Guys, it’s nearly here! After months and months of anticipation and excitement, we’re only a few days away from the release of Rock Band 4. So while you wait with bated breath to tear into your pre-ordered copy of the game, why not kill some time reading through this list of fun and/or useless about the game’s setlist!

Previous Rock Band Appearances

Of the total 65 songs on the Rock Band 4 setlist, a whopping 36 of those artists are brand new additions to the Rock Band library – considering the vast size of that total library now, eight years after the original game’s release, it’s amazing to see so many new bands being added!

Though admittedly, of that 36, one is Jack White, making his solo debut in the Rock Band catalogue with “Lazaretto.” However, between his various bands – The White Stripes, The Raconteurs and The Dead Weather – there are already 13 songs featuring his idiosyncratic talent in the library.

Similarly, Mark Ronson is making his RB debut with “Uptown Funk,” but the featured vocalist on that track, Bruno Mars, already has a 3-pack of DLC available in the store; Jeff Allen is also making his solo debut, while featured vocalist Noelle LeBlanc already has 4 songs available as the singer/guitarist of Damone.

The Who continue their streak of being the only band to have a song featured on all four core Rock Band titles:

“Won’t Get Fooled Again” in Rock Band

“Pinball Wizard” in Rock Band 2

“I Can See for Miles” in Rock Band 3

and now “The Seeker” in Rock Band 4

Similarly, Josh Homme has also appeared on all four games:

Queens of the Stone Age – “Go With the Flow” in Rock Band

– “Go With the Flow” in Rock Band Guest vocals/guitar on Mastodon – “Colony of Birchmen” in Rock Band 2

– “Colony of Birchmen” in Rock Band 2 Them Crooked Vultures – “Dead End Friends” and Queens of the Stone Age – “No One Knows” in Rock Band 3

– “Dead End Friends” and – “No One Knows” in Rock Band 3 and now Queens of the Stone Age – “My God is the Sun” in Rock Band 4

And of course, ubiquitous legend Dave Grohl has appeared in all four. Continuing the trend set by previous RB titles, he again features twice on the Rock Band 4 setlist, leading to an impressive 10 total on-disc appearances across the four games:

Nirvana – “In Bloom,” Foo Fighters – “Learn to Fly” and Queens of the Stone Age – “Go With The Flow” in Rock Band

– “In Bloom,” – “Learn to Fly” and – “Go With The Flow” in Rock Band Foo Fighters – “Everlong,” Nirvana – “Drain You” and Tenacious D – “Master Exploder” in Rock Band 2

– “Everlong,” – “Drain You” and – “Master Exploder” in Rock Band 2 Them Crooked Vultures – “Dead End Friends” and Queens of the Stone Age – “No One Knows” in Rock Band 3

– “Dead End Friends” and – “No One Knows” in Rock Band 3 and Foo Fighters – “Feast and the Famine” and Queens of the Stone Age – “My God is the Sun” in Rock Band 4

On a similar vein, while they missed out a spot on the Rock Band 3 setlist, Foo Fighters now hold the record for appearing on the most total Rock Band titles, with Rock Band 4 their fifth appearance:

“Learn to Fly” in Rock Band

“Everlong” in Rock Band 2

“Breakout” in Lego Rock Band

“These Days” in Rock Band Blitz

“The Feast and the Famine” in Rock Band 4

If you include handheld spinoffs, that tally rises to seven appearances, with “Everlong” featuring in both PSP title Rock Band Unplugged and Rock Band iOS.

There are six artists who have now appeared on 3 out of the 4 core Rock Band titles:

Avenged Sevenfold – “Almost Easy” in RB2, “Beast and the Harlot” in RB3 and “Hail to the King” in RB4 (as well as “So Far Away” in Rock Band Blitz)

“Almost Easy” in RB2, “Beast and the Harlot” in RB3 and “Hail to the King” in RB4 (as well as “So Far Away” in Rock Band Blitz) Paramore – “That’s What You Get” in RB2, “Misery Business” in RB3 and “Still Into You”in RB4

– “That’s What You Get” in RB2, “Misery Business” in RB3 and “Still Into You”in RB4 Queens of the Stone Age – “Go With the Flow” in RB, “No One Knows” in RB3 and “My God is the Sun” in RB4

