DLC Editorial Opinion Rocksmith Rocksmith 2014 Ubisoft

Opinion: Gender Representation in Rocksmith

Elliott

Hello Rocksmith fans.

Controversial subject today as we wait for the next DLC of February, 2016 to be revealed. Awhile back @pcgamingisted and I were talking about the lack of women artists in Rocksmith and decided to do a bit of exploring through the available songs to see just how much of the content varied from all dudes. We conducted the poring over data back in May, 2015. Fun fact, the lead vocal or duet data didn’t have a new addition until September because of Breaking Benjamin’s remix of Blow Me Away and then December with Skillet and Band of Merrymakers…

Forgot about The Subways, thanks George Carlinlives – ed

 


Bands that feature a woman in Rocksmith 1:

  1. Best Coast (Bethany Cosentino) “When I’m With You”
  2. Jenny O (Jennifer Anne Ogniben) “Well OK Honey”
  3. Pixies (Kim Deal) “Where Is My Mind?”
  4. Silversun Pickups (Nikki Monninger) “Panic Switch”
  5. Yellow Moon Band (Jo Bartlett) “Chimney”
  6. The xx (Romy Madley Croft) “Islands”
  7. The Dead Weather (Alison Mosshart) “I Can’t Hear You”
  8. The White Stripes “Icky Thump”

Bands that feature a woman in Rocksmith 1 DLC:

  1. Heart “Barracuda”
  2. Evanescence “Bring Me To Life”
  3. Pat Benetar “Hit Me With Your Best Shot”
  4. Grace Potter and The Nocturnals “Paris (Ooh La La)”
  5. Chic “Good Times”
  6. Pixies “Here Comes Your Man”
  7. Blondie “Call Me”

Bands that feature a woman in Rocksmith 2014:

  1. Earlyrise “Wasteland”
  2. Gold Motel “Brand New Kind of Blue”
  3. La Sera “Love That’s Gone”
  4. Magic Wands “Black Magic”
  5. Paramore “Now”
  6. Screaming Females “Rotten Apple”
  7. The Smashing Pumpkins “The Chimera” (Nicole Fiorentino)
  8. White Zombie “Thunder Kiss ’65” (Sean Yseult)
  9. Crimson “Don’t Stop”
  10. PAWS “Sore Tummy” (Alice Costelloe)
  11. Jack White “Sixteen Saltines” (Carla Azar and Brooke Waggoner)

Bands that feature a woman in Rocksmith 2014 DLC:

  1. The Lumineers “Ho Hey” (Neyla Pekarek)
  2. The Smashing Pumpkins [5 Song Pack]
  3. REM “Shiny Happy People” (Kate Pierson)
  4. Flyleaf “All Around Me”
  5. Heart “Crazy On You”
  6. Halestorm “Love Bites (So Do I)”
  7. A Day To Remember “If it Means A Lot To You” (Sierra Kay)
  8. Garbage [3 Song Pack]
  9. No Doubt [3 Song Pack]
  10. The White Stripes [5 Song Pack] (Meg White)
  11. Seether feat. Amy Lee “Broken”
  12. The Cranberries “Zombie”
  13. All That Remains [3 Song Pack] (Jeanne Sagan)
  14. The Subways
  15. Fleetwood Mac (Stevie Nicks and Christine McVie)
  16. Skillet [3 Song Pack]
  17. Band of Merrymakers [2 Songs]
  18. Breaking Benjamin [Blow Me Away]

Bands in Rocksmith that feature Lead vocals by a Woman:

  1. Best Coast (Bethany Cosentino) “When I’m With You”
  2. Jenny O (Jennifer Anne Ogniben) “Well OK Honey”
  3. Yellow Moon Band (Jo Bartlett) “Chimney”
  4. The xx (Romy Madley Croft) “Islands”
  5. The Dead Weather (Alison Mosshart) “I Can’t Hear You”
  6. Heart “Barracuda”
  7. Evanescence “Bring Me To Life”
  8. Pat Benetar “Hit Me With Your Best Shot”
  9. Grace Potter and The Nocturnals “Paris (Ooh La La)”
  10. Pixies “Here Comes Your Man”
  11. Blondie “Call Me”
  12. Earlyrise “Wasteland”
  13. Gold Motel “Brand New Kind of Blue”
  14. La Sera “Love That’s Gone”
  15. Magic Wands “Black Magic”
  16. Paramore “Now”
  17. PAWS “Sore Tummy”
  18. Screaming Females “Rotten Apple”
  19. Crimson “Don’t Stop”
  20. Flyleaf “All Around Me”
  21. Heart “Crazy On You”
  22. Halestorm “Love Bites (So Do I)”
  23. A Day To Remember “If it Means A Lot To You” (Sierra Kay)
  24. Garbage [3 Song Pack]
  25. No Doubt [3 Song Pack]
  26. Seether feat. Amy Lee “Broken”
  27. The Cranberries “Zombie”
  28. The Subways “Rock and Roll Queen”
  29. Skillet [3 Song Pack]
  30. Band of Merrymakers [2 Songs]
  31. Breaking Benjamin [Blow Me Away]

This leads us to the following conclusions

  • Less than 8% of Rocksmith’s library (772 songs) contains bands that have members that are Women.
  • under 5% of Rocksmith’s library contain songs that feature lead vocals or a duet featuring a Woman, that’s 39 songs.

