We at Owl and Bear are strongly against the Beatles version of Rock Band, releasing 9/9/09. Look, we have nothing against people trying to make some money. Plus, we think it’s great that kids are getting into music and learning that getting good with a guitar-shaped joystick will automatically translate into the ability to shred with an ax. Dylan and Hendrix used to go head to head on the Atari version of Rock Band, to be sure. But this Beatles version is ridiculous.

As children, we used to watch the TV show The Monkees and were convinced for many years that they were an actual band. In middle school, this led to the unfortunate incident during a class presentation—while trying to hide our unstoppable erections—where we confessed that the Monkees (sic) were our favorite band. Everyone laughed, especially the teacher, who led the charge. We wet our pants—no easy task while sporting an erection—and ran straight home. Continue reading →