Rock Band is too awesome for their apartment complex to hold. They should've invited the neighbors to play in their kickass imaginary band. That would probably warm their cold dead hearts.

I played Rock Band at Best Buy with a few friends of mine. We ended up playing for an hour and a half.
Greatest.Game.Ever.
/salute

I think lowest form of wankdom is a bit harsh, but I generally agree with the sentiment.

Golly, gee, why?

Guitar Hero advantages:

More people can enjoy the single purchase/more social
Much easier learning curve
Less expensive
More universal
etc.

I hate to say it again, but it's a game, why expect it to function as a musical instrument? My compromise is that if you have met people who seem to think they are actual rock stars because they're good at Guitar Hero, dis them all you like. I've never met those people, though.

Another reason I am glad I am OLD and can afford a house! Rock on!!

I can't speak for anyone else, but since I wrote the article I feel like I should maybe mention that I actually do own a couple guitars. I've been playing for almost ten years now.

That said, I don't find Guitar Hero (or Rock Band, etc) to be wankdom any more than Legend of Zelda -- to which, would you say, "go embark on a real fucking magic quest!"? It's not an instrument substitute, it's a game. It's something you do to have stupid fun with your friends, more of a Scrabble substitute than anything. Perhaps more key to why people like it so much, however, is that even though you don't really identify with a character in the game per se, it allows you to become the character of an awesome musician. I mean, let's face it: you can practice all you want, but 95% (if not more) of the population will never be a truly amazing guitarist. It's not physically possible. If it were, no one would care about Slash or Kirk Hammett or any of the other guys emulated on the game. Like orc hunting or race car driving, it's a path your life didn't take, but it's still fun to pretend once in a while. You know?

And for those of us who do know the real thing, it gives you quite the advantage on the hard level.

We are okay with the fact that you play air guitar.

24 hour quiet hours? was there a sign that said "Senior Center" and they thought it meant COLLEGE SENIORS?

Yeah, I never knew how all those orc hunting lessons would come in handy until I started playing World Of Warcraft.

I think the best part of that whole diatribe is that I make it sound like I'm some sort of Yngwie contender virtuoso instead of an average rhythm guitarist with no finger span for solos whatsoever.

I prefer Day of the Baphomets for pure fucked up weirdness .

The way that guy spells his name is rilly fucking annoying.

You could become a ukulele shredder. Ickle finger spans are permitted among the ukelelerati.

I'm pretty sure that's not true. With enough time and effort anyone can be as good as they want. Now people with natural ability will have a tremendous advantage over those who don't, and for some the learning curve may be incredibly unrealistic. But musical instruments are incredibily egalitarian, and if you want to achieve a certain level it is almost always possible if you try hard enough.

Now the creativity to write a great song or solo may be only available to a few (Steve Vai has yet to master it ), but with enough hard work almost anybody can attain the technical proficiency and musical knowledge of a Slash or a Hammet.

I will own you at battle of the (real) bands!

there isn't a hard level in Legend of Zelda.