News broke yesterday that Don Cornelius of Soul Train (allegedly) committed suicide. Sad day.

Love, Peace and Soul, Mr. Cornelius.

Beastie Boys

Chubb Rock

Stevie Wonder

Craig Finn of The Hold Steady’s solo album Clear Heart, Full Eyes, comes out today (it’s been available for pre-order for a good while).

Listen to the first single on SoundCloud: Craig Finn – Honolulu Blues

Label site: Vagrant Records

Come on, who else do you think would be doing this review? “Dance Central” is back and better than ever with tons of new add-ons including something we have all been waiting for since the original: Simultaneous Multiplayer! If you couple that with all-new Voice Commands,  revamped Dance and Fitness Modes as well as a Campaign Mode; “Dance Central 2″ is poised to become a new stable in your Kinect library.

Voice Commands

Since the announcement of Kinect, we have seen demo after demo featuring ‘Voice Commands’. I wondered if this would be the least bit intuitive and even wondered if I would become utterly frustrated with the Kinect’s lack of responsiveness. I also wondered if I would look like an absolute dummy shouting at my TV because I know I will be shouting at it as a last resort.

And shockingly, the answer is unbelievably yes to all three.

I became frustrated at the Kinect’s inability to pick up my voice at times. I began yelling at the TV to compensate for the Kinect’s ignorance. However, I did find the available commands quite easy to remember. So, it won me over on the intuitive front. Simple commands to jump straight into a song, set the difficulty, or even the song’s speed in the game’s “Break It Down” mode are all pretty easy to remember. Think along the lines of saying “XBOX Dance” to bring up the song selection screen then simply selecting your song to play.Truly nifty and it’s one step closer to totally ditching your controller.

Simultaneous Dancing

It’s been something we all have been waiting for and now we finally have it! Now if only I could get some people to come over to my place to play! But that’s another story…

Not only can two players dance at the same time but they can each set their own difficulties. Finally leveling the playing field and allowing both dancers to play at their own pace without bothering each other. The only issue here is space. When people dance and don’t really know the routines, they are all over the place, often colliding with one another during the game. I didn’t see this as much when two players happened to have some familiarity with a particular song. And let’s face it, it’s bond to happen no matter which dancing game you happen to be playing. I’m just putting it out there as a warning for anyone who wants to start having dance battles right out the gate. Perhaps let each player dance through the song before battling. You may come out with less bruises this way.

Fitness Mode

This particular mode was a favorite of mine, more so than the simultaneous dancing. Why? Because I learned that people are shy when it comes to dancing in front of others, even if it’s among friends. So, the “Fitness Mode” is a mode that I can just jump into.

Literally.

What’s different this time around is the fact that you don’t just turn it on and randomly play songs until you burn your desired calorie count. Instead you select the workout type and it’s already set for a designated time frame. Simply dance your way through the songs and watch the calories burn! But it doesn’t stop there, once you initialize the calorie counter, it continues to tell you your progress while playing through the other modes, including how long you have been playing and how many calories you have burned. Totally love this!

Crew Challenges

Take your moves to the streets in this new campaign mode! Prove you are worthy enough to rep different dance crews while trying to earn stars along the way. Unlock new dancers and extras while other dance crews take notice. Since I recently watched a bunch of dance movies while writing this review, I can totally see this as a campaign mode. You dance you way through the ranks as more and more people take note of your talent. Then you gain more and more notoriety amongst the crews.

The Bottom Line

If you got Dance Central, you will most likely pick up Dance Central 2.

With the new campaign, fitness, and multiplayer modes, Dance Central 2 has enough to keep you dancing long after 5 starring all the songs.

It’s been a while since I have become utterly obsessed with a foreign import. “Muse” has set my live concert bar fairly high but after catching “The Wombats” play Bowery Ballroom, I knew I was in love! (Sorry, hun if you happen to be reading this!)

