[SuperRiderTH]

46. December 9th, 2PM EST-20:00 CET

Lover’s Dance Pack

by SuperRiderTH

Tsunku – Struck by the Rain

Rhythm Heaven has always been one of my favorite games, so obviously I needed to put a song from it in Rock Band, right? This song is the song used for “Karate Man Kicks!” in Rhythm Heaven, where “a punch will take care of most things, but those bombs call for a solid kick!”

Karasuyasabou (feat. Kanade Hayami) – Hotel Moonside -Take me away from Metropolis Remix-

This song is a remix from the THE iDOLM@STER: Cinderella Girls series. Hotel Moonside was always one of my favorite songs from the Cinderella Girls series, and this remix fails to disappoint!

A-RISE – Shocking Party

Shocking Party is one of the insert songs for season 2 of the Love Live! School idol project anime. Sung by the rival group of the series, A-RISE will show you their passion!

LiPPS – Tulip

Another song from THE iDOLM@STER: Cinderella Girls series created for the mobile game: “THE iDOLM@STER Cinderella Girls: Starlight Stage.” This song is sung by the unit LiPPS, who will let you know that lips are not just for talking.

Do you like this release? Awesome! If you would have downloaded this release even if it was paid DLC, please donate 90 cents per song to the Make-A-Wish foundation, we’ll be forever grateful!

Song count so far: 165

The next author up at December 9th, 10PM EST-04:00 CET is Septekka, bringing us the somewhat-longish-awaited next installment in an ongoing project.

[RongoIK]

I LOVE rhythm heaven! Thank you!

[Exxucus]

Another week, another $25! Keep up the good work!

[Septekka]

47. December 9th, 10PM EST-4:00 CET

Radiohead: Rock Band Part 2 – The Bends 6-pack

by Septekka

(Stay tuned for individual song previews!)

I think it’s been long enough since the last Radiohead release. I’ll try and keep the delays on the shorter side from here on out, but uh… no guarantees.

Flashback to 1994 – a year after the release of their debut album, Pablo Honey. Thanks to the success of hit single “Creep,” Radiohead has been catapulted into the limelight – and they were none too pleased with it. The pressure for a worthy, exceptional successor to “Creep” nearly tore the band apart, and Yorke and co. felt like the success of “Creep” was overshadowing – and will continue to overshadow – all else they had done and would ever do. In a sense, they were right, when considering the average person’s knowledge of the band. Either way, tensions remained high as the band continued on their rigorous touring schedule at the same time they began to record their follow-up album. Their confidence seemed at an all-time low, but they pulled through, completing the recording late in the year, and finally releasing The Bends in early 1995.

While Pablo Honey had some nice highlights (discussed in the last writeup I made for this project), it’s typically seen as kind of a mulligan by Radiohead fans. The Bends, on the other hand, is where things really started to get interesting. While the album is, by and large, a traditional alternative rock album, the band dropped the angsty, grungy sound that characterized Pablo Honey and started to show far more maturity and skill in their songwriting. The band’s sound started to involve more multi-layered elements and heavier usage of keyboards and string arrangements. Yorke’s lyrics, while certainly still influenced by his own personal issues, have already started to take on a more cryptic style (that would be even greater expanded on with later albums) while addressing larger-scale themes. Basically, this album was the beginning of Radiohead’s metamorphosis from a standard alternative rock band to the critically-lauded art rock band we know and love today.

Upon the release of The Bends, the album made decent waves in Britain, receiving critical acclaim, and setting Radiohead apart from the popular-at-the-time Britpop movement. However, it took some time for the record to really build up a legacy on a global scale, and is even more highly-lauded by critics nowadays – in addition to being a major influence for other British alternative bands such as Coldplay and Muse. So at last, here are six cuts from the record, some of which were big singles whereas others are deeper cuts. Three of these tracks have already existed in full or near-full-band format thanks to Sideshow, but have been heavily revamped and remastered for this release. The other three, however, are entirely new.

