Showing posts with label soundtrack. Show all posts
Showing posts with label soundtrack. Show all posts
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The Grand Theft Auto V Soundtrack


So I should elucidate from the outset that I don't historically care much for videogames. I happen to like the videogame Grand Theft Auto series because 1) It's basically a sandbox in a massive free-roam environment so it doesn't matter if I suck at videogames, and 2) The soundtracks are always spot-fucking-on.

The fifth installment of the series came out recently, and both points 1 and 2 hold true, once again, and the soundtrack is superlative. The game takes place in a fictional Southern California, and the programming matches that vibe. It's kind of a background thing in the game – when the player's avatar steals a car, they can scroll through various format radio stations and be treated to some stellar DJ sets and some sharply written satirical talk, while they are mowing down hookers and juking cops.


Some highlights:

-After playing the game for a couple hours, I caught, in my aural periphery, two Kendrick Lamar jams. It was perfect. I double checked the station (Radio Los Santos), and proceeded to use it as a go-to backdrop during game missions in the Hood.

-Danny McBride (Eastbound And Down, This Is The End) voices a backwards, conservative host on a small right-wing station that the player can only pick up when driving out to the boonies (where a lack of social propinquity still merits a conservative mindset – just like real-life!). Inversely, JB Smoove (Curb Your Enthusiasm, SNL) voices a street spiritual guide on the in-game NPR analog (WCTR).

-The hip-hop station West Coast Classics plays all your favorite old-school rap gems - “Regulate,” “Gin and Juice,” “So You Want to Be a Ganster,” and so on. God, I feel like a dinosaur.

-The psychotic anarchist character, T, has a propensity for switching the station in his vehicles to Channel X, so he can kick out the jams to so-cal hc/punk monsters like Fear, Black Flag, and Suicidal Tendencies.

-Vinewood Boulevard Radio is a personal favorite of mine, as it incidentally features pretty much every band I've gotten into over the last couple years. Thee Oh Sees, FIDLAR, Bass Drum of Death, Ceremony, Shark?, Black Angels. Grungy, grimey, new surf/garage stuff that pairs well with some of the seedier aspects of the game. And the station hosts are actually voiced by Nate Williams and Stephen Pope of Wavves.

-And speaking of hipster-trend shit, Radio Mirror Park plays some more laidback electronic-ish stuff, like Yeasayer, Yacht, and Toro Y Moi. Meanwhile, FlyLo FM (hosted by, you guessed it, Flying Lotus) puts together a set of IDM, featuring, you guessed it, a ton of Flying Lotus, along with arguable outliers like Tyler, the Creator, Outkast, and Aphex Twin.


The game developers allegedly spent about $250 million putting GTA V together, and the soundtrack shows they didn't cut any corners. And they were smart about it – the jazz station, for instance, mixes international fusion with recent Chillwave offerings. Los Santos Rock Radio functions as a nostalgic, more selective Jack FM, with everything from Queen to Bob Seger to Elton John.

Get into it, or if you're ambivalent about videogames, you can pick up the 3-disc soundtrack from music stores (I think? Do they still have those?), which features original scores from Tangerine Dream, DJ Shadow, The Alchemist & Oh No, and Woody Jackson. Or just wait a few minutes until the playlists show up on Spotify and YouTube.

Good work, and good taste, videogame developers.


steve gordon
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Album Review: Explosions in the Sky & David Wingo - Prince Avalanche: An Original Motion Picture Soundtrack


Can a film score be the sign of a comeback? One-time indie flick darling David Gordon Green, who debuted with the hypnotic George Washington and solidified his artistic cred via All the Real Girls and Snow Angels, broke into the mainstream not too far back riding the left-field hilarity of Pineapple Express and HBO's Eastbound & Down. But then came Your Highness and The Sitter and Green's swift, shocking transition from respected cinematic poet to crass, juvenile-minded pariah. His latest upcoming film, Prince Avalanche, looks to straddle the space between his former arthouse aspirations and his more current penchant for silliness, but does a well-crafted soundtrack by Explosions in Sky promise an at least partial return to greatness?

Joining with usual Green collaborator David Wingo, Explosions in the Sky present a far different musical approach to scoring than their soaring take on the Friday Night Lights' soundtrack. Relying much more on acoustic and analog sounds than in previous efforts, the songs from Prince Avalanche are slighter, shorter and less epic in scope than their most famous The Earth is Not a Cold Dead Place-era cuts. They are, however, as gentle, melodic, and peaceful as these earlier shimmering strains that brought the post-rockers so much acclaim.

Although many of the tracks on the record run two minutes or less, each small shard of sound contributes to a richer whole. Whether Green's film shares this quality is to be seen. But what can be surmised is that the director has aligned himself with the right musical talent to make any film sparkle. Even if the new film, starring Paul Rudd and Emile Hirsch, proves an unfortunate disaster, at least it will feature some charming aural ambiance.

Prince Avalanche, if nothing else, has allowed Explosions in the Sky to find new dimensions and possibilities in their music, perhaps thanks to Wingo's input. Even if the safer swell of the gripping "Join Me On My Avalanche" suggests the band may be at their best when lodged comfortably within their niche, the softer acoustic guitar-piano-horns combo that encompasses most of the score is more than lovely. Ending with a delightful "Send Off," the Prince Avalanche OST is a semi-subtle triumph. One can only hope the film matches its score.

Grade: B+




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