It's easy to talk trash about playing (or pretending to play) some of the greatest songs ever written on fake, plastic guitars plugged into a video game system.

But us un-elitists here at the Scene & Heard headquarters, are woefully below the hip standard when it comes to The Beatles: Rock Band game slated for release on PS3, Xbox360, and Wii September 9.

Do you really care if it's silly to play simulated music in front of a TV set? Shut up, because playing "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" as a pixelated George Harrison will be the coolest thing to happen to video games since a stick figure jumped over alligators in Pitfall on the Atari. Besides, if you say you don't want to play Beatles music as a Beatle in a Beatles video game, you are lying to yourself (or you don't like their music, thus making you too weird to analyze anyway).

Though it's been announced that the game's developers, Apple Corps, Harmonix and MTV Games, have secured rights to at least 45 Beatles songs to use in the game, we haven't seen anything resembling a tracklist yet. But they have said the game will be a "visual and musical history" of the band. [source: Variety] And as Apple Corps CEO Jeff Jones put it: “It will span samples of the whole catalog all the way through.”

Sounds to me like the game will take some cues from cover acts like Beatlemania Now who dress up and act out all the different phases of the group's storied career. From Liverpool, to Beatlemania's Invasion, to the costumes and drugs, to their greatest songs, to their demise.

That in mind, it's easy to come up with 45 songs that are LIKELY to be in the game. But bare in mind, this is only a wish list--nothing official. But if I were a master schemer in the MTV Games office, my tracklist would start by shaping up something like this for the game:

Period I/Mania (settings: Liverpool, Ed Sullivan show)
1. I Saw Her Standing There (big mistake if you don't start with this song)
2. I Feel Fine
3. Love Me Do
4. She Loves You (this will be such a great one to sing)
5. I Want To Hold Your Hand
6. Hard Day's Night
7. Eight Days A Week
8. Ticket To Ride
9. You've Got To Hide Your Love Away
10. Help!

Period II/Getting Better (setting: America)
11. I've Just Seen A Face
12. Drive My Car (beep-beep! beep-beep! beep-beep!)
13. Taxman
14. I'm Only Sleeping
15. Doctor Robert
16. Got To Get You Into My Life
17. Paperback Writer
18. Day Tripper
19. We Can Work It Out
20. Yellow Submarine

Period III/We're On Drugs (settings: in respective movies, and trippy dream sequences)
21. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
22. With A Little Help From My Friends
23. Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds
24. It's Getting Better
25. Within You, Without You
26. I Am The Walrus
27. Hello, Goodbye
28. Strawberry Fields, Forever
29. Baby You're A Rich Man
30. All You Need Is Love (can we get some plastic violins and trumpets for this song?)

Period IV/Love & Revolution (settings: Abbey Road, more trippy sequences?)
31. Back In The USSR
32. While My Guitar Gently Weeps
33. Happiness Is A Warm Gun
34. Why Don't We Do It In The Road?
35. Helter Skelter
36. Revolution 9
37. I Want You (She's So Heavy)
38. Here Comes The Sun
39. Two Of Us
40. For You Blue

The End (setting: the record label rooftop show, obvy)
41. Get Back
42. Come Together
43. Hey Jude
44. Yes, the full on Abbey Road Medley (from "You Never Give Me Your Money" to "The End")
45. Let It be


...So whaddaya think? There are certainly some gems like "I Will," "Rocky Raccoon" "Eleanor Rigby" and "Yesterday" notably missing, but would they translate as well into a stand up and play with plastic controllers party game? Who am I to judge? You tell me, what classic Beatles tracks do you want to play in this upcoming game?

So the swirling rumor of the moment is that our ol' pal Michael Jackson is finally ready to patch things up with his once-pal Beatle, Sir Paul McCartney (remember that "Girl Is Mine" duet? Those were the days! Jacko had a jheri curl and Macca had that sick Uncle Joey Mullet of his).

But how does Jacko plan to make nice with the Beatle he outbid rights to for his own Beatle songs? Jacko has apparently altered his will to give back the rights to the 200 or so hits from the Fab Four's rich catalog when he dies.

Think about that for a moment. That's like saying:
"Hey Paul, don't you worry. We can be pals again... after I die. But until that day when I inevitably croke and don't need to ape money off the music you wrote--Allah knows I need all I can scrounge these days--you're STILL going to have to pay Sony and I royalty $$$ to play 'Hey, Jude' or 'Elenor Rigby.' And I'm still going to get money when someone plays "Let It Be" on the jukebox or radio. But don't you worry, Pauly ol' pal! When I'm gone, you can have what's yours. Hee heeeeeeeeee! Doesn't matter to me after that!

