August 14, 2015 – Songs from Vice City and the Pretenders!

Note: Videos may contain authoring issues that have been fixed, and are for preview purposes only. Video recording courtesy of Lowlander.

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C3 releases for August 14, 2015:

New! Grand Theft Auto: Vice City C01 5-pack

• Autograph – “Turn Up the Radio” X (DVDSmith ft. columbo777)
  From “V-Rock”
• Bryan Adams – “Run to You” (DVDSmith)
  From “Flash FM”
• Laura Branigan – “Self Control” (farottone)
  From “Flash FM”
• Michael Jackson – “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin'” (farottone)
  From “Fever 105”
• Queensrÿche – “Queen of the Reich” 2x (farottone)
  From “V-Rock” (Vice City Stories)

New! Singles

• The Pretenders – “From the Heart Down” (ws54)

A red X denotes Pro Guitar/Pro Bass charts, a blue M denotes full multitracks, a blue K denotes a “karaoke” multitrack (separated vocals), and a rusty 2x denotes that a 2x Bass Pedal version is also available. FtV denotes a song previously released by a C3 author outside of C3.

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Outside of music games, there are a few franchises known for their really good OSTs. We’ve already covered Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, so what’s the other really big one? That’s right — it’s the larcenous, foul-mouthed, prostitute-killing, spawn-a-jetpack-and-a-tank-and-go-crazy-before-reloading-your-save radio stations of Grand Theft Auto. This week you can embrace your inner Tommy Vercetti and…well, to avoid any killing sprees with Rock Band guitars, let’s say  “embrace your favorite Vice City radio station” instead. And coincidentally, it gives us several amazing rock songs to fill the holes in our classic rock/classic pop catalog! Across the pond from Vice City, we’ve also got a single from UK rockers the Pretenders! Please do not accept any missions from Chrissie Hynde, that will not go well for you.

Authors’ comments for this week’s songs:

• “Turn Up the Radio” – DVDSmith writes, “This song was featured on hard rock/heavy metal station V-Rock, and is a staple of the glam metal genre that dominated the rock scene of the 1980s. Perfect for massive singalongs, and it features a furious tapping guitar solo that is sure to give your fingers a workout, so good luck!”
• “Run to You” – DVDSmith writes, “From pop station Flash FM, this is my favourite song from the entire Vice City soundtrack, and 13 years later is still overall one of my favourite songs from one of my favourite albums. Bryan Adams is criminally underrepresented in Rock Band, so I’m very happy to help double the number of songs he has in the game. Not particularly hard on any instrument, but incredibly fun to sing.”
• “From the Heart Down” – ws54 writes, “A highly intelligent love song that always seems to choke me up a little. Written by Billy Steinberg who also wrote dozens of big hits including No 1 songs for Madonna, Cyndi Lauper, Bangles and others. As a Rock Band song it is not particularly difficult but it has a great guitar solo and of course the vocals are stellar — it is Chrissie Hynde after all.”

See you next Friday!

July 31, 2015 – Rock pianists, Herman’s Hermits, and really heavy metal!

Note: Videos may contain authoring issues that have been fixed, and are for preview purposes only. Video recording courtesy of Lowlander.

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C3 releases for July 31, 2015:

New! Herman’s Hermits C01 4-pack (ws54)

• Herman’s Hermits – “I’m Henry VIII, I Am” X (ft. columbo777)
• Herman’s Hermits – “I’m Into Something Good” X (ft. columbo777)
• Herman’s Hermits – “No Milk Today”
• Herman’s Hermits – “Wonderful World”

New! Piano Men C01 4-pack

• Billy Joel – “New York State of Mind” (DVDSmith and sageamagoo)
• Bruce Hornsby and The Range – “The Way It Is” (DVDSmith)
• Howard Jones – “No One Is to Blame” (Dash Riprock and GanonMetroid ft. farottone)
• Queen – “Jealousy” (farottone)

New! Singles

• Cattle Decapitation – “Lifestalker” 2x (Gigakoops)
• Deafheaven – “Dream House” 2x (Gigakoops)

A red X denotes Pro Guitar/Pro Bass charts, a blue M denotes full multitracks, a blue K denotes a “karaoke” multitrack (separated vocals), and a rusty 2x denotes that a 2x Bass Pedal version is also available. FtV denotes a song previously released by a C3 author outside of C3.

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Are you in the mood for British Invasion pop? How about iconic nine-note piano riffs and smooth saxophone solos? No? Well, what about bloodstained horror metal? If you don’t like any of those things, I’m afraid you’ll need to peruse the other 1,300 songs in our database. But if any of that sounds good to you, buckle in and download another week of Rock Band happiness!

