Wikipedia:Peer review/Virtual band/archive2

Virtual band
Okay, it's been five months since the last peer review for this article (the original can be found here), and, while it's had some changes here and there, editing for the article has come to a virtual standstill. I would really like to bring this article up to FAC standard, if that's at all possible, and, as you can see, the likelihood of that is very slim, mostly because the article is W-A-A-Y too short.

I will value your suggestions, but I will also ask of you to contribute to the article if that is at all possible (and I don't just mean listing bands, which may be another thing that needs to be addressed). --JB Adder | Talk 13:35, 26 September 2005 (UTC)


 * You need to discuss Alvin and the Chipmunks more. "The Chipmunk Song" reached number one on the US charts in 1958 and therefore pre-dates The Archies. You should also discuss the Gorillaz more, as they are probably the most well-known virtual band today. They were also instrumental in popularizing virtual bands as a serious music-producing force amongst young adults. Their success is also noted by the Guiness Book of Records. You might also want to delve into issues of novelty and what constitutes virtual bands more. In this light, you might want to discuss Crazy Frog. The success of virtual bands, particularly of those with less artistic merit, might want to be discussed in light of theories from popular culture studies.  I may eventually be able to do some of this myself but I think it's worth getting the ideas out there. Cedars 01:45, 28 September 2005 (UTC)


 * I'm not sure why a virtual band has to be animated. What about The Banana Splits, The Electric Mayhem, and The Country Bear Jamboree? BrianSmithson 11:47, 28 September 2005 (UTC)
 * The Banana Splits and the Electric Mayhem are, in fact, animated (believe it or not, puppetry does sometimes get put under animation), but they are included just the same. The Country Bears Jamboree, however, is an amusement ride, not a band, and so aren't (or won't be) listed. I'm actually going to go into the role of virtual bands in show promotion (or vice versa) in the article when I expand it. --JB Adder | Talk 15:18, 28 September 2005 (UTC)
 * You should probably remove the "animated" qualifier, then. Including puppetry and guys in costumes is a bit of a stretch if being "animated" is a prerequisite for being a virtual band. As for The Country Bears, perhaps they were a bad example; I've never been on the ride, but I assumed the animatronic characters all performed together as an ensemble. Perhaps a better example of animatronics as a virtual band would be the singing characters from Chuck E. Cheese's. Another thought is that one might also include bands who only exist on paper. The Archies and Josie and the Pussycats were in comic books before animation, weren't they? There are bound to be some examples of bands in literature out there. Do they count? Another suggestion I'd give is to avoid making the article into a band-by-band breakdown. The article needs to take a holistic approach, listing, for example, reasons for creating virtual bands, or marketing of virtual bands (how do The Gorillaz do concerts if they're not real?). That said, I'll list a few other bands I thought of that you might use in examples: Jem and the Holograms, and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (they once had a live concert tour). But again, it'd be best to avoid band-by-band breakdown. BrianSmithson 17:29, 28 September 2005 (UTC)
 * True, I did stretch it a little here by putting in the "animated" qualifier, but I'll still keep it in for the moment. As for the bands, I'm trying to keep with ones that fit the following criteria :
 * They recorded and released at least one song (distribution medium aside), ie no completely fictitious bands;
 * They had some impact in the music arena.
 * Remember to justify your reasons for inclusion. --JB Adder | Talk 22:59, 28 September 2005 (UTC)
 * For clarification, the previous two points are from the same author. --JB Adder | Talk 22:59, 28 September 2005 (UTC)


 * One other thought (sorry for the disjointedness): Should you get this article fleshed out quite a bit, you might consider moving the list section to its own article (perhaps List of virtual bands). Otherwise, people will continue to add their favorite bands, and your article will be inundated with dozens of references to little-known anime series, video games, and Star Trek episodes. Good luck on the article! I look forward to future additions. BrianSmithson 23:23, 28 September 2005 (UTC)
 * Hmm, that suggestion is a bit of a Catch-22, since, if it goes into its own article, it could be put up for merging, and if I don't, like you said, I could be inundated with garbage. I did at least have a think about that kind of thing, and have thus put the warning (as the comment) to sufficiently justify the band's inclusion into the list. In all hope, it should work, but there will always be at least one person who'll misuse the system, so I'll have to take a chance. Thanks for the suggestion anyhow. --JB Adder | Talk