For all rock music fans and Broadway show fans, here is an incredible opportunity that we can see some true rock’n'roll-tasted Broadway performance.

Green Day front man Billie Joe Armstrong is briefly joining the cast of “American Idiot,” the Broadway musical he helped create based on the band’s 2004 Grammy Award-winning album.

According to Associated Press, the show’s producers announced Sunday that Armstrong will take over the role of persuasive drug dealer St. Jimmy for eight performances from Tuesday through Oct. 3. before leaving town to kick off his band’s South American tour.

It’s the Broadway debut for Armstrong, who composed and co-wrote the musical.

Armstrong temporarily replaces actor Tony Vincent, who’s on leave until October 12 for what producers call a personal family matter.

The show follows an antihero who flees a deadening suburbia and descends into sex, drugs and fierce guitar playing in his quest to find himself in the big city.

It would be actually fascinating to witness the new side of Billie Joe Armstrong as a Broadway actor.

While Rock Band (and games of that ilk) are without a doubt not as popular as they were just a couple of years ago, many gamers are still anticipating the release of  Green Day: Rock Band, due out next month for the Xbox 360, Ps3, and Wii.

Well, as of today, your wait for this games release just got a little easier, as Harmonix and MTV Games made a demo of Green Day: Rock Band, available for download on both Xbox Live, and Sony’s Playstation Network Store.

The free demo features full, playable versions of “Welcome To Paradise” and “Boulevard of Broken Dreams”.

Green Day: Rock Band, features full integration of motion capture band performances and the three-part harmony technology first introduced in last year’s award-winning The Beatles: Rock Band.

Green Day’s own Rock Band title, Green Day: Rock Band, which is due out in just a couple of weeks, will feature 47 tracks from the band’s storied career, but that’s not enough for the punk rockin’ trio.

Green Day

In an interview with the Game Informer magazine, Green Day drummer Tre Cool expressed interest and readiness to extend the band’s digital legacy to beyond the tunes on the disc.

We wanted it all to go on there, but I guess you have to leave something for later. The technology is pretty sweet. You can download more material on all the consoles. Personally, I like PS3. I watch Netflix on my PlayStation 3. So, we’re going to have more stuff going through the pipeline later, like the old records once we get them on digital and get the stems. Hopefully, we’ll come up with some new looks.

This all sounds wonderful, only thing is, Harmonix said there would be no additional downloadable songs from the game, saying there are already “sculpted experiences” for each song and adding new tunes to that mix would not jive.

What gives?

Green Day: Rock Band is out June 8. Expect more details soon.

via Kotaku

If you’re thinking about pre-ordering the upcoming band-specific music game, Green Day: Rock Band, specifically its “Plus” version, you may want to mull this over.

The “Plus” version will run you $69.99 and comes with a token to download and export all 47 Green Day tunes to your Rock Band library as well as six free DLC tracks (six songs not included on the disc from the band’s most recent album, 21st Century Breakdown) from the Music Store. Sounds wonderful, right?

Maybe not.

An associate GameStop store manager sent us an image this morning revealing the retailer’s intention of bundling the export token for the standard, $59.99, version of the game, provided you pre-order it.

So, by reserving the standard edition of the game, you save $10, receive the free export code for all 47 tunes, and can use the $10 you saved to by any of the six “free” songs you wish, making the “Plus” version of the game pretty much worthless.

Update: A quick check of GameStop.com reveals the above is true and reserving the standard edition gets you the free export code, but not the songs.

Thank you, Harmonix.

When Green Day: Rock Band releases in early June it’ll come packed with Achievements/Trophies for the punk rock faithful to amass and hoard.

The list was compiled by the helpful folks at MyGamerCard and though it’s exciting to have a look at the rewards, they don’t reveal too much.

But don’t think the repeated four chord punk rock formula will lend itself to easy rewards, songs like “Longview” will certainly test the music-gamer. Not familiar with the song? Check it out here.