Authors’ comments for this week’s songs:

• “I’m Henry VIII, I Am” – ws54 writes, “This could be the oldest song on Rock Band dating back to 1910. The recording, of course is a mid-60’s classic and a must-have for any Rock Band party.”
• “I’m Into Something Good” – ws54 writes, “Probably one of Herman’s Hermits most recognizable songs no matter what age you are.  This song is insanely fun on Bass without being too difficult. Harmonies and Keyboards are also featured prominently.”
• “No Milk Today” – ws54 writes, “This is my favorite Herman’s Hermits song. It was a B-side that became part of a double-sided US hit in 1967. For an oldie, it has a fairly complicated song structure. As usual in Herman’s Hermits songs, harmonies are front and center, and keys are satisfying.”
• “Wonderful World” – ws54 writes, “Many people prefer the Sam Cooke original of this song but I like this higher-charting cover that Herman’s Hermits did more. This is not a particularly difficult song to play but Vocalists should enjoy it and it is the best Drums song in this pack.”
• “New York State of Mind” – DVDSmith writes, “After Uptown Girl, this is probably the most famous Billy Joel song never released for Rock Band 3, and I just HAD to make sure it happened before the era of RB3 (and keys) comes to an end. With pro keys charted by the awesome Sageamagoo (go check out his excellent RBHP work), this song is a must for any RB keyboard players. This custom uses the version with the re-recorded saxophone solo.”
• “The Way It Is” – DVDSmith writes, “Featuring one of the most iconic piano riffs in rock history, famously sampled by Tupac in the late ’90s (and ripped-off by Pierce Hawthorne in 2009), I wanted to make sure this song made it into RB3 before RB keys bit the dust in October. Enjoy the challenging solos, piano players!”
• “Likestalker” – GK writes, “Drummers should prepare themselves before playing this one. This is perhaps one of the hardest drum charts in C3’s library of songs, with unrelenting blast beats and furiously fast double pedal work. Bass and guitar should also be really fun. Also, those ‘clean’ vocals are actually sung growls. Thought that’d be an interesting piece of trivia.”
• “Dream House” – GK writes, “Here’s a challenge for elite drummers everywhere. This one has it’s fair share of blast beats, but there’s also plenty of other tricky patterns in here as well, so it’s not all samey. Guitar should also be interesting, in a ‘Holy crap how did I get THAT HIGH of a score?!’ sort of way.”

See you next Friday!

July 24, 2015 – Eleven songs from eleven artists, including nine shredding songs from THPS!

Note: Videos may contain authoring issues that have been fixed, and are for preview purposes only. Video recording courtesy of Lowlander.

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C3 releases for July 24, 2015:

New! Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater C01 9-pack

• An Endless Sporadic – “Sun of Pearl” 2x (Gigakoops and Nightmare Lyra)
  From Tony Hawk’s American Wasteland
• Bad Religion – “You” (DeathThreatUK and Nightmare Lyra)
  From Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2
• Ministry – “No ‘W’/Psalm 23” (DeathThreatUK and Nightmare Lyra)
  From Tony Hawk’s Underground 2
• The Reverend Horton Heat – “I Can’t Surf” (DeathThreatUK and Nightmare Lyra)
  From Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3
• Stormtroopers of Death – “Milk” (Nightmare Lyra and DeathThreatUK)
  From Tony Hawk’s Underground
• Sex Pistols – “Holidays in the Sun” (DeathThreatUK and Nightmare Lyra)
  From Tony Hawk’s Proving Ground
• Suicidal Tendencies – “Cyco Vision” (DeathThreatUK and Nightmare Lyra)
  From Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater
• System of a Down – “Shimmy” (DeathThreatUK and Nightmare Lyra)
  From Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 4
• Voltera – “Do What Your Daddy Say” (Gigakoops and Nightmare Lyra)
  From Tony Hawk’s Project 8

New! Singles

• Archers of Loaf – “Scenic Pastures” (Gigakoops)
• Faraquet – “Carefully Planned” (Gigakoops)

A red X denotes Pro Guitar/Pro Bass charts, a blue M denotes full multitracks, a blue K denotes a “karaoke” multitrack (separated vocals), and a rusty 2x denotes that a 2x Bass Pedal version is also available. FtV denotes a song previously released by a C3 author outside of C3.

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Ready to head out to the Warehouse and collect S-K-A-T-E? Good, so are we. Here’s some caaaash. Uh…something, something, Christ Air.