Rock music has always been a pre-dominantly male dominated space but there are many women artists that can be a welcome addition to the Rocksmith library! Let’s explore a few choices.

St. Vincent

You’ve probably heard a few songs from Annie Clark in passing, maybe you’ve heard her stuff because of her inclusion on Rock Band 4. I’m gonna tell you straight up, Annie Clark isn’t a good guitarist for a girl. She’s a good guitarist period, she rips.

Check out this interview for more regarding her rich musical background.

The Pretenders √

Chrissie Hynde’s distinct raw vocals compliment the catchy guitar riffs and bass lines of The Pretenders extremely well, and I mean they had a song on BandFuse so why not?

Sleater-Kinney √

Hey look it’s the girl from Portlandia, oh wait she’s an accomplished musician in addition to being hilarious. Sleater Kinney has about four songs across Rock Band DLC and Rock Band Network, so definitely not impossible to get them on Rocksmith.

Sheryl Crow √

I really just want this song, but I will also take Marissa’s cover of it.

Joan Jett & The Blackhearts √

This song is coming eventually right? It has to be… How can it not?

Alanis Morissette

Canadian and from the 1990’s. Jagged Little Pill sold a lot of copies for a reason, and once again her songs have appeared on other music games, most recently this one.

Against Me! √

Laura-Jane Grace is a complete bad ass, coming out as trans in 2012 and then releasing an album (Transgender Dysphoria Blues) to let others know that they are not alone in their journey, and it’s raw as hell anarcho-punk as well.

Featured on the newest Guitar Hero Live as well.

Roxette √

Chances are if you don’t think you’ve ever heard Roxette, you are wrong…

Janis Joplin

Besides having an incredibly distinctive voice Janice Joplin also had an extremely talented band behind her. Tons of hits to choose from as well.

Arch Enemy √

I miss Angela… Although, Alissa isn’t bad, and she’s Canadian also so I guess I have to support that!

Alabama Shakes √

So good, and they are only getting better.

Joni Mitchell √

Whatever you do, don’t call her music “folk:” Joni Mitchell is perhaps one of the most critically revered singer-songwriters in all of contemporary American music. With her signature use of unconventional custom open tunings, of which she has used as many as 50 through her career, she has made a massive name for herself in spite of her polio reducing the mobility of her fretting hand early in her life.

 

Are you surprised at the lack of gender representation in the Rocksmith library? Or do such things not concern you? What women artists would you like to see show up this year? Let us know!

As always, don’t forget to request!

😉

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108 thoughts on “Opinion: Gender Representation in Rocksmith”

  1. there are way larger glaring ommisions that we need be for we start worrying about whats between their legs(ACDC,GNR,Metallica,Black Sabbath ,a nirvana pack,van halen, LZ, PF, do i really need to even list them at this point)
    but for the women I want janis joplin pack, joan jet pack(also glaring omission), and the Runaways The pretty reckless, avril lavigne,within temptation, and if the put give me chocolate or doki doki morning by babymetal I will die laughing as a buy them.

    Reply

  2. Definitely need St Vincent – she is really pushing the envelope.

    I’ve requested Deap Vally e.g End Of The World and Royal Jelly. Nothing to do with them being two girls though, they just make kick arse rock n roll.

    Reply

  3. Gender representation has nothing to do with learning guitar. If you are female and playing Rocksmith, BE your gender representation. If you just want more female vocals, Rocksmith does have a request page that they utilize regularly. If you are an armchair gender activist, why not learn guitar instead of pestering people over the internet? There are plenty of female greats past, present and future. If you keep practicing, you may be one of them. These kinds of politics that are rotting the minds and souls of people across the net are one of the worries I like to escape when I’m practicing guitar. Can we PLEASE just keep this about the music?

    Oh well. I guess now is as good a time as any to say I want to see Babymetal in Rocksmith.

    Reply

  4. Summer Camp
    Arcade Fire
    Sarah McLachlan – Possession , Ice Cream, Fumbling towards estacy
    Julieta Venegas
    Nora Jones
    Feezepop
    Paramore – pressure, misery business
    The Fresh Beat Band — (I know)
    Evanescence

    Reply

    1. “The Fresh Beat Band — (I know)”

      Y’know what? Yes. Why not? Parents to play for their kids, grandparents for the grandkids. Kids to play WITH parents or aunts or uncles or… Play it for yourself, if you want.

      Now, it may not get a lot of requests and be a top pick… but props for thinking of it.