It’s Fun Until Someone Gets Hurt - Play “Longview” on Hard or Expert Bass, playing all hammer ons and pull offs without strumming.

Below is the full list.

• You Had the Time of Your Life — Five-star every song in Green Day: Rock Band with any instrument. 50G
• We’ve Come So Far — Earn at least 3 stars on all songs in Green Day: Rock Band with any instrument. 25G
• It All Keeps Adding Up — Score 1,000,000 points in a single song. 20G
• I Threw My Crutches in the River — Earn at least 3 stars on any song in Expert difficulty. 15G
• Hysteria, Mass Hysteria! — Get a Unison Bonus on the listed songs with 2 or more players. 20G
• Scream at Me Until My Ears Bleed — Use Overdrive 100 times as a vocalist. 20G
• In Good Health and Good Time — Earn at least 3 stars on all songs in Green Day: Rock Band as a bassist. 20G
• Won’t Make It for Dinner — Start a new Career and reach the credits within 12 hours as part of a 4-player band. 40G
• Feel Like They’re Gonna Bleed — Play through a setlist of 20 songs without failing. 25G
• Louder Than Bombs and Eternity — Hit 100% of the drum kick notes for “Brain Stew / Jaded” on Expert. 30G
• We’re on a Roll, No Self Control — Get an 8x Band Multiplier. 10G
• What’s Left of My Mind — Finish any song with Lefty Mode turned on, hitting at least 50% of the notes. 10G
• American Unity — Get all unison bonuses in the song “American Idiot” with 2 or more players. 15G
• Freaky Monkey — Complete Dookie Album Challenge with any instrument. 20G
• Award-Winning Idiot — Five-star every song on the American Idiot album. 25G
• Mud Fight — Complete the listed songs without the crowd meter going red. 15G
• Tr©s Cool — Hit 40 notes in one drum fill. 15G
• The World Around — Play a Setlist made up of songs in every venue. 10G
• Pacemaker — Earn at least 3 stars on “Peacemaker” on Expert Bass. 15G
• Not Growing Up, Just Burning Out — Earn at least 3 stars on the listed songs on Expert Vocals. 20G
• Twiddle My Thumbs Just for a Bit — Earn at least 3 stars on “F.O.D.” with each instrument in Solo play. 15G
• St. Jimmy — Get Gold stars on the listed songs. 35G
• I Got a Rock ‘n Roll Girlfriend — Get Gold stars on the listed songs. 35G
• Your Burning Light — Hit 100% of the notes in the solo of “Whatsername” on Hard or Expert Guitar. 10G
• Past the Point of Delirium – Hit 100% of the notes in the solo of “Hitchin’ a Ride” on Expert Guitar. 30G
• Ability to Operate Machinery — 100% the Guitar Solo in “Jesus Of Suburbia” using only finger tapping on Hard or Expert. 20G
• Blue — Get a 95-note streak playing “Last Night On Earth” with the guitar. 15G
• Rudy’s Can’t Fail Cafe — Hit 100% of the notes on “Welcome To Paradise” on medium or higher difficulty bass. 20G
• Warning: Burning Drums — Hit 100% of the drum notes on one of the listed songs. 15G
• It’s Fun Until Someone Gets Hurt — Play “Longview” on Hard or Expert Bass, playing all hammer-ons and pull-offs without strumming. 25G
• Make the Best of This Test — Finish all Challenges (Career owner only). 35G
• Stage Dive — Complete a Challenge in The Warehouse venue. 10G
• On a Mission — Complete a Challenge in the Milton Keynes venue. 10G
• Stereo in the Static Age — Complete a Challenge in The Fox Theater – Oakland Venue. 10G
• This Is How the West Was Won — Earn at least 3 stars on all songs in The Warehouse. 20G
• Billboard on the Rise — Earn at least 3 stars on all songs in Milton Keynes. 20G
• Another Turning Point — Earn at least 3 stars on all songs in The Fox Theater – Oakland. 20G
• Live Freaky, Die Freaky — Complete any Challenge with both of the following: 100% a Guitar solo; 100% a Harmony part. 25G
• I Walk a Lonely Road — Earn at least 3 stars on “Boulevard of Broken Dreams” with each instrument in Solo play. 15G
• On My Own… Here We Go — Score 400,000 points in a single song in solo mode. 35G
• A Very Troubled Youngster — Complete all of Tr©’s Greatest Hits. 35G
• Frank Edwin Wright III — Complete all the Drum Lessons. 20G
• Step Up to the Mike & Billie Joe — Hit All Double Harmonies on any song. 10G
• Misleading the Choir — Hit All Triple Harmonies on any song. 15G
• Strong Arm, Billie Joe – Earn a Guitar Career score of 1,000,000. 20G
• Dirnt Dirnt Dirnt Dirnt — Earn a Bass Career score of 1,000,000. 20G
• Sweet Children — Earn a Vocal Harmony Career score of 1,000,000. 20G
• I Play the !@#% Out the Drums — Earn a Drum Career score of 1,000,000. 20G