The Tony Hawk skateboarding games are famous for their soundtracks, and this pack has been bubbling around C3 for a while. With lots of effort from DTUK, Gigakoops, and NL, it’s finally happening! It’s got songs from nine different THPS games, an excellent cross-section of the franchise’s hundreds of songs. And not just punk and metal, the usual THPS standbys, though there’s plenty of that! Tell us about your favorite Tony Hawk songs, and which ones you like best from the pack, over in the forums.

We’ve also got two unique indie singles for even more variety! Eleven artists. It’s ridiculous. It’s not even funny.

Authors’ comments for this week’s songs:

• “Sun of Pearl” – GK writes, “One of An Endless Sporadic’s best songs, and quite a shocking omission from rhythm games up until now. This one is crazy fun on every instrument.”
  
• “Do What Your Daddy Say” – GK writes, “Fun, yet manageable, industrial metal track with female vocals.”
• “Scenic Pastures” – GK writes, “This indie rock song from the 90’s should be especially great on drums, with choruses consisting of tom patterns similar to that of Bastille’s ‘Pompeii.’ Guitar, bass and vocals should also be fun.”
• “Carefully Planned” – GK writes, “Here’s a jazzy little math rock number for ya. Guitar has a unique chart that should provide a fair challenge, without going absolutely nuts like that one Giraffes? Giraffes! song from the RBN. Drums should also be a fun challenge, as they’re really jazzy, and use a lot of variation.”

See you next Friday!

July 10, 2015 – Deftones, April Wine, Brand New, and J-Rock!

Note: Videos may contain authoring issues that have been fixed, and are for preview purposes only. Video recording courtesy of Lowlander.

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C3 releases for July 10, 2015:

New! April Wine C01 5-pack (ws54 and CrazyCanuck)

• April Wine – “I Like to Rock”
• April Wine – “Just Between You and Me”
• April Wine – “Say Hello”
• April Wine – “Sign of the Gypsy Queen”
• April Wine – “Tell Me Why”

New! Deftones C01 3-pack

• Deftones – “Change (In the House of Flies)” (Gigakoops)
• Deftones – “Diamond Eyes” 2x (Gigakoops)
• Deftones – “Knife Prty” 2x (BearzUnlimited)

New! Singles

• Brand New – “The Quiet Things That No One Ever Knows” (Gigakoops)
• ONE OK ROCK – “NO SCARED” (RyanHYK)
• PrinceWhateverer – “Taking Flight” M 2x (LyokoFreaks, Linos Melendi, and Nightmare Lyra)

A red X denotes Pro Guitar/Pro Bass charts, a blue M denotes full multitracks, a blue K denotes a “karaoke” multitrack (separated vocals), and a rusty 2x denotes that a 2x Bass Pedal version is also available. FtV denotes a song previously released by a C3 author outside of C3.

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Now that the Eightiestravaganza is over, we’ve got another week in the proud tradition of C3. Some mega-hits, some more obscure songs, some popular bands, some author favorites…we’ve got it all! Shout-outs to Rock Band freshmen Brand New and April Wine, along with most of the big Deftones singles we didn’t have, more J-Rock, and another MLP fan song.

Authors’ comments for this week’s songs:

• “I Like to Rock” – ws54 writes, “Although April Wine were popular in Canada for many years, it wasn’t until the riff heavy ‘I Like to Rock’ from their 7th album that their international success really took off. Fun on all instruments and it should make for a good party song for classic rockers.”
• “Just Between You and Me” – ws54 writes, “A crunchy power ballad from April Wine’s most successful album and their biggest US hit.”
• “Say Hello” – ws54 writes, “A minor hit for April Wine, Say Hello has a laid back groove to it. Layered guitars is what April Wine is known for and this song delivers that plus some great harmonies too.”
• “Sign of the Gypsy Queen” – ws54 writes, “For many people this will be the can’t miss song of this pack. The song represents April Wine at their peak and is a staple on Classic Rock radio today. A big shout out has to go to CrazyCanuck for charting all of the drums for this pack. Without him this pack probably would have only been no more than a 3-pack and maybe less.”
• “Tell Me Why” – ws54 writes, “April Wine does this great Beatles song justice. The pace is slowed down for a soulful rendering of this classic. Some beautiful 2-part harmonies, and great guitar work.”
• “Change (In the House of Flies)” – Gigakoops writes, “One of Deftones’ biggest hits, yet somehow never released on Rock Band. This one should go great at parties, and also has some fun vocals, drums, and bass.”
• “Diamond Eyes” – Gigakoops writes, “This one should prove fun, yet not entirely challenging, on pretty much everything. It’s also got a really catchy chorus, and should especially be fun to sing.”
• “Knife Prty” – Bearz writes, “A fan-favorite (probably) from the acclaimed White Pony. Drums are the highlight of this song, with lots of variety and fills. Vocals are interesting as well, with backing vocals like a horror-movie version of Great Gig in the Sky. Guitar has a fun, energetic riff and there’s a unique bassline as well.”
• “The Quiet Things That No One Ever Knows” – Gigakoops writes, “This track marks the first Brand New song to be put on Rock Band via official releases or C3 releases. It’s got a killer vocal line, and isn’t too shabby on the instruments, either. Especially guitar, which provides a fun but not entirely challenging chart.”

