sonic slang

Grand Theft Auto IV Soundtrack

If there's anybody out there actually on a computer, and not playing Grand Theft Auto IV, we've found you one more reason to join the masses and start brawling with crack dealers: the soundtrack.

Holy crap - First of all there's 16 different stations, playing everything from Bob Marley, to David Bowie, to Bad Brains.  But the station we'd probably be crackin' while cruising for ho's is "Radio Broker."  DJ'd by actor/rocker Juliette Lewis (nice touch), the channel sports SS-friendly artists including LCD Soundsystem, The Black Keys, The Rapture and many others sure to please those who split their blog-reading time between us, and Kotaku.  Read the full playlist after the jump.

Guitar Hero: Aerosmith

SS has long viewed Aerosmith's fall from artistic grace as one of the most aggravating instances of late-career mojo loss in music history - Right up there with Stevie Wonder and R.E.M. (until now!).  But the worst part always was, the more they sucked, the harder they tried to sell out.  (Performing at the Super Bowl with N'SYNC was the topper.)  Now, as much fun as playing "Love in an Elevator" on Guitar Hero: Aerosmith might be, Stephen Tyler's smug, canned, self-congratulatory PR quote makes us want to hurl:

"Any band that can go from 'Don't Want to Miss A Thing' (Aerosmith's #1 smash hit) to the ass-kicking 'Sweet Emotion' to the cheekiness of 'Love in an Elevator,' to the classic ballad 'Dream On' shows why Activision chose us to headline this game based on the diversity of the Aerosmith catalog. Not only is songwriting a bitch, but then it goes and has puppies."

Sonic Youth Rocks Guitar Hero 3

The Guitar Hero hipster community will no doubt be steaming up their Rivers Cuomo spectacles over the inclusion of Sonic Youth's "Kool Thing" on next week's 3rd edition.  Sure it's good that the brand is branching out from power ballads and second-rate metal, but we're still partial to rocking out on "More Than a Feeling."  (Party because it's easy.)  Check out a clip of digital Kim Gordon in action after the jump.

Guitar Hero to Launch Online Community

Hey all you armchair rockstars itching to show off those chops, your ship has come in:

ACTIVISION OFFERS FANS BACKSTAGE PASS TO NEW OFFICIAL GUITAR HERO® COMMUNITY WEBSITE

Fans Register Stage Names and Receive Exclusive Info, Assets, Integrated Online Player Stats, and Sneak Peak at Guitar Hero® III: Legends of Rock

Sunnyvale, CA - October 11, 2007 - Activision, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI), in partnership with Agora Games, a leading provider of online community development and in-game data collection, announced today that a new dedicated Guitar Hero community teaser website has launched, and fans can now visit www.GuitarHero.com to get a Backstage Pass to obtain insider information, news announcements, exclusive behind the scenes footage of Slash and other in-game talent, gameplay videos, and screenshots. Aspiring axe-shredders will also have the ability to pre-order and hear snippets from the set list of the highly anticipated title, Guitar Hero® III: Legends of Rock.

Fans who are first to sign up will have the exciting opportunity to create their own account and claim their stage name, which will be their unique identity on the official Guitar Hero community site, scoreboards, and forums. After the game launches on October 28, 2007, players will be able to go "on tour" by creating or joining a group to compare scores, and compete online in global head to head tournaments with other tour groups, along with the opportunity to establish new friendships and connect with other passionate Guitar Hero fans from around the world. They can also build a "rock radius" to opt-in and see friends, tour group members and players to connect with online through a global map.

To complete the rock star experience, fans can obtain groupies on the road to stardom while earning the title of Indie to Rock Star to Guitar Hero and shredding their way into the Hall of Fame. Groupies will determine a player's popularity around the Backstage Pass, as well as on the full community site. For a limited time, players can now earn groupies by telling friends about their band and getting them to register on the site to join their tour group.

Moby Goes Beyond The Sea for Bioshock Soundtrack

While all the gamers out their will probably be drooling over Halo 3 this week, SS is gonna buck the trend and pimp a different title, Bioshock.   

via the official site:

BioShock is the "genetically enhanced" first person shooter that lets you do things never before possible in the genre: turn everything into a weapon, biologically mod your body with plasmids, hack devices and systems, upgrade your weapons and craft new ammo variants, and experiment with different battle techniques in an incredible and unique underwater city.

Bioshock has been getting some Halo-sized love from the critics, so here's hoping a game that's not about space mutants or WWII gets the play it deserves.  Check out a trailer for the game here.  Anyway, we really just wanted to talk about the game, but for the obligatory music tie-in, stream the following Moby tracks from the official Bioshock soundtrack (via Prefix):

Stream: Moby - "Beyond the Sea" - "God Bless the Child" - "Wild Little Sisters" (QT)

Guitar Hero III Rocks Your Xbox This October

With the David Cross/J. Mascis showdown confirming that NYC hipsters do in fact still love their video games, news of Guitar Hero III's arrival this October is a lot more interesting post to us than long lines for an iPhone, plus it might be the only way to get a new GNR track this decade.

Tracklist so far:

Original Recordings
"Cult of Personality" by LIVING COLOUR
"Paint It Black" by THE ROLLING STONES
"Cherub Rock" by SMASHING PUMPKINS
"Sabotage" by BEASTIE BOYS
"The Metal" by TENACIOUS D
"My Name Is Jonas" by WEEZER
"Knights of Cydonia" by MUSE
"Evenflow" by PEARL JAM
"Lay Down" by PRIESTESS

Cover Songs
"Rock And Roll All Nite" as made famous by KISS
"School's Out" as made famous by ALICE COOPER
"Slow Ride" as made famous by FOGHAT
"Barracuda" as made famous by HEART

It might cost $100, but we'll shell that out just for The Beastie Boys' "Sabotage."