Thoughts on the track selection for GTA V's soundtrack

[ForeverBlowingBubblz]

This, in my opinion, is the second worst soundtrack in the series (GTA III being the worst). Non-Stop FM is utter garbage. Who in the right mind thought it was a good idea to put Hall&Oates and the Pet Shop Boys on the same station as Fergie, Britney Spears, and Rihanna? If GTAIV Liberty City DLC got Vice City FM, why couldn't GTA V get something similar? No jazz which is a shame. Huge disappointment.

 

I actually enjoyed Radio Mirror Park and some of Soulwax FM (call me a hipster, whatever). The country station was ok (as long as it's not modern country, I'm happy. Modern Country needs to be wiped off this planet permanently). West Coast Classics is also decent (but Playback FM is FAR superior). I can't stand whenever you enter a taxi and you hear that East Los FM. IT'S f*ckING GARBAGE. I was kinda hoping for KJAH FM...but...instead.... we get a Worldwide FM which is terrible. FlyLo is crap. And then there's Los Santos Rock Radio..... (smh)

 

To be fair half the songs are decent on LSRR and it's not necessarily bad, but, like Non-Stop FM, they don't belong all on the same station. I mean, I just find it strange to see new wave Simple Minds on the same station with hard rock Def Leppard (both great bands though) Why is there two Bob Seger songs? (One of which, "Hollywood Nights", is god awful). A lot of these songs are just bland or even crap. Don Johnson's "Heartbeat" is a song bashed by many classic rock fans. Is Rockstar trolling us? "Higher Love"? Are you sh*tting me? Could've chose a better Stevie Nicks song, I mean please. And that song "If You Leave Me Now" (sigh, facepalm x3). Again, not terrible. But I would choose LCRR, KDST, Radio X, or VROC any day over this.

 

Lastly, the Talk Radio just doesn't deliver as much laughs. Does anyone remember Gardening with Maurice or Lazlo interviewing OG LOC or Big Smoke? I was in f*cking tears. Lazlo turned into this unfunny douche which was a bit sad for me. So yeah, a bit disappointing Rockstar.

Edited March 8, 2014 by ForeverBlowingBubblz

[jimmycakes]

Yeah was disappointing, the country music selection was good, the rest, nothing that stands out.

[ForeverBlowingBubblz]

Well said. I forgot to mention that. NOTHING stands out. It's unfortunate but yeah.

[Ash_735]

Why did you compare K-JAH to Worldwide FM? Surely you should mention The Blue Ark here. Worldwide FM is one of the better stations in the game.

[ForeverBlowingBubblz]

You're right. I totally forgot about Blue Ark. But you know what? Blue Ark is crap. The songs just aren't as memorable and they f*cking remixed the "Put on a Hawaiian Shirt" song. What a complete disgrace. There, I said it. Worldwide FM is equally awful. But that's just me.

[Ash_735]

Worldwide FM is great to listen to when driving around los Santos in the day. Might be more popular for those of us in the UK though as the station is pretty much the Giles Peterson show which airs over here.

[DaWiesel]

Non-Stop-Pop FM - I wondered about that too but I don't hate it. It's a pop station, nothing else to say. Now what doesn't fit IMO are the tracks "Lady" and "Music Sounds Better With You" which should be on a separate house music station but it's okay.

 

Radio Mirror Park is like Radio Broker for me. A station with artists I never have heard of but with great songs, definitely the best station in V and the one which stand out IMO. Soulwax FM was kinda disappointing for me, "Shockwave (Gesaffelstein Remix)" is pretty much the only good song on it.

 

Haven't heard much Rebel Radio but I don't really like coutry music anyway. West Coast Classics is IMO as good or even better than Playback FM but not better as Radio Los Santos of SA. East Los FM is really sh*t, although it has a few funny tracks. Like Rebel Radio I haven't heard much of Worldwide FM but what I've heard was not so good, I must admit.

 

Los Santos Rock Radio was good, but that's it. K-DST or V-Rock are miles better, Liberty Rock Radio might be a bit better too. I also agree on the selection of songs. Too many soft rock, that could have had it's own station too. There're also a few tracks here and there that I like, "Disco Devil" on Blue Ark or "100hm" on FlyLo FM.

 

I think the soundtrack is pretty good. Not one of the best but still decent.

[woggleman]

Not bad but could have been better.