See you next Friday!

June 26, 2015 – 80s, 80s, and more 80s!

Note: Videos may contain authoring issues that have been fixed, and are for preview purposes only. Video recording courtesy of Lowlander.

http://www.dailymotion.com/embed/video/x2vivjg

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C3 releases for June 19, 2015:

New! The 1980s C02 (One Hit Wonders) 3-pack

• Bobby McFerrin – “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” (farottone)
• Johnny Hates Jazz – “Shattered Dreams” (farottone)
• Thomas Dolby – “She Blinded Me with Science” (GanonMetroid)

New! Singles

• Hall & Oates – “Kiss on My List” (drummerockband)
• Hall & Oates – “You Make My Dreams” (drummerockband ft. GanonMetroid)

FtV: Single

• Hear ‘n Aid – “Stars” (farottone, shinymonkey, and TrojanNemo)
• Hear ‘n Aid – “Stars (Dueling Solos)” (farottone, shinymonkey, and TrojanNemo)

Songs marked with are part of our month-long EIGHTIESTRAVAGANZA!
Check out our rad 80s Timeline to visualize these gnarly releases.

A red X denotes Pro Guitar/Pro Bass charts, a blue M denotes full multitracks, a blue K denotes a “karaoke” multitrack (separated vocals), and a rusty 2x denotes that a 2x Bass Pedal version is also available. FtV denotes a song previously released by a C3 author outside of C3.

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“Buckle up back there, we’re going into hyperactive.”
…
“Prepare ship for light speed!”
“No, no, no. Light speed is too slow. We’re gonna have to straight to ludicrous speed!”
…
“What the hell was that? The Eightiestravaganza…they’ve gone to plaid!”

We’re in the penultimate week of our majestic Eightiestravaganza, and it’s true — we’re going right into plaid. Every one of this week’s songs is dripping with 80s goodness, and every one is a mega-hit, even if they never surpassed that one hit. We even have a good spread of styles, though plenty of them are the synth-heavy 80s goofiness you expect. Check them all out, and buckle up for next week’s Space-amaze-balls finale!

Author comments for this week’s songs:

• “Kiss on My List” – drummerockband writes, “Surprised Harmonix didn’t release this with their H&O pack, but now it’s here anyway! This track is lots of fun on Keys and Vocals!”
• “You Make My Dreams” – drummerockband writes, “I was in SHOCK when I saw the HMX pack without this song. I thought it was the PERFECT song for RB3 features but HMX never released it, so here it is! Quick note: There’s 2 different guitars going on in this song, one in each speaker. So I only charted one of them, so if you think there may be some absent notes, just remember I only charted one of the guitars. :)”
• “Shattered Dreams” – farottone writes, “This may be a bit of an obscure gem, but it’s very catchy and it features 2 great percussion sections represented in games as solos on drums”
• “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” – farottone writes, “One of the 80s’ anthems, this laid back tune is the first acappella song to reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100. All instruments are voiced by Bobby McFerrin and are translated in game to guitar, keys, bass and drums, plus obviously harmonies. Surprisingly varied and interesting on drums and bass, it screams for chorus singalongs!”
• “Stars” – farottone has a lot to say about this epic song:
  

  Who cries for the children? In 1985, Ronnie James Dio did. It was the Band Aid and USA for Africa era, and for those too young to remember, more specifically those were the times of We Are the World and of the hunger awareness all over the world through the release of music singles to raise money. They were mostly pop projects and it all changed when a supergroup of heavy metal artists was put together by Dio with the help of his band members. We’re talking all stars in the 80s metal scene: Dubrow, Dio, Tate, Halford and others on vocals and guitar gods like Campbell (Whitesnake and others), Malmsteen, Schon (Journey), Murray and Smith (Iron Maiden). The group/project was called Hear ‘n Aid and they produced Stars, an 8 minute guitar shredding bonanza. I strongly encourage you to look up this project because it really was a thing of beauty, on YouTube you can find the full documentary split in parts.

