Over the past decade or so gaming has continued to move more and more out of the niche market and into the mainstream. While the word "gamer" used to only apply to particularly socially maladjusted folks, nowadays you can hardly find anyone who doesn’t at least indulge in the occassional game of Madden or Guitar Hero. And now games have come to the apex of pop culture, as VH1 Classic has announced that they will begin running a reality show based on Rock Band 2.

The show, titled Rock Band 2: The Stars, will be hosted by Alice Cooper and Sebastian Bach, and features 12 contestants living together and vying for the title of best fake rock star in the history of plastic instruments. The show will then eliminate contestants one by one until its down to one person remaining on bass, drums, and guitar (apparently singers get left out in the cold, sorry), and then those three will compete for the ultimate prize, a spot on the Rock Band Live tour’s LA stop.

I wish I were making this up, I truly do. In fact, I’m still waiting for Entertainment Weekly to jump up and yell "gotcha sucker!" so I can laugh at my own gullibility and continue believing in the human race. Unfortunately, this is all too real and I’m left wanting the sweet embrace of death only Al Gore’s global warming can bring.