Source: MyGamerCard via Joystiq

Harmonix and MTV Games released a new trailer for the upcoming Green Day: Rock Band music game recently and it pumps the punk up to 11.

The songs in the trailer are “21st Century Breakdown,” “She” and “Holiday” and of  we get a look at Billy Joe’s blue hair and Tre’s green stylings.

Green Day: Rock Band releases for every home console June 8 and is compatible with most plastic instruments (even Guitar Hero ones).

In the past few months a few of Green Day: Rock Band’s songs have trickled out leading fans to clamor for the complete track listing.

Well my friends, that day is today, as Entertainment Weekly’s Music Mix blog has gushed the details and revealed all 47 on-disc tunes.

Get ready for lots of American Idiot, Dookie, 21st Century Breakdown, as those albums made the cut, with a smaller number of songs from older albums Warning, Nimrod and Insomniac also on the disc.

Dookie (1994)

• “Burnout”
• “Having a Blast”
• “Chump”
• “Longview”
• “Welcome to Paradise”
• “Pulling Teeth”
• “Basket Case”
• “She”
• “Sassafrass Roots”
• “When I Come Around”
• “Coming Clean”
• “Emenius Sleepus”
• “In the End”
• “F.O.D.”

American Idiot (2004)

• “American Idiot”
• “Jesus of Suburbia”
• “Holiday”
• “Boulevard of Broken Dreams”
• “Are We the Waiting”
• “St. Jimmy”
• “Give Me Novacaine”
• “She’s a Rebel”
• “Extraordinary Girl”
• “Letterbomb”
• “Wake Me Up When September Ends”
• “Homecoming”
• “Whatsername”

Warning (2000)

• “Minority”
• “Warning”

Nimrod (1997)

• “Hitchin’ a Ride”
• “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)”
• “Nice Guys Finish Last”

Insomniac (1995)

• “Brain Stew”
• “Jaded”
• “Geek Stink Breath”

21st Century Breakdown (2009)

• “Song of the Century”
• “21st Century Breakdown”
• “Before the Lobotomy”
• “Last Night on Earth”
• “Peacemaker”
• “Murder City”
• “¿Viva La Gloria? (Little Girl)”
• “Restless Heart Syndrome”
• “Horseshoes and Handgrenades”
• “The Static Age”
• “American Eulogy”
• “See the Light”

Downloadable Content (not included)

• “21 Guns”
• “Know Your Enemy”
• “East Jesus Nowhere”
• “Last of the American Girls”
• “¡Viva La Gloria!”
• “Christian’s Inferno”

Source: Joystiq

Green Day: Rock Band’s June 8 release date is rapidly approaching and yet details remain scant. The band’s American Idiot album, in its entirety, was recently confirmed, Dookie is rumored to be there as well, and Nimrod, at least in part will be on the disc as today’s gameplay video reveals.