      Reply

  5. BIF NAKED!

    Hoping for more Blondie and Heart and anxiously waiting for some Janis Joplin and Joan Jett. Is there a person on earth who can’t hum the riff to I Love Rock ‘N’ Roll on command right now. Gotta get that song into Rocksmith!

    Can’t wait to see the Heart with Joan Jett show that comes through town on St.Patrick’s Day.

    Reply

  6. Would love more female representation in the game. Cherri Bomb, Kylesa, Sleater-Kinney, hAND, Joan Jett, Heart, Blondie, Within Temptation, Epica, Delain, Veruca Salt, The Breeders, Belly, Pat Benatar, To-Mera, Nightwish, Sonic Youth, Orianthi, Juliana Hatfield, Lacuna Coil, Electric Wizard, Blood Ceremony, After Forever, Revamp, Arch Enemy, The Birthday Massacre, Bosnian Rainbows, Le Butcherettes, Asobi Seksu, Christian Mistress, Flowing Tears, The Gathering, Hammers of Misfortune, Moonraker, Murder By Death, Octavia Sperata, Walls of Jericho. All great bands, and that’s not even starting on the multitudes of jrock with female members.

    Reply

  7. I’d love to have songs from Belly or Bettie Serveert on RS but I don’t see that ever happening. I agree with many of the others – it’s about the music, not the gender of the singer.

    Reply

  8. there’s a 100 percent chance you wrote this post so that a white girl with bangs and thick-framed glasses will give you a halfhearted handjob someday

    Reply

  10. Well, good news is we’re getting a female led band in the form of Kiss Me by Sixpence None The Richer in the Valentine’s Day DLC. So, is that a victory?

    Reply

  12. Omg… I just watched that video and requested that song (“come and get your love”) a few weeks ago. Redbone!!!!!!

    Reply

  13. Not enough indigenous native tribal music. Huge injustice to consider gender inequality over cultural under representation. I want to bring up something irrelavant to substance, focused on being topically topical. 🙄

    Reply

  15. I usually like to read all the comments and then comment, but everyone is quite opinionated and wordy on this one haha

    I’d love to see
    Orianthi
    Joan Jett
    Jefferson Airplane
    Alanis
    (More) Heart
    Lacuna Coil

    And there are so many other great choices! We should have a month of all female dlc 🙂

    Reply

  16. Yes! I’m up for it. And I’m a guy. A lot of great bands are female fronted.

    Against Me! As said before, Laura Jane Grace kicks ass. I’d love to see an AM! pack. (Talking Transgender Dysphoria Blues, Trash Unreal, I Was A Teenage Anarchist, Walking Is Still Honest, Osama Bin Laden As The Crucified Christ)

    Alabama Shakes. They’re the closest thing to Sufjan we’ll ever get. But oh well, They’re still awesome. (Gemini, You Ain’t Alone, Sound & Color, Boys & Girls, Dunes)

    Beach House. Along with The Xx, they’re an indie pop group. I’d guess they don’t float the boat of a lot of people here but they sure do mine. (Master Of None, Silver Soul, Wishes, Heart Of Chambers, Levitation)

    Also can we talk about how much dadrock there is in here? I mean WOW people. Dadrock far outnumbers the other genres. Plus, about 27 of the most requested bands are Dadrock. And also, I see many people both here and on other sites that, once we get a hint of new music coming, they get all of their pitchforks and torches and burn the heretics who DARE to defy the Dadrock. I’d sure as hell LOVE to see weirder/more experimental music come to Rocksmith.

    Reply

    1. Okay, Elliot’s used it, you and a few others have used it. I guess I’m the key “dadrock” demographic. Help me out, young bloods.

      So… what, we should burn the masters of anything that was released earlier than last week? You want me to apologize for the foundation and predecessors of modern music? You think we should ignore the decades where electric guitar became the prominent musical instrument and the driving force for both sales and cultural identity? The various bands that inspired following generations to pick up a guitar and play it, even if it was to play something different than what they had ever heard before?

      Call it cheesy if you wish, but there are some fine gems, some good talent, and more melody, harmony and riffs buried in those tracks than you probably are aware of or care to admit. I won’t deny that somewhere along the way the marketing department got in front of what they decided to call music, but don’t try to pack it all into a “dadrock” container and handwave it away.

      Please, help me understand what’s in your “dadrock” category. Blues? Jazz? Folk? Oldies? Roots music? Rockabilly? Classic rock (in all its forms)? Prog rock? Fusion? Punk? Hard rock? Metal? Alternative rock? Power pop? Grunge? Industrial rock? What’s your cutoff year when music’s too old to listen to and has no value — educational, cultural or otherwise?

      Reply

      1. Well, I’ll try to help you.

        My take on Dadrock is, well, the oldies. Usually from the 60’s – 80’s. You know. Famed classic rock/metal. The Who, Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Def Leppard, etc. and etc. But because a band is pre-90’s doesn’t mean it’s dadrock. Swans released their first album in 1983 and they’re FAR from Dadrock.

