The soundtrack to the game Grand Theft Auto IV, like the previous games in the series, is mostly made up of in-game radio stations. These radio stations can be listened to when driving various vehicles in the game, or at the start menu. Radio stations in past Grand Theft Auto games have included licensed music, original music made specifically for the game, DJ chat, and spoof advertising. This game includes 19 in-game radio stations (20 in the PC edition) and over 200 tracks. Of the 19 stations, 16 are musical stations while the other 3 are talk radio.
The soundtrack is expanded by purchasing two episodes of downloadable content, Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and Damned and Grand Theft Auto IV: The Ballad of Gay Tony, which each add over 50 songs and a talk radio program to the existing radio stations.[1][2] The songs included with the downloadable content carry over to the compilation disc Grand Theft Auto: Episodes From Liberty City but songs featured originally in Grand Theft Auto IV do not. Instead there are three exclusive radio stations featuring 48 songs not available for the original game.
The radio stations play songs in a random order and will still start at a random point whenever the player enters a vehicle. The radio station that is on when the player enters a vehicle is based on the type of vehicle the player enters.
Along with the in-game radio stations, other credited music is heard exclusively at certain points in the game. This includes the opening credits sequence and when walking through the interiors of certain buildings in the game. Michael Hunter composed and produced the theme song called Soviet Connection and incidental music for the original game.
As part of a partnership between Rockstar Games and Amazon.com, most of the music heard on the in-game radio stations is available for download through the Amazon MP3 digital music store.[3] Beginning with the release of The Lost and Damned, Rockstar's soundtrack sales partner is the iTunes Store.[4]
The following is a complete list of music-oriented radio stations in Grand Theft Auto IV and the music programming found on them, as credited in the Grand Theft Auto IV game manual[5] and the Amazon.com MP3 Music Store.[6] In the PC version there is also a "Independence FM" station which plays music files stored in My Documents\Rockstar Games\GTA IV\User Music path (the songs also need to be scanned on the Audio menu in Settings). Songs that came with the downloadable content can also be heard in the original version.[7][8]
DJ: Mister Cee, DJ Green Lantern, Funkmaster Flex† and Statik Selektah†
Genre: Hip Hop, Gangsta Rap, R&B[9]
Tracklist:
† Song that appeared in Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and Damned & Grand Theft Auto: The Ballad of Gay Tony.[1]
DJ: Mixed by DJ Premier
Genre: Golden age hip hop[9]
Tracklist:
DJ: François K and Crookers†
Genre: Electro House/Electro hop†/Crunkcore†[10]
Tracklist:
† Songs that came in Grand Theft Auto: The Ballad of Gay Tony & Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City
DJ: Roy Ayers
Genre: Funk, acid jazz, jazz fusion, nu jazz
Tracklist:
DJ: Femi Kuti
Genre: Funk and Afrobeat[11]
Tracklist:
DJ: Roy Haynes
Genre: Jazz[9]
Tracklist:
DJ: A computera
Genre: Ambient/Chillout/Downtempo/Minimalism/New Age[9]
Tracklist:
^a A Macintosh computer was used to produce the computerized DJ voice for this station, as "Vicki" from the speech recognition software PlainTalk can be heard throughout this station's DJ banter.
^b While not credited as such, as the official title for this song is a picture, it is unofficially titled "[z twig]" or "[b+w stripes]", which is also referenced in the file name ("ZTWIG"). The nomenclature used in this article comes from Warp Records' own labeling of the song.
DJ: Karl Lagerfeld
Genre: Disco, Funk[12]
Tracklist:
† Songs that came in Grand Theft Auto: The Ballad of Gay Tony & Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City
DJ: Jimmy Gestapo and Max Cavalera†
Genre: New York hardcore, hardcore punk, crossover thrash, and varied extreme metal† genres [13]
Tracklist:
† Songs that came in Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and Damned & Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City.[1]
†† Not included in Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City.
