Versus Guitar Hero

Several of my friends gave themselves -- or their kids -- the extremely popular video game Guitar Hero, last month. They're raving about how much fun it is; and supposedly it forces players to listen to music like a musician does, so it's even educational!

But Chicago-based freelance culture critic Richard Prouty begs to differ. At his blog One-Way Street, he reports today that he played Guitar Hero on Christmas, and was less than impressed:

Guitar Hero is yet another example of a collective experience rendered virtual. To put it in [Walter] Benjaminian terms, the game turns erfahrung into erlebnis; it turns a contingent and transmissible experience into a repetitive and closed-ended one. A crucial part of being a guitar hero is creating music, not just aping other musicians, and the experience of being a rock star is exactly what's being conveyed in a rock song. In other words, the subtext of every rock song is rock stardom itself. Even the game's performance scenario isn't all it appears to be. You must satisfy the demands of an inscrutable other -- a crowd of dancing zombies -- and play a repertoire that has more to do with corporate license agreements than drugs, sex and rock and roll. On stage with your anonymous band mates, you are alone within a group. In this sense Guitar Hero is a lot like work.

Ouch! This is a great critique.

Besides, couldn't you learn how to actually play guitar in the same amount of time?