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]

Here’s why not:

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

I suppose Microsoft threw away 99% of their ad money into their Seinfeld commercial, hence the adult movie like production. Seriously though, I’m okay with Songsmith being marketed for children, because it looks so easy to use. But then Microsoft goes beyond that and claims that Songsmith can be used by people who are serious about becoming musicians too. And that’s the part that I find hard to believe. Why? Watch the video again. This time try not to fall off your chair laughing and try to look at the UI. Or look at the screenshots. Or listen to this sample “guitar solo” that was made using the program. Doesn’t Songsmith feel basic, simple, cheap? Compare it with Ableton Live, which is used by professional artists like Imogen Heap and Telefon Tel Aviv:

or Sonar, which is used by musicians from all sorts of genres, from System of a Down to B.B. King to the Wu-Tang Clan:

All I’m saying is that Microsoft has a decent toy here, but it’s nothing more than that. You can’t even copy-paste a set of bars! Sonar and Live cost hundreds of dollars, but if you’re really serious about music and you really want to use software, then you’ll be getting more than your money’s worth with them. Songsmith is dirt cheap at $30, sure, but I think you get what you pay for. Stick with the kids Redmond. Songsmith isn’t for the serious musician.

[via Gear Crave]

Creative marketing company AKQA set up 49 microwaves to play Jingle Bells, one note per microwave. They sound a bit silly at the start, but… just watch it. Then hug your microwave.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

For some reason the video reminded me of The Brave Little Toaster. It’s like being next to a new loaf of bread.

[via Mark's Technology News]

Mr. Hopkinson’s Computer sings covers of everything from Radiohead to Portishead to The Stone Roses in his computerized drone.

In the video clip below, he even does a little sassy monologue and sings The Pixies classic Gigantic along with a live band.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Be sure to check out Mr. Hopkinson’s Computer Myspace page for more tunes. There are few more tracks here. (He’s also got a “girlfriend,” the Audrey 3000).

[Thanks for the tip, Heather!] 

The video shows off a nifty typographic animation designed by Erik Loyer which lets the user move the Wii-mote to influence the rendering of the text. As the controller moves, the text moves to match the angle and velocity of the control.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

For his demonstration, entitled “Swing,” Loyer shakes his controller to the tune of a hip Kurt Elling tune. As the lyrics appear on screen, they swing and bounce rhythmically to the music. The video is a bit long, but you’ll get the idea pretty quickly.