132: Music Knowledge

2026-03-29T15:23:39Z

2A02:3100:5F63:4A00:4766:5912:D613:8908: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 132
| date = July 24, 2006
| title = Music Knowledge
| image = music_knowledge.png
| titletext = When Guitar Hero 2 comes out I'll have fresh conversational material for MONTHS.
}}

==Explanation==
The punchline of this comic is that just by naming bands from the game ''{{w|Guitar Hero}}'', you can sound pretty knowledgeable about music without actually knowing anything about the bands you are naming. This is further emphasized when [[Megan]] mentions {{w|Metallica}}, a very famous band that mostly everyone can be assumed to have heard of, and [[Cueball]] has no clue who they are, because Metallica had not been featured in ''Guitar Hero'' at the time of this comic writing. A similar premise was demonstrated in [[1859: Sports Knowledge]].

''{{w|Guitar Hero}}'' is a music rhythm video game developed by Harmonix and published by RedOctane for the {{w|Playstation 2}}.

In the title text, Cueball (or possibly Randall) is just hoping for a sequel to ''Guitar Hero'' to get more, and newer, conversational material. By 2015, there had been 6 main sequels to ''Guitar Hero'', with numerous other spinoffs and expansions to the {{w|Guitar Hero|''Guitar Hero'' series}}.

===List of bands mentioned===

'''Classic Rock'''
*{{w|Boston (band)|Boston}} is an American rock band from Boston, who had their most success in the 1970s and 1980s. Their song "{{w|More Than a Feeling}}" is featured in ''Guitar Hero''.
*{{w|Queen (band)|Queen}} is a British rock band from London, formed in 1970, with many major hits. Their song "{{w|Killer Queen}}" is featured in ''Guitar Hero''.
*"Bowie" ({{w|David Bowie}}) was an English singer and songwriter. His song "{{w|Ziggy Stardust (song)|Ziggy Stardust}}" is featured in ''Guitar Hero''.
*{{w|Joan Jett}} is an American rock singer. She is best known for her work as the frontwoman of her band, Joan Jett & the Blackhearts. Their version of the song "{{w|I Love Rock 'n' Roll}}" is featured in ''Guitar Hero''.

'''Newer stuff'''
*{{w|Franz Ferdinand (band)|Franz Ferdinand}} are a Scottish rock band formed in Glasgow in 2002. Their song "{{w|Take Me Out (song)|Take Me Out}}" is featured in ''Guitar Hero''.
*{{w|The Donnas}} were an American rock band formed in Palo Alto, California in 1993. Their song "{{w|Spend the Night (The Donnas album)|Take it Off}}" is featured in ''Guitar Hero''.
*{{w|Audioslave}} was an American rock supergroup formed in Los Angeles in 2001. Their song "{{w|Cochise (song)|Cochise}}" is featured in ''Guitar Hero''.

'''Other stuff'''
*{{w|Arcade Fire}} is a Canadian indie rock band founded in 2000.
*{{w|The Postal Service|Postal Service}} was an American indie rock band founded in 2001.
*{{w|Freezepop}} is an American electronic band from Boston. Their song "Get Ready 2 Rokk" is featured in ''Guitar Hero'', as a bonus song. This is the first giveaway of Cueball's source for his music knowledge; Freezepop is a fairly obscure indie band best known for their placement in ''Guitar Hero'' and other rhythm games.
*{{w|Metallica}} is an American heavy metal band. The band was formed in 1981 in Los Angeles, California. Metallica has won 9 Grammy awards and received 23 Grammy nominations. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2009.

Interestingly, neither {{w|Arcade Fire}} nor {{w|The Postal Service|Postal Service}} (mentioned by Megan) are featured in ''Guitar Hero'', so Cueball should not have any knowledge of these bands. Perhaps he brought up Freezepop as a distraction, since Megan mentioned that The Postal Service also has electronic music.

==Transcript==
:[Megan and Cueball converse.]
:Megan: What kind of music do you listen to?
:Cueball: Oh, a mix of things. Some classic rock like Boston, but then of course Queen and Bowie, Joan Jett...
:Megan: Definitely, we need more of those sounds.
:Cueball: But there's some great newer stuff too, like Franz Ferdinand, The Donnas, and Audioslave.
:Megan: Sometimes they're a little much for me. I go more for things like The Arcade Fire, sometimes mixing some electronic sounds like Postal Service.
:Cueball: Oh yeah—have you ever checked out Freezepop?
:Megan: Mhm! Synth pop can be fun, but at the same time, I agree that sometimes you just need to blast some Metallica.
:Cueball: Who?
:Megan: ...Metallica.
:Cueball: Are they new?
:I sound pretty knowledgeable about music until people figure out that I'm just naming bands from Guitar Hero.

==Trivia==
*In his [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJOS0sV2a24#t=42m20s Google-speech] in late 2007, [[Randall]] expressed some form of dissatisfaction with ''Guitar Hero III'' (coincidentally the first edition in the series to include a Metallica song).
*In 2009, three years after this comic was released, ''Metallica'' eventually got a game {{w|Guitar Hero: Metallica}}.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Music]]
[[Category:Video games]]
[[Category:Rhythm Games]]
[[Category:Guitar Hero]]
[[Category:Comics with a Spanish translation]]

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132: Music Knowledge