Selling out and other silliness

The AP reports:

Artists who have released songs on its “Guitar Hero” platform have seen separate sales of those tracks triple on average, according to Activision Blizzard Inc. …

-Nirvana, “In Bloom” (1992), DGC, released on “Rock Band,” Nov. 20, 2007: 9,000 downloads, up 543 percent.

-R.E.M., “Orange Crush” (1988), Warner Bros., released on “Rock Band,” Nov. 20, 2007: 3,200 downloads, up 256 percent.

-Smashing Pumpkins, “Cherub Rock” (1993), Virgin, released on “Rock Band” on Nov. 20, 2007: 6,600 downloads, up 843 percent.

Video games are doing a better job of promoting music than the radio or MTV. I have no doubt that most bands are scratching and biting to get a slot on the next edition of Rock Band or Guitar Hero. Some bands are writing songs that appear on these games before they appear on a CD or mp3.

But isn’t it asinine that having a song on a commercial for a car or sneakers is considered selling out, when having a song on a video game that tests how well the player can tap plastic buttons has become a viable promotion tool? I think the way songs are presented on these video games is much sillier than the way they’re used in iPod ads. Why does one cheapen the art form while the other is excused as an exciting new medium?

Someone help me understand.

Wii Music might be a dud

From the Wall Street Journal, a story about how Wii Music might be the “first big flop for the Wii.”

Unlike the blockbuster music games Guitar Hero and Rock Band, which have sold millions of copies, letting players act like rock stars, Mr. Miyamoto made Wii Music an improvisation game that doesn’t keep track of scores.

…

In the game, players choose from 60 instruments to improvise and record songs like “Yankee Doodle” and “La Cucaracha.”

Which brings us to the problem with this game: the songs are lame. Granted, it’s kinda fun to decide whether the Super Mario bros. theme sounds better when played by an oboe or a flute, but overall the game is a little dull. I tried it out at the mall last weekend, and even the Nintendo employee hosting the demo told me I’d have more fun with Guitar Hero.

It’s a shame, because I love the idea of making music with a video game just for the sake of making music.

A video performance of Wii Music (and one of the better examples I’ve seen):