Musical Treasures

The importance of music in video games is a topic often discussed, but a less common topic is that of songs from video games that stand on their own as excellent pieces of music. I'm not referring to a game's score, although that too is a great source of music (ask any Zelda or Castlevania fan, both of which I am). I'm talking about non-repeating songs with vocals.

The "Sonic the Hedgehog" series is an excellent source of such music. Every Sonic game since "Sonic Adventure" has had a theme song and other great songs. "Open Your Heart" and "Live and Learn", the themes from the two "Sonic Adventure" titles (in that order), are excellent alternative metal-ish tracks. They, and many other Sonic songs, are by a band called Crush 40 which was formed specifically for the games. I believe Crush 40 was also behind "Seven Rings in Hand", the theme song of the recent Wii game "Sonic and the Secret Rings". That song is so excellent that I find myself playing the game more than I normally would just because I want to hear it.

Sonic games also have songs by established groups. One example is Julien-K, a side project of the two guitarists from the band Orgy. Some may know Julien-K from their remix/rendition of Linkin Park lead-singer Chester Bennington's song "The Morning After", which appeared on the soundtrack of the movie "Underworld Evolution" and had decent radio play as well. Anyway, Julien-K wrote and performed one song each for "Sonic Heroes" and "Shadow the Hedgehog". Their song from the former is the theme of Team Dark, entitled "This Machine", and it is an amazing song. If you have not heard this song, you are missing out. While it doesn't completely stand on its own because it mentions the names of the characters Rouge, E-123, and Eggman; it still works on its own. "Waking Up", Julien-K's track from "Shadow the Hedgehog", is not quite as good but still excellent.

The other example is Powerman 5000, probably best known for their song "When Worlds Collide." In addition to being a single in its own right, that song appeared in the game "Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2" and in the movie "Little Nicky." Powerman 5000 wrote and performed the song "Almost Dead" for "Shadow the Hedgehog", and if you're into that sort of music, you will definitely enjoy the song.

Now, I personally have never heard of the band "The Nelsons", but apparently they exist. One of the band's members, Gunnar Nelson, wrote and performed the song "Team Chaotix" (the theme for the team of the same name) for "Sonic Heroes". The lyrics are corny and have a lot to do with the characters, but it's still a very good and upbeat song.

It's not just the Sonic games, of course. Adema, a band of which I am very fond, wrote and performed a song called "Immortal" for the game "Mortal Kombat Deadly Alliance" and even made a music video for the song featuring game footage. If you're into Adema's alt-metalish style, you should definitely check this song out. It's one of two songs that got me interested in the band. Also, "Tony Hawk's American Wasteland" includes exclusive covers of 80s hits by current popular bands, and some of the covers are great. The band Thursday's cover of "Ever Fallen in Love?" is particularly noteworthy. Finally, the theme songs of Kingdom Hearts ("Simple and Clean") and Kingdom Hearts 2 ("Sanctuary") are very popular, and for good reason.

Keep an ear out for good music when you're gaming; you may find some excellent tracks.

By the way, you can find all the Sonic songs I mentioned at www.soahcity.com

Gaming Violence Follow-Up

In an earlier post, I noted my belief that violent video games breed violent tendencies only in people who have other, greater causes for their violence. A recent study (read about it at http://www.qj.net/Study-Violent-games-don-t-alter-normal-kids/pg/49/aid/88522) confirms this idea. To quote the QJ article: "According to Professor Grant Devilly, only children who were diagnosed to have excessive worrying, neurotic behaviour and predisposed to aggression were the ones who reacted to the violent stimuli and very few showed aggressive behavior as a result."

Look at the recently-publicized case from last September, in which a murderer claimed Grand Theft Auto San Andreas told him to kill people. This guy was a paranoid schizophrenic who was heavily stoned at the time. Now, this is an extreme case, but it's a good example of video game violence breeding violence in people who already have bigger issues. Going after video games in cases like these would be like blaming Mapquest for a murderer's ability to find his victim: it's a factor, sure, but not a deciding one.

On a related note, Florida anti-gaming lawyer Jack Thompson is currently the subject of a complaint being examined by the Florida Supreme Court. If he loses this case, he will "face professional sanctions", to quote QJ's article on the event. The complaint was issued by the judge who heard Thompson's case against Take Two Interactive, parent company of Rockstar Games, attempting to block the release of the Rockstar game "Bully". Not only did Thompson lose the case, he threatened and insulted the judge, who noted in his decision that he wasn't sure Thompson should be allowed to practice law. Gamers all over are pulling for Thompson to lose his certification; an online petition for him to be disciplined or disbarred currently has 1457 signatures. I signed it; I know these never make a difference, but I had to show my support for getting rid of Jack Thompson. If you would like to sign, here's the link:http://www.petitiononline.com/mod_perl/signed.cgi?podjt