Games need music to be cool these days, it’s a well known fact. And the more cool music squeezed into a game, the cooler it becomes - makes sense when you think about it.
Activision’s licensing department must be exhausted by now, having managed to sign up a massive 72 different tracks for Tony Hawk’s Underground, delivering what is possibly the most credible gaming soundtrack ever.
The complete tracklist reads as follows:
Rock:
Authority Zero - Every Day
Blind Iris - Drive
Camarosmith - It's Alright
Crash and Burn - Crazy and Stupid
Electric Frankenstein - Annie's Grave
Entombed - To Ride, Shoot Straight, and Speak the Truth
Five Horse Johnson - Mississippi King
Fu Manchu - California Crossing
High on Fire - Hung, Drawn, and Quartered
Hookers - The Legend of Black Thunder
Hot Water Music - Remedy
In Flames - Embody the Invisible
Kiss - Lick It Up
Kiss - Rock and Roll All Night
Kiss - God of Thunder
Mastodon - Crusher Destroyer
Nine Pound Hammer - Run Fat Boy Run
Orange Goblin - Your World Will Hate This
Queens of the Stone Age - Millionaire
S.O.D. - Milk
Smoke Blow - Circle of Fear
Solace - Indolence
Superjoint Ritual - It Takes No Buts
The Explosion - No Revolution
The Hellacopters - (Gotta Get Some Action) Now!
The Midnight Evils - Loaded and Lonely
Unida - Black Woman
Jane's Addiction - Suffer Some
Hip-Hop:
Aceyalone - Rapps on Deck
Anacron - A Prototype
Busdrive - Imaginary Places
Cannibal Ox - Iron Galaxy
Dan the Automator featuring Kool Keith - A Better Tomorrow
Deltron 3030 - Positive Contact
DJ QBert - Cosmic Assassins
Frog One - Blah Blah
J-Live - Braggin' Writes Revisited
Juggaknots - The Circle (Part 1)
Jurassic 5 - A Day at the Races
L.A. Symphony - King Kong
Living Legends - War Games
Mr. Complex - Underground Up
Mr. Dibbs - Skin Therapy
Mr. Lif - Phantom
Murs - Transitions Az a Ridah
Nas - The World is Yours
People Under The Stairs - The Next Step II
Quasimoto - Low Class Conspiracy
R.A. The Rugged Man - King of the Underground
Supernatural - Internationally Known
The Herbaliser featuring MF Doom - It Ain't Nuttin'
Punk:
Angry Amputees - She Said
Assorted Jelly Beans - Rebel Yell
Bad Religion - Big Bang
Blue Collar Special - Don't Wait
Bracket - 2 Rak 005
Dropkick Murphys - Time to Go
Flamethrower - I Want It All
G.B.H. - Crushem
Mike V and the Rats - The Days
NOFX - The Separation of Church and Skate
Paint It Black - Womb Envy
Refused - Noise
Rise Against - Like the Angels
Rubber City Rebels - Pierce My Brain
Social Distortion - Mommy's Little Monster
Stiff Little Fingers - Suspect Device
Strike Anywhere - Refusal
Sublime - Seed
The Browns - American Werewolf in Calgary
The Clash - White Riot
The Transplants - California Babylon
That’s about a half a dozen albums-worth of music, kind of for free when you buy the game. Not at all bad, as long as you like that sort of thing...