"VG Music" v. "Real Music"?!

After I wrote "DEVILS NEVER CRY (because they) NEVER SURRENDER!", I got to thinking, What are some other musicians/bands that have also contributed to video game music? Some other bands that come to mind are Crush40, Megadeth, Trent Reznor (of Nine Inch Nails fame), and Julien-K. I'm sure there are others that I'm not considering, but their names elude me at the moment. 

Crush40: They actually started off as under the name Sons of Angels, but eventually changed their name after the first Sonic Adventure. Most of their music was composed for the Sonic games, but some of their earlier work was devoted to NASCAR Arcade. 

This song, "Live & Learn," is from Sonic Adventure 2:

This next song, "Into The Wind," comes from their only full-length album, Crush40:

Megadeth: As any metalhead worth his lengthy locks knows, Megadeth's been in the metal game since the 80's, often focusing on contemporary socio-political issues (with some personal life-faith stories sprinkled in between). 

This song, "Sudden Death," was first featured in Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock as the one of the last songs, which was intentional (when you hear the song, you'll understand). This song was later featured in Megadeth's 13th album, Th1rt3en.

As for a song that reflects Megadeth outside of the gaming industry, it's hard to pick just one! Aside from obvious picks such as "Symphony of Destruction," "Hangar 18," "Holy Wars," "A Tout Le Monde," "Trust," "In My Darkest Hour," "Peace Sells," and so much more, I decided to put in an unconventional song, "502," a song about the fast life on the road.

   

Trent Reznor: When he's not working on material for Nine Inch Nails or How To Destroy Angels, Reznor works on composing music score for films (The Social Network) or video games (Quake, COD: Black Ops II). 

Since I'm not too familiar Reznor's work with film and gaming, I'll use a recent score, the Black Ops II main theme:

As for music outside of gaming, like Megadeth, it's difficult to pick just one. Just about every song from PHM or TDS is pretty good as some exceptional picks from With Teeth, Year Zero, The Slip, and even Ghosts I-IV, I'll pick a personal favorite from 1999's The Fragile, "Into the Void:"

Julien-K: Julien-K's one of those bands that you have to be "in the know" to know their music, you know? Similar, to Combichrist, Noisia, and Da Octopuss, Julien-K has good dance beats, fuzzy noises, and catchy hooks, which promises for a good time on the dance floor.

One of their earliest contributions, "This Machine," has been featured in Sonic Heroes, serving as the theme for Team Dark. Julien-K also has contributed to the music score of Michael Bay's iterations of the Transformers franchise.

As for a song outside of gaming and the filmscape, the featured song is "Futura (DTA Mix)," some other songs to listen to are "Death to Analog," "Kick the Bass," "Systeme de Sexe," "We're Here With You," "Spring Palms Reset," and "Nights of Future Past," among others. 

So, with all that's said and done, I just made another list of sorts (and I didn't realize it, until now). Maybe I should work on making more lists in general. Well, that's all for now! Until next time, my fellow readers! 

Video Game Theme Music

Recently, I've been somewhat obsessed with listening to theme songs from various video games I have played over the years. They've been providing me with a refreshing break from the music I've been listening lately, which is currently Avenged Sevenfold and Nine Inch Nails. I amazed at how creative some of the music has been, and I'm a bit ashamed to admit that I didn't appreciate the music initially (or rather, took me so long to REALLY hear the music). So instead of me ranting, or telling a life story of mine, I thought I'd do something different and share with you 10 of the many theme songs (in no particular order) that I've been listening to lately. Enjoy!

1) Devils Never Cry by Testuya Shibata & Shootie HG: The harsh vocals & guitar, juxtaposed with the gothic/renaissance atmosphere of the music are something to behold here. 

2) Operation: Market Garden by Michael Giacchino: Anders' performance as the solo vocalist is just beautiful. The way he lends his voice to the music can allow us to shed solemn tears for our fallen heroes. 

3) Super Smash Bros. Melee Theme as performed by The New Japanese Philharmonic: Somehow, the epic theme got more epic-er.

4) God of War II Main Theme by Gerard K. Marino: Fun fact - the composer intentionally reduced the woodwind sections and doubled the brass sections to create the powerful, memorable sound GoW is known for. Also, everything is sung in Greek!

5) Throw It All Away (Shadow's Theme) featuring Everett Bradley: I thoroughly enjoy the industrial/hard rock feel of the music here (similar to Devils Never Cry). It'd be great to hear more of this type of sound in music more often. 

6) Fallout 3 Main Theme by Inon Zur: This orchestral piece can really captures the insecurity of living in a post-apocalyptic world. My only gripe here is that the piece is too short. 

7) Open Your Heart by Crush40: In a (successful) attempt to make Sonic Adventure more edgier and down-to-earth, prog-rock pieces like this theme song are found through the game.

8) Live & Learn by Crush40: The prog-rock attitude continues in this main theme song of Sonic Adventure 2. After this game, most theme songs of following Sonic games have been somewhat lacking, to say the least. 

9) Godot: The Fragrance of Coffee by Noriyuki Iwadare: There are no words to really describe this beautiful and jazzy orchestral interpretation. This is one of those pieces that should be played at a wedding somehow. 

10) Fly in the Freedom (Rouge's Theme) featuring Tabitha Fair: I hated this song as a kid, but as an adult, I really love this style of music (the problem is: I don't know what would this be considered! I'm thinking Jazz or Bossa Nova, but I could be wrong). Complex, elaborate, and sexy, Fair's vocals add to the music to create a song that's strangely memorable.