        There is nothing wrong with liking Dadrock. Dadrock is good in small doses. I like some dadrock myself (Pink Floyd is my favorite band and Beatles is in my top 10). However, Dadrock gets annoying when it’s in excess (RS’s case).

        There’s also Dadrockers, who can’t just like dadrock. They must be opposed to the idea of good new music and often wish they were born in the 60’s – 80’s and claim that they were “born in the wrong generation”. And let’s not forget there are a few here that fit this category.

        No, I do not oppose old music because it is old (again, Pink Floyd is my favorite band). No I don’t want you to apologize for the predecessors of modern music. No I don’t think we should ignore the decades where the guitar was front and center. And for fuck’s sake no, I do not want to ignore the various bands that serve as influence to other people to go pick up an instrument. Where did you get that?

        Do you think I’m not aware of the talent in Dadrock? Of course I am aware. And you can call me the tumblrina of music because I hate classifing music. But it is easy to refer to said things by using labels.

        What’s in my Dadrock category? Mostly Classic Rock, popular Blues, Glam Metal, Hair Metal and popular Jazz. There’s no cutoff year on music. If I like it, I like it. No matter how old it is.

        My problem with RS DLC is the lack of newer, weirder, more experimental music. You can definitely see that there is a lack of 2000+ music. And that there is a LOT of Dadrock in rocksmith. AND that when they try to do something different (for as bad as it seems) that Isn’t dadrock, the community gets pissed and the Devs get blamed.

        Reply

        1. Thanks — fair enough, and I appreciate the content and breadth of your response.

          It wasn’t just your post that drew me out, but I will say that if (for you) 27 of the top requested bands fall into dadrock, and dadrock is undesirable… that cuts out a lot of popular history, influence, etc. (driving my reaction of “well, then, what’s left?”). But I think I get where you’re coming from: we need more balance and variety, instead of (for example) “generic 80’s hair metal pack #7″… and for Dadrockers to stop greeting everything that’s not dadrock with “this sucks — when is generic hair metal pack #8 coming out?”

          I’d imagine Ubi is stuck with the normal industry problems with mass appeal: “too many of the top 40 most-requested bands are dad-rock”… but for them they’re “safe bets” based on the evidence: it’s on that list for a reason (people like it, they’ve requested it, big pool of inherently guitar-driven material that was originally created for mass appeal, if released it’s almost guaranteed to make Ubi money).

          I guess the other problem might be that the “dad rock” bucket is loosely defined and has expanded to the point of being a catch-all for “anything older that I don’t want to listen to”, but everybody’s list is different.

          Not calling you out specifically, but it sure seems that people will say “Blech, dadrock. It sucks. Well, except for [band they like], and [band they like], and [band they like]. Those guys are cool.” Or I’m just noticing the ones setting themselves up as a counter to Dadrockers, so “[myband] is good; dadrock is simply unlistenable.”

          I can appreciate “If I like it, I like it,” and am on board with Beach House (PPP, maybe?) and the Alabama Shakes (go Brittany!) and so on; even if I don’t rush to buy everything, I get the appeal and musical value. I anticipate/hope that as Ubi burns through the “top-top” requests they’ll diversify a bit and not resort to going for deep-cut B-sides of already-released bands.

          I think that what they may then be up against is finding the “right” bands out of an industry that seemed to get more fractured, niche, and less categorized. Hard to market what you can’t describe, and all.

          Again, thanks for the response. I’ll try to see other “dadrock” comments based on your perspective.

          Reply

          1. This… is not the response I was expecting. I was expecting you’d go a bit aggro on me. But you didn’t. You took it calmly. And plus, you said everything I wanted to say about TRR’s reaction to the few experiments with newer music. And also, you made understand some things I didn’t before. Congrats. You’re awesome.

            I’m a bit glad you and I could see both sides of the coin. It’s honestly the first time I’ve seen this happen in TRR. Keep on being awesome, Moar STP.

            Reply

            1. Hey, thanks — glad I could subvert your expectations!

              What can I say… Music can be so personal, and individual. It can cut to the core and get heated quickly. I don’t have to like the music someone else does the way they do, but I feel I should strive to understand and respect it. I might even get back more than that.

              Keep seeking out the things you connect with, and share what you will. Hopefully everybody will get a chance to play something they enjoy.

              Thanks for the exchange. Have a good journey.

              Reply

  17. just hope they re not gonna sign under the radar or high star female band for a month cause that s gonna blow dog for quarter , really , i think good ppl or good musicien or guitarist that ( yes bassist too or drummer that learn guitar or bass or even co dg of pampers ..) just want music not stats about being fair for era’s , genre , gender or any stupid word that classify or divide ppl into group. I want music or guitar because that game is about it , whoever does it .

    one thing that could be fun each month a 3 pack or instrumental song that you can heard by someone playing in the street , metro ,anywhere in the world ( ps : it can be female or male ,even children and old farts)

    Reply

  18. Please NO, NO, NO 👿

    Just try to release the most requested bands you can sign, if they are all female bands, I’m ok with it. But don’t start with the quota madness, it is a never ending and pointless witch hunt (next what? Ethnicity, language?)

