I like the Grand Theft Auto series for many reasons.
Not just because the missions are usually very fun and the controls are incredibly easy to get the hang of, or anything related to the plots within the game (which, let's face it, are the weakest parts of not just GTA but RockStar games in general, although that's another story altogether...no pun intended).
The main reason I enjoy playing Grand Theft Auto games (post GTA III) is because of the soundtrack.
For those unfamiliar with Grand Theft Auto, I'll summarise the core concept with a few sentences.
There's a lot of driving, shooting, killing, swearing, weapon collecting and unlike Mario games, the more stars you collect is directly related to how badly you're fucking up.
But one of the hidden gems of the GTA series of recent years has been the ability to listen to a variety of tunes across several radio stations whilst driving around. Whether you're on a main story mission or are simply looking for chaos, it's always fun to listen to some cracking songs whilst doing so. Combine this with some of the entertaining radio banter in between tracks and the game feels just that little bit better.
Whilst the games seem mostly to aim their musical tastes at the Hip Hop fans, there are a few games with fantastic Rock and/or Metal stations, clearly arranged by someone who knows their shit. My favourite has to be V-Rock from Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, a station dedicated to 80's Hard Rock and Metal with tracks from bands including Motley Crue, Iron Maiden, The Cult, Megadeth, Judas Priest, Twisted Sister and Quiet Riot. One of my fondest memories from the game is chasing down a car and gunning it down to the tune of 'Madhouse' - Anthrax, followed immediately by 'Raining Blood' - Slayer.
A close second would be Liberty Rock Radio from Grand Theft Auto IV, a general Classic/Hard Rock station with bands like ELO, The Who, Thin Lizzy and Elton John, along with a load more added as DLC. What I loved about this soundtrack was the mix of well known and lesser known songs, giving listeners something awesome to drive to whilst also providing them with new music. So after a soundtrack this brilliant, it would stand to reason that the GTA V Classic Rock setlist would be even better, right?
No. Wrong.
Dead wrong.
Horribly wrong.
It's rubbish.
Full of mediocre songs that are about as fun to drive around to as a cassette of disco B-sides.
Don't get me wrong, there are a couple of decent tracks. 'Baker Street' - Gerry Rafferty fits the game well and 'Lonely Is The Night' - Billy Squier would've been awesome, had they not edited the best fucking bit out, but for the most part, the soundtrack seriously lacks the magic that previous Rock radio stations have had.
I feel like in trying to make the game more "mature", they've tried to do the same to the soundtrack. As a result, it comes across as incredibly bland and rather lifeless at times (I mean, 'What A Fool Believes' - The Doobie Brothers? Really? You're gonna pick a post '75 Doobs song? The fuck is wrong with you?!). By the looks of it, they've made the same mistake that Guitar Hero 5 made. They picked the right bands but the wrong songs...and also the wrong bands, in some cases.
But hey, the game was a massive success so maybe this is just my misguided opinion talking. As far as games go, this one tried to push all the boundaries. Sadly, despite boasting an impressive soundtrack quantity, quality wasn't around when they picked the tracks to make the Rock radio station. Hopefully if they do DLC, like the last installment, they'll include some more rocking material.
Hold on though! What's that I hear you saying?
"Screw you, idiot! That soundtrack was awesome! What do you know about good music?"
Well, I like to think I know a fair bit about Classic Rock. But why don't I let you decide. Here's a Youtube playlist to a 22 song setlist I believe would've been better than the one picked for GTA V's Los Santos Rock Radio. I've tried to pick similar bands but better songs. However, if you'd rather check out songs individually, here's a list below:
(if any of the links don't work for whatever reason Youtube craps out, let me know and I'll fix them when I can)
'Long, Long Way From Home' - Foreigner
'The Bitch Is Back' - Elton John
'Rock & Roll Fantasy' - Bad Company
'Jesus He Knows Me' - Genesis
'Fire Woman' - The Cult
'Sleeping My Day Away' - D-A-D
'The Wall Street Shuffle' - 10cc
'Get Out Of Denver' - Bob Seger
(Don't Fear) The Reaper' - Blue Oyster Cult
'Keep On Runnin' - Journey
'Roll On Down The Highway' - Bachman-Turner Overdrive
'Ma-Ma-Ma Belle' - Electric Light Orchestra
'Song Of A Baker' - Small Faces
'My Sharona' - The Knack
'Going To The Country' - Steve Miller Band
'The Chain' - Fleetwood Mac
'Fight From The Inside' - Queen
'Friday On My Mind' - The Easybeats
'Hell Is For Children' - Pat Benatar
'Midnite Cruiser' - Steely Dan
'The Boys Of Summer' - Don Henley
'Hip To Be Square' - Huey Lewis & The News
So that's my list. Granted I'm biased but if that was the GTA V Rock radio soundtrack, maybe I would've considered buying the game instead of Saints Row IV which not only has a decent collection of Rock/Pop but also lets you create a mixtape of all the songs to listen to whenever you want in-game. I still have no idea why RockStar have yet to implement this feature into GTA games.
Anyway, enough about Saints Row. If you like my setlist, let me know in the comments. If you have opinions on the GTA music, let me know too. Also, if you have a GTA style setlist of about 20 songs belonging to a particular genre then post that and I'll give it a listen...you know, provided it's Rock and/or Metal. If it wasn't obvious, that's kinda my deal...yeah.