The irresistibly danceable yet gloomy lyrics may spark you to try to compare them to a few other bands. But their non-stop energy on stage is what sets them apart from other bands I have seen at previous CMJs. And when you mix that with their geeky aura, then you can see why this girl fell in love and abandoned her games for the night!

Why not try to imagine yourself at the show by checking out the pictures below! And be sure to check out the band’s website for tour dates!

 
The Wombats – Kill the Director (Live @ Webster Hall)

 
The Wombats – Moving to New York (Live @ Webster Hall)

It was about a year ago when the web buzzed about Rock Band 3 and it’s ability to finally allow gamers a way to learn how to play guitar and bass. However, it’s innovative buzz came and went. I hardly ever see a pro player on multiplayer these days. Instead, the uniqueness of the game was lost and all that remained was a new installment into the Rock Band franchise. As innovative as it was, it just seemed like a faint whisper to me.

So, of course, when Ubisoft announced Rocksmith at E3; I was skeptical. It’s only natural. It felt like de ja vu. Been there, was a little bit disappointed with that. What does Rocksmith have that the other game I mentioned a few sentences prior didn’t have? I had to find out for myself.

However, after playing Rocksmith, it’s important that I make this disclaimer. From this point on, I won’t refer to that other game, *cough Rock Band cough*, simply because they are two different genres and it’s not fair to place them into the same category.

Simply continue reading on to find out why!

About the Game

In case you aren’t familiar with Rocksmith, allow me the chance to briefly explain a little further. I think I put a few hints but it’s only right to dig a little deeper. Rocksmith is a music game that comes bundled with a special cable which allows any guitar with a standard ¼ inch jack to be used as the game’s controller. As you play through the game, Rocksmith instinctively determines your skill level and creates an experience unique to player. Initially, the game starts off on easy and gradually increases the difficulty the better you play.

Rocksmith falls into the educational category for me. The focus isn’t placed on multiplayer or leaderboards. The heart of the game lies in trying to make you learn how to play a guitar while trying to limit the amount of frustration you might usually encounter when trying to learn how to play an instrument. Traditionally, learning how to play an instrument meant pulling out cash to pay for an instructor for hours of practice. With Rocksmith, you leave the instructor behind! For the cost of either the game or bundle pack, you’ll be seeing yourself playing an actual guitar in mere minutes!

What excites really me about Rocksmith, is it’s simplicity. It’s amazing how easy it was to pick up a guitar, select a song and just play. The game is so awesome that during your initial play through the game automatically begins on easy and the difficulty subtly increases the better you play. In my case, I had the luck to play after someone who was at a higher difficulty than me and the game knew that I wasn’t able to handle it and lowered the difficulty till I was comfortable again. The subtlety of the difficulty changes is what made me fall in love with Rocksmith.

While in other rhythm games, Dance Dance Revolution included, I would think I was ready to take on the harder difficulties simply because I was able to do fairly well on a few songs.  Disillusioned with my glimmer of awesomeness I would up the difficulty.

Curse.

Then abruptly turn off the Xbox. There was no middle ground.

There’s just Expert and everything else. Nothing was able to keep me motivated to keep trying. Frustration was all that hid around the corner. This frustration was slightly unnoticeable with Rocksmith.

But don’t think everything was just perfect. Nothing’s ever perfect. The menus were clunky. Between Harley Q and me, it took us a while to figure out where exactly we could select a new song to play. Plus, since I don’t play the guitar, all the fancy options for setting up the amp are lost on me. I’m hoping there’s some mode that I overlooked that digs in a little deeper on what all these amp settings do.

Verdict

It’s clear that from the novice to the professional guitar player, the game is easily acessible to anyone with a guitar handy. All in all, Rocksmith is officially in my pre-order queue. Hopefully, I won’t keep my neighbors awake with my practicing.

If you’re curious for more details, visit Rocksmith here and a few screens are included below…

Michael Todd, bassist for the mega band Coheed and Cambria was arrested last night (Sunday, July 10th) in Attleboro, Mass for Armed Robbery prior to opening up for the newly reunited Soundgarden.

