Entertainment trends come in waves: Rock Band, Guitar Hero and other music games were monolithic empires ten years ago, but oversaturation led to their demise. Here’s what we forgot, though: those games are still fun as hell.
So now seems a ripe time for Rock Band 4, which comes out on Oct. 6. Today, the game’s all-important soundtrack has been revealed, and, per usual, there is plenty going on for all tastes: indie rock (Jack White, St. Vincent, The Black Keys), nostalgic hits (4 Non Blondes, The Cure, Spin Doctors), popular contemporary music (Mumford & Sons, Fall Out Boy, Bruno Mars), classic rock (Van Halen, Fleetwood Mac, The Who) and high-intensity, harder-edged songs geared for the game’s hardest difficulty (Dream Theater, Avenged Sevenfold, Judas Priest). There’s even a subtle nod to classic gaming: The Protomen’s “Light Up the Night” comes from one of their Mega Man-inspired concept albums.
Check out the complete song list below and let us know what you think of the selections in the comments.
- .38 Special – Caught Up in You
- 4 Non Blondes – Whatâs Up?
- Aerosmith – Toys in the Attic
- Arctic Monkeys – Arabella
- Avenged Sevenfold – Hail to the King
- Benjamin Booker – Violent Shiver
- The Black Keys – Fever
- The Both – Milwaukee
- Brad Paisley ft. Keith Urban – Start a Band
- Brandie Carlile – Mainstream Kid
- Cake – Short Skirt/Long Jacket
- The Cure – Friday, Iâm in Love
- Dark Wheels – V-Bomb
- Disturbed – Prayer
- Dream Theater – Metropolis, Pt. 1: The Miracle and The Sleeper
- Duck & Cover – Knock âEm Down
- Eddie Japan – Albert
- Elvis Presley – Suspicious Minds
- Fall Out Boy – Centuries
- Fleetwood Mac – You Make Loving Fun
- Foo Fighters – The Feast and the Famine
- Gary Clark Jr. – Ain’t Messin ‘Round
- Gin Blossoms – Follow You Down
- Grouplove – Tongue Tied
- Halestorm – I Miss the Misery
- Heart – Kick It Out
- Heavenâs Basement – I Am Electric
- Imagine Dragons – I Bet My Life
- Jack White – Lazaretto
- Jeff Allen – Recession
- Johnny Blazes and the Pretty Boys – Cold Clear Light
- Judas Priest – Halls of Valhalla
- The Killers – Somebody Told Me
- Lightning Bolt – Dream Genie
- Little Big Town – Little White Church
- Live – All Over You
- Lucius – Turn It Around
- Lynyrd Skynyrd – That Smell
- Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars – Uptown Funk
- The Mighty Mighty Bosstones – The Impression That I Get
- Mumford & Sons – The Wolf
- The Outfield – Your Love
- Ozzy Osbourne – Miracle Man
- Paramore – Still Into You
- The Protomen – Light Up the Night
- Queens of the Stone Age – My God is the Sun
- R.E.M. – The One I Love
- Rick Derringer – Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo
- Rush – A Passage to Bangkok
- Scandal – The Warrior
- Scorpions – No One Like You
- Slydigs – Light the Fuse
- Soul Remnants – Dead Black (Heart of Ice)
- Soundgarden – Superunknown
- Spin Doctors – Little Miss Canât Be Wrong
- St. Vincent – Birth in Reverse
- System of a Down – Spiders
- Tijuana Sweetheart – Pistol Whipped
- Van Halen – Panama
- Van Morrison – Brown Eyed Girl
- The Warning – Free Falling
- White Denim – At Night in Dreams
- The Who – The Seeker
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HT: Arcade Sushi
Featured image courtesy of Harmonix