Radiohead – Planet Telex

The opening track of The Bends, and quite an interesting choice to start the album off. This song is quite distinct from the rest of the songs on the album, demonstrating a more atmospheric and electronic-influenced sound similar to the direction the band would explore on future albums. In fact, it’s the only one that wasn’t written before the band started recording – and it was recorded in one night while the band were drunk as hell. While it was released as a double A-side single alongside “High and Dry,” it was not nearly as widely played. The song starts out with a distinctive drum pattern and piano chords before the rest of the band comes in, and chugs along at a slow and heavy tempo. The lyrics cryptically sing about a mysterious “it” (think of Faith No More’s “Epic”), and is speculated to be about depression.

I can tell you right now that the drum rhythm in the intro is probably one of the catchiest drum parts you’ll ever hear. It’s a slow 8th note groove with groups of up to four 16th note kicks, and a fast snare roll every other measure. As the drum parts in this pack tend to be, it’s not too simple but not too challenging, and overall pretty fun. This pattern features in the intro, outro, and chorus, while the verse features a slightly modified version on the ride cymbal with more frequent crashes.

The bass part comes in halfway through the intro, and immediately demonstrates why Colin Greenwood is a fantastic and underrated bassist. Throughout the song there’s a variety of interesting grooves with changes every measure, typically alternating between two notes and then going up and/or down afterwards. Colin also takes many opportunities to throw in fills and licks here and there, especially later in the song.

Guitar takes a while to show up, but comes in at the verse with thick, meaty 3-note chords with a slight shoegazey influence in their tone. The second verse also features a simplistic lead riff with some neat HOPOs mixed in. Both choruses are simply measure-long reverberating sustained chords with occasional quick 32nd note strums. The end of the song changes things up with a clean 8th arpeggio pattern.

The bulk of the keys part is contained within the piano chord riff in the intro and outro, with the outro featuring a bit more variation. It’s pretty simple, but a distinctive and iconic part of the song.

The vocals part is deceptively tricky, with slightly unexpected melodic progressions and some notes that modulate out of key. The singer will especially have to be careful in the second verse, where Thom throws a couple significant twists into the melody. The choruses have some fairly big jumps, and the second chorus has him belting out some sustained higher notes.

Radiohead – The Bends

This midtempo track is one of the quintessential “rock” tracks on the album, owing a bit more to their previous Pablo Honey sound with its heavier reliance on guitar riffs over atmospherics. The song’s structure slowly builds, starting with quieter verses and taking its time to reach the first chorus, but reaching even higher peaks later on as the song enters the outro. Interspersed are a couple of drum-heavy breakdowns with “speak-singing” vocals that give way to climactic buildups. The song discusses the alienation Thom starts to feel with his newfound “rockstar” status, finding it harder to just live a normal life and constantly being surrounded with people who only want to hang around him because he’s famous.

For this song, I have to give special mention to the bass, since this is where Colin really shines as a bassist. It starts a little slow, but during the entire song he shows dedication to always playing interesting melodic counterpoints to what’s going on in the vocal and guitar melodies, and there’s constant variation and little HOPO runs in every riff he plays. But the real star is the outro, where he breaks into a frankly incredible HOPO filled groove that’s probably one of the most fun bass parts I’ve ever authored.

Being a more guitar-centric song, this track immediately shows its worth as one of the more interesting songs to play on guitar, with the main/chorus riff featuring some quick chord changes and varied licks. The first and second verses have a variety of chord patterns, while in between those two and in the third verse are some neat single-note based leads. Like the bass part, the most interesting section here is the outro, with some tricky 16th note chord-based riffs.

The drum part is pretty easy, but has a few curveballs, such as the quick flams followed by crashes in the intro riff. Most of the song is simple 8th-note grooves on the hi-hat or ride with some in-between snare hits, and the outro naturally slightly ups the intensity. The two breakdowns are where the drums take most prominence, and with more snares, tricky 16th kicks, and the snare/tom pounding buildups, they’re also the most interesting to play.

Another fairly tough song for vocals, the song starts with some long sustained notes, and the verses are quite varied and filled with ups and downs. The breakdowns are largely fast-talking on a single note, while the third verse and second chorus are easily the most difficult parts. Thom takes a more dramatic tone in the former, and in the latter he belts out some quite high sustained notes.