But that's not even the worst of it. If there is truth to this claim, it's just an ignorant--if not arrogant--charade. Few people seem to realize that per copyright law, control of publishing rights over all songs written before 1978 (in which, all Beatles tunes were) revert back to the original author after 50 years of first publish. Thus, come 2012, "Love Me Do" will be Paul and Yoko's again ANYWAY. Meaning, if Jacko is still ticking come that time, this whole "will" thing is absolutely pointless. And those close to him say Jacko is healthy again and looking to jumpstart his music career, so it's not crazy to say he'll outlive the copyright law...unless you're reading the National Enquirer who says his 'days are numbered')

But I'd say the damage is done to Paul already anyway. Sorry, Mike. You can sit with Heather Mills in the sandbox for greedy punks who stole and then cheated Big Macca's heart. Speaking of which; have you SEEN who she's been dating?! Naturally, he's a rich, old codger. Although, turns out he actually SANG in the "LA LA" chorus of "Hey Jude"...so now, let's bring this whole discussion full circle and connect ALL these dots. When Marc Sinden hears the part he sang on "Hey Jude"--a song written predominantly by his gold-diggin' girlfriend's ex-husband (McCartney), Michael Jackson, the "King of Pop (and weird)", gets a cut of royalty money from the publishing rights to that song. Is it just me, or is "Hey, Jude" the central thread that binds this entire world together? No offense to Kevin Bacon.

More of the backstory on this whole fiasco.
An explanation of what owning the publishing rights of The Beatles catalog means.

Don't know what to get your entertainment junky (see also: nerd) for Christmas? Well, take a load off pal, you've come to the right place. I present to you the 2008 Scene & Heard Wish List. Although, keep checking back here this month for our year end lists of music, movies, and etc, which will all make great stocking stuffers too.

5. Death Cab For Cutie Holiday Package
If your little music fan (or big music fan, we don't discriminate) just got into Death Cab after this year's brilliant "Narrow Stairs," they're missing out on a whole lotta good warm-hearted indie rock. This package includes all 7 releases the band put out on Barsuk, before stepping up to a major label. Does not include "Plans" or "Narrow Stairs," but is a golden deal for Death Cab beginners.

4. The Limited Edition Beatles iPod Box Set
Want to go overboard? Sure you do. I see that look in your eyes. Show the economy that you don't need to cut back! Nothing says overboard like this baby, which you can only get from Bloomingdales for the special low price of $795 (or on eBay for a lot lot more). It's all here, the treasure trove. You get all the apples--Apple's classic iPod with a Beatles logo and 120gb of storage, and all the CD's from the Apple label's discography (including "Love"). And you get a guitar pick too, for some reason. All tidied up in a sleek wooden box. Plus, there is only 2500 copies in existence. Owning one makes you super special! In all seriousness, it's the coolest box set and iPod you'll find, but only for the biggest Beatlemaniacs. Now's also a good time to mention that The Beatles remain one of the last remaining bands not available on iTunes, though it's apparently going to happen some day. But not bad, right?

3. Of course, you could just shell out for a regular ol' iPod or iPhone, which I promise won't upset any person willing to live amongst the technology of the 21st century. Always a safe bet.

2. The Dark Knight on Blu-Ray
The biggest, boldest, movie of the year that crossed over from comic books into the mainstream this year in a huge way. And yes, it MUST be on Blu-Ray, not DVD, because it's the best looking movie ever, and the action scenes are all shot in hi-def. Since it hits stores on Dec 9, there are going to be a lot of Bat fans looking for this under the tree. Do. Not. Disappoint. Them. (Yes, that is a threat.) There's also a special edition available that comes with a statuette Batpod, but...that could be a bit overboard.

1. DIY mix
That's right, the way to really impress them is to do it yourself. And you know what? You spend a nickel on a CD-R (or cassette if you really want to impress them). That's it! Just put some excellent music together and they'll love you forever. Because they'll know you care, and that you put the time in. Of course, mixmaking is quite an artform, so be careful of what you're getting yourself into and be wise and selective in your song choices. Don't think you got what it takes? That's ok, you can bake them some warm cookies. That works too.

And just for fun...
Let's go old school and bring back the full-on pajamas look. www.thecatspjs.com. May I recommend the crossword puzzle pjs?

