Grand Theft Auto III soundtrack
Encyclopedia
The soundtrack of the game Grand Theft Auto III
has found popularity outside the game's fanbase. In the game, music is played on various "radio stations" which the player can listen to after a car has been acquired. Most radio stations play a mixture of music, DJ
chat, and spoof
advertising. The stations each reflect one style of music intended to evoke a certain atmosphere.
Some stations feature songs that were written specially for the soundtrack (or in some cases for the soundtracks of previous games in the series). Most of these tracks were written by Craig Conner and Stuart Ross, often with vocals and performances by other musicians. Where music has been created by Conner and Ross, a fictional band is credited to the song, and often the name of the band or the music itself is a parody of a well-known artist's style. Other stations, however, use music licensed from various record labels; this combination differs from those of the game's predecessors, which featured entirely original soundtracks.
The station that plays when the player gets in a car is fairly random (and can be changed or switched off if desired), but there are certain factors that will make the "choice" lean certain ways, such as the area the car is in, the type of car, and if it is a gang's signature car. All of the gangs in the game have favored radio stations.
Other than the radio stations, the only other occurrence of music in the entire game is within the game's intro and credit sequences, which play to very jazzy/bluesy piano tracks.
DJ: Morgan Merryweather
Genre: Classical, Opera
Tracklist:
Summary: Hosted by Morgan Merryweather (Gerry Cosgrove), Double Clef FM plays a selection of popular sequences from various classical opera
s. In the game, Double Clef FM is the favorite radio station of the Leone Mafia Family
. Morgan Merryweather is a stereotype of a pompous classical music afficionadio, interspersing the tracks with references to his refined lifestyle. His cultural references, however, are often incorrect. For instance, he at one point likens a piece of music to "Fellini's Lolita." Lolita
was written by Vladimir Nabokov
, and adapted for film once
by Stanley Kubrick
and again
by Adrian Lyne
. Federico Fellini
never turned the book into a film. Moreover, Merryweather notes that he spent a summer "reading Proust in the original Italian". Marcel Proust
wrote in French, not Italian. It is also alluded to that he is a pedophile, for example when he calls a song "overpowering, much like a twelve-year-old nephew who lets you bounce him on your knee one last time".
DJ: Toni
Genre: Hi-NRG
, 80s
Pop music
Tracklist:
Summary: Flashback 95.6 plays 1980s pop music
, and is hosted by "Toni" (Maria Chambers). It is aimed at people who are "stuck in the 80s" and, between songs, Toni reminisces about her hedonistic lifestyle during that time. Toni is also a DJ in two of GTAIII' s prequels, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories
, both of which are set in the 1980s. The tracks on Flashback 95.6 are all taken from the soundtrack
of the 1983 gangster film Scarface
and all composed by Giorgio Moroder
. Flashback is another of the Colombian Cartel's favorite radio stations. The DJ's name might also reference the film, with the protagonist named Tony Montana.
DJ: DJ Stretch Armstrong and Lord Sear
Genre: Underground hip hop
, Midwest hip hop
, East Coast hip hop
Tracklist:
Summary: Game Radio FM provides the radio of Liberty City with hip hop
featuring many lesser-known real-life artists and MCs
. The station is hosted by DJ Stretch Armstrong and Lord Sear as themselves. Game Radio FM is one of the favorite stations of the Southside Hoods in the game. The instrumental "Scary Movies" which can be heard at the beginning of the radio loop, was produced by Red Spyda
for Eminem
and Royce da 5'9" (Bad Meets Evil
).
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DJ: Michael Hunt
Genre: Soft Rock
, Adult Contemporary
Tracklist:
Summary: Soft rock
and adult contemporary radio station hosted by DJ "Michael Hunt" (Russ Mottla), and owned by Love Media (a fictional media company in the GTA world, parody of Clear Channel Communications
). Head Radio is the Diablos gang's favorite radio station. This is the third appearance of a Head Radio station in a GTA game.
DJ: Horace "the Pacifist" Walsh
Genre: Dub
Tracklist:
Summary: Hosted by Horace "the Pacifist" Walsh (Herman Stephens). K-Jah is the favorite station of the Yardies gang, and plays dub
reggae
music with interspersed bits of chatter from the DJ. All tracks played on the station are from the Scientist
album Scientist Rids the World of the Evil Curse of the Vampires
. The frequency for the station, as mentioned by some between-song commercials, is 103.7. It is also one of the few stations not owned by "Love Media", the fictional corporation owned by Donald Love, as can be seen from Horace's line "Me have no love for Donald Love, man."