Radiohead – Fake Plastic Trees

I’m going to put my full bias on display here and tell you this is the best song here and one of the greatest songs the band has ever recorded. “Fake Plastic Trees” is a slow ballad with a massive emotional climax. It starts off quiet, with just Thom’s voice and an acoustic guitar, before strings and keyboards start to come in, and eventually the bass and drums make their entrance with the second verse. They drop back out in the second chorus, leaving just Thom, his guitar, and the keyboards, before Thom dramatically yells “IT WEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRS” followed by the whole band crashing in, with the guitars now electrified. From here it continues to build, as the string arrangements (and Thom’s voice) soar higher and higher, creating an incredible climactic moment before it all comes down, and the final chorus is stripped back down to the basics. Thom sings the song’s final lyrics in a delicate falsetto, before the band softly comes back in alongside an organ to bring the song to a harmonious ending. The song was released as a single and has remained one of the most popular and acclaimed songs from the album and among the band’s discography.

Across all instruments, this song is among the easiest in this release, but the guitar is probably the most interesting part here. The song is largely based around 3-note acoustic chords, with varying strum patterns throughout. The third verse climax is the exception here, as it switches to a slow single-note ascending lead.

The keys part here is fairly varied, playing a mix of organ-sounding and string sections. The former appears prominently in the choruses, with a slowly descending-then-ascending melody – the first chorus also having one long sustained note across the whole thing. The outro also contains some slow chords. The string parts appear in the verses, with a variety of long sustains and some quick 16th notes as well, with a very long ascending climax in the third verse.

The bass part is largely composed of simple 8th note strumming across the frets, with a few 16ths thrown in here and there. It’s nothing special, but it’ll keep your attention well enough. The drum part is also very simple, being comprised of slow 8th note beats on the hi-hat or ride. Once the song kicks in, there are some slightly quick kicks and little tom fills as well.

The vocal part requires a good bit of range, particularly with Thom’s jumps up to (and then back down from) falsetto in the verses. However, the melody is mostly unchanging throughout the verses and choruses, so once you learn it, it’s not too hard to repeat. It’s also, from my experience, quite an addicting and catchy part to sing. After the long sustained “wears” into the third verse, there’s some more variation thrown in, with Thom reaching higher in his chest voice. The outro melody can also be a bit tricky, with a subtle change in the melody upon its second repetition.

Radiohead – (Nice Dream)

This track is probably the deepest cut in this pack, having not been released as a single or received much airplay. However, don’t let that scare you away from the quality of the song, because it easily stands up with the rest here. It’s a largely acoustic guitar-driven song, which unlike the other songs on the album (minus “Sulk”), uses a lively 6/8 time signature, with atmospheric keys and synths layered on top. The song breaks into a much heavier and rawer section in the middle, with electric guitar riffs and a foreboding string riff. Thom sings here about a “dream” where he has people who will help him and love him unconditionally.

The guitar has a mix of different parts, featuring acoustic guitar, clean electric, and distorted electric. The acoustic guitar plays throughout the song, but the playable part here includes it during the intro, first verse, and outro, with 16th-note-strummed 3-note chords. The chorus both feature clean electric arpeggios, and the second verse also has clean electric in the forum of 2-note chord strumming, with some neat HOPO chords and 32nd notes thron in. The distorted guitar in the bridge comes in with some quick HOPOs and bent chords.

The 6/8 time signature makes the drum part here one that stands out from the others in the pack. The song is laden with ghost notes on the snare while playing on the hi-hat and ride, with some 16th ride hits in the second verse as well. The chorus also has some quick alternation between two different crashes. During the heavier bridge, the part evolves into a more endurance-testing pattern with a kick landing on every beat.

The bass part here is not difficult, but continues to show off Colin’s tendency to play his own little melody lines within the song, and is quite fun for that aspect compared to the average root-note-strumming song. The bridge is where things start to get more interesting, with 16th notes mixed in and runs all across the frets.

The keys part’s not bad here, either, first entering in the chorus where it plays a descending single note melody that sounds halfway between a violin and a keyboard. Midway through the second verse, it starts an ascending and descending arpeggio, which is probably the most interesting thing here. The bridge has you play two-note fifth chords going up the keys.

This is the first song in the pack to feature harmonies, which only make a short appearance in the second chorus with the “If you think that you’re strong enough” octaves while the lead continues on with “nice dream.” It’s an easy and smooth part in general, though the bridge might throw you off. Also, watch out for Thom’s super-long falsetto note in the outro.