  Anyway, this is one of those things that won’t ever make it to the Rock Band platform and that deserve a nice treatment. So, here it is, a real gem that we tried to polish as much as possible for you to enjoy. The “normal” version has harmonies, guitar, bass and drums. Drums is pretty straightforward but keep in mind that there were two drummers in the original, so in a couple of spots you will actually hear two different drum lines, although you will obviously play only one. Bass is nothing to write home about but still a solid track. Guitar is basically for skilled players. It contains a 4 minute solo recorded by incredible guitar players, so it’s gonna be tough…

  Harmonies deserve a chapter apart. Now, the song was sung by 8 different singers, alternating phrases. To reproduce the experience what we did was having each harmony line assigned to a group of singers. That way, with three microphones you can have 3 singers alternating. Here is the breakdown:
  Harmony 1 – Ronnie James Dio (Dio), Geoff Tate (Queensryche)
  Harmony 2 – Dave Meniketti (Y&T), Rob Halford (Judas Priest), Paul Shortino (Rought Cutt, Quiet Riot)
  Harmony 3 – Kevin DuBrow (Quiet Riot), Eric Bloom (Blue Oyster Cult), Don Dokken (Dokken)
  During choruses, Harmony 1 is the lead voice and 2 and 3 are backing vocals.

  Dueling Solos version: Now, the main solo for the song is a series of 6 solos played by different artists. To replicate the structure here is an alternate version of the song. Outside of the main solo section, bass will be bass. During the main solo section, bass will become guitar and guitar 1 and 2 will alternate: while one plays solo 1, 3 and 5, the other plays rhythm. And you can guess what happens with solo 2, 4 and 6. This also gives the player a nice rest after each solo.

  Production value – As said, this is a very special project and I really lured TrojanNemo into doing A LOT of work, and boy did he ever. Besides the usual excellent work on animations he also did a spectacular job on the practice sessions. Each and every phrase for the singers has a practice sessions, appropriately named with the singer’s name. And all the sub-solos have practice sessions, again with the guitarist’s name. So, a huge public thank to Nemo for the incredible work he did and, well, enjoy!

  

Fixes uploaded in the last week to previous C3 releases:

• Middle Class Rut – “New Low”: Vocals corrections.
• Middle Class Rut – “Lifelong Dayshift”: Vocals corrections.

See you next Friday!

May 29, 2015 – Crush 40, “Super Freak”, Radiohead, and K-pop!

Note: Videos may contain authoring issues that have been fixed, and are for preview purposes only. Video recording courtesy of Lowlander.

http://www.dailymotion.com/embed/video/x2rtbb5

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C3 releases for May 29, 2015:

New!* Sonic the Hedgehog C01 4-pack

• Crush 40 – “Knight of the Wind” K 2x (DVDSmith)
• Crush 40 – “Open Your Heart” 2x (DVDSmith and Gigakoops) [FtV]
• Crush 40 – “What I’m Made Of…” (DVDSmith)
• Sonic Adventure 2 – “Escape from the City” 2x (DVDSmith)

New! Singles

• Radiohead – “Nude” M (Ruck Bogers 22 ft. BearzUnlimited)
• Rick James – “Super Freak” (Nunchuck, Sygenysis, and farottone)
• T-ara – “Little Apple (ft. Chopsticks Brothers)” (AddyMilldike)

A red X denotes Pro Guitar/Pro Bass charts, a blue M denotes full multitracks, a blue K denotes a “karaoke” multitrack (separated vocals), and a rusty 2x denotes that a 2x Bass Pedal version is also available. FtV denotes a song previously released by a C3 author outside of C3.

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This week looks like some of our original 2013 releases — lots of variety and some fan favorites! I’m overly fond of saying “there’s something for everyone”, but between the high-energy riffs of Crush 40, the modern downtempo crooning of Thom Yorke, the dance beat of T-ara, or Rick James’s classic funk jam, we’re really doing it this week. Man, we’re good.

