Beatles Rock Band Wish List

Could September 9 seem any farther away?  A hundred sixty-five days is a long time to wait for a lot of things, but it seems especially long to have to wait for the release of the Beatles Rock Band video game.  Personally, I'm waiting to make the Beatles game my first Rock Band purchase so I can have the Beatles peripherals, so the agony is compounded by seeing bunches of tantalizing downloadable content being released for the existing Rock Band games.  The game is rumored to contain 45 Beatles tracks, so I figure that's enough to build a wish list from.  Here we go, from most wanted to least wanted:

1)  Hey Bulldog:  I’m pleased to see this one show up on more than a couple wish lists.  It’s not the most well-known Beatles song, but it was pretty much made for the Rock Band format.  Fun to sing, great guitar parts, perfect.
2)  Please Please Me:  This is maybe the only pre-Rubber Soul track that’s an absolute must for me.  This song should come with lockable content: if you master it, you get to stop hearing about how fascinated the boys were with the double meaning of the word “please.”
3)  Revolution:  I’m looking for the live version where they add in the “shoo be doo wop” from Revolution 1.
4)  Paperback Writer:  The desperate pleadings of a wannabe artist.  Sounds pretty appropriate for the format.
5)  Happiness is a Warm Gun:  I, too, am well acquainted with the touch of the velvet hand like a lizard on a window pane.
6)  Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight/The End:  Everybody gets a solo.
7)  Back in the U.S.S.R.:  If you’re playing with anyone under the age of 20 or so, they might ask you what a “U.S.S.R.” is.  And they probably won’t get the whole Beach Boys thing.
8)  Helter Skelter:  There’s definitely a difference between listening to music and playing music.  Nobody has this as his favorite Beatles song, but plenty of people have this as their most wanted Rock Band track.
9)  Don’t Let Me Down:  My roof’s a little steep, but I’ll give it a shot.
10)  Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band:  The only problem with this one is it’s so short.
11)  Help!:  Several of these songs are screaming for backup vocals.  I hope that’s somehow an option.
12)  And Your Bird Can Sing:  This is Brandi’s #1 choice.
13)  Rain:  Playing the last verse backwards is the toughest part.
14)  I Want You (She’s So Heavy):  At over seven and a half minutes, it might require an intermission.
15)  Nowhere Man:  This list is getting very Lennon-centric.
16)  She Loves You:  Other than Revolution, there might not be another song I’d be more surprised to see omitted from the list.
17)  I’ve Got A Feeling:  This is another one that’s not one of my favorites to listen to, but I would love to play it.
18)  A Hard Day’s Night:  From what I’ve read about the Beatles Rock Band game, it sounds like there’s going to be a chronological progression from the early years to Abbey Road.  It makes sense—when you break up the early songs, the guitar/drums/vocal parts don’t seem as complicated.  This one does have a tricky guitar solo, though.
19)  Mean Mr. Mustard/Polythene Pam/She Came in Through the Bathroom Window:  Hopefully they count this as one track.
20)  Here Comes the Sun:  Even though this is one of my absolute favorite Beatles songs, I may be less enthusiastic about playing this one because I’ve tried it on guitar and failed miserably.
21)  From Me to You: Please be forgiving on the falsetto.
22)  I Feel Fine:  This one has been rumored to be on the real list.  I hope it’s true.
23)  I Am the Walrus:  Enough guitar?
24)  Octopus’s Garden:  This one has two vocal modes: easy and easier.
25)  Savoy Truffle:  Unlockable content: images of crazy sounding British sweets.
26)  Come Together:  This may be the first game that makes you want to play the bass.
27)  Taxman:  Should be a pretty safe bet that this one’s in.
28)  Drive My Car:  This one, too, seems to be a natural fit.  Come to think of it, pretty much all the opening tracks to the various albums would work pretty well.
29)  I’m Down:  Play the drums with your elbows.  There’s rumored to be a Shea Stadium part, so this song would seem to have a place there.
30)  It Won’t Be Long:  A very underrated song.
31)  We Can Work It Out:  Doing a Beatles version of Rock Band brings up so many questions, like, Will the vocal allow (require) you to sing both the Paul part and the John part?
32)  One After 909:  The Let It Be album is going to fare pretty well in this format.
33)  Oh! Darling:  Another piano-centric track I hope they can somehow make work.
34)  It’s All Too Much:  Possible I’m alone on this one.
35)  Sexy Sadie:  One of several that could be an American Idol track.  Forget the instruments, I just wanna sing it.
36)  I Want to Hold Your Hand:  Unlockable content: the digital Ed Sullivan.  Really big shoe.
37)  Strawberry Fields Forever:  Might want to use one of the Anthology versions.
38)  Eight Days a Week:  First song to fade in at the beginning.
39)  If I Needed Someone:  Probably the earliest example of great Harrison songwriting.
40)  Norwegian Wood:  Fans who are asking for a sitar to come included are probably setting themselves for disappointment, but I think they’ve got the right idea.
41)  Everybody’s Got Something to Hide Except Me and My Monkey:  Rock Band might really cause me to re-evaluate side 3 of the White Album.
42)  Birthday:  As hard as it is to rock out to “Happy Birthday to You” (save for Helter Skelter, this is about as edgy as Paul gets), I think this one would be fun.
43)  Old Brown Shoe:  Haven’t heard this one mentioned—I wouldn’t mind seeing it.
44)  Tell Me Why:  Here’s a problem with going chronologically: some of the early Lennon songs wreak the most havoc on the vocal cords.  Anybody without a healthy appetite for yell singing shouldn’t be in the room when I’m attempting this one.
45)  While My Guitar Gently Weeps:  I’m not as crazy about this one as most people, but you can count on it making the cut.