DJ: Iggy Pop
Genre: Classic rock, pop rock, punk rock, and varied rock music† genres
Tracklist:
† Songs that came in Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and Damned & Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City.[1]
DJ: Bobby Konders
Genre: Dancehall
Tracklist:
DJ: Juliette Lewis
Genre: Dance-Punk, Alternative rock, Indie rock
Tracklist:
† Songs that came in Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and Damned & Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City.[1]
DJ: Daddy Yankee & Henry Santos Jeter†
Genre: Reggaeton, Latin Pop, Latino
Tracklist:
† Song that came in Grand Theft Auto: The Ballad of Gay Tony & Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City
DJ: Carl Bradshaw
Genre: Reggae/dub
Tracklist:
DJ: Vaughn Harper
Genre: Soul/R&B[9]
Tracklist:
DJ: Ruslana and DJ Paul†
Genre: World/Eastern European music, Dance house†[14]
Tracklist:
† Song that came in Grand Theft Auto: The Ballad of Gay Tony & Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City On the original version of GTA IV, music formats switch between the original music content found on Radio Vladivostok and the new dance music content with DJ Paul.
These following songs are not included in the game, but in the soundtrack disc of this station.
DJ: David Rodigan
Genre: Reggae/dub
Tracklist:
† Only in Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City
DJ: Audrey
Genre: Ambient/Chillout/Downtempo/Minimalism/New Age
Tracklist:
† Only in Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City
DJ: Fernando Martínez
Genre: 1980s Pop & Rock
Tracklist:
† Only in Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City
The PC version of Grand Theft Auto IV adds Independence FM to the station line-up, which plays digital music files of the user's choice. Music files or shortcuts to music files placed within the GTA IV User Music folder are played in varying modes as selected by the user. Sequential mode plays the files in order, Shuffle mode randomly selects files, and Radio mode randomly plays songs with DJ commentary and advertisements. Supported file types are .wma, .mp3 and .m4a. Quicktime or iTunes needs to be installed for M4A support. In order for music to be played in Independence FM, the player must tell the game to scan the folder.[15]
The following is an incomplete list of talk radio stations in Grand Theft Auto IV and the programming found on them, as credited in the game manual.[5]
Host: Lazlow[9]
Topics: Talk radio[9]
Other Info: This station follows Lazlow as he tours Liberty City, speaking with various vendors and pedestrians. During the program various references are made, mostly from Lazlow's life, like V-Rock in Vice City, WCTR in San Andreas, and Chatterbox FM in Liberty City, there are also specific references to the Chatterbox program aired in GTA III, as he is told to bring back "the vegetarian guy" (Reed Tucker) who Lazlow made fun of, other references include a Backstage encounter at a Love Fist Concert. During the course of his program he interviews a pervert, a Latin hot dog vendor, a taxi cab driver, and an artist shooting a music video about rain, he also enters into arguments with several pedestrians, including one who tells him to keep his voice down, one telling him that he is an asshole, an internet obsessed teenager who calls him an old man, and a geek who he asks to build a website to sell Lazlow stuff. The pervert, the hot dog vendor, and the geek were all voiced by Fred Armisen.
The Ballad Of Gay Tony adds additional segments to the station. Lazlow mentions that the station "went dark" for a while because of lack of funding (explaining off the absence of new content to the station for The Lost And Damned). The segments deal with Lazlow having an intern named Jorge follow him around Liberty City while he interviews people and shows him the city. Jorge cannot speak English, which Lazlow takes advantage of regularly (and, to that effect, Lazlow cannot speak Georgie's language). He repeatedly threatens to deport Jorge. At the last new segment, Lazlow and Jorge, with Lazlow claiming that he can get into all the clubs, are directed to the Hercules club (which is one of the two clubs featured in the plotline to Ballad). Lazlow is ignorant to the fact of the club's main theme (it's a gay club, synonymous to Ballad's characters). Jorge finally gets revenge on Lazlow by saying something in his native tongue, to which all of the clubgoers in the front door line look to Lazlow (to which Lazlow is still ignorant as to why, stating that "the people are attracted to me all of a sudden").
Program: The Séance
Host: Beatrix Fontaine (Ilyana Kadushin)
Topics: A call-in talk show[9] focused on New Age spiritualism. During the show, Beatrix, a phony psychic, provides callers with questionable advice, and constantly asks for their money. Beatrix's last name may be a reference to Darius Fontaine, a get-rich-quick huckster who appeared in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.
Program: Pacemaker
Host: Ryan McFallon (Bryan Tucker)
Topics: A talk show[9] focused on health care. Host Ryan McFallon interviews a panel of three guests: Sheila Stafford (portrayed by Rachel Allen), a spokeswoman for Betta Pharmaceuticals who is said to have left a woman to die because Sheila feared the dying woman was uninsured, Wilson Taylor Sr. (portrayed by Bill Hader), a representative for an HMO, and Waylon Mason (portrayed by Rick Shapiro), an advocate of holistic medicine and home remedies. The show ends with Mason drilling holes in the heads of the other two guests.