    But since you asked, I would love the following female bands:

    L7
    Hole
    4 Non Blondes
    Drain STH
    Guano Apes (just the singer is a woman, ok)
    Veruca Salt

    Reply

  19. i don’t care aslong as i like the vocals apart from that i can’t hear the difference anyway.
    the thing is i like certain genres of music that do have quite a few girls in the band mostly singers or bassist but those band’s would never get into rocksmith.
    if you’d like sth to look up:

    relentless
    sahara surfers
    electric wizard
    witch mountain
    blood ceremony
    fuzz manta
    black moth
    blues pills
    i guess i could find 10 more but i’m feeling like crap today

    and before anyone even tells me to “just request them”…yeah right…

    Reply

    1. btw…that last video was meant as a joke right? to me that isn’t music.
      now you CAN go ahead and be all awesome “it is music to ME” yeah i don’t care i clearly said “to me”

      btw i have yet to meet someone in my life who likes rotten apples on rs it’s just so unpleasent to the ears for me…
      i’ll listen to sahra surfers now 🙁

      Reply

      2. Make no mistake, even nails on a chalkboard is awesome when John Paul Jones is laying down a groove to it. xD

        Reply

  21. I would also hazzard a guess that the ratio of women to men that play this game is a lot lower than the ratio of female bands in the game

    Reply

  22. There should be more left handed red headed rock bands from the Netherlands… Is this really an issue? It’s a God damn music game not a fucking political engine for socio economic and gender equality game. I think we need more good music, how about pooring over the data of bands that haven’t released an album in 20 years and or are 3 chord wonders?

    Reply

      1. he s a bit right , this is a game , whatever the artist if this is good ill take it , but the wowan artist they choose over 85 % to 95% to me is pure bullshit and really poor band that makes a poor very poor result , but , theres

        Pat Benatar
        Vixen
        Joan Jett ( and the Blackheart )
        The Scnadal
        Lita Ford
        Warlock
        Paramore ( a good one not a radio friendly giligili one..but shes just a voice not a band or a guitar band )

        i might know 5 to 10 more that escape me right now.

        I can talk about bands i want in a genre i want that are surely under 10 % in the game and i dont cry by creating a topic about it . I’d really love when im looking at this forum and see that next week artist gonna be a guitar centered band or a good guitarist , a band that brings energy while they play or power ballad , not some slow stuff that my counscience dies at 11 sec .

        if this

        Alanis Morissette
        Tina Turner
        The Donnas
        Janis Joplin
        Sheryl Crow
        Alabama Shakes
        Florence & The Machine
        Aretha Franklin
        Pink
        Bonnie Raitt
        Cher
        Shania Twain
        The pussycat Dolls ( i might not be surprised , but this games goes to hell if this happen )
        Beyonce
        Rihanna
        Barbara Streisand

        anyway even listing the whole world female band list or band with one female , i don’t fucking as long as there music guitar centered band not just one persone with a voice that makes the band but because she sells a millions or more RS or UBI are gonna let them because they will bring money , poor guitar tab …anything from female before the 2000 and i think i might not be dissapointed all the time. seriously if you needed more affluence on your site tyhis topics gonna bring you that ( putting oil on fire for nothing ) Do a bio for the band that s gonna releash of each band member in it , instead of bringing this kind of subject that s goinna divide for nothing

        Reply

      1. You know, I don’t really get involved with the whole GamerGate thing, because I’m no sure what it is. But I’ve never seen such brutal harassment as I’ve seen against people in that movement. Yeah, I’m sure GamerGaters have said some nasty things to, but I see no records of nearly as many threats of violence and harassment as I’ve seen against them.

        Reply

  27. As far as the “need more women” thing goes, most rock music (and especially the harder stuff) is produced by men. That’s neither good or bad, it just is. It’s a nice op-ed piece though, I always enjoy these side articles that get me thinking differently.
    Now, if you want my votes for more girl powered rock, look no further than Nightwish, Orianthi, and just for giggles, Babymetal.

    Reply

  28. Melissa Etheridge!

    The Runaways, Sonic Youth, Pat Benatar, more Heart, Alanis, Jewel, Tina Turner, Joan Jett, more No Doubt, The Donnas, Janis Joplin, Sheryl Crow, Alabama Shakes, Florence & The Machine, Aretha Franklin, Hole, The Go-Go’s, Pink, more Fleetwood Mac, Stevie Nicks solo, more Blondie, Patti Smith, Paramore, Bonnie Raitt, Mamas & The Papas, 60s-80s Cher, Pretenders, Dixie Chicks, B-52’s, Supremes.

    A 60’s girl group pack could be fun.

    Reply

  29. I wish we could get pack of women bass players like Kim deal, Kim gordon , Jeanette Napolitano, Julianna Hatfield and girl from superchunk

    Reply

  30. Honestly who the F*#@ cares if a song or band is mostly women or men. If it’s good quality music it should make the cut not just cause of gender. That’s just bullsh!*

    Reply

    1. :+1:

      I agree. I like male bands. I like female bands. I like bands with both sexes. Why should this even be an issue?