Authors’ comments for this week’s songs:

• “Knight of the Wind” – DVDSmith writes, “This high-speed theme song from Sonic and the Black Knight quickly became one of the most popular Crush 40 songs when it was released in 2009.”
• “Open Your Heart” – DVDSmith writes, “Originally from 1998’s Sonic Adventure, this song appeared on one of the first ever Guitar Hero II custom discs way back in 2007, and it’s not hard to see why, with its relentless guitar and bass riffs, pounding drums, and lyrics translated directly from Japanese. This song has floated around the customs scene for a few years now – the C3 version contains more accurate guitar, bass and drum charts (thanks to Crush 40 releasing an instrumental version), including a bass chart that is a LOT more difficult than any seen before! Definitely the most challenging song of the pack, but insanely fun to play.”
• “What I’m Made Of…” – DVDSmith writes, “The theme to the final boss from Sonic Heroes, and another one of Crush 40’s most popular songs. This is my personal favourite, it’s fun on all instruments and a blast to sing.”
• “Escape from the City” – DVDSmith writes, “This song appears as the background music to City Escape, the first level in Sonic Adventure 2. With its upbeat sound and feelgood lyrics, it has become arguably the most popular song to come from a Sonic game. I know this custom has been anticipated for a long time now, so sorry it took so long!”
• “Nude” – Ruck Bogers writes, “This song was ten years in the making for Radiohead, first appearing during the OK Computer tour in 1997 but not seeing a studio release until 2007’s In Rainbows. Along with tracks like No Surprises and How To Disappear Completely, Nude is vintage ‘mellow-sounding but lyrically sombre’ Radiohead. This track is especially fun on Bass and will present a challenge for vocalists.”
• “Little Apple” – Addy writes, “A Korean cover of a Chinese song. Featuring the original artists during the choruses. Highlights include a consistent drum part with a choke-worthy fill, good harmonies and an easy-going keys part with some fast notes.”

See you next Friday!

May 1, 2015 – “Puttin’ on the Ritz”, Jefferson Starship, Jessie J, “Banditos”, and OK Go!

Note: Videos may contain authoring issues that have been fixed, and are for preview purposes only. Video recording courtesy of Lowlander.

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C3 releases for May 1, 2015:

New! Singles

• Jefferson Starship – “Jane” X (Nyxyxylyth)
• Jessie J – “Domino” (bsbloom, ShadowOfTheServer, and Tails4eva ft. farottone)
• OK Go – “A Million Ways” M (Neversoft and pksage)
  Converted from Band Hero
• The Refreshments – “Banditos” (pksage, Nunchuck, and Sygenysis)
• Taco – “Puttin’ on the Ritz” (DoNotPassGo ft. RyanHYK)

A red X denotes Pro Guitar/Pro Bass charts, a blue M denotes full multitracks, a blue K denotes a “karaoke” multitrack (separated vocals), and a rusty 2x denotes that a 2x Bass Pedal version is also available. FtV denotes a song previously released by a C3 author outside of C3.

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I’ve said it many times before, but I love mixed singles weeks! It’s the exotic bazaar of the Rock Band world, with delightful aromas and mysterious trinkets all around you. There’s usually something for everyone, and all five of this week’s songs are something different! Classic rock (our first by Jefferson Starship), a modern hit from pop radio, sort-of-angsty indie/alternative, regular ol’ rock, and…whatever the hell “Puttin’ on the Ritz” is! They’re all different, but they’re all great, and you should grab them all.

Author comments for this week’s releases:

• “A Million Ways” – This one felt like rescuing a sick puppy from the pound. Band Hero had synth charted to guitar, heavy censorship, and some authoring issues on bass and vocals, all of which have been addressed. And, of course, you get harmonies and keys! Now we just need to get the dance into Dance Central.
• “Banditos” – I’ve loved this song since forever, and gleefully played it as a custom way back in GH2. It’s the perfect song for a guitar-based music game, and I’m pleased to present this revamped version of Nunchuck and Sygenysis’s community custom.

See you next Friday!

April 24, 2015 – Love Bites, Love Bites, and a Middle Class Rut 3-pack!

Note: Videos may contain authoring issues that have been fixed, and are for preview purposes only. Video recording courtesy of Lowlander.

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C3 releases for April 24, 2015:

New! Middle Class Rut C01 3-pack (Neversoft and StackOverflow0x)

• Middle Class Rut – “Lifelong Dayshift” M
• Middle Class Rut – “New Low” M
• Middle Class Rut – “Sad to Know” M
  All converted from GH:WoR DLC

New! Singles

• Halestorm – “Love Bites (So Do I)” X M 2x (GreenPanda12 and PikminGuts92)
  Converted from BandFuse
• Judas Priest – “Love Bites” M (Lowlander)

A red X denotes Pro Guitar/Pro Bass charts, a blue M denotes full multitracks, a blue K denotes a “karaoke” multitrack (separated vocals), and a rusty 2x denotes that a 2x Bass Pedal version is also available. FtV denotes a song previously released by a C3 author outside of C3.