K-Jah's west coast
affiliate is named K-JAH Radio West, as seen in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
.
DJ: Andee
Genre: Pop music
Tracklist:
Summary: Hosted by "Andee" (Shelley Miller), Lips 106 plays pop music
. Lips is the Yakuza's favorite radio station. The song "Grand Theft Auto" by Da Shootaz was originally featured in the soundtrack of the first Grand Theft Auto
game, where it can be heard on the fictional N-CT FM radiostation.
DJ: MC Codebreaker and DJ Timecode
Genre: Drum and Bass
, Jungle
Tracklist:
Summary: MC'd
by MC Codebreaker and mixed by DJ Timecode
, MSX FM is a station that plays Jungle
/drum and bass
music and has no commercials. The station is based on a pirate radio theme which broadcasts illegally across Liberty City. The station's FM frequency is mentioned to be 101.1, an allusion to the 2001 Moving Shadow
mix CD mixed by Timecode named "Moving Shadow 01.1
". The tracks featured on MSX FM are a subset of those on 01.1. MSX FM is the second favourite station of the Southside Hoods. It should also be noted that the game is set in the year 2001 while the station has the frequency 101.1, while it has the suffix "98" in Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories
, which takes place in 1998.
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DJ: Andre The Accelerator
Genre: Trance
Tracklist:
Summary: Hosted by "Andre The Accelerator" (voiced by "Andre") and plays four to the floor
style electronic dance music
. The playlist in the game is presented as a continuous liveset
which is being played and broadcast live
from a nightclub
called the Planetarium. This station does not feature any commercials. Rise FM is one of the Colombian Cartel's favorite stations. Rise FM is also the name of a real-life internet radio station which is owned and run by Denmark based Rise Future Media. However, it is in no way connected to the GTA version.
Hosted and produced by Lazlow
(who also co-wrote the script along with Dan Houser
), Chatterbox FM is the only radio station in the game that does not feature music. Much like the talk radio
stations in the real world, Chatterbox features a format in which listeners call in with opinions, concerns, and complaints, and the host responds with his take on the situation.
The station features two long interviews with fictional Liberty City characters. The first is with Fernando Martínez—a recurring character in the GTA series—who is the founder of Fernando's New Beginnings, which is billed as a sort of revolutionary new "miracle" therapy designed to save struggling marriages. Martinez speaks in a heavily exaggerated Spanish accent; when pressed about his heritage, he replies that he is "Latin." Martinez spends the length of the interview deflecting any deep review of his services, and instead relays his particular brand of folksy and absurdist wisdom. At the end of his interview, however, it is revealed that his therapeutic "techniques" are merely a thinly-veiled excuse for the husband to commit adultery when it suits him. Martinez asserts that whenever a man is tired of his wife, he should cheat on her, thereby reducing the anxiety he feels towards his wife, and thus "saving" the marriage. Until the next time. This results in Lazlow throwing Fernando out the studio, accusing him of being "just a cheap pimp from upstate". The second interview is with the pacifist, organic food-eating martial artist Reed Tucker, whom Lazlow constantly makes fun of. Towards the end of the interview, tired of being mocked, Reed attempts to karate chop the studio's desk "into two half desks", claiming he "already visioned" it. After failing miserably, Lazlow starts mocking him by adopting his voice and making comments about him ("I bruise easily, don't throw any tofu
or bean curds at me"). It is said by both Lazlow and Reed that he has a food market called "Now and Zen" in Trenton, but this does not exist in the game.
The callers and calls are humorous, and the replies Lazlow gives to his callers are usually comically caustic and opinionated. A common reply to nonsense callers is "Well I'm sure that's a lesson to us all." Several calls reference elements of the game's storyline. Maria Latore calls regarding relationship troubles with her boyfriend, and Toni Cipriani calls complaining about his mother's failure to treat him like a real man, though he disallows Lazlow to use his name, and he's the only character to utter the word "shit" twice on any of the GTA3 stations. Lazlow scolds him the first time, but doesn't on the second use. Ironically, Toni is the first character that the player encounters that uses the word. Maria calls in about Claude (the main character): "He don't talk much". Another call is from a SPANK-head, referring to the increasingly popular leisure drug prevalent in the game. He refers to Lazlow as a pansy and goes on about conspiracies and government brainwashing involving toothpaste
. There are also five second image promos with Donald Love (a character that gives you missions in the game) saying, "You're listening to a Love Media station. Enjoy!"
