Our video gaming glory days were left with the 16-bit revolution (so if you want to get schooled in NHL or Madden '96 -- Genesis style -- you know where to come; the same place for obviously lame smack talk), and though Guitar Hero has ushered in somewhat of a renaissance in this treasured form of useless procrastination, we acknowledge that placing music in the electronic arts, if you will, is a big deal. Just not quite as big a deal as the folks that work at Electronic Arts think it is. If you will.
EA has released to MTV the QOTSA-including soundtrack lineup for this summer's football game Madden '08, saying that the Madden soundtrack announcement was "the most important showcase for music industry icons." Though that's impressively delusional, the EA guys just wanted to add:
"The annual goal of the 'Madden NFL' soundtrack is to give unprecedented exposure to new artists, bring established stars to a whole new level, and single-handedly define the sound of the coming year via the biggest sports franchise in video game history," said [Electronic Arts] executive Steve Schnur.
"Single-handedly"? Any master-gamer worth his joystick knows you can't get much done with just one hand (well...), but at least EA is consistent in its flights of grandeur. Actually, a recent Rolling Stone piece mentions that licensing to video games is an increasingly important source of music business revenue, and that majors like Warner are saying that ultimately "We expect to be a brand licensing organization." So we're all for that, just not that our new music-gatekeeping video-game overlords seem to fancy the Bravery. Here's your Madden '08 tracklist:
Airbourne - "Runnin' Wild"
Atreyu - "Becoming the Bull"
The Bravery - "Believe"
Brother Ali - "Whatcha Got"
Daddy Yankee - "Impacto"
Datarock - "The New Song"
Earl Greyhound - "S.O.S."
Enter Shikari - "OK, Time for Plan B"
From Autumn to Ashes - "Daylight Slaving"
Hellyeah - "You Wouldn't Know"
The Hives - "Tick Tick Boom"
Jupiter One - "Countdown"
MIMS - "Cop It"
Murs - "Dreadlocks"
O-Solo - "Monsta"
Operator - "Soulcrusher"
Ozzy Osbourne - "I Don't Wanna Stop"
Pharoahe Monch (featuring Showtyme) - "Desire"
Pitbull (featuring Don Omar) - "Fuego" (remix)
Queens Of The Stone Age - "3's & 7's"
Red1 (featuring Afu-Ra) - "Dem No Worry We"
Shadows Fall - "Redemption"
Swizz Beatz - "It's Me Snitches"
Sum 41 - "Underclass Hero"
Team Shadetek (featuring 77Klash & Jahdan) - "Brooklyn Anthem"
The Used - "The Ripper"
Timbaland (featuring Justin Timberlake) - "Release"
Yellowcard - "Fighting"
Zion I & the Grouch - "Hit 'Em"
Ahh. That's where the Hives went. Best video game soundtrack ever? We have no idea, really ... still playing "You Really Got Me" on Guitar Hero. If you have some video-game music-score experience, jump in.