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Let me speak on the pompitous of love. Sometimes, she loves you (yeah, yeah, yeah), and sometimes you’re a lovefool. Sometimes you have a whole lotta love, and sometimes you take a love dump. What is love? Is it digital, or all around, or on the way? Well, it’s Friday, and I’m here to tell you that sometimes…love bites. But don’t take my word for it — listen to this week’s songs! We’ve also got a three-pack from heavy alt-rockers Middle Class Rut, and all five of today’s songs feature full multitracks. I love it.

See you next Friday!

April 10, 2015 – Celebrate two years of C3 with more multitrack customs!

Note: Videos may contain authoring issues that have been fixed, and are for preview purposes only. Video recording courtesy of Lowlander. This video contains a future C3 release that we ended up bumping to a later week. Enjoy your spoilers!

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C3 releases for April 10, 2015:

New! C3 Anniversary Multitracks C02 5-pack

• Britney Spears – “…Baby One More Time” M (Dash Riprock, EmotionalDaisy, and pksage)
• Lady Gaga – “Marry the Night” M (GreenPanda12 and Arcanon)
• Madonna – “Borderline” M (farottone)
• Michael Jackson – “Rock With You” M (farottone)
• Robbie Williams – “Let Me Entertain You” M (DVDSmith)

A red X denotes Pro Guitar/Pro Bass charts, a blue M denotes full multitracks, a blue K denotes a “karaoke” multitrack (separated vocals), and a rusty 2x denotes that a 2x Bass Pedal version is also available. FtV denotes a song previously released by a C3 author outside of C3.

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It’s hard to believe that it’s been two years since “The Rapture”, a small group of Rock Band nerds’ dream to get just one more week of DLC. Well, somehow one week turned into one hundred, and the 26 songs we released that day became over 1,000(!). If we were Harmonix and our first week was RB1, The Beatles: Rock Band would be brand new, and we’d be preparing to release the first Tom Petty pack. And now the real Harmonix is developing Rock Band 4! What a trip, man. We’re excited to be here, and to continue to provide weekly “DLC” until Harmonix starts back up.

It’s true — as farottone recently posted on our forums, we’ll be winding down later this year in deference to RB4 and the actual developers. We’ll continue to provide a platform for community customs, and all C3 customs will continue to be available, minus any that are released as official content. We’ll give you more info as RB4’s release draws closer, but that’s a long way off, so for now…it’s party time! Like our first anniversary, we’ve got a pack full of multitrack customs for your note-missing and karaoke-ing pleasure. If you’re a stickler for that genuine Rock Band feel, look no further! And remember, you can always filter our database to show only multitracked songs.

I know we do this next bit a lot, but I’d like to take a second to appreciate everyone that’s made C3 what it is today. TrojanNemo helped get us off the ground and coded almost all of our critical tools; the current accessibility of customs authoring is almost entirely thanks to him. Fellow admins Nyxyxylyth and espher have also been there from the start, wrangling our plans and our forums and all kinds of other stuff. Our crew of dedicated authors, many of which have ALSO also been there from close to the start, make our content possible. (Special shout-outs to our most prolific authors, including Nightmare Lyra, BearzUnlimited, Gigakoops, RyanHYK, Lowlander2, drummerockband, Arcanon, Ollie, and ws54. You all rock, even if you weren’t listed!) But everyone I’ve just mentioned would agree that farottone deserves the lion’s share of the praise, even if he really hates it when I do this. farottone has produced over 350 full songs, which accounts for a full 1/3rd of our post-Rapture content. Mostly, though, he’s kept the faith this entire time, continuing to plan packs, help our authors, post on the forums, and generally be way more active than most of us. The name says that C3 is a collective, and it is, but farottone is what keeps us together. You rock, man.

Authors’ comments for this week’s releases:

• “…Baby One More Time” – Back in February, I promised DR that I’d pick this song up for the anniversary pack. farottone reminded me of that promise yesterday, and I decided to bust ass overnight to get it done in time. I’m writing this at 3 AM as a result, but it’s Britney O’Clock somewhere! This song is the perfect addition to Toxic, one of our most-downloaded tracks, and is liquid nostalgia if you grew up with it. But even beyond its catchy vocal hooks and overall party appeal, you’ve got a chunky bassline, actual guitar on Guitar, and a driving drum beat!
• “Borderline” – farottone says, “MFX did an incredible job at remixing the raw stems so that the song in game now sounds even better than the original. If you’re enjoying the song in Rock Band 3 a ton of credit goes to him!”
• “Let Me Entertain You” – DVDSmith says, “A massive hit from the UK’s biggest-selling solo artist, this song is a must-have for EVERY Rock Band player. Insanely enjoyable on all instruments. And if you don’t know who Robbie Williams is, check out this video and see why he’s considered one of the greatest British artists of the last 25 years.”