Another two apparently unrelated calls appear to subtly reference each other; a caller who indicates he is fond of eating animals of any kind says he sometimes finds pigeons that have notes attached, commenting "it's like a fortune cookie
with wings". Another caller, a woman from "Citizens Raging Against Phones" (C.R.A.P.), a fictional pressure group within GTA3 who are against the use of telephones, declares that the group uses carrier pigeons in the place of telephones, but that they keep going missing, implying that the first caller is, in fact, eating these pigeons. Lazlow also points out the ironic fact that this anti-phone group had to use a phone to reach the station.
Other callers include an English man calling to tell Lazlow that he needs a nanny to spank him (who also calls into Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
station K-Chat) , a man calling in regard to taxes (which he pronounces "Texas
"), a man who hates clothes ("Does a lion wear clothes? And the lion is the king of the jungle!") this same caller is also featured in the sequel game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
as a debate participant,on VCPR, nudist Barry Starks. And a caller who talks about turnips. Lazlow tells this caller that "This isn't 'Gardening with Maurice'." ("Gardening with Maurice" was later featured on WCTR, a talk radio station in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
). Another caller calls in just to say women are made from sand, a theory that was mentioned by Marvin Trill in San Andreas. Another male caller calls in to talk about a protest going on in Liberty City, though he never says what it's for despite Lazlow asking him numerous times about what he's protesting.
Finally, a war-veteran caller (who seemingly sounds like George W. Bush
) mentions an American-Australian war. Lazlow asks what the war is, and that he's never heard of it, which angers the veteran as he doesn't think Lazlow knows his history (in reality, though there has never been a military war between the two, this is probably to make a reference to several Grand Theft Auto games having been temporarily banned in Australia
). This becomes a running joke in later GTA games, as commercials for Ammu-Nation in Vice City and San Andreas references certain guns being used when "we whooped Australia's ass."
Lazlow off-offhandedly mentions that he is only hosting Chatterbox because he "got kicked off the rock station". In the next game in the series, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
, (set 15 years previously) he is the host of the radio station "V-Rock". The station is referenced again in Grand Theft Auto IV
on the WKTT radio station, mentioning that Chatterbox has become defunct by 2007 and that Lazlow is attempting a new radio show called Integrity 2.0.
The guests on the station were voiced by: Lucien Jones, Karin Bykowski, Hank Stewart, Abbi Davis, Mellowvision.com, Paul Maloney, bernieS, Frank Fava, Kit Halsted, Joe Casalino, Dan Houser
, Jay Crutcher, Frank Chavez, DJ Rush, Laura Bykowski, A.M. Watson, Navid Khonsari, Sherry Wohglmuth, Porkchop, Renaud Sebbane, Kyle MacLachlan
, Sabby, Kim Schaefer, Debi Mazar
, Nick Mandelos, David Connell, Reed Tucker, Jennifer Kolbe, Ami Plasse, Keith Broadus, Cameo Carlson, JD Leeds and Michael Madsen
.
Chatterbox FM is the Triad's favorite radio station.
and Lazlow
(the latter of whom also produced them). They are fairly convincing as real adverts as they adhere to many typical marketing clichés and tricks. Several advertisements mention telephone numbers and official websites. Rockstar actually created these websites, and although many links eventually lead back to the Rockstar site, some are more detailed. The Petsovernight.com website, for example, displays pictures of animals and promises "If it's got a central nervous system, we've got it ready to go in a box to your house", tying in with the humor of the commercials.
Some examples of commercials within the game are:
The ads are voiced by: Stephanie Roy, Gerry Cosgrove
, Sean Lynch, Lazlow
, Alex Anthony, Jonathan Hanst, Chris Silvestro, Jeff Berlin, Shelley Miller, Ron Reeve, Maria Chambers, Alana Silvestro, Alice Saltzman, Dan Houser
, Frank Chavez
, Craig Olivo and Laura Bykowski.
Grand Theft Auto III
Grand Theft Auto III is a 2001 open world action computer and video game developed by DMA Design in the United Kingdom, and published by Rockstar Games. It is the first 3D title in the Grand Theft Auto series. It was released in October 2001 for the PlayStation 2, May 2002 for Microsoft Windows,...
has found popularity outside the game's fanbase. In the game, music is played on various "radio stations" which the player can listen to after a car has been acquired. Most radio stations play a mixture of music, DJ
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
chat, and spoof
Parody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
advertising. The stations each reflect one style of music intended to evoke a certain atmosphere.
