And the 20 Additional Songs for ROCK BAND 2 Are...

There just aren't any name bands to get excited about or even to summon the energy to hate. This release says "We wanted to make sure we had 500 songs available by year's end and it's quantity over quality this time,". That's not to say that maybe these songs won't be fun to play.

That's the tricky thing about "Rock Band": songs you think you'll love turn out to be less fun than you thought and songs you never heard of or never cared for turn out to be rather addicting. So while it's easy to direct some disdain towards Harmonix for not giving us tracks like "Smells Like Teen Spirit" or "Stairway to Heaven", it's twenty free songs. If you don't like them, you can just as easily delete them from your hard drive. I wish the same could be said of "Visions" by Abnormality which shouldn't even qualify as music.

Here's the twenty songs that will be available for download on November 4th (provided you followed the instructions on the back of your "Rock Band 2" game manual):

And here’s some background info about the bands joining the Rock Band music catalog:

The 88 (Island Def Jam) – The Los Angeles based rock band is best known for its eclectic sound and catchy melodies and has found a growing audience through TV, film, commercial placements and virally released videos and tracks.

Authority Zero (Big Panda) – The Mesa, Arizona based punk band produces a one-of-a kind rock sound with its mixture of reggae and skate punk style that features Spanish and Portuguese flare.

Between the Buried and Me (Victory) – The band got its start in Raleigh, North Carolina where it became best known for its classic metal style. The band released its most recent album, Colors Live, this month.

The Cab (Fueled by Ramen/Atlantic) – Recently named “The Band You Need to Know 2008” by Alternative Press magazine, The Cab is best known for its mixture of American rock sounds. The Las Vegas based band is part of the Rock Band Live Fall Tour line up currently making its way across the country.

The Chevelles (Wicked Cool) – The self described power pop band got its start in Australia in 1989 and has spent the last 18 years touring the world from Europe to South America. The Chevelles recently released the hit album Accelerator.

The Cocktail Slippers (Wicked Cool) – The all female rock band got its start in Norway before getting signed to Little Steven’s Wicked Cool Records. The Cocktail Slippers create a new rock sound based on their musical inspirations like the Ramones, MC5, Blondie, B52’s, Foo Fighters and the Queens of the Stoneage.

Dealership – The pop rock band from Berkley, Californiais best known for its recent album release, Action/Adventure, which features an electronic-n-rock collection. The band is currently working on its fourth album to be released this year.

Endeverafter (Razor & Tie) – The Northern California with and American rock style is best known for the release of its second single, “Baby, Baby, Baby”, which topped mainstream rock charts at #38.

The Ghost Hounds – The Los Angeles based rock band is best known for its rock n’blues sound. The band is currently working on its debut album that is scheduled to be released soon.

Hollywood Undead (Octane A&M) – The hip-hop metal band got its start in Los Angeles and recently released Swan Songs, an album that reached

#22 on the Billboard 200 in its first week selling more than 21,000 copies.

Kutless (Capitol) – The Christian alternative band got its start in Portland, Oregon and is best known for its album To Know That You’re Alive. The album, released in June 2008, debuted at#64 on the Billboard Top 200.

The Len Price 3 (Wicked Cool) – The UK based band is best known for its garage pop style that fuses catchy hooks and a raw 60’s garage sound. The band recently released its second album, Rent a crowd, in the US.

Lesley Roy (BMG) – The female singer from Ireland is best known for her single “I’m Gone, I’m Going” which received a large amount of air time in the US on radio stations in June of 2008. Lesley Roy’s debut album Unbeautiful is currently in retail stores.

Opiate for the Masses (Century Media) – The industrial rock band from Arizona is best known for its recently released album Manifesto. The band was also featured in the Van’s Warped Tour Documentary, Wake Up Screaming.

Semi-Precious Weapons (Razor & Tie) – The glam rock band got its start in New York City and recently released its second album, We Love You. The band was recently featured in Vogue magazine described as “unashamedly crass and deliciously animated".

Shaimus – The alternative rock band got its start in Los Angeles and has graced airwaves on main stream radio stations as well as XM radio. The band is best known for its memorable hooks, introspective lyrics and fiery guitar sound.

Thenewno2 – The alternative rock band made up of members from Los Angeles and the UK self describes its sounds assurf-rock. The band recently released its first album, You Are Here.

Tickle Me Pink (Wind Up) – The alternative rock band from Colorado is best known for its indie punk sound. The band recently released its debut album, Madeline, in July.

Underoath – The Grammy nominated band from Florida is best known for its album, Lost in the Sound of Separation, which peaked at #8 on the Billboard 200. The band describes its style asscreamo-metalcore.

XJapan (EMI Cap) – The Japanese metal band best known for its progressive sound got its start in 1982 and released three albums before calling it quits in1997. The band recently reunited to release “I.V.”

earlier this year.