Wednesday, January 17, 2007

Rock me Amadeus


Music and video games have had a long, happy marriage. Their the media version of my grandparents. Most gamers could recognize some of the oldest and most popular games by their theme song alone (Legend of Zelda, Final Fantasy, Super Mario Bros.) . Of course, there were plenty of games where the music was so bad and so repetitive, you'd stab yourself in the ear with an ice pick just so you wouldn't have to listen to it anymore (Shaq Fu, with Shaq's rap music?!? Gahh!).
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Back in the day, whether you liked the music or not, you were stuck with it. Not anymore. Video games are reaching crazy levels of customization from face plates to avatars and of course, music.
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As a music lover, I love listening to my own tunes while playing games, driving and fighting games in particular. Since I've been looking for an excuse to talk about music on a video game blog, here are the Top 5 bands that I listen to while playing video games.
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Top 5 Bands to Listen to While Playing Video Games
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1. The Beatles - The greatest rock band of all time, don't even bother arguing with me about it, you'll never convince me otherwise (I've mentioned this before, my mother's from Liverpool, she brainwashed me from inside the womb, I couldn't change how I feel about this band even if I wanted to. Not that I want to.). Their early days have a lot of fast, rockin' songs and their older stuff full of psychedelic, kooky, fun stuff. The best thing about the Beatles is their tunes fit any game.
(Favorite songs to play: Anything from Rubber Soul or Hard Day's Night)
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2. U2 - What do you know? The second greatest band of all time makes my list. I love their slower stuff but it doesn't really fit with video games. A lot of their newer stuff, especially from How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, really rocks and works great while playing games.
(Favorite songs to play: Elevation, The Saints are Coming, Vertigo)
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3. AC/DC - Okay, this is a no brainer. Do I really have to explain why one of the rockingest (ooh, I just invented a new word) bands of all time makes for great fighting or driving music? I didn't think so.
(Favorite songs to play: Rock and Roll Ain't Noise Pollution, Its a Long Way to the Top if You Wanna Rock and Roll)
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4. The Clash - Gotta love that ska punk sound. These guys rock, have a great collection of cool songs and are just plain fun to listen to even when you're not gaming. I actually prefer them for driving games then fighting games but either way they're great.
(Favorite songs to play: Rock the Casbah, Train in Vain)
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5. Coldplay - Alright, go ahead and laugh. I'll wait...are you done yet? No? I'll wait some more...okay, I'm done waiting. Coldplay is one of those bands you either love or I hate (I love, my wannabe 12-year old rock star son hates) and you wouldn't think their sound would be a good fit for video games but it does. Mostly those spacey or ethereal games like Star Trek Legacy or Prey. I certainly wouldn't play Mortal Kombat while listening to Coldplay but those other games? Oh, yeah.
(Favorite songs to play: Only Superstition, Speed of Sound, Politik)
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