Program: Intelligent Agenda
Host: Mike Riley (Brian Sack)
Topics: A left-wing call-in talk show. Host Mike Riley interviews a panel of three guests: Brandon Roberts, a Vinewood actor who associates himself with left-wing causes only to enhance his own image, John Hunter, a candidate for state governor, and Zachary Tyler, a child prodigy who was brought onto the show as an example of liberal parenting. The show ends with John Hunter spanking Zachary Tyler, and Zachary pleading 'No! Please no!'. Brandon also mentions a 'real' religion that he's a member of, The Epsilon Program of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas fame, and says "Kifflom" at the start and the end of the program.
Program: Richard Bastion Show
Host: Richard Bastion (portrayed by Jason Sudeikis)
Topics: A right-wing call-in talk show.[16] During the show, host Richard Bastion (a parody of Rush Limbaugh) answers guests' questions and statements about what they think is wrong with America. One male caller details about the "Maibatsu Monstrosities", a large luxury SUV parodying the Ford Excursion, which winks GTA III's radio commercials and Chatterbox FM's female caller driving one.
Other Info: In July 2007, Rockstar sent out an e-mail to their mailing list subscribers advertising an opportunity to get on the radio in the game. The e-mail included a link to a website with more information. On the website, it was explained that anyone could call a phone number provided and leave a message complaining about America. Selected messages would be chosen and would appear on the political talk station WKTT in the final build of the game.[17]
Program: Just or Unjust
Host: Judge Grady (Michael-Leon Wooley)
Topics: A radio court show, drawing some inspiration from Judge Judy and Divorce Court. The show's star, Judge Grady, is extremely misogynistic, and is constantly seen insulting and hitting on his female guests. At the end of each show, rather than the judge deciding who is right, the plaintiff and the defendant take part in a game to see who wins the trial. Games include duels, gladiatorial combat with lions, a Three-way, cannibalism and glass-eating contests.
Program: Fizz!
Hosts: Jane Labrador (Melinda Wade), Marcel LeMuir (voiced by Fez Whatley), Jeffron James (voiced by Patrice O'Neal)
Topics: A celebrity gossip radio show, parodying TMZ, What the Buck and Perez Hilton. Features interviews with Ricky Gervais and Katt Williams.
Program: The Martin Serious Show
Hosts: Martin Serious (Will Forte), Lisa Lynn, Mark the Manager, Smithy the Stunt Boy (East Side Dave MacDonald of the Ron and Fez Show)
Topics: Only on Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and Damned & Grand Theft Auto: Episodes From Liberty City, this is a parody of The Howard Stern Show[1]
Program: Conspire
Host: John Smith (voiced by Rick Allison)
Topics: Only on Grand Theft Auto: The Ballad of Gay Tony & Grand Theft Auto: Episodes From Liberty City, this is a parody of Coast to Coast AM and The Alex Jones Show.
The following is a list of songs that are found in the game, but cannot be heard on any in-game radio stations, as credited in the game manual.[5] Instead, other than the song played during the title sequence, they can be heard exclusively while walking through the interiors of different buildings in the game.
Several different adaptations of this song are used in various parts throughout the game. A remix of the theme plays upon game's startup. A solemn version plays on the pause screen and several different short variations are heard upon the player's completion of a mission. A remix also plays during the last 20 seconds of a multiplayer match. There is also a short musical jingle version of the theme that is played from an ice cream truck within the game.
These themes and accompanying incidental cues replace "Soviet Connection" in Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and Damned and Grand Theft Auto: The Ballad of Gay Tony, respectively.
Rockstar Games has released five soundtrack albums to date. The Music of Grand Theft Auto IV contains several soundtrack selections from the game.[18] Vladivostok FM features tracks from and "inspired by" the in-game radio station.[19] Liberty City Invasion features original music produced by DJ Green Lantern, some of which appears on 102.7 The Beat in the game.[20] Similarly, Statik Selektah's The Lost and Damned EP features original music produced by Statik Selektah that features in the downloadable episode.[21] The original themes are available in Grand Theft Auto IV — The Theme Song Collection.[22] A soundtrack album for the first expansion, The Music of Grand Theft Auto: The Lost and Damned was announced with artwork[23] and Drive By Audio – "Jailbait" was released on the iTunes Store as a single from the album. However, a full track listing was not announced, the album was not released, and the announcement was subsequently removed.[24]
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