Has a game ever turned you on to a band?

[shopkins]

Some types of games like skateboarding and racing games have featured licensed music for a while now. Since people don't usually buy games based on or even with knowledge of the music in them, they seem a likely medium to expose people to stuff they haven't heard.

Recently, I learned to slightly tolerate Theory of A Deadman after playing Indigo Prophecy. Before the game, all I knew was they came from the same garbage heap as Nickelback.

But a game actually got me interested in one of my favorite artists. There was this PSX skating game, Street Sk8er, that had a song by Weston called "Liz Phair." Sort of a stalkery love ode to her and her songwriting ability.

"You look so pretty in your video,
And you write better songs, than anyone I know."

It was really the only thing I liked about the game, and I played it for a while just to listen to it. I didn't get in to Weston, but I wanted to see what he was babbling about so later I bought "Exile In Guyville" by Liz Phair and now she's one of my favorite female songwriters.

Also from a skating game, one of the Dead Kennedy's songs, "Police Truck," was in a Dreamcast Version of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater. That helped get me interested in them. Tony Hawk three had "Ace of Spades" in it, too, and that helped me get interested in Motorhead.

What bands or artists have you discovered through games?

[Imstarryeyed]

Yes Incredible Crisis for the PS1 turned me onto the Tokyo Ska Paradise, these guys are great!

[Richter]

Jet Grind Radio - Guitar Vader

[Jasoco]

I have every song from Ouendan in its original Japanese Pop version. They all rock.

Other than that, no. I do have "Justified" from the end of Dead Rising by Drea, and "Late Goodbye" from Max Payne 2 by Poets of the Fall, but I don't like any more of their songs.

Usually it's just one song and that's it. I RARELY like all or even 25% of an artists songs. (Not counting classic stuff like Queen, Styx, Billy Joel, Genesis...)

[Alucard79]

Apocolypse on PS had videos playing in the background that were of System Of A Down before they were well known. It got me to listening to them. I think it was Test Drive 4 (maybe 5) on PS that had videos you could unlock that had Fear Factory. I really liked their music and bought a few of their cd's after hearing it. My favorite was pong though, who could ever top the famous tune of beep...boop...blip.... \^_^/

[Synergy]

The first Tony Hawk's Pro Skater had "New Girl" from The Suicide Machines on it. Since then, I've listened to more of their stuff and like it.

[Flack]

One great one for me was Test Drive 5. I was already into Fear Factory, but that game introduced me to Pitchshifter and Junkie XL.

The Tony Hawk soundtracks have always been good. I remember discovering Speedealer, Powerman 5000 and Fu Manchu through them.

[Kid Ice]

N2O- The Crystal Method

[Anthony1]

Yep, Road Rash for the 3DO has turned me on to several bands.


Paw
Swervedriver
Soundgarden
Therapy?
Monster Magnet
Hammerbox


All of that is early 90's grunge/Nirvana type music, but after playing Road Rash for the 3DO awhile back, I remembered how much I loved that soundtrack, even though that's not my normal musical style. I especially like the Paw album, "Dragline". Swervedriver has a couple of cool albums and of course Soundgarden. The other's aren't quite as good, but they have some good songs that fit in with the rest of the soundtrack. The funny thing is, the soundtrack only plays during the start up screens, and the menu screens, it doesn't actually play while you are "in game".

[RARusk]

In my case it was not a band but a composer:

"Hitman 2: Silent Assassin" - Jesper Kyd

When I popped in the demo into my PS2 and ran it, I was floored by the main title at the menu screen. The music sold me on the game as much as the game itself did. I own the promotional music disc for "Hitman 2" (has about half of the music but has some of the best parts including the incredible main title), the "Hitman: Contracts", and "Hitman: Blood Money" CDs. Jesper Kyd rocks. Seriously.

You can also go to his website at www.jesperkyd.com.

[dgordon86]

Don't forget maximum carnage.

Green Jelly!

"hello jello, green jello!"

[Cambot]

FIFA 2004 (I think)

Zeca Pagodinho
Tribalistas

[nate1749]

Infected by Bad Religion in guitar hero. I had heard of them, but only knew of one other song by them.

[Sylentwulf]

Etro Anime from the Megaten DDS game is GREAT. Other than that, not muych.

[Ed Oscuro]

Funny this topic should pop up; I always enjoy the music from Apocalypse (PS1, Bruce Willis), and while it's essentially an advertising vehicle for popular bands (of 1998...er, 1997? POE got top billing...) there's some decent stuff on it, although the only band recognizable today is System of a Down. Fun game; disappointing non-ending.

[DigitalSpace]

-GTA: Vice City got me into Anthrax.
-GTA: San Andreas got me into Boston and Heart.
-Burnout 3 got me into silent drive, Eighteen Visions, and Rise Against.
-Crazy Taxi got me into Bad Religion.

[Mr.FoodMonster]

Frequency/Amplitude got me into Freezepop.

[heyricochet]

Yes Incredible Crisis for the PS1 turned me onto the Tokyo Ska Paradise, these guys are great!

Really? I love them, I have to get this game now. Is it used a lot in the game?

[Half Japanese]

But a game actually got me interested in one of my favorite artists. There was this PSX skating game, Street Sk8er, that had a song by Weston called "Liz Phair." Sort of a stalkery love ode to her and her songwriting ability.

"You look so pretty in your video,
And you write better songs, than anyone I know."

It was really the only thing I liked about the game, and I played it for a while just to listen to it. I didn't get in to Weston, but I wanted to see what he was babbling about so later I bought "Exile In Guyville" by Liz Phair and now she's one of my favorite female songwriters.

Fucking A. I don't listen to a lot of the stuff I liked off of it anymore, but I used to love the Street Sk8er soundtrack. If you do branch out and check out Weston, most of their stuff is solid except for "The Massed Albert Sounds." That one's way too overpolished (despite their claims in the liner notes that each song was recorded in 2 takes or less). Oddly enough, the version of Liz Phair in Street Sk8er isn't on any of their albums to my knowledge. It appears in an overproduced form in the aforementioned Massed Albert record, and it's nowhere near as good.

Also, respect for the mention of Guitar Vader, although I haven't liked anything else of theirs as much as their JGR tracks.

One interesting tidbit about licensed music in games: Microsoft recently lost a lawsuit from the band Ink & Dagger for 3 songs that appeared on the Amped soundtrack without the band's permission. To quote a short piece on it:

THE FEDERAL court case of Ink & Dagger v. Microsoft has been settled, both parties have confirmed.

In October we reported that Ryan McLaughlin, former drummer of the vampire-dressing punk act, had sued Microsoft, accusing Bill Gates' corporation of copyright infringement for using three songs without permission from the group's 1998 CD "The Fine Art of Original Sin," on a snowboarding video game, "Amped," for Microsoft's XBOX system.

McLaughlin's bandmates Don DeVore, Josh Brown, Jennifer Layne Park and the estate of late singer Sean McCabe later got involved in the lawsuit.

Terms of the settlement, believed to include a cash payout to the band, are confidential. "All the plaintiffs are more than satisfied with the outcome," was all the band's attorney Conor Corcoran would say yesterday. A Microsoft spokesman said the case has been "successfully resolved."

[RCM]

Frequency/Amplitude got me into Freezepop.

I talked to Liz from FP and she told me they're finishing up their new album. Can't wait to listen!