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. With In Consumed: The Pretenders
Guitar Hero: A rock-star fantasy that demands a different set of skills.
It’s a familiar enough scene: The kid walks in, straps up and does his best to recreate some classic rock song. Maybe it’s the Rolling Stones, maybe the Sex Pistols. He makes mistakes, but still, as he bobs his head and appears to lose himself in the music, he looks like a rock star, and maybe even feels like one. Or he does these things to the extent possible while standing in the middle of a Best Buy, staring at a monitor, playing Guitar Hero III, the video game….
Continue reading at the NYT site.
UPDATE (11/27): Kottke reaction to the pretend factor: “If you don’t know the difference in the first place, does it matter?”
Further diversion may be found at MKTG Tumblr, and the Consumed Facebook page.
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Kim Fellner's book 
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Reader Comments
I think Rock Band is a slightly, but significantly, different beast: playing the Rock Band drums is actually very similar to playing real drums, from what I hear. That’s how I justified paying $160 for it.
That said, when I finish a song (on easy, I’m still learning), I find myself thrusting my drum-sticked fists into the air and glowing as the crowd cheers.