[Matt11]

Yea I don't like the music selection rockstar picked for the game either. Nobody's taste in music is the same but damn wtf. The music from gta 4 I thought was good, the classics, liberty rock, the bob Marley station, fusion, and journey where the ones I listened to but this new soundtrack I usually just turn the radio off.

[CantThinkOfOne2013]

It ties with GTA IV, which is great, it is behind GTA San Andreas which is behind GTA Vice City/Vice City Stories and it's leaps and bounds better than the soundtrack in GTA III and LCS.

[ForeverBlowingBubblz]

It ties with GTA IV, which is great, it is behind GTA San Andreas which is behind GTA Vice City/Vice City Stories and it's leaps and bounds better than the soundtrack in GTA III and LCS.

Not gonna lie, that's exactly how I'd rank it.

Yea I don't like the music selection rockstar picked for the game either. Nobody's taste in music is the same but damn wtf. The music from gta 4 I thought was good, the classics, liberty rock, the bob Marley station, fusion, and journey where the ones I listened to but this new soundtrack I usually just turn the radio off.

I liked all of those except Journey. Journey would give me a headache for whatever reason. My friends liked Journey though so maybe it's just me.

Edited March 8, 2014 by ForeverBlowingBubblz

[ShotGunRain]

Worldwide FM is great to listen to when driving around los Santos in the day. Might be more popular for those of us in the UK though as the station is pretty much the Giles Peterson show which airs over here.

Nothing beats Vice City and San Andreas radio stations R* lost taste in good music. Probably new audio guys were working on this game old workers who worked on San Andreas and Vice City probably got out

[ForeverBlowingBubblz]

Non-Stop-Pop FM - I wondered about that too but I don't hate it. It's a pop station, nothing else to say. Now what doesn't fit IMO are the tracks "Lady" and "Music Sounds Better With You" which should be on a separate house music station but it's okay.

 

Radio Mirror Park is like Radio Broker for me. A station with artists I never have heard of but with great songs, definitely the best station in V and the one which stand out IMO. Soulwax FM was kinda disappointing for me, "Shockwave (Gesaffelstein Remix)" is pretty much the only good song on it.

 

Haven't heard much Rebel Radio but I don't really like coutry music anyway. West Coast Classics is IMO as good or even better than Playback FM but not better as Radio Los Santos of SA. East Los FM is really sh*t, although it has a few funny tracks. Like Rebel Radio I haven't heard much of Worldwide FM but what I've heard was not so good, I must admit.

 

Los Santos Rock Radio was good, but that's it. K-DST or V-Rock are miles better, Liberty Rock Radio might be a bit better too. I also agree on the selection of songs. Too many soft rock, that could have had it's own station too. There're also a few tracks here and there that I like, "Disco Devil" on Blue Ark or "100hm" on FlyLo FM.

 

I think the soundtrack is pretty good. Not one of the best but still decent.

HA. You know what. There really was that one or two songs on East Los FM that made me chuckle. But I did whatever I could to get away from that station. I would change the station before choosing the destination when I entered the taxi. That's just how much I hated it. Are all taxi drivers really Hispanic in LA that listen to the same stuff? Geeeeeessssssshhhhh. Couldn't get into FlyLo for whatever reason. Radio Mirror Park, as you said, is like Radio Broker (which was also epic [but Radio Broker on GTA IV DLC was surprisingly bad).

[Ash_735]

Wow dude, you thought TLAD Radio Broker was bad? I liked it a lot, much more darker and heavy vibe that fit the dlc really well, tracks like "hell on wheels", "command" and that Blonde Acid Cult track was the stand out.

[ForeverBlowingBubblz]

Wow dude, you thought TLAD Radio Broker was bad? I liked it a lot, much more darker and heavy vibe that fit the dlc really well, tracks like "hell on wheels", "command" and that Blonde Acid Cult track was the stand out.

I can't explain it but Radio Broker on the DLC package was a HUGE let down for me. It was just sooo much worse than the GTAIV one.

[Ash_735]

I get the feeling we have like the opposite music taste, hah.

[peluche503]

I'm a hip hop fan so West Coast Classics was fantastic , this station stands to be the second best hip hop station behind classic Radio Los Santos. Ambitions Az Ridah, You Know How We Do It, What You Wanna Do. These songs were just fantastic.

