While my neighbours gently weep...

So many things I was going to write about...

I was going to write about how Toonami changed - but in a bad way.

I was going to write about Xfm's Music Response show and how it's gone from being smoothly presented by a sexy London couple to being barked by a Manc whose eaten all the pies and tries to get his own name on air as much as possible, almost as if he's afraid people will forget who he is. (last night's gem - "if you like them you can download their new single from t' Clinternet" oh yes - that's going to catch on.) Of course we love him really, please don't send the army round...

But I didn't - I've got round to posting finally because of another video game, I'm afraid.

Guitar Hero isn't really like any other game so it's tough to describe - it's basically an air guitar made flesh. It's like your Freq from amplitude stepped out of the screen and handed you an instument. It's nothing whatsoever like playing a guitar.

When I first heard about guitar hero I had a radical life-improving thought - 'what if' I thought 'when it's released I spend all the time I would've spent playing it, learning to play a real guitar?' I could've blogged my progress on REALguitarHero.com, posted mp3s and pictures of my bleeding hands. But I didn't do that - I got the game instead. And now becasue my hands really ARE bleeding and I can't play, i'm writing this post.

While Guitar Hero is nothing like playing a real guitar, i think it probably hurts as much - I've got about 75% of the way through (Symphony of destruction on expert) and i was steadily improving, but it's going to be tough to get any further because by the time the swelling goes down I'll have to go right back to strumming smoke on the water. But I will go back - because it's simply the most addictive game i've played since amplitude Music makes a very pure feedback system - the carrot is order, harmony, the stick is discordant sound or silence, and it's so simple and instant, that the zone beckons...as combos go into physical memory and previously impossible passages become a walk in the park.

I was accused of 'just playing random notes' during a tricky solo - of course i was playing random notes - when the notes come flying you can't think, your best hope is to shut down the brain and hope your fingers figure it out. And when they do it's an exhilarating, euphoric experience.

Hmmm maybe that's enough rest.