Radiohead – Just

Another hard rocker that calls back a bit to their Pablo Honey sound, similar to the title-track discussed earlier. This song was a single and a fairly successful one at that, becoming one of the most popular songs on the album. Its great music video probably helped out as well – people are still wondering what the man said to this very day. Starting with an iconic acoustic riff in the intro, the song takes a fairly typical quiet verse/loud chorus structure for a couple go-rounds, with a dramatic “acapella” pause preceding each chorus, before launching into a short guitar solo (the only one in this pack!). Following this is a clean bridge that soon breaks into a distorted riff with an interesting “scratching” guitar sound before the last chorus. The band then takes a bit longer to rock out through the outro before the song ends rather abruptly.

Instrumentally, this song is probably one of the most fun here. The guitar part is a blast, with a attention-grabbing tremolo-strummed ascending riff in the intro and following each chorus. The verses feature a mix of 2 and 3-note chords, the pre-chorus has a pretty fun single note riff, and the chorus alternates between chords and single notes. The brief guitar solo continues the tremolo strumming of the main riff, ascending even higher before going into some HOPO chords. The bridge features a couple different chord-based riffs, while the outro is somewhat of a solo in itself, with some quite tricky HOPO leads all over it.

The bass part is structured fairly similarly to the title-track, with a good amount of different melodies and licks thrown in, and also some 16th note strumming (especially during the chorus). Naturally, the outro has a particularly great groove, with HOPO runs all over the place. Not really much else to say here, other than that it’s quite fun.

The drum patterns here will feel pretty familiar after playing the other songs in this pack, with a mix of hi-hat and ride 8th notes. This song in particular has a rather high amount of quick 16th-note kicks thrown in, as well as some ghost notes in the bridge and after the last chorus. Watch out for the long 32nd note snare roll leading into the outro.

The vocal part is quite varied melodically, and like many of the other songs here, really starts to break out later on in the song. Even in the first couple verses, there’s some phrases that might trip you up. This song also features harmonies on the long “seeeeeelf”s in the chorus, one singing a higher harmony while the other doubles the lead note – also filling in for the lead in the third chorus, where Thom starts to go a bit manic and throws in even more twists. If you break combo, you can take out your frustrations on the outro where Thom is just yelling and it’s all talkies.

Radiohead – Street Spirit (Fade Out)

This closing track (which despite being subtitled “Fade Out,” does not have a fade out) was, like “Planet Telex,” indicative of the artsier direction that the band would later take, and to this day remians one of the darkest and most depressing songs they ever recorded. Thom Yorke has said many interesting things about it – including that he doesn’t feel like he even wrote it himself, but rather that it just came to him, and that it “hurts like hell” when concert crowds smile and cheer for the song while seemingly oblivious to how dark the song is. The song starts with a clean guitar intro, before vocals come in – then bass, and some time later, drums. It gradually builds up from there, culminating in the strings-laced outro, but then ending with nothing more than a single guitar note. Thom’s lyrics communicate a belief in the overall futility of life, but interestingly concludes with the line “immerse your soul in love” at the song’s climax, ending the album on a strangely dire yet simulatenously hopeful note.

The guitar part is fairly repetitive, but you hardly even notice that when it consists of challenging 16th note arpeggios. The first half of the song plays the lower, more “rhythmic” part, anchored mostly on red while you alternately fret other notes above it. Midway through, it changes to a higher clean lead, that plays fairly similarly but with a bit more variations in the pattern.

The drum part features two main patterns – the first one consisting of hi-hat 16th notes with snare rim clicks on every 8th note, while later on the 16ths move to the ride, and the pace of the snares is decreased to 2 and 4, with additional accents on the off-beats, and kicks are also added.

On bass, you start with simple long sustains, but later on get 8th note strumming on different frets. It’s not too interesting, especially compared with most of the other offerings here, but near the end of the song, some 16th note HOPOs start to get thrown in as well.

The keys part is very simple here, consisting entirely of 3 different chords which are sustained for 1-2 measures.