      I don’t hear a man or a woman playing that riff, just an awesome guitarist. Why does it matter their sex?

      I think it is fashionable to project sexual politics onto the video game industry. This is just someone trying to get a rise out of men to be able to quote a bunch of hate speech. You wouldn’t write a throwaway comment like “Need more girl bands” without suggesting bands that they like unless they are accusing the game of sexism.

      If they had said, “Need more girl bands like….” then its no longer just a troll comment. No longer an accusation.

      This and the fact that there are very few all female bands in the first place, makes me think that this is no more than troll-bait, and we are falling for it, just like we always do.

      The comment also dismisses mixed sex bands as not promoting the female agenda. That The Breeders, because Jim Macpherson is a member, dismisses the fact that Kim Deal is an absolute Rock God, as good a musician as anybody in the industry today.

      If a band once had a male member, but doesn’t in its current composition, disqualify it from holding “Girl Band” status or vice versa?

      It’s the same in the Science and IT communities. “We need more women in your Lab!” Never “We need more women in your lab, here is a list of 10 qualified candidates for the job.”

      I’d be more than happy to employ women in my industry, they just don’t exist in large numbers.

      Discussion about sexism in any area of society should be welcomed, but this seems to be nothing more than an unfounded, unsubstantiated accusation in a throwaway, single line comment on social media. Throw it on the pile and move on.

      We are just feeding the trolls.

      Reply

        1. I could joke and say yes, but no I believe that Elliot has always been fair and rational in his posts. He asks for rational, reasoned, discourse always.

          I think however that the question is loaded. That the answer to “Are there enough women in Rocksmith content?” has a simple answer.

          You don’t listen to men or women, you listen to music. Strip away the lyrics and you have no way of knowing the sex of the musician. When men and women play music together it is not mixed gender music. It does not matter the gender of those playing to the listener.

          The music *industry* may be sexist. If you want to argue from that point of view, fair enough. Do men in the music business get paid more than women might be something to discuss, but not this.

          My final point would be that I believe that we need good content, regardless of who made it.

          Do you have any comment as to the other points I made Mike or do you just take umbrage at my portrayal of Elliot as a feeder of gamer gate internet trolls?

          Reply

  31. I’ve requested Lita Ford songs before. Arguably the best female rock guitarist of the 80s definitely the most talented member of the runaways. I’d love to play the solo at the end of kiss me deadly

    Reply

  32. I would love for there to be more female musicians, especially singers, represented in Rocksmith. I like and have requested several bands that feature females.

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  34. maybe we could have conchita wurst offa Eurovision ,wears a dress got a beard and may even have a penis.why o why does rock smith not have more ball gown wearing beardy transgender dlc. Music is not a feminist issue .i don’t care if a musician has a penis count of zero or even three it’s about the music

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  35. The developers also have to factor cost of production compared to projected sales figures and actual demand…What business sense does it make to produce content just to be inclusionary??

    I’m all for more female artists to be featured but with the exception of the truly big names the best solution would be using female artists as supplements turning 3 packs into 5-7 packs or having a larger supplemental or special edition packs like they did with Hendrix which rocksmith should do more of anyway

    Reply

    1. >produce content just to be inclusionary??

      A lot of you keep saying this but why is it inclusionary to put in good music by people that aren’t men?

      Reply

      1. Article reads like it’s pushing for more music made by females irrespective of whether there’s a substantial demand for it through song requests.

        But who knows why there aren’t more women in Rocksmith.

        Reply

  36. The list doesn’t have Fleetwood Mac – Go your own way (Stevie Nicks and Christine McVie), REM – Shiny happy people (Kate Pierson) or Jack White – Sixteen saltines (Carla Azar and Brooke Waggoner).

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  38. Wouldn’t mind seeing packs of Halestorm, Kaki King, The Pretenders, Otep, The Pretty Reckless, Arch Enemy, or more Fleetwood Mac and Heart. I’m pretty indifferent to the issue though. Songs/bands are either good or they aren’t. I don’t really consider gender of band members when deciding whether or not I like it.

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  41. P!nk – mainly simple tracks on guitar, some nice low hanging fruit so to say, but really fun tracks.
    Fugees or Lauren Hill’s solo work – I don’t care if a few of them are bass only, still worthwhile.
    The Corrs – so many great tracks.
    Macy Gray – a guilty pleasure of mine for ages.
    Skulker – Australian semi punk/rock, some fun (also fairly easy) guitar parts. (youtube Hej or Naughty)
    Liz Phair – might be some censorship needed in some of her work, but some really good songs.
    The Bangles – Wife suggestion, I’m not taking the blame for that one.
    Jewel.
    Frente!
    Natalia Imbruglia (as long as Toy doesn’t try singing)
    Kate Bush.
    Nelly Furtado.