Spotted on Green Day fansite Green Day Authority are the below two Green Day: Rock Band videos. They show off popular songs title track “American Idiot” and Nimrod’s “Hitchin’ A Ride.”

In a recent interview with G4, Harmonix GDRB lead, Chris Foster, confirmed that the ‘American Idiot’ album will appear complete in the retail release of the title. The game comes with 47 tracks, most of which remain unannounced outside of the content from American Idiot.

The UK retailer Play.com indicates that ‘Dookie’ will appear in its entirety on the retail disc as well. This has yet to be confirmed, but more official news will surely pour out in the coming weeks as Green Day Rock Band is set to release June 8th…

When Green Day: Rock Band launches June 8, it’ll have Green Day albums American Idiot and Dookie, in their entirety, on the disc.

The news comes from European retailer Play who confirmed tracks from the “classic” Dookie Green Day to newer, more political American Idiot offerings.

What’s more, the listing says Green Day members Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt and Tre Cool all lent their digital likenesses to the game and provided full motion capture to bottle the band’s sometime zany on-stage antics appropriately.

And probably best of all, the game’s songs will be fully exportable to Rock Band and Rock Band 2. So if you’re looking to add some of the trio’s most famous songs to your library, you’re in luck.

Check out more at the game’s Play listing.

Harmonix and MTV Games revealed today that the Green Day flavored Rock Band title is due out June 8 for the usual suspects, Xbox 360, PS3 and Wii.

Green Day: Rock Band

Green Day: Rock Band will have 47 songs Green Day tunes on disc and all will be exportable to the original Rock Band, Rock Band 2 and Rock Band 3. The only songs mentioned thus far are "Brain Stew," "Jaded," "Hitchin’ a Ride," "American Idiot," "Wake Me Up When September Ends" and "Boulevard of Broken Dreams."

No special bundle with instruments will be available for Green Day: Rock Band, only the software. It’ll sell for $59 on Xbox 360 and PS3 and $49 on Wii. Nothing for PS2.

Like The Beatles: Rock Band, the Green Day installment will take you through the band’s career. From their humble origins, to their now worldwide renown and players will unlock pictures, rare videos and interviews and live performances along the way.

What’s more, a special Green Day: Rock Band Plus edition will be available in June for $69.99 on Xbox 360 and PS3. This special version comes with “special packaging, free export and six (unannounced) Green Day DLC tracks,” which Harmonix equates to a $22 value.

Don’t worry, Green Day: Rock Band will be compatible with all other plastic instrument peripherals, including those of Guitar Hero.

I’ll hold back my enthusiasm for the game until I see the entire setlist. Like I’ve said, when Green Day stopped doing drugs and wrote about politics, I stopped liking them. I want old Green Day, circa Kerplunk and Dookie if possible.

Last night Billy Joe and the rest of Green Day announced Green Day: Rock Band to the world, but only provided proof of its existence, a vague 2010 release date and that it’ll feature the band’s favorite “songs, venues, and imagery.”

Well, a bit more information about the title came through the pipes today, as we’ve learned the game’s entire setlist, whatever songs those turn out to be, will be fully exportable to Rock Band 1 and 2.

The export option will be available (at a to-be named price) for Xbox 360 and PS3 games only, not Wii.

“This game will feel like a natural extension of Green Day and their music that will deepen the fans’ connection to the band and their history,” said Alex Rigopulos, CEO and co-founder of Harmonix Music Systems. “Fans will be able to enjoy some of the greatest songs from the Green Day catalogue in this standalone game or via Rock Band due to full export capability. We are thrilled to work with Green Day to revisit key moments from their career, including their likenesses, content and imagery, through our innovative form of musical interaction.”

I’m on board for this title, but am not looking forward to the censorship that is likely to be incurred with specific tracks (looking at you “Longview”).

We’ll provide further details on the project as they become available.

Source: Green Day

If The Beatles: Rock Band didn’t do it for you, Harmonix flexed its musical muscle tonight at the 2009 Video Game Awards and announced Rock Band: Green Day.

