competent musician none the less. At least he had the balls to speak up about Guitar Hero.
@jgclark123, I agree 100%, it really does annoy me to some extent when I'm playing around with my friends at school in the music room and some tool walks in and demands I throw down some awesome dragon force solo because dragon force is the hardest metal known to man, and he heard it in Guitar Hero, with all them realistic hammer-ons. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with the game, but rather that there are most certainly some people whom take it way to seriously, and that the game could do a better job of, oh I dunno, getting people interested in actually learning guitar by teaching them about the musicality behind it.
As usual, it looks like Destructoid's elitist community is going out of their way to call somebody who has nothing to do with them a douchebag. I also like it when fans of Guitar Hero decide that the only way they can defend themselves from Mayer is by saying that he can't play a real guitar either. You don't get invited to the Crossroads if you can't play a guitar. I hate his music with all my being, but I'm not going to pretend the man can't play a good guitar.
Unless your team is just being satirical and making fun of CVG. If that's the case, just ignore me.
It's exactly like ferrari vs amusement car. If you had the choice why would you pick the go kart?
I've tried to teach many people how to play a single chord on guitar and they give up after realizing that their hand is going to hurt after a bit.
Also, watch this video of John Mayer:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=9H-bJs-Ib-s
I think it’s cool how he’s interacting with the fans and mocking himself - it seems like his fame hasn’t all went to his head.
I'd say his quote smacks of elitism. Maybe it sounds worse than it is because it's out of context, but the phrase "bring the guitar-playing experience to the masses without them having to put anything into it" gives the impression that he doesn't think the masses should have that experience without that effort. A longer quote or better discussion about his opinion on Guitar Hero might place things in a better (or worse) light, but with what information we have it's not necessarily an improbability that he is belittling the gamers who play it.
jgclark123:
"If everyone who played Guitar Hero decided to learn to play an actual guitar (like fellow commenter Merry Ho, above), then there'd be more music for everyone to enjoy. But if people just learn to play the 5-fret, 1-string, plastic guitar, then they can only play pre-made songs. No artistic contribution is made."
Not everyone wants to, needs to, or (quite frankly) should be trying to make an artistic contribution, probably because they just want to have fun, don't care, or are horrible, respectively.
As a musician and avid gamer, the whole GH/Rock band thing has hit me in an interesting way. I love playing guitar and love a good jam session with some friends better than pretty much anything else. While it's maybe easy to dismiss people with opinions like Mayers, perhaps its important to stop and think before we consider him a simple "douchelord."
Although I don't completely agree with him, he does have a point. GH and Rock Band are certainly just games (and really fun ones, at that), and I love that they are encouraging people to take up music and get interested in learning an instrument. At the same time, however, I do have my reservations about Guitar Hero. Guitar players are notorious for being arrogant pricks; walk into any Guitar Center and you'll immediately see what I mean. To a lot of people, playing guitar isn't about music, creativity, and collaborative efforts, but about showing everyone how fast you can play or imitate Steve Vai. There are plenty of guitar players out there, and very few musicians (jam with enough people and you'll see what I mean). Although Guitar Hero encourages people to learn instruments, in a lot of ways it gives them the wrong idea. Players are judged "good" not by coming up with something really creative or unique, but by showing off their technical dexterity. Sure, its just a game, but I can testify to seeing its effects on at least some people.
Rock Band, however, is an excellent game. Although the creativity aspect of music is still largely absent, it managed to embody one of the most rewarding aspects of music: the collaborative effort behind it. Rock Band is a party game, through and through, and a great one at that. The licks aren't particularly hard, but it still feels good to play it with a bunch of other people, each on their respective instrument. In a lot of ways this really does mirror a good jam- everybody working together, not "battling" or showboating like in GH. Who knows, however, the new GH is supposed to include making your own tracks and multiple instruments, so this may change.
GH and Rock Band are just games (and, like I said, really fun ones), and I don't necessarily agree with everything John says, but perhaps its worthwhile to consider a little healthy criticism sometimes, even if its directed at ourselves.
One is a game, the other is reality. The distinction is there for other genres, why does Guitar Hero have to be compared to the real thing?
He sounds threatened, and talks as if "regular" people are becoming actual rock stars because of Guitar Hero
You would have to be mentally retarded to think that playing these games has anything in common with mastering an instrument. If someone out there actually thinks Guitar Hero makes them a guitar player, that's just plain sad.
Then again, we live in a world where people push play on a CD player to start a track of someone else's music, and dance around a bit, and some call them musicians. So who knows. Certainly mastering Guitar Hero takes much more rhythmic skill than pushing the play button and crossfading a track now an then. Of course, all of that takes perhaps 1/10000000th the work of becoming an average violinist, so let's keep things in realistic perspective here.
If these games were structured more musically, they could perhaps pass for beginner percussionist practice. It would be interesting to see some new stabs at musical training software structured as a game, rather than simply being a game. Granted, that would limit the market to beginner musicians, so it would never become a mainstream hit like Guitar Hero etc, but it would still be neat.
I agree, the comparison between the games and music is definitely a weak one, and I'm pretty sure no one would argue that learning any instrument is anything like GH. Maybe I'm just being a prick again, but I do think games like GH can alter people's approach to learning guitar, however. In any case, it would be interesting to see if anything develops in terms of software that teaches people music. One of my friends got interested in drumming and even learned some basic drum parts off Rock Band, so I'm sure if someone designed a program specifically for instruction some really great things could happen.
It's akin to a professional singer complaining about karaoke, a cowboy complaining about a mechanical bull or any sports player complaining about any sports sim.
"American singer John Mayer has criticised Activision's Guitar Hero, because "it makes it easy for untalented people to pretend they are good at playing the instrument", says Rolling Stone."
Isn't that the whole idea? Pretend? Don't we play games to pretend? Yes, I am untalented. Yes, I like playing Guitar Hero. Yes, I like pretending that I can play the instrument. What's your point?
So what i'm lost on is why you guys are still complaining about the statement?
But seriously, I love John Meyers.
What a fucking ass. Its a video game you crybaby.
Suck a fat one Mr Mayer.