Quit hitting buttons and play real guitar

Going to the mall on the weekend of Black Friday, you see and hear a lot of things that irritate you.

There are the shoppers who go straight from the dinner table to the front of Wal-Mart to camp out like they're waiting for AC/DC tickets. As soon as the doors open, people bolt into the stores like it's the running of the bulls.

People turn into savages, fighting over the last DVD copy of "Hancock," using their purses and keys like savage bludgeoning tools.

But there is one thing more irritating than watching grown men and women fight over "Dora the Explorer" or "Little Einstein" -- hearing the distinct ping of drumsticks banging against a set of plastic drums on the display copy of "Rock Band."

At Best Buy, it's impossible to walk through the electronics section and not see a little kid trying to impress the mall-going public because he can keep a beat to the Foo Fighters' "Everlong." Walk further in the section and you can watch a rookie 30-year-old clicking away on a "Guitar Hero" controller incoherently to "YYZ" by Rush.

The interactive music games have taken the country by force: the "Guitar Hero" franchise has sold 23 million games, making over a billion dollars. "Rock Band" is right behind, selling 7 million games. VH1 Classic created a show called "Rock Band 2: The Stars," as game players try to impress Skid Row's Sebastian Bach and Alice Cooper with their gaming ability.

Seriously? Yes, the game is fun, but people take it way too seriously. And that needs to stop.

On online game forums, you can see people bragging about how they got the high score on one of the last songs on expert difficulty. The games have become a bragging tool for a person who is not good at something socially relevant. It's like being a winner and a loser at the same time.

But the biggest problem is that kids act like a game like "Guitar Hero" or "Rock Band" is a replacement for actual music.

Many people are not musically inclined (myself included) and have trouble playing musical instruments, which is the demographic that these games go for. But most of us have at least tried to pick up a guitar or bang on a drum set. It may have been the equivalent of hearing someone die, but at least the effort was there.

However, if a young kid believes that clicking a five-button controller over a master copy of a song is an accomplishment, then where is the desire to ever try and become a musician? Hell, cover bands are not even that lazy.

Imagine if Bob Dylan decided that he'd rather play "Guitar Hero" than learn acoustic guitar and become a muse of the 1960s. His musical ability would be as bad as his singing.

Games like "Guitar Hero" and "Rock Band" are not all bad. The fact is the game makes for a fun time at a party. It also helps young people listen to some great music from bands like Thin Lizzy or Stevie Ray Vaughan, which would never play on the radio with artists like Rihanna or Ne-Yo.

But before you think you're the Jimi Hendrix of "Guitar Hero," play the game with some discretion. Have fun playing, but don't take it seriously.

Instead of focusing so much energy on five buttons, focus some of that energy towards playing six strings.