 

Space had cool funk songs

 

LSRR was good as well.

 

NON stop POP FM had some good songs

 

Radio Mirror Park had some cool themes

 

Overall this sound track isn't bad, it's fine by me. Mostly because of the west coasts classics and Space.

[DaWiesel]

Radio Mirror Park, as you said, is like Radio Broker (which was also epic [but Radio Broker on GTA IV DLC was surprisingly bad).

 

I have to disagree on this. IMO both versions are great, only difference is that TLaD's is really darker and heavier as Ash said, but it's still on par with IV's version.

 

EDIT: Oh yeah, forgot about Space FM, "Party All The Time" fits just perfect.

Edited March 8, 2014 by DaWiesel

[saksoka]

Not that good , some fine songs and a lot of bad songs

 

 

and I guess I'm the only one who liked GTA III radio , very much

[killahmatic]

For me its right up there with SA and VC maybe slightly worse, but way above III and IV.

Sure, RLS is complete garbage, but I can listen to Radio Mirror Park, Space 103.2, Los Santos Rock Radio, Rebel Radio, & West Coast Classics non stop. There are also some great songs on The Lowdown, Worldwide FM, & Non Stop Pop.

 

I tend not to listen to the other stations. Talk radio is ok, there are some good points and bad point. Not as good as it was in III or VC.

[StarFyer]

The only thing I had my hopes up high for in GTA V was the radio selections. I was hoping it would be much better than GTA IV but was disappointed with V's radio as well, it's only slighty better, IMO. The only stations I like are Radio Mirror Park and The Lowdown. Los Santos Rock Radio, Space 103.2 and West Coast Classics are so so, they have a few good songs. I agree with you about Non Stop Pop. It was dumb to put those songs on the same station.

[peluche503]

The only thing I had my hopes up high for in GTA V was the radio selections. I was hoping it would be much better than GTA IV but was disappointed with V's radio as well, it's only slighty better, IMO. The only stations I like are Radio Mirror Park and The Lowdown. Los Santos Rock Radio, Space 103.2 and West Coast Classics are so so, they have a few good songs. I agree with you about Non Stop Pop. It was dumb to put those songs on the same station.

 

I will say WCC's outshine most of the hip hop stations in other games like VC and IV. Well at least IMO.

[ZHPbim]

I love the radio in V. Vine wood blvd, channel x, the classic rock one, radio mirror park, space, lowdown, flylo, soul wax, west coast classics, and worldwide are all good. My favs are flylo, worldwide, radio mirror park, soul wax and lowdown though.

[MajorVienna]

All the stations are half-good, half-bad, I cbf switching everytime a rubbish track starts so I've put the music off altogether. This blocks out the 'mission music' too which got annoying in the end, although I do believe it should have a seperate option.

[TheGodDamnMaster]

It's a forgettable soundtrack, as sh*tty as it is good. There are some good songs but they're buried underneath a mountain of sh*t. FlyLo FM, Non-Stop-Pop, Channel X, and East Los FM should have all been cut to make room for a wider song selection on the superior channels.

 

Do you know how many songs are on Rebel Radio? Only eleven. This is only the second GTA game to have a country station and it gets shafted by a subpar mix of mediocrity to make way for the sewage that most of the other stations play. But don't worry, we have 21 "songs" on Fly Lo FM, and fittingly enough, one of them is titled "Garbage".

 

Who the hell was in charge here? This is such a blunder.

Edited March 8, 2014 by WhatsStrength

[Ash_735]

Do you know how many songs are on Rebel Radio? Only eleven. This is only the second GTA game to have a country station and it gets shafted by a subpar mix of mediocrity to make way for the sewage that most of the other stations play. But don't worry, we have 21 "songs" on Fly Lo FM,

FlyLo FM, WorldWide FM, SoulWax FM and East Los FM are mix stations, so generally they can get through songs quicker to keep up pace and feature special mix versions of songs, such as the many SoulWax Remixes or the Flying lotus stuff, hell, even WorldWide FM mixed an up tempo version of "

".

 

You want to know what takes up the most space? Radio Mirror Park and Los Santos Rock Radio.

 

Besides I'm sure you all know about the internal struggle with GTAV's soundtrack as I detailed in this article along with a list of songs that were cut or featured in earlier builds of the game.