Around 1 PM, Sunday afternoon, Todd entered a Walgreens saying he had a bomb and demanded Oxycontin.  He made off with six bottles before entering a cab which drove him to the Comcast Center where he was to perform just a few hours later.  Police arrested him prior to the band going on stage.  The band released these statements:

“Michael Todd was arrested today on what we consider very serious charges and therefore he will not be finishing up the current tour. Wes Styles, longtime member of the Coheed family, will take on bass duties starting tomorrow for the remaining dates. No shows will be canceled.

“We are surprised to say the least and will address the situation with Michael after the tour. For now, we just want to have a great time out here and finish with some killer shows in Boston, Poughkeepsie, Quebec City and Halifax.”

Todd is being held on $10,000 bail.  He was charged with robbery and unlawful possession of prescription drugs.  Personally, I wish he got away with it for a little while longer.  How cool would it of been to see him get arrested on stage, in the middle of a song?  Now that would of been a concert not soon forgotten.

Part of the Seaside Summer Concert Series, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts will be performing live for FREE!  Not a single dime is needed.  The concert will take place on July, 14th at West 21st Street and Surf Avenue in Coney Island.  Come say hi, will ya?

News Channel Triple Six is covering this travesty!  Rob Zombie’s Bassist, Piggy D’s skull mask has been stolen.  It was last seen on the side of the stage during the Azkena Festival in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain.

“Dear prick who stole my skull mask from the stage in Spain, I hope you get the black plague, and all your teeth fall out of your head. GFYS (go fuck yourself).” – Piggy D.

If you know the whereabouts of the mask, you are urged to contact Piggy D pronto at http://www.piggy-d.com/.  Piddy D, if you are unable to find your stolen mask, may I suggest checking out Ebay.  Its only ten bucks!

This is Lil’ Nubi signing off!

My Chemical Romance at Terminal 5. (Photos: Patrick J. Eves)

Hands raised, hundreds beckoned with chants of “M-C-R.”  Their thumps paid off as My Chemical Romance walked on stage for their second, sold-out New York City show Saturday night at Terminal 5, lighting up the impatient crowd with opener “Na Na Na.”

“I have a theory,” said singer Gerard Way, midway through the band’s 17-song set. “If you play two nights in New York City, the second night is always the best.” It seemed as if the band was still on fire from the night before — or perhaps, it was a blend of the haze and sweat in the nearly oxygen-deficient packed venue.

MCR flaunted their stage prowess and have reached their rawest, punk plateau on their World Contamination tour — caught somewhere between Stooges aggravated grit and pouncing Descendents lyrics. In their nearly two hour set, the band left behind a concoction of tracks old and new, starting with their latest Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys, their fifth studio album. “Are you ready to dance?” asked the chatty Way as he moved into the more stomp-y “Planetary.” Songs “Destroya,” “Party Poison” and “Summertime,” which had the audience holding up their hands in the shape of a heart (something mimicked by the night’s leader, Way), were a handful of nine Days songs mixed in throughout the night.

The quartet kept the audience smiling and dancing with classics like the Liza Minelli-inspired “Mama,” their anthemic march of “Welcome to the Black Parade,” and “Our Lady of Sorrows” and “Vampires Will Never Hurt You,” off of the band’s 2002 debut I Brought You Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love; several tracks from 2004’s Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge (“Helena,” “I’m Not Okay (I Promise)” and “Hang ‘Em High”) filled the remaining slots.

“What are you gonna do when they try to change you up? Throw a punch? I wanna hear you sing,” said Way before moving into Days ballad “Sing.”  Parade’s melodic “Cancer”  brought things to a close before MCR offered up a two-song Danger Days encore of “Vampire Money” (more ripping punk, less darkly dreaming than Bullett‘s blood-sucker track from nearly a decade earlier) and closer “Bulletproof Heart.”