Looking forward to Spring

February is a kind of a tough month for me. I am usually ready for winter to be over by the time it rolls around. I start to really miss the sun and the long days of summer. It is also the month for Family Reunion, which if you know me than you have heard of it--it is the largest Keller Williams event of the year. I spent eight days in Orlando for the convention, and while it was a lot of work and exhausting, it was the best Family Reunion (out of the five) I've been to!

February was a little more difficult this year because my mother's Mom passed away on February 10. We were blessed to have Mama for 96 years, but as a friend put it so succinctly, no matter how long you get to have your family on this earth it still hurts when they leave. Still my heart is full from all of the family and friends that showed their love that week with flowers, special cards, prayers, visits, and donations to the cancer society in her name.

Obituary link:

 http://www.broussardsmortuary.com/services.asp?page=odetail&id=5335

On the day she died, I sat down and wrote this letter as a tribute to her and as my way of saying goodbye. I also thought what better way to honor her than to share my memories with all of you. Thank you for reading!

What did you dream of as you were going home? 

Were you thinking of cotton fields and horse drawn carriages? Or of the days when you made cush-cush with corn bread, or pumped your own water? Were your last thoughts in English or French? Maybe you were remembering the grandfather I never had the chance to know.

 

Or maybe you thought about when your family first owned a car, or when you moved from Louisiana to Texas. Maybe it was thoughts of electricity and running water. Or maybe about the last phone you saw that was much smaller than just the receiver of the one you first owned. That reminds me of the roll of paper by the old phone in your kitchen that all of your grandkids unrolled when we came over to write on and prove that we were here.

 

Did you dream of all the places you went in your long life? You were always active, from your family in Louisiana to your trips to Hawaii and Florida. Through most of your days you were never afraid to go anywhere by yourself or talk to anyone that you met. You were one of those grandmothers who talked to anyone who listened about her experiences or family.

 

Did you think of your children? You had four daughters, Audrey, Melva, Ena and Connie, and their children and children’s children, that you left your legacy of hard work and determination with each of them. It was never in your nature to give up (some call that stubborn, others call it survival). You, along with my grandfather, came up with ways to barter and create a living for your family through farms, cotton fields and building houses. Yours was a tough life, and I never heard you complain. That just wasn’t what you did with the life God gave you.

 

Did you dream of the beautiful flowers in your garden? I think of the day lilies and the crepe myrtles that are in so many of our Easter pictures from my childhood. You tended your yard well into your late years which in turn kept you healthy and thriving like the flowers and vegetables in a row. Allof your children and grandchildren would catch a glimpse of your work when fetching the key to the house (under the ice chest in the green house around back) that remained a silent reminder that the door was always open. I can still hear the screen door slam shut as we entered the old house on Duff Drive. Did you hear it?

 

More importantly, did you hear Jesus calling you home to be with him and all the loved ones that went before you? Like Ruby Arceneaux, hers was the first funeral I ever attended, did she call you in? Your friends over the years that you outlived in your good health, your sisters and brothers, your daughters' husbands, Winston and Melvin, and Michael and his sweet daughter, Haley. And of course Mr. Melancon is there too. Was my Mother’s  Daddy waiting patiently to have you join him in a new and everlasting peace?

 

We won’t know what you dreamed of as you were going home until we join you, and we are so grateful that your journey with us has come to a close so that you can be with our Lord today, tomorrow, and for eternity. We love you MaMa.