[Detective Phelps]

LS Rock Radio and Radio Mirror Park - Good songs, and my favourite stations.

RLS - Mostly crap (except hood' gone love it)

Rebel radio - mostly good songs (like convoy and are you sure Hank done it this way?), but one really bad song, get out of my car.

Non-stop-pop - Mostly crap, but some ok songs.

Channel X - Mostly OK songs, but the mouth don't stop is very good. SA's radio X is better, though.

That Mexican station (forgot the name ) - Mostly crap (the BEEP BEEP song), but one or two good tracks.

Vinewood Blvd - Generally good, but could be better IMO.

[richard1997jones]

I liked some of the tracks such as convoy, queen radio gaga, Pet shop Boys west end girls, Snoop Dog The next episode and Mojo Lady here me tonight but some of the music is just awful compared to San Andreas or Vice City.

[CryptReaperDorian]

What tracks are and aren't good are obviously dependent on personal preference. To me, GTA V's soundtrack is very forgettable. However, perhaps the worst part about it is how songs are grouped together. As you've mentioned, Non-Stop FM is f*cked up. Pop music is a genre that's heavily defined upon generations, and mixing these "generations" together is never a good idea. R* tried to mix 1980's pop music with today's Top 40 crap. It's just overly weird.

 

However, I wouldn't say that GTA III's soundtrack is all that bad. I thought so too at first, but I eventually learned to overly enjoy the Scarface soundtrack (Flashback 95.6) and "Joyride" (I don't like rap or hip-hop, but it's the original, nostalgic GTA theme song). Its soundtrack lacks content, but the content it has isn't too bad.

[mr quick]

This, in my opinion, is the second worst soundtrack in the series (GTA III being the worst). Non-Stop FM is utter garbage. Who in the right mind thought it was a good idea to put Hall&Oates and the Pet Shop Boys on the same station as Fergie, Britney Spears, and Rihanna? If GTAIV Liberty City DLC got Vice City FM, why couldn't GTA V get something similar? No jazz either. Huge disappointment.

 

I actually enjoyed Radio Mirror Park and Soulwax FM (call me a hipster, whatever). The country station was ok (as long as it's not modern country, I'm happy. Modern Country needs to be wiped off this planet permanently). West Coast Classics is also decent (but Playback FM is FAR superior). I can't stand whenever you enter a taxi and you hear that East Los FM. IT'S f*ckING GARBAGE. I was kinda hoping for KJAH FM...but...instead.... we get a Worldwide FM which is terrible. And then there's Los Santos Rock Radio..... (smh)

 

To be fair half the songs are decent on LSRR and it's not necessarily bad, but, like Non-Stop FM, they don't belong all on the same station. I mean, I just find it strange to see Simple Minds on the same station with Def Leppard (both great imo) Why is there two Bob Seger songs? (One of which, "Hollywood Nights", is god awful). A lot of these songs are just bland or even crap. Don Johnson's "Heartbeat" is a song bashed by many classic rock fans. Is Rockstar trolling us? "Higher Love"? Are you sh*tting me? Could've chose a better Stevie Nicks song, I mean please. And that song "If You Leave Me Now" (sigh, facepalm x3). Again, not terrible. But I would choose LCRR, KDST, Radio X, or VROC any day over this.

 

Lastly, the Talk Radio just doesn't deliver as much laughs. Does anyone remember Gardening with Maurice or Lazlo interviewing OG LOC or Big Smoke? I was in f*cking tears. Lazlo turned into this unfunny douche which was a bit sad for me. So yeah, a bit disappointing Rockstar.

right now let's talk about how radio works:

You gotta play sh*t that most people will listen to. now you and I, we're not most people. I am assuming from your post that you too are a fan of Jazz music, but it's not popular, it doesn't sell, and you can't put that on the radio. Not enough people will listen. Just like in san andreas, Somebody Up There Likes Me shouldn't be on the same station as Strutter, seeing as SUTLM is philly soul, not rock. Do I complain? No! It's two great songs to listen to, and they fit the ATMOSPHERE OF THE GAME! See? It's about the songs being suitable for radio (Meaning music for the uneducated) and suiting the atmosphere of the game, because the radio tracks are part of the soundscape of the game. And if you don't like it you can just not listen to it You cannot let your own narrow-minded musical taste influence your judgement of the game. If anything's wrong with it, it's definately the story.