Amid declining album sales and terrestrial radio’s slow death spiral, the record industry received a much-needed boost this month in the form of Beatles: Rock Band. Sure, it’s utterly predictable that purveyors of generic Top 40 dreck like the Beatles should receive the Rock Band treatment. But what about serious consumers of serious music? Where’s the game for those of us freed from the misguided assumption that rock is supposed to be fun, of all things?
Well, fans of the obscure and the fey, I’m subdued to report the upcoming release of the credibility-preserving Pretentious Rock Band Hero. In Pitchfork Media’s inaugural video game offering, you and your friends play as a band of self-conscious no-names struggling to stay off the map. Do you have what it takes to avoid the poisons of broad crossover appeal and skilled musicianship, at all costs? Can you keep it real long enough to get your own iTunes commercial?