    The list can go on for ages, I’ve requested tracks from at least half of these artists already.

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  42. Great topic for discussion. I have thought of the seeming lack of women artists in rocksmith. I’d love to see some artists like the Pretty Reckless, Girl in a Coma, Wolf Alice, St. Vincent and more Lizzy Hale.

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  43. I was thinking about this the other day, actually! Three more songs to add:

    The Breeders – Cannonball
    Edie Brickell & New Bohemians – What I Am (GREAT guitar solo)
    4 Non Blondes – What’s Up

    These should definitely be added at some point! I just requested all three.

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  44. Ok, first let me admit, i have a penis.

    Second, music is an art, not a platform to force gender neutrality, racism or religious perspecrives. We enjoy music that hits us where it feels good, regardless of who sings ut, plays it, or promotes it. I would much rather play good music that makes feel good, accomplished and rewarding. I would not enjoy playing shitty music just beacause some feminists feel they are notrepresented enough so Rocksmith forces crap down our throat just beacause a female sang the song or played the solo. Dont get me wrong, there are some great female artists out there that i would enjoy playing to, but not enough to dominate my playlist. So lets just focus on quality, not quantity.

    Third, i like potatoes.

    Reply

    1. It is incredibly sad that you even felt the need to include that first sentence. I feel like it came from reading that particularly sexist comment in the FB comments didn’t it? Did they really not notice their blatant hypocrisy? Doing things for the sake of meeting quotas is NOT good.

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  45. I’m honestly indifferent to all of this. Though I will say that there are lots of female artists that definitely would be welcome in the Rocksmith library, but talking strictly about percentages soon gets a bit ugly. I live in Sweden, a country obsessed with equal statistical representation for all groups of people, and while equal representation sounds good in theory, it just doesn’t work in practice for some reason, there are simply too many trade offs. Sorry for getting a bit political at the end there.

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  46. The thing is, if there’s a historic bias in the music industry towards male performers, which there arguably is, then Rocksmith will naturally show a gender bias if they attempt to accurately cull a representational sample of hits from various eras. It also probably creates a gender bias in requests, since people request the hits they grew up listening to. The only way to avoid it is by having an intentional bias towards overrepresentation of female artists, which may or may not be a good thing.

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  47. I don’t care enough about gender (or the musicians background in general) to actually have figures myself, but i have the impression that at least the music i listen to is male dominated. Most time’s when i see any live videos there’s mostly guys on the stage.

    I do have idly wondered why, maybe it’s because i prefer instrumental music anyways, but i don’t really care and my first reaction to reading this was: Oh noes, not another made up gender issue. If you think this actually is an issue, then it might be quite unfair to blame Rocksmith’s Devs.
    When you actually write the percentage of female focused songs down to make a point, that should be put into relation to the percentage of femele focused songs available to correctly put in in perspective.

    To end on an agreeing note: There are some songs here wich i would love to see added though.

    Reply

    1. >If you think this actually is an issue, then it might be quite unfair to blame Rocksmith’s Devs.

      The blame isn’t being put on the developers, there is no blame really. The aim of the article is to do the following.

      1) point out something maybe nobody considered
      2) get people to think in a different way about representation in guitar driven music
      3) get people to consider requesting or listening to music that isn’t male dominated

      That’s all 🙂

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      1. That may have been your aim, but that’s not necessarily how the article comes across.

        For an opinion piece there’s not much in the way of opinion (fair enough if you want to stimulate discussion rather than pontificate), but describing this as a “controversial subject” and asking questions such as “Are you surprised at the lack of gender representation…?” and “do such things not concern you?” kinda suggests that you think there is an issue, or why are you writing the article?

        We are given the figure of 8% with no real context: what is the particpation rate in popular music in general? All we know is that 8% is a lot less than 50%, and given that you set up a poll to see if we think this is an issue, it’s not unreasonable to come to the conclusion that maybe there is indeed a problem here.

        And if there is a problem, who is to blame? The music industry? Consumers? Society in general? I think these are interesting questions, and if you don’t agree, why did you write the article?

        If your article was supposed to be “Hey, there aren’t many female musicians in Rocksmith. Wouldn’t it be great if there were more? Who has some suggestions?” then I would be right behind you, but that wasn’t what you wrote. Try substituting “female” for “Australian” in the article and you’ll see what I mean.

        That said, why is nobody talking about PJ Harvey here? Is she not big in North America?

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      1. if we can have stats of the selling dlc maybe we could understand why some band make their appearance or not , im sure theres a corelation about it , if this topic means to get to know about what ppl thinks on social media by consideration ( young ppl aged to 25 or younger to try to sell more because they might sells but when you put megadeth , offspring and whats been given from the start of the years, it targets a certain kind of person that listen or play music , if they want to make more sells about band over 2000 that have a female in their lineup , i find this ridiculous . i have said before an idea that could sound good you divide the month week per week and try not to give the same genre each month or put 2 , 3 pack or different genre each weeks, Ubi and RS have to reconsider the way dlc is getting out, If i was a multi billionaire , i would have created THE Music Game with a big M and G , you will found almost everything and have alot more feature in it. if they just sits on the game waiting for money and try to put dlc thats cost less just to make more money , this game is gonna blow up .

