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Today on Lanarama: DJ Hero! DJ Hero!?

Today on Lanarama: DJ Hero! DJ Hero!?

Posted by Lana Gay on Oct 29, 2009

Remember when Guitar Hero first came out?  Living rooms around the world were filled with people doing their best Slash impression with a mini plastic guitar (which is now the norm, but let's be honest, was pretty hilarious the first time). 

Well, what about Guitar Hero’s new cousin DJ Hero?  It came out on Tuesday, but is it catching on?  One friend of mine flat out said "Thats stupid.", but thinks Guitar Hero makes sense.  Why? "Because, who has a DJ Hero?"  Do you? 

The game is based on turntablism and features more than 80 remixes/mashups of two different songs. To score points the player must press buttons to activate accented beats, adjust their crossfade between the tracks and scratch the turntable in time to marks on the screen.  Though it seems like a solo game, there are co-operative and competitive multiplayer modes.

The list of mash-ups is pretty cool (DJ Z-Trip’s mix of Queen’s "Another One Bites the Dust" & Beastie Boys' "Brass Monkey”!)   Check some of the mixes out here.

Do you go to see DJs perform?  Would you want this game?

Post your comments on the blog or email feedback@cbcradio3.com

I just can’t wait until Weatherperson Hero comes out and I can read the forecast.

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  1. Ahmed Khalil
    01

    re: Today on Lanarama: DJ Hero! DJ Hero!?

    Posted on Oct 29, 2009 by Ahmed Khalil

    What your friend said was very ignorant, verging on solipsistic. You get them to look that up.

  2. aardvarkk
    02

    Definitely have DJ Heroes!

    Posted on Oct 29, 2009 by aardvarkk

    In Canada - Deadmau5. Saw him play at Parliament in Ottawa a few weeks ago and he was incredible!

     

    Outside Canada - Wolfgang Gartner. Haven't seen him live yet, but he produces some incredible tracks, so I can't see how he could possibly be a disappointment!

     

    I guess neither one is first and foremost a DJ (rather, they're producers), but if seeing them reinterpret their stuff live classifies them as "DJs", then they're definitely DJ heroes to me!

  3. aardvarkk
    03

    Oh, and Kid Koala!

    Posted on Oct 29, 2009 by aardvarkk

    ... now there's a straight-up turntablist worth his salt!

  4. brainwash
    04

    re: Today on Lanarama: DJ Hero! DJ Hero!?

    Posted on Oct 29, 2009 by brainwash

    I think the pool of DJ's one could idolize is pretty small compared to guitar heroes, but DJ'ing is more of a niche and hasn't really been a serious form of musical expression for nearly as long.

    DJ Q-ert and Skratch Bastid are definately two DJ's anyone would have to cite as being worthy of hero status, as would Kid Koala too, come to think of it, he's one guy whose samples are so obscure and muted you can barely tell he's DJing anything, whereas Skratch Bastid makes you know he's throwing five things at you.

    I went to see Mix Master Mike for his skills one time, but his set ended up just being a top-40 dance set with few tricks up his sleeve, and it was a fun time, but not what I went to see. I do go see DJs for the sole purpose of ambient noise like that too, but that's more of a trance thing, which is cool, I saw Christopher Lawrence at the same venue and he was great while doing basically the same thing MMM was.

  5. tagish156
    05

    Seeing DJ's Perform

    Posted on Oct 29, 2009 by tagish156

    I've seen a couple perform some pretty good shows.  There is a limit to what I'll go see though.  MSTRKRFT played in Vic not to long ago and I neglected seeing them.  I really do love mstrkrft but tix for 40 bucks a pop for a nightclub show.  I know the show would've been good but if I'm paying 40 bucks I don't want to go to just another sweaty nightclub where I'll be rubbed up on by a bunch of sweaty drunk people.  I didn't even pay that much to see the Weakerthans and Constantines.  It was just a little too unreasonable.

    Saw Skratch Bastid for under 5 bucks once, now that was a good time.

  6. Absotively
    06

    re: Today on Lanarama: DJ Hero! DJ Hero!?

    Posted on Oct 29, 2009 by Absotively

    I don't go see DJs.  But that's because it's not a type of music I listen to much.  I am very much impressed by cool turntablism.  I would probably go see a DJ if someone I knew was all "hey Jen, you need to come to this show because it will be awesome"; I just wouldn't seek it out myself.

    I don't want this game, but I am interested in how the game control compares to a real turntable.  I know for Guitar Hero the realism varies based on the instrument; I've heard the drums are more like real drums, and the singing seems sort-of kind-of realish, but the guitars aren't that much like guitars.  So I'm curious about how much the turntable control is like a real turntable.

  7. Amanda Ash
    07

    re: Today on Lanarama: DJ Hero! DJ Hero!?

    Posted on Oct 29, 2009 by Amanda Ash

    I really want to play this game. I wonder how close it is to mimicking real DJing? Once upon a time I took DJ lessons, but I failed as a student. I wasn't very good at beat matching. But I still want to play DJ Hero!

  8. krib
    08

    re: Today on Lanarama: DJ Hero! DJ Hero!?

    Posted on Oct 29, 2009 by krib

    I think it's the name that they goofed up. The concept as a game seems reasonable enough - after all, they make action games with little Lego(tm) figures running around.