The vocal part here is a bit more limited in range compared to the others, but also has some long sustained notes on every “faaaaaade ouuuuuuut” and the final climactic “immeeeeerse your soooouul iN LOOOOOOOOOOOOOVEEEEEEEEEEEEE” There’s only one harmony part here, singing the memorable “na na na”s in the bridge that are just as much of a hook as the chorus itself – meanwhile, the lead has some long sustains throughout that part, too.

 

Do you like this release? Awesome! If you would have downloaded this release even if it was paid DLC, please donate 90 cents per song to the Make-A-Wish foundation, we’ll be forever grateful!

 

Song count so far: 171

 

The next author up at December 10th, 6AM EST-12:00 CET is GreenPanda12, who brings us a pack featuring a killer queen, some apples drifting in space, emotional and physical screamers and pop punk drifters.

[GasparLewis]

Are “Just” and “Street Spirit (Fade Out)” (edit: and “Fake Plastic Trees”) based on Sideshow’s existing customs, or are they from scratch?

[Septekka]

Are “Just” and “Street Spirit (Fade Out)” (edit: and “Fake Plastic Trees”) based on Sideshow’s existing customs, or are they from scratch?

 

Started from scratch in terms of like, tempo mapping, but used parts of the existing charts for reference while adding additional polish, basically

[Sideshow]

I took down all my Radiohead customs from their first two albums due to Septekka’s newer versions now available. Thanks for updating those Bends customs which is my favorite Radiohead album.

[JIManji]

48. December 10th, 6AM EST-12:00 CET

Random Singles Pack

by GreenPanda12

The Apples in Stereo – Strange Solar System

Kelly Clarkson – Whyyouwannabringmedown

City Lights – Please Let Me Know

Hail the Sun- Burn Nice and Slow (The Formative Years)

So these singles were actually made on complete whims. I’ll go on order so you can understand what I mean. Firstly there Strange Solar System, when I first heard this I was kinda freaked out by it. It was just… yeah, out there. But it is such a good transition into Dance Floor which is in RBN. And with it only being vocals I figured I might as well chart it for shits and giggles. Also, massive thanks to Ultimate_MANG0 for making a venue. Hope it trips you out. hehehe

Next is Kelly Clarkson, I have been in love with this goddess for the longest time and have wanted to chart a song from her for just as long. Although there are dozens (and I mean DOZENS) of songs I could chart, I decided to go with this one which shows off her true rock colors in a very commercial album. This has been sitting in my WiP for too long.

Thirdly we have City Lights, a friend of mine showed me this band when I was randomly chatting with him online whilst playing Call of Duty. He sent me a link to their entire album and I kid you not, I would listen to that shit on repeat for the next few months to come. IT WAS SO GOOD!!! I said to him that I would be interested in charting this full album and he got so hyped, he even decided to get on board with the idea. Unfortunately the project is heading in a downward spiral but we did manage to get 1 song done from it. We started on the next song but lost interest but that can easily change so if you’re into this, PM me and we can work something out. So this one goes out to Smarock (or as people know him on Xbox as BeastinIsMyGame).

Last but not least, Hail the Sun graces our presence. I could easily go on with the story of how this came to birth, but I figured you might as well go see it for yourself:

What I will say is that this band is THE SHIT. They are so musically talented it is a blessing to have music by them. I will definitely be willing to chart more stuff from this band. Even though my only contribution to this was the tempo mapping, vocals/harmonies charting, overall fixes and building, the main people to thank are Guyshening and Smarock (BeastinIsMyGame). They’re the true MVP’s for this custom so if you’re gonna thank anyone, thank them.

Do you like this release? Awesome! If you would have downloaded this release even if it was paid DLC, please donate 90 cents per song to the Make-A-Wish foundation, we’ll be forever grateful!

Song count so far: 175

The next author up at December 10th, 2PM EST-20:00 CET is Bansheeflyer. He would like to hint that “There are hot singles in your area!”

[Farottone]

Another week, another $25! Keep up the good work!

 

Thank you so much!

[Xer]

Radiohead: Rock Band Part 2 – The Bends 6-pack

by Septekka

 

Thanks so much for new Radiohead tracks. You just made a sizable bump in my donation total!

[VOC Sonder NL]

I just donated $10 for this great idea!