The title is due out in 2010, will use the band’s likenesses, favorite songs, and will take gamers to the band’s favorite venues, and that’s all we know!

Admittedly, I’ve whined about Harmonix’s choice of only adding Green Day’s new stuff to the Rock Band Music Store, but little did I know the studio planned on saving the older songs for this game. My apologies Internet readers.

Image credit

Harmonix today announced that selections from Green Day’s “21st Century Breakdown” album, and tunes from bands playing this year’s MayhemFestival nationwide tour are next week’s batch of Rock Band DLC.

It’s hard to believe that Green Day has yet to grace a music game, but next week, when “21 Guns,” “East Jesus Nowhere,” and the radio-friendly “Know Your Enemy,” we’ll finally be able to rock out to tracks from the popular 90′s band.

On the death metal side of things, Harmonix is dropping 8 tunes from bands playing this summer’s Mayhem Festival (I’ll be at the August 8 show!) and fans of this particualr flavor of music can finally, finally, rejoice.

Behemoth “Conquer All”
Black Dahlia Murder “What a Horrible Night to Have a Curse”
Cannibal Corpse “Hammer Smashed Face”
God Forbid “Empire of the Gun”
Job for a Cowboy “Embedded”
Marilyn Manson “Disposable Teens”
Slayer “Black Magic”
Whitechapel “This Is Exile”

I’m very much excited about the metal inclusion, and am truly hoping for a all-out metal smackdown of a game from either Guitar Hero or Rock Band. Call it Guitar Hero Thrash? Sounds good to me.

Rock Band developer Harmonix today revealed that famed punk-rockers Green Day will finally arrive onto the music/rhythm scene with three selections from the groups’ latest endeavor “21st Century Breakdown.”

The trio, whose name originates from the idea that skipping school and smoking pot is really all you need (hence the “green day”) first stirred up rumors of a Rock Band release earlier this week when lead singer/guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong eluded to their arrival in Rock Band in some capacity on the KROQ radio morning show.

On July 7 “Know Your Enemy,” “21 Guns,” and “East Jesus Nowhere” will hit the Rock Band Music Store priced at the typical clip. However, Harmonix promises “additional Green Day songs and projects will be announced at a later date.”

So if you’re like me and enjoyed Green Day much better when they were on drugs in the 90′s, fear not for more tunes, and possibly a full Green Day-inspired game is on the way to quell your stomach’s rumbling for punk-rock.

Green Day is dead.

Tre, Mike and Billie are still above ground and playing music, but Green Day died when the millennium came around. Everyone forgot about the punk kids who cared about little except being fast and funny. In late 2000, they put out “Warning,” an album full of regurgitated songs and ideas that rightfully was crushed under the heels of other artists doing new and different things. The boys were no longer angry. They were no longer snot-nosed punks. They were no longer Green Day.

Then in 2004, another Green Day album came out. “American Idiot” was an overblown, pretentious and self-important concept album about someone’s journey through love and life, with just a bit of government mockery tossed in on the side. It shouldn’t have worked, but it did. And it did because it was genuine. No longer did they care about being Green Day. No longer were three chord songs and fart jokes more important then what they had to say. The album took off and let the world know that they aren’t the Green Day of old, but some new beast, arisen from the ashes of the 90′s, and were ready to adapt to life in the 21st century.

Five years later, they have responded to their magnum opus with “21st Century Breakdown.” Unfortunately for them, Green Day has once again gone stagnant. They went through big changes in-between “Warning” and “American Idiot” that redefined the band, but “Breakdown” sounds like “American Idiot 2: Electric Boogaloo.” It’s a concept album of loosely strung together songs with thematic components of an opera about a young couple coming to grips with life in the 21st century.

Thebetter parts of three years were spent on this album, but it just feels hollow. Billie Joe Armstrong has gone on record saying that making this album has drained him like no other album has, and I can’t help but think he was trying to pump out a creative force that just wasn’t in him this time around.

