Yep, and this keyboard won’t just have five color-coded buttons on it. It’ll be a full 25-key, two-octave range keyboard, and you’ll be playing the actual notes you’d be playing on a real keyboard if you can ever find the time to put down the controller. You’ll start with very simple note ranges, but as you increase difficulty level, you’ll be using the full keyboard, and learning the real notes. Check out the video below to see an early prototype of the keyboard in action, and hear more about the game’s other new features:

[via GoNintendo]

Considering that MTV Games is half the power behind the Beatles edition of Rock Band, one might think the special would air on MTV. But they’re sure to include at least one song clip in the half-hour special, and that would result in actual music being played on MTV. We can’t have that! So the special has been shuffled off to VH1, is also owned by MTV’s parent company, Viacom.

The special, which is set to include interviews and behind-the-scenes footage from production, will premiere November 27th on VH1 Classic at 7:30 PM ET/PT, and will likely air many times after that.

[via Crispy Gamer]

The ten songs slated for inclusion are:

• “Another One Bites the Dust”
• “Crazy Little Thing Called Love”
• “One Vision”
• “Fat Bottomed Girls”
• “I Want It All”
• “I Want to Break Free”
• “Killer Queen”
• “Somebody to Love”
• “Tie Your Mother Down”
• “Under Pressure”

The Queen pack will be available October 20th. This is a great month for Rock Band DLC (but a bad one for your wallet), with Queen later and other much-needed holes being filled by The Raconteurs and Alanis Morissette October 8th.

[via Zergwatch]

The little scene that takes place during this gameplay clip is amusing, but it’s really the details that stick out to me, like the bricks on the note highway. I’m always enamored of the little things, and here it looks like the little things are going to be the cornerstone of the experience.

Well, that and the awesome LEGO dudes.

If you haven’t had enough of Rock Band and its ilk yet, the LEGO version is scheduled for this year, during the jam-packed holiday season.

[via Joystiq]

This new speculation comes after an interview with LA station KROQ conducted with Billie Joe Armstrong, in which the frontman said, “Uh yeah, we’re doing a whole Green Day Rock Band… uh.” And when asked about the timeframe, he said. “I’m not sure… soon. Like I think not this week, but this year soon… by the end of this year.”

So, we have a pause and an “uh,” which seems a fair foundation to base rumor and speculation that this is more than a trackpack on. But a full game coming soon, from the sound of it? Was Armstrong being mysterious, or are mountains being made from molehills here? Either way, Green Day is coming to Rock Band… in some capacity.

[Kotaku via CrunchGear]

Washboard Hero puts you in the role of the lead musician of a good old country jug band. With classics like Home, Home on the Homestead, O Me O My O Me, and my personal favorite Possum Pie, the game will surely be a knee slapping good time. The game ships with a special wireless washboard controller that works with all of today’s popular consoles.

While the initial version of the game will only support the washboard controller, a whole set of instruments is planned, including a jug that you can blow into, a two-string wash tub bass, a mouth harp, and get this – a set of electronic spoons you can clack around on you kneecaps.

I just can’t wait for Spring to arrive.

Originally a one-of-a-kind guitar mod designed by a guy going by the name A4AJ, it’s now available as a (patent-pending) kit you can install on your own guitar.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

The kit includes everything you need to swap out the plastic bar with a playable string, special strum switch, along with several metal strings, springs and even a Fender guitar pick. Yep, with this mod in place and the tension cranked up, you can play the guitar with a pick!

Keep in mind that the kit does not include the guitar or the wood backboard, and requires that you perform some fairly significant surgery (Dremel, drilling and soldering) on your stock Stratocaster — obviously voiding your warranty.

The kit works with the PS2, PS3 or Xbox 360 versions of the guitar and is currently up for auction on eBay with a starting bid of $75. At this point A4AJ hasn’t geared up production on the kit, so you’ll have to have the top bid if you want this one.

There are currently 74 tracks available in the collection, and at 99 cents each, you’re looking at a whopping $73.26 to pick up the entire set. It’s the perfect way to memorize all the tunes while you’re riding the bus to work so you can defeat your online foes in a blaze of glory over the weekend.

Keep in mind that the iTunes track list isn’t an exact match for the game. For instance, tracks which are cover versions in the game are done by the original artist on iTunes (too bad they’re not that way in the game). There are a handful of other disparities too, but not enough to take away from the sheer awesomeness of the one-stop-shop library.

If you happen to have iTunes installed, you can check out the entire collection here.

[via X3F via TUAW]

In a third-quarter financial conference call today, Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitiello mentioned in passing that Rock Band is currently in development for the Nintendo Wii.

No release date or pricing was revealed, but I’d say we’ll see it this Fall, so EA can take full advantage of the 2008 holiday season. Stay tuned for more details.

[via IGN]

I was over on Amazon earlier today and came across this product listing:

Listing a November 20th release date, the $199 “Rock Band Collection” for the Xbox 360 and PS3 looks like it’s a complete set that includes the game and all of the instruments.

If I’m doing my math right, the bundle should save you about $50 bucks, since the unbundled controllers and game add up to about $250. Purchased separately, the wireless guitar and drum kit are each listed at $79.99, the microphone $29.99, and the game $59.99.

While Rock Band isn’t gonna be the cheapest game to get up and running with, it sure looks like a lot of fun.

[Order this item from Amazon]