See you next Friday!

April 3, 2015 – They Might Be Giants 3-pack, “Twilight Zone”, Mastodon, and LittleKuriboh!

Note: Videos may contain authoring issues that have been fixed, and are for preview purposes only. Video recording courtesy of Lowlander. This video doesn’t contain “Doctor Worm”, because pksage is a procrastinator, but it does contain our two April Fools’ songs.

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C3 releases for April 3, 2015:

New! They Might Be Giants C01 3-pack

• They Might Be Giants – “Ana Ng” (pksage)
• They Might Be Giants – “Birdhouse in Your Soul” (MiltoniusPrime, pksage, and clumsy_plumsy)
• They Might Be Giants – “Doctor Worm” (pksage and MiltoniusPrime)

New! LittleKuriboh C01 3-pack (Arcanon)

• LittleKuriboh – “Paraboss (ft. ShadyVox and TheAzureCrow)” M
• LittleKuriboh – “Pharaoh’s Throne” M
• LittleKuriboh – “The King of Rhymes (ft. ShadyVox)” K

New! Singles

• Golden Earring – “Twilight Zone” (MFX)
• Mastodon – “The Last Baron” 2x (BearzUnlimited)

A red X denotes Pro Guitar/Pro Bass charts, a blue M denotes full multitracks, a blue K denotes a “karaoke” multitrack (separated vocals), and a rusty 2x denotes that a 2x Bass Pedal version is also available. FtV denotes a song previously released by a C3 author outside of C3.

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They might be rain, they might be heat, but they’re definitely coming to your Rock Band library this week! They Might Be Giants finally accordions their way into C3, along with the huge single “Twilight Zone”, a lengthy prog epic from Mastodon’s Crack the Skye, and a 3-pack from the creator of Yu-Gi-Oh Abridged, LittleKuriboh. When does the bullet hit the bone? That’s nobody’s business but the Turks.

Authors’ comments for this week’s releases:

• TMBG C01 – They Might Be Giants is one of those bands that was suspiciously absent from official DLC. You’d think they’d have gotten at least one song, right? This pack starts to remedy that with three of the band’s biggest hits, including charting singles “Ana Ng” and “Birdhouse in Your Soul”. “Doctor Worm” finishes out the pack with some very Rock-Band-y lyrics. If you’ve only heard of TMBG through “Istanbul (Not Constantinople)” or “Boss of Me” (from Malcolm in the Middle), do yourself a favor and check out all three of these!
• “Paraboss” – Arcanon says, “A parody of the second half of Tenacious D’s ‘Beelzeboss (The Final Showdown).’ This is the climactic song sung by all 3 main characters (and two others) in the Abridged version of the movie ‘Yu-Gi-Oh! Bonds Beyond Time.'”
• “Pharaoh’s Throne” – Arcanon says, “A parody of Lady Gaga’s ‘Telephone.’ This is the third Lady Gaga parody done by LittleKuriboh featuring characters from his Abridged series. It was created as a result of Card Games for Charity 5, held to raise money for voice actor Dan Green (Yugi Muto/Yami) after his wife’s tragic passing.”
• “The King of Rhymes” – Arcanon says, “Also known as ‘YUGI VS JADEN – BATTLE!,’ this epic four-part rap battle pulls from Xzibit’s ‘X,’ Prime Cut’s rap from The Brak Show, Eminem’s ‘Business,’ and Flight of the Conchords’ ‘Hiphopopotamus vs. Rhymenoceros’ to show what would happen if these two main characters threw down with rhymes instead of cards. Grab a friend for this one, you’re gonna want to play the harmonies.”
• “Twilight Zone” – MFX says, “I created a new mix for this, featuring banded pseudo-stems for bass and drums, coming in at just under 6 minutes. It’s derived from the 8 minute album version, but cuts down the solo section in the same location as the shorter radio edit. Best part is that it adds a definitive ending that those mixes lacked (having fade-outs, both) while keeping the repeated choruses of the long version for extra vocal singalong fun.”
• “The Last Baron” – Bearz says, “This prog metal epic has  fun, varied drums with lots of crazy fills. The guitar and bass parts both have their share of technical riffs as well. The vocals are interesting don’t just sit around while the other instruments solo, either.” For an alternate version of this song with all “ghost notes” authored, check out our Other Customs forum.

Fixes uploaded in the last week to previous C3 releases:

• Jonathan Wolff – “Seinfeld”: Now correctly in stereo instead of mono.

See you next Friday!