– “Go With the Flow” in RB, “No One Knows” in RB3 and “My God is the Sun” in RB4 Rush – “Tom Sawyer” in RB, “The Trees” in RB2 and “A Passage to Bangkok” in RB4

– “Tom Sawyer” in RB, “The Trees” in RB2 and “A Passage to Bangkok” in RB4 Soundgarden – “Black Hole Sun” in RB, “Spoonman” in RB2 and “Superunknown” in RB4

Nationality

Scaling back from the cultural diversity of Rock Band 3’s setlist, the majority of RB4’s artists are American – a total of 48 out of the game’s total 65 songs, or 74%. (NB: that includes Armenian-American band System of a Down). Compared to previous Rock Band games, that is just shy of the first Rock Band’s 76%, less than RB2’s 81%, but an increase on RB3’s 53%.

Of the remaining 17 songs, 12 are from British artists (including the Northern Irish Van Morrison). Percentage-wise, that equates to 18% of the setlist, compared to RB1’s 17%, 13% in RB2 and 24% in RB3.

The nationality of the remaining four artists are as follows:

Canada – Rush

Germany – Scorpions

Ireland – U2

Mexico – The Warning

Release Dates

The Rock Band 4 setlist definitely skews more towards newer music than the previous titles, with only 25 songs (38%) released before the year 2000. Conversely, 32 songs – approximately half of the entire setlist – were released in the last five years, with an impressive 10 of those released this year alone.

The oldest song in the game is Van Morrison – “Brown Eyed Girl”, originally released in 1967, predating Elvis Presley – “Suspicious Minds” by two years. Seven of the songs were released in the 70’s, eight in the 80’s, nine from the 90’s and five from the 00’s.

Interestingly, despite the skew towards newer releases (or maybe because of), a surprising number of songs are from later-career periods for a lot of the artists, with 21 of the songs (32%) appearing on at least the bands’ fifth album, if not more. The most distinct example of this is “Halls of Valhalla,” taken from Judas Preist’s eighteenth album, released nearly 45 years into the band’s career.

Miscellaneous Facts

Twelve of the songs have a female lead vocalist, which is the same amount that Rock Band 3 had. Rock Band’s setlist had seven, and Rock Band 2’s had fourteen. Special mention to The Both, the Aimee Mann/Ted Leo duo who share equal vocal duties and alternate leads during verses on “Milwaukee,” making a de facto lead singer harder to call.

With RB4 adding another two songs featuring Dave Grohl‘s handiwork, where does that take his total Rock Band Library tally to? Thanks to the vast catalogue of both Foo Fighters (32) and Nirvana classics ( 16 15), the 2 Them Crooked Vultures songs, and his drum work on 3 QOTSA tracks, all 5 of Tenacious D’s appearances, and 1 Nine Inch Nails track, there’s now a whopping total of 59 songs featuring Dave Grohl available in the Rock Band library.

Rock Band 4 features both Aerosmith’s “Toys in the Attic” and Van Halen’s “Panama,” songs that were both used in their respective band-centric Guitar Hero games. By the same token, Green Day’s “American Idiot” was included in Green Day: Rock Band, and is a part of the setlist for the upcoming Guitar Hero Live.

Both U2’s “Cedarwood Road” and “Fever” by The Black Keys were produced by Brian Burton (aka Danger Mouse), who also plays keyboard parts on both tracks, as well as bass on “Fever”.

While some of you might not recognise the band Tijuana Sweetheart, you’ve no doubt heard/played their music before; they changed their name in 2010, but they were originally known as VAGIANT, and their song “Seven” was featured in the first Rock Band.

Patrick Carney of The Black Keys composed the opening theme to the Netflix show BoJack Horseman, while the closing theme is composed/performed by Grouplove. Both bands are making their on-disc debut in Rock Band 4. Similarly, Cake are making their RB debut with “Short Skirt/Long Jacket,” which was used as the theme song for NBC show Chuck.

And finally…

This is perhaps the coolest fact of all: while a large number of Rock Band 4’s setlist are songs that have been released in the eight years since the original game’s release, there’s one notable band who definitely couldn’t have had a song appear in the first Rock Band: The Warning. Firstly, the trio are all under the age of 16, but most importantly, what inspired them to learn their respective instruments was their love of playing Rock Band!

Any other fun facts or interesting information we’ve missed? Let us know in the comments below!