I will donate some more very soon ” src=”/wp-content/uploads/invision_emoticons/default_SA_smile.gif” /> but I have to be a little carefull. After 22 years driving a cab, the company went bankrupt , but luckely I found another cabcompany but I had no salary for 2 months. But furtunately it will come.

 

First songs werent my cup of tea but I wanted to donate anyway, cuz all the fantastic free customs from the last years!

But then I saw Jimi369 releasing some amazing songs

 

Doe Maar – de Bom

Favourite band of my girlfriend! Dutch band from the 80’s who did a reaggea like pop songs in dutch. I”ll tell you: in the Netherlands we had Beatles-like mania!!

Crazy things!

 

Hans de Booy – Anabel

one hit wonder that was strangely sung by a non-artist troubadour in dutch.

Something from my youth

 

Skandal in sperrbezirk

German song

 

auch Rosie hat ein Telefon
auch ich hab’ ihre Nummer schon.
Unter 32-16-8
herrscht Konjunktur die ganze Nacht

 

and offcourse Peter Gabriel Slegdehammer

fantastic song

 

Then nsw1-6 did a U2 release.

I only know “all I want is you” but hey……this is U2 ” src=”/wp-content/uploads/invision_emoticons/default_SA_smile.gif” />

 

Will he do a ELOY release?????

 

Battle Penguin did Shaggy It wasnt me

Fantastic!!!!!!

 

Do not pass go

Babe from Styx……….nice!

 

ghostbyob

Brian Adams everything I do I do it for you

woooooowoooowoooo

 

 

 

The sheep queen

Love is all by Roger Glover

 

Everybody’s got to live together

All the people got to understand
So, love your neighbour
Like you love your brother
Come on and join the band

 

do you remember the video with the frog?

Hahahaha

[Bansheeflyer]

49. December 10th, 2PM EST-20:00 CET

Hop and Pop Pack

by Bansheeflyer

Young M.C. – Bust a Move

Snow Patrol – Open Your Eyes

Time to continue the selection of random singles with this two-pack. “Bust a Move” was a staple hip-hop song of the late 80s, winning the 1990 Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance.The song stayed on the Billboard Hot 100 for 39 weeks, 20 of those in the top 40 alone. Would you believe me if I told you that really fun bass line was played by none other than Flea himself?

“Open Your Eyes” was released on Eyes Open among “Shut Your Eyes” and “Hands Open”…there’s a running theme here somewhere. Not much to say about this one. Very emotional. Wasn’t that big of a hit. Doesn’t have bass by Flea.

Do you like this release? Awesome! If you would have downloaded this release even if it was paid DLC, please donate 90 cents per song to the Make-A-Wish foundation, we’ll be forever grateful!

Song count so far: 177

The next author up at December 10th, 10PM EST-4:00 CET is BattlePenguin. This next two-pack of songs will feature different female artists.

[Funk Meister Freud]

I’d be rambling on and on about how humongously cool this song is for me but I’m better off expressing my excitement

by jumping around the house, grinning like the damn fool I can be with songs like this (not that I need a song anyway. lol ” src=”/wp-content/uploads/invision_emoticons/default_SA_cheeky.001.gif” /> )…..can’t wait for what the other surprise is!

 

THANKS BANSHEEFLYER! This one just made my Christmas (for Real!!)

 

Good to see that halfway goal reached, guys! Y’all are amazing! ” src=”/wp-content/uploads/invision_emoticons/default_SA_biggrin.gif” />

[Farottone]

I just donated $10 for this great idea!

I will donate some more very soon ” src=”/wp-content/uploads/invision_emoticons/default_SA_smile.gif”> but I have to be a little carefull. After 22 years driving a cab, the company went bankrupt , but luckely I found another cabcompany but I had no salary for 2 months. But furtunately it will come.

 

Thank you so much, don’t donate more than you can, we appreciate the sentiment too if you can’t donate. ” src=”/wp-content/uploads/invision_emoticons/default_SA_smile.gif”>

[VOC Sonder NL]

Thanks Farottone, but it is a temporarily hick-up and getting these kids a day to remember is much more important ” src=”/wp-content/uploads/invision_emoticons/default_SA_smile.gif” />

 

Ha, Bansheeflyer, youngmc with bustamove!

Fantastic

[Author]

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