The best of the best encapsulate a hard-to-define zeitgeist of each era, from the ’80s right up until today.
GTA is the blueprint for in-game radio stations. Even its own OST sounds like a West Coast deep cut, filled with high-pitched synth melodies and hip-hop beats that evoke palm trees, sunsets, and street crime. In a heartbeat, it conjures up the heady, pacey, cannabis-scented streets of a fictional LA in the early 90s.
Whether it’s The Stone Roses’ ‘Fools Gold’ and its shoulder-rolling, head-nodding intro playing out as you take your first ride out of the city and into the wilderness near Mount Chiliad, or the bass-driven angst of Rage Against The Machine’s ‘Killing in the Name’ blaring out of your tinny speakers as you bed down in a car park and make an ill-advised last stand against the Los Santos Police department, the music of San Andreas perfectly encapsulated a time and a place. READ MORE: ‘Cuphead’ and ‘The Delicious Last Course’: How ‘Fantasia’ and ‘Final Fantasy’ collide in this stupendous OST.It’s getting warm in here, and I think it’s the PlayStation’s fault.
#BIG IDEA LOGO POP PS2#
As well as loading in to the open world of Los Santos as you’re cruising around in your boy racer with a flame decal painted on (hey, you were 13, it’s OK), your poor little PS2 is having to stream high-quality music from the in-game radio station, too. Rockstar made a pretty demanding game here. It takes a lot of effort to run GTA: San Andreas at this point.
#BIG IDEA LOGO POP TV#
The windows are open, there’s a nice breeze coming through to cool down your room, and you’re glued to a TV screen – a fat, CRT deal that hums faintly as your launch PS2 wheezes behind it. This week, Dom Peppiatt turns down their radio, takes a cab ride through Watch Dogs: Legion, and reflects on that special something that makes in-game soundtracks feel authentic, memorable, and – most importantly – realistic within their own world. Rock The Spacebar is a twice-monthly column investigating the great music that underpins your favourite games.
0 kommentar(er)