        They need a new Rocksmith version with at least i see 4 to 5 new thing to do ( online multi player , when youll had this and ppl could play online on vs or in team , man your gonna make money there plus other feature like creating your song to register a total of 10 or 12 on your profile , other stuff , upgraded ranking just one list.

        Go back to 1965 and
        take each years and had a pack of 10 song that represented that years until 2010.

        im sure you can do this 4 time / 3 month you choose someone from the game a player and he can choose a 5 pack of its own ( under the restriction you have it can be done but how much work would it take alot for sure but i think if you do that this game is gonna be in the top 3 for this years and the most played for 10-20 if you dont change anything after ( but im dreaming , no one s gonna take the chance so i gotta work my ass off to someday created the game that ppl wont be able to criticize , oh yes only King of leon followers because this band wont be include in my game 😀 ( jk …finally nah…that’s all folks )

        Reply

        1. The New Rocksmith Platform–The Rocksmith VSM

          I think you touched on something that should be looked at–the online play.

          I’m not advocating this as someone who plays games online. (Prior to this idea I didn’t have the time or interest) What I think would be a great idea is to create an online session mode. The idea is to take the old concept of the garage band you and a few friends (from the neighborhood or from school) getting together and coming up with something.

          The play should be set so that up to 3 players (leave that last slot open for percussion) could meet online and jam with each other. It’s like a virtual band. Music is an international language. Imagine if (for example) a couple of individuals from Thailand, the US, and Mexico got together, created a band and collectively went on to become famous due that original meeting on Rocksmith’s Virtual Session Mode(VSM).

          I know someone out there is listening.

          Reply

          1. I’ve been wanting something like this for years. A third spot for drums and a forth for a singer and we can..”start a band and rock the world”…. only for real. i know a few good drummers and singers….. Lets make something groovy happen rocksmith! 🙂

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  49. You didn’t list Meg White for Icky Thump in RS1, and doesn’t Sore Tummy from RS2014 have male and female vocals harmonizing?

    Anyway I’d love to see some Distillers added, and hopefully you’re right that Joan Jett is inevitable.

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  50. First off, and I’ve mentioned this before, in my opinion(<–key words here) 2 song are essential for any guitar game–Johnny B Goode and I Love Rock N Roll. Yes they're old. Yes they're probably not that difficult to play, but when you talk essentials, those 2 belong at the top. If we talk, "representation" then one artist fits into the current topic of discussion and the other fits into what should be a future topic.

    The other thing to consider is the varied genres that we should be looking at with regard to the topic of Women represented on Rocksmith. I like how you spread it around–Alabama Shakes, Sheryl Crow, The Pretenders, Roxette, and even though I'm not a fan Alanis Morissette. There's more than just rock, punk and metal out there.

    Always a champion of the blues, I would like to see:
    Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Koko Taylor, and Bonnie Raitt Could even include music from the CD Lou Ann Barton did with Jimmie Vaughan.

    Among the genres that have received piss poor representation on Rocksmith, I would include more country.
    The Dixie Chicks (especially music from the Home album)

    Lastly, and I'm not a fan but the question has to be asked. Are Jefferson Airplane on Rocksmith? (kind of before my time, but I know someone out there is looking for them)

    This raises the final question. If Ubisoft considers our requests (I've made mine for those artists mentioned above) are you all requesting these artists? My guess is that this would be the only way these worthy artists have DLC.

    Reply

    1. >Lastly, and I’m not a fan but the question has to be asked. Are Jefferson Airplane on Rocksmith? (kind of before my time, but I know someone out there is looking for them)

      No, unfortunately not.

      Reply

    1. unfortunaly the only songs people will vote for by them is sweet dreams with is mostly synth and bass. I personaly want the Manson version of it. I rember like with holy diver the dio version came out first and I almost bought it the the KSE version came out like a week or two later in their pack.

      Reply

  54. 10,000 Maniacs/Natalie Merchant, diVinyls, Juice Newton, Linda Ronstadt, Shawn Colvin, Sixpence None the Richer, The Corrs, The Motels, Go Go’s, Elastica, Bonnie Raitt, Tracy Chapman, Paula Cole, K.D. Lang, Jewel, The Donnas, The Black Belles…

    Reply

      1. Elliott is right, there is so much dadrock and “arguably punk”

        Thanks for starting the conversation, that St. Vincent post the other day led me to request a bunch more stuff, including some Distillers and some Sleater-Kinney.

        I play bass, but I also play guitar, I’d love to learn the Sleater-Kinney stuff on guitar. (but I’d also love DOS from Mike Watt and Kira)

        Wild Flag is one of Carrie’s other groups and it’s pretty great. Worriers/Measure(SA)is a nother great band with a female front woman.

        Reply

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