Yesterday's election has significance for you--no matter what type of American you are. If you are old enough to have lived through civil rights--or had parents who lived through the Civil War--you see firsthand the cultural significance of what's happened here. But us, the younger and more naive (we had it sooo easy, right? The internet and didn't have to walk uphill to school) generation, we see this as the first person in politics to stand up and make us believe in our country. In the end, maybe he'll make a few messes like Bush, but for now, he's brought us together--not pried us apart.

And so for that, we're giving you some free music to celebrate freedom. These are songs in celebration of what's happened here. If any of the following songs run for president some day, I'll vote for 'em.

Mixtape For Obama (click on song title link for MP3)

1. Ben Sollee - A Change Is Gonna Come (Sam Cooke cover)
-Last night Obama totally and appropriately quoted this. No better song for the moment.
Buy / Myspace

2. U2 - Pride (In The Name of Love)
-This one's for Martin Luther King Jr. , who is no doubt smiling where he is right now. And as for U2, this was the song that marked a change for them.
Buy / Myspace

3. Arcade Fire - Keep The Car Running
-This song from early 2007 is a call for the sort of thing that happened yesterday.
Buy / Myspace

4. The Beatles - I've Got A Feeling
-The band that celebrated this type of thing best deserves a spot, right? I think Lennon would be proud.
Buy / Myspace

5. Howard Huntsberry - Your Love Keeps Lifting Me (Higher & Higher)
-This Jackie Wilson cover comes from Ghostbusters 2--that being the movie where the Statue of Liberty marches through New York City to thwart the evil domination plot of a demon ghost. Relevant? You decide.
Buy

6. Eva Cassidy - People Get Ready (Curtis Mayfield & The Impressions cover)
-A beautiful cover of one of my all time favorite songs, and now it has context. All aboard the Obama train!
Buy / Myspace

7. Oasis - Keep The Dream Alive
-They might be from Britain, but they write great music for this sort of event.
Buy / Myspace

8. Kelly Clarkson with Jeff Beck - Up To The Mountain (Patty Griffin cover)
-I swear, I have just one Kelly Clarkson song in my iTunes...and this is it. Beck's guitar and her voice are so excellent together. As you can see with this Patty Griffin cover, lots of great music has been written about the dream of Martin Luther King, and now Obama is bringing these songs to life.
Myspace

9. Bruce Springsteen & The Sessions Band - We Shall Overcome
-After all the support Bruce voiced for Barack, it'd be sacrilege to not include him on this mix.
Buy / Myspace

10. Kevin Michael - We All Want The Same Thing (feat Lupe Fiasco)
-This young neo soul hip hopper from Philly has a bright future. And this song is about everything that's just happened.
Buy / Myspace

11. Robbie Robb - In Time
-I posted this song when The Phils won the World Series too. It's the perfect song for a hopeful future, for celebrating, for believing. And yes, it IS from the Bill & Ted Soundtrack.
Buy

Got any favorite America songs yourself? Share 'em in the comments.


About Scene & Heard's Mixtape For Obama
Sure, you can argue for or against the messy messes made during W. Bush's 8 year residency of the White House--the wars, the economy, the policies, gas prices, foreign relations, America's financial future, yadda yadda yadda.

Here at Scene & Heard HQ, we're too occupied with pictures of Natalie Portman and the new Kings of Leon album to really get bogged down with that.

But now that the age of Obama has dawned, I realized W. is why I had become so complacent in politics and faith in my country. John Mayer's "Waiting on the World To Change" sums that idea up better, but whether you believe W's work in the White House was good or bad, you must see the canyon he created between young America and old America. Idealistic and realistic. Proud and scared. Bottom and top. White and black. We were the un-united States of America for so long now--and I think a movie like The Dark Knight illustrates that rather poetically (and comic-bookly, if there's such a word).

And that's why Obama is special--because he got us paying attention again (like Harvey Dent in The Dark Knight!). Not because of what he says he will do or can do. But because he got us to put down the beer pong for a moment to hear what he had to say on the television. He got us out to the polls--in remarkable numbers. He inspired us to think about the America that we learned about in elementary school--the Lincolns, the Jeffersons, the Roosevelts, the Kennedys--and to believe that that America can still exist.

He saw that rift and said--let's bridge it.

But more importantly, he's illustrated that any building in democracy and America begins with us, the people--not a president.

That is what I want in a leader. I don't care if he's pro-life or pro-choice. I don't care if he's Republican or Democrat. I don't care if he's experienced or unexperienced. Black or white. None of that crossed my mind when I voted yesterday. I just want to be inspired to be better. I want to hear someone ring liberty's bell, even if it's cracked down the side.