the ’Zine

B-52's, Kiss & Faith No More DLC

by Brett Milano on February 5, 2008

The B-52's - "Roam"

It's 1989 and the B-52's have a ten-year recording career behind them, and no hits. Sure, trendies and alternative types knew songs like "Rock Lobster" and "Private Idaho" like the back of their hands, but they lacked that one song that would endear them to middle America. With the release of the "Cosmic Thing" album, they suddenly had two: "Love Shack" went into the Top Ten and "Roam" quickly followed. It showed a different side of the band, with no goofy stuff about potatoes or giant clams — The album is considered the one where the B-52's finally connected with their Southern-ness. It didn't hurt that they also got sparkling production from disco-funk veteran Nile Rodgers, who'd led Chic and worked with Bowie on "Let's Dance".

Faith No More - We Care a Lot"

Ah, the social-conscience trend of the 80s, with rock stars joining together to feed the world, aid the farms, save the children and generally solve the world's problems. Somebody had to make fun of this trend sooner or later, and San Francisco's Faith No More were right on schedule with this mock-sincere anthem; complete with not-nice references to the recently deceased Rock Hudson. The song became a major college-radio success; though it looked like Faith No More were about to be a one-hit wonder. Then they sacked lead singer Chuck Mosley, hired the photogenic Mike Patton, cut "Epic" and the rest was history. While mixing "We Care a Lot" for use in Rock Band, we listened to the isolated vocal tracks and discovered that all the backup singers were cracking up laughing between choruses. Who can blame them?

Kiss - Calling Dr. Love

Kiss We couldn't be satisfied with just one Kiss anthem, so if you've mastered "Detroit Rock City", here's the follow-up (it was a follow-up in real life too, released about a year after "Detroit"). This is one of Gene Simmons' greatest moments, using the medical metaphor to describe his prowess with the ladies. The song became a Kiss klassic and stayed in their live set over the years; it was played on their "farewell" tour in 2001 and in most of the four tours they've done since. You can't get Rock Band points for wearing steel boots and spitting blood, but don't let that stop you.

"I Want My, I Want My DLC!"

The songs in Rock Band are only the beginning. Each week we'll be rolling out more downloadable songs, essential tracks (and sometimes whole albums) from every era of rock history. Check the Rock Band website to find out what's new.

Tracks will usually sell for $1.99 each; with three-pack specials costing $5.49. (On the Xbox 360, that's 160 Microsoft Points per track and 440 per three-pack). Occasional special or discounted tracks may cost a dollar more or less.

Downloadable content for the Xbox 360 is available through the XBOX LIVE marketplace. Downloads for the PLAYSTATION 3 version of Rock Band are available through the PLAYSTATION Network Store. In each case, the songs are downloaded onto your hard drive.

If you're playing solo, you can start rocking right away. For head-to-head or multiplayer online, all players will need to download the song.

Posted
February 5, 2008
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