Red...blue...green...yellow...green...orange...awww F@#$ it!

A running joke among my family is that I have exactly no rhythm.  Everyone in my family, and I am talking about blood relatives here, has played some kind of instrument at some point in their lives...except me.  My father even played in a jazz band for most of my young life and only stopped playing when he was transferred away from his band mates.  My mom and brother were both members of their high school bands and I still have other relatives that play to this day.  I, on the other hand, can't keep a beat for more than about 2 bars and even then it must be a slow 4/4 (is that right?) time.  My lack of rhythm is also at least partially responsible for my inability to dance.  Imagine the worst white guy dancing and you will be imagining someone who can dance better than me.  It's almost sad really.

It is therefore quite surprising, even to me, to find that I own not one but TWO rhythm based games for the Xbox 360.  I purchased Dance, Dance Revolution many months ago because it seemed like my daughter might enjoy it.  She did, for a little while, but lost interest do to the competition aspect of the game.  She, unlike me, doesn't got for competitive activities.  As for me...I look like some spastic monkey that just woke up from a 5 year coma playing that game.  It is ugly folks and the game has pretty much been collecting dust these past few months.  I just can't play it.  I can't get the beat right in my head and my feet just flail around wildly.  Maybe this explains why I hate ballet so much.

The other game, Rock Band, was purchased this last week.  It seemed like a great family game and I have been secretly coveting the game since it came out.  Really, who doesn't want to be a Rock Star right?

I found out quickly that my fingers are just about as coordinated as my feet when it comes to keeping up with music and my first shot at playing the game was a miserable failure.  Of course that is about the time I learned about EASY level.  Ah...now this is what I need.  Rock Band for the musically retarded.  I played through the entire EASY set list this weekend.  I did ok, but did not complete any song perfectly until about 11:00 last night.  I have played some MEDIUM songs and one HARD song with varying levels of success.  It is painfully obvious, however, that I was just not intended to be a musician.  Even a fake one.  My one shot at EXPERT was comical at best.  I even think I failed when there were no notes on the screen. 

My lack of rhythm aside, the game is hella fun and I was mostly playing by myself.  It is certainly more of a party game and I can see how much more fun it would be with a few others along for the ride.  I can also see how games of this nature could possibly be the savior that the music industry is looking for.  I played a few songs that I had never heard before and I am interested in following up on those bands.  I heard more new (newer) music last night than I have in years because I just don't listen to the radio anymore.  It will be interesting to see how games like Rock Band and Guitar Hero can change music distribution.

One final note.  I saw the following postcard on PostSecret this morning.  I literally laughed out loud when I spotted it.  Remember, I was up until 11:00 playing last night.  I wonder if my wife thinks it is as funny as I do...