I am the Hero of the Guitar

I am a guitar hero. If by "guitar" you mean "plastic video game controller shaped like a Les Paul", and by "hero" you mean "guy who plays too many video games." I bought Guitar Hero III for the Wii this weekend (Wii-kend? No.) and I can't stop the rockin'! I have watched friends playing the game before and, honestly, people look kind of lame when playing it. But when YOU are the one playing, you feel like a rock god. It's just awesome. I love making clicky noises on a small plastic guitar and having it translate into the solos from Paint It Black, My Name is Jonas, Anarchy in the UK, Smoke on the Water, and others. And soon, Welcome to the Jungle will be unlocked. I can't wait!

Now, the interesting thing is that I actually play the guitar. The whole time I'm playing the game, I'm no more than 5 feet away from my actual guitars, with which I could make actual music. Unfortunately, I'm not very good at the real guitar. I'm getting VERY good at the fake plastic guitar. I'm not quite sure how proud of that I should be, but I am.

The game is just too much fun. It makes me want to go out and buy a PS2 so I can play the first two versions of the game. I keep hearing songs and thinking, "Red, Blue, Blue, Yellow, Yellow/Green." It's this kind of addiction to games that has kept me away from cigarettes and drugs. When I get hooked on something, I'm hooked good. I guess I should be lucky it's just a video game.

Will this game actually improve my guitar skills (Skillz? No.)? Probably not, although my left hand will probably be more dexterous and strong when all is said and done. But if a band is ever looking for a guy to make clicking noises with an electronic toy, I'm their man.

Cheers,
Eli