“American Idiot” worked because it seemed effortless. Undoubtedly it wasn’t, but it felt real despite being over the top. Here, they have raised the bar again, being 125 percent of “American Idiot.” It’s bigger, louder and has more going on in the music. But bigger isn’t always better, and it seems almost formulaic this time around.

Where “American Idiot” had “Jesus of Suburbia” setting the tone, this has title song “21st Century Breakdown” which sounds just like its predecessor, down to the tempo changes and its description of the main character.

“Know your Enemy,” the first big single, is a fast paced, catchy popish tune with not so subtle antiestablishment undertones. Sound familiar? It should be because it was the title track from “American Idiot.”

“‚¡Viva la Gloria!” sounds so similar to “Letterbomb” that it would border on infringement if it wasn’t the same band. I could go on and on, but 60 percent of this album looks like “American Idiot”s reflection in a funhouse mirror. Sure, it’s different on the surface, but once you twist out the bends, it’s a carbon copy.

What about the other 40 percent, you say? Well, just because it’s not copying older Green Day tunes doesn’t mean that it is drawing a bit too much inspiration from other sources. “Horseshoes and Handgrenades” sounds like The Strokes — who, in a case of going full circle, clearly took inspiration from old Green Day classics.

“21 Gun” sounds like Oasis and John Lennon got together for a jam session, except much less fun that that would.

“Before the Lobotomy” is a mixture of Queen and the Who, and that, as awesome as it seems like it should sound, doesn’t live up.

I can’t shake the feeling that almost everything on this album pales in comparison to its muse. Every time you make a copy, it get more and more faded and bland. Well, this is four copies in and faded almost grey; the band just covered in black paint and a red tie to draw in crowds.

However, there are some good tracks in between the bland and the pretenders. “Christian’s Inferno” is the closest Green Day came to their old punk roots, and it’s almost depressing to hear. They can still play those old simple three-chord wonders but have chosen to go for the arena rock angle.

“East Jesus Nowhere” has nonsensical lyrics, but borrows the right sounds from other bands. It fits in on the albums, stands on its own, and doesn’t instantly remind me of an old radio favorite.

“‚¿Viva la Gloria? (Little Girl)” is the second part to the aforementioned “Letterbomb” copy, but the second half is much better. It starts off as a cabaret style tune, and then breaks into a more traditional chorus, but returns to the catchy melody.

“Peacemaker” is undoubtedly the best track on this album. It’s a mariachi-style track, with above average lyrics (for Green Day) and, most importantly, is fun. That’s something this album lost in its effort to be important. I found myself humming “Peacemaker” all day, and wishing that I had an album based off that song. If you aren’t going to get this album, I would advise getting your hands on at least “Peacemaker” and “‚¿Viva la Gloria? (Little Girl)”. Four tracks don’t make an album but rather show us what could have been had this album not needed to be big and flashy.

The album, which is divided into three parts, clocks in at just under 70 minutes, and once they were up, I still don’t know what the band was trying to do or say. Even through several more listenings, I still can’t even begin to guess what the comment they meant to make was. I know they wanted to say something about America’s current condition, but I’ll be damned if I know what.

When all the pins drop, this will be a successful album. It probably will be the most successful of the year. In an age where people pick and choose songs on iTunes or illegally download albums, Green Day is still an anomaly, selling their CDs in bigger bulk than ever before. I loved their old stuff,and it’s loud careless attitude about how every teen to 20-something feels. I liked “American Idiot” as an album, with each track playing off each other: a point and counterpoint that isn’t seen in modern music.

But I can’t defend this. This album didn’t need to be made. It’s the music of “American Idiot” with the soul stripped away and a few good tunes that don’t mesh well with the rest of the album.

But it will still be the biggest album of the year. They will sell out in stores nationwide. They will sell out entire stadiums. They will probably sell out their whole damn tour. So I was wrong, Green Day isn’t dead. It looks like they just sold out.