    Your friend has a point. I think the number of people who could say they have an actual DJ Hero might even be less than the number of people who got off their lazy butts to vote in Saskatoon's civic election yesterday.

    Maybe they should've aped the "revolution" name and called it DJ Revolution (like Dance Dance Revolution) instead. Given that you're talking about turntables, it seems to work better.

    Must be a different game company that owns the rights to DDR...

  9. crimewaves
    09

    re: Today on Lanarama: DJ Hero! DJ Hero!?

    Posted on Oct 29, 2009 by crimewaves

    As much as I would probably love Guitar Hero more after playing, I am still curious to play this DJ Hero because I haven't the slightest idea of how actual DJs make music, haha. As well, I think it'll give more people like me some insight into the art of DJing and more appreciation for DJs.

     

  10. tagish156
    10

    Blueprint

    Posted on Oct 29, 2009 by tagish156

    The Arkells do a great version of this song on their itunes sessions album, check it ou

  11. wayoutosphere
    11

    re: Today on Lanarama: DJ Hero! DJ Hero!?

    Posted on Oct 29, 2009 by wayoutosphere

    Me, I'm waiting for Wii Chef.

  12. TeamQuiggan
    12

    re: Today on Lanarama: DJ Hero! DJ Hero!?

    Posted on Oct 29, 2009 by TeamQuiggan

    @krib "Maybe they should've aped the "revolution" name and called it DJ Revolution (like Dance Dance Revolution) instead. Given that you're talking about turntables, it seems to work better."

    They picked Hero because Activision owns that and uses that as a brand, it's like their upcomming "Band Hero", which is Activison's kiddie Guitar Hero game.Revolution is a Brand used by Konomi, for their music games. Funny enough, Kareoke revolution was developed by Harmonix who developed the first 2 Guitar Hero games.

     

  13. TeamQuiggan
    13

    re: Today on Lanarama: DJ Hero! DJ Hero!?

    Posted on Oct 29, 2009 by TeamQuiggan

    "Me, I'm waiting for Wii Chef."

     

    You may be joking, but check out Cooking Mama for Wii based cooking excitement.

     

  14. Absotively
    14

    Game name

    Posted on Oct 29, 2009 by Absotively

    Maybe "Turntable Hero" would have worked better?

    It doesn't matter now; the game's already out, and if they spend enough on marketing, they can change what we think of the name.

  15. TeamQuiggan
    15

    re: Today on Lanarama: DJ Hero! DJ Hero!?

    Posted on Oct 29, 2009 by TeamQuiggan

    I remember Seeing Kid Koala at SnowJob in Toronto like 6 years ago. He was with that funky band BullFrog. I bought their excellent record and have all their signatures on it. When I got Kid Koala to sign it he asked me if I was a DJ, I sheepishly said no, thinking back to my younger days rubbing my aunts Elton John record back and forth on their belt action record player, 'scratching'. That's about as close to a DJ set I've gotten. I've watched some videos, I think tricks are weird but I do love a good mix.

     

  16. nvp
    16

    Frankie Wilde

    Posted on Oct 29, 2009 by nvp

    I've never seen a DJ live, but all this is reminding me of the movie "It's All Gone Pete Tong"

    See it if you haven't.

    Oh yeah, would I want the game?  Probably not.

    Then again, I don't consider myself a gamer and I have two of those "action games with little Lego(tm) figures running around" that krib was talking about.

     

  17. crimewaves
    17

    re: Today on Lanarama: DJ Hero! DJ Hero!?

    Posted on Oct 29, 2009 by crimewaves

    YES. Bay of Pigs for BEST SONG.  It is so epic, I never thought I'd fall in love with a thirteen minute song.

  18. Lana Gay
    18

    @crimewaves

    Posted on Oct 29, 2009 by Lana Gay

    everytime it comes on I imagine Dan performing in a disco scene in Saturday Night Fever.  Bejar + leisure suit + light up dancefloor = incredible day dream!!

  19. wayoutosphere
    19

    re: Today on Lanarama: DJ Hero! DJ Hero!?

    Posted on Oct 29, 2009 by wayoutosphere

    Hah! Love me some AA Soundsystem! Raw joy is an iPod staple.

  20. wayoutosphere
    20

    re: Today on Lanarama: DJ Hero! DJ Hero!?

    Posted on Oct 29, 2009 by wayoutosphere

     @TeamQuiggan

    I was! Geez Louise..!

  21. CDNz1
    21

    re: Today on Lanarama: DJ Hero! DJ Hero!?

    Posted on Oct 29, 2009 by CDNz1

    All this running around for Halloween is making me mental and cutting into my Lanarama time.  Sheesh!  It was supposed to be a simple costume.

    Never seen a DJ,  but a colleague saw Deadmau5 here in the DET recently and said it was just incredible.  Perhaps someday.

    Every time Bay Of Pigs comes on now, I imagine Lana dancing around the studio, disco ball spinning, lights flashing...

     

     

     

  22. John Paolozzi
    22

    re: Today on Lanarama: DJ Hero! DJ Hero!?

    Posted on Oct 29, 2009 by John Paolozzi

    I  can't believe I missed this conversation. DJ Hero is an abomination. An abomination I tells ya. Under the right circumstances, experiencing the work of a talented DJ firsthand is like getting an airplane ride from god.

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