Every other Wednesday I share a playlist of songs tangentially related to a single game or series. Songs about alien sex for Mass Effect, songs about world leaders for Civilization, and so on. Searching for random terms on Spotify is a great way to discover new music and rediscover old classics.
Reach, is Bungie's swansong to the Halo universe they created. Its deals with death, sacrifice, and leaving friends behind. That's all appropriate to the plot, but I can't help but wonder if it mirror's Bungie's feelings -- sacrificing a fat cash-cow, leaving behind their baby, and moving on to something new.
#1 - Turbonegro - All My Friends Are Dead
Like fellow countrymen Street Legal (featured in the Civilization 4 edition of this feature), Turbonegro were trashy, Norweigan fun and sounded like they came from the eighties.
#2 - Gorillaz - Every Planet We Reach Is Dead
Gorillaz is a supergroup that brings together so many different artists it almost has to exist as a cartoon -- a hand-drawn fantasy. It has included members of Blur, the Clash, and Talking Heads but brings rap from Miho Hatori and Del tha Funkee Homosapien. Somehow Gorillaz manages to sound like its own thing, not a hodge-podge of celebrities with their own careers to push.
#3 - UNKLE - Invasion
UNKLE pioneered that trip hop sound you'll hear from others like Portishead and Amon Tobin. This is a gentle, gentrified version of hip hop. The vocals are drenched in reverb and tracks rely on production rather than emceeing, atmosphere rather than lyrical content.
#4 - Braintax - The Grip Again (A Day In The Life Of A Suicide Bomber)
Whereas Braintax relies on substance above style. The production -- which utilizes George Galloway samples and what could be traditional Middle Eastern instruments -- is forgettable, but that refrain, culminating in "I paid a lot of tax and bought a fraction of a bomb" isn't.
#5 - Motörhead - Sacrifice
Lemmy Kilmister said in his autobiography, White Line Fever, that he always saw Motörhead as a blues band. They might be the fastest blues band ever, but I think he's right. It's not as obvious here as on 1916, where they use rock and roll piano and Chuck Berry guitar solos, but they always gravitate to the blues scale, expressive bends, and tuneful riffs.
#6 - Los Campesinos! - We are Beautiful, We Are Doomed
I somehow managed to miss Los Campesinos! when they were growing up as a band within walking distance of my home in Cardiff, Wales. They've gone to the US to record their albums now. I say "albums", but this song comes from a ten-track EP. I can't see the difference Gareth Campesinos (yes, they copied the Ramones and adopted their band's name as a surname) sees in this interview, but I'm glad they take their jobs seriously enough to make it.
Posts
0 comments:
Post a Comment