Some stations feature songs that were written specially for the soundtrack (or in some cases for the soundtracks of previous games in the series). Most of these tracks were written by Craig Conner and Stuart Ross, often with vocals and performances by other musicians. Where music has been created by Conner and Ross, a fictional band is credited to the song, and often the name of the band or the music itself is a parody of a well-known artist's style. Other stations, however, use music licensed from various record labels; this combination differs from those of the game's predecessors, which featured entirely original soundtracks.
The station that plays when the player gets in a car is fairly random (and can be changed or switched off if desired), but there are certain factors that will make the "choice" lean certain ways, such as the area the car is in, the type of car, and if it is a gang's signature car. All of the gangs in the game have favored radio stations.
Other than the radio stations, the only other occurrence of music in the entire game is within the game's intro and credit sequences, which play to very jazzy/bluesy piano tracks.
Double Clef FM
Genre: Classical, Opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
Tracklist:
- "Non piu andrai farfallone amoroso" from Le nozze di FigaroThe Marriage of FigaroLe nozze di Figaro, ossia la folle giornata , K. 492, is an opera buffa composed in 1786 in four acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte, based on a stage comedy by Pierre Beaumarchais, La folle journée, ou le Mariage de Figaro .Although the play by...
- "Chi mi frena in tal momento" from Lucia di LammermoorLucia di LammermoorLucia di Lammermoor is a dramma tragico in three acts by Gaetano Donizetti. Salvadore Cammarano wrote the Italian language libretto loosely based upon Sir Walter Scott's historical novel The Bride of Lammermoor....
- "Libiamo ne' lieti caliciLibiamo ne' lieti caliciLibiamo ne'lieti calici is the most famous duet from Verdi's La traviata, one of the most well known fragments of opera around the world, and an obligatory performance for any great tenor. The song is categorised as a Brindisi, which encourages alcoholic drinking...
" from La traviataLa traviataLa traviata is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi set to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave. It is based on La dame aux Camélias , a play adapted from the novel by Alexandre Dumas, fils. The title La traviata means literally The Fallen Woman, or perhaps more figuratively, The Woman... - "Finch'han del vino" from Don GiovanniDon GiovanniDon Giovanni is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and with an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It was premiered by the Prague Italian opera at the Teatro di Praga on October 29, 1787...
- "O mio babbino caroO mio babbino caro"O mio babbino caro" is a soprano aria from the opera Gianni Schicchi , by Giacomo Puccini, to a libretto by Giovacchino Forzano. It is sung by Lauretta after tensions between her father Schicchi and the family of Rinuccio, the boy she loves, have reached a breaking point that threatens to...
" from Gianni SchicchiGianni SchicchiGianni Schicchi is a comic opera in one act by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Giovacchino Forzano, composed in 1917–18. The libretto is based on an incident mentioned in Dante's Divine Comedy. The work is the third and final part of Puccini's Il trittico —three one-act operas with... - "La donna è mobileLa donna è mobile"La donna è mobile" is the cynical Duke of Mantua's canzone from Giuseppe Verdi's opera Rigoletto . The inherent irony is that it is the callous playboy Duke himself who is mobile...
" from RigolettoRigolettoRigoletto is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the play Le roi s'amuse by Victor Hugo. It was first performed at La Fenice in Venice on March 11, 1851...
Summary: Hosted by Morgan Merryweather (Gerry Cosgrove), Double Clef FM plays a selection of popular sequences from various classical opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
s. In the game, Double Clef FM is the favorite radio station of the Leone Mafia Family
The Leone crime family
The Leone mafia family is a fictional mafia family in the Grand Theft Auto entertainment franchise. The family is controlled by Salvatore Leone from at least 1992 to 2001, who got his position as head of the family during a mob war in the 1980s, when his unknown-named brother was killed...
. Morgan Merryweather is a stereotype of a pompous classical music afficionadio, interspersing the tracks with references to his refined lifestyle. His cultural references, however, are often incorrect. For instance, he at one point likens a piece of music to "Fellini's Lolita." Lolita
Lolita
Lolita is a novel by Vladimir Nabokov, first written in English and published in 1955 in Paris and 1958 in New York, and later translated by the author into Russian...
was written by Vladimir Nabokov
Vladimir Nabokov
Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov was a multilingual Russian novelist and short story writer. Nabokov wrote his first nine novels in Russian, then rose to international prominence as a master English prose stylist...
, and adapted for film once
Lolita (1962 film)
Lolita is a 1962 comedy-drama film by Stanley Kubrick based on the classic novel of the same title by Vladimir Nabokov. The film stars James Mason as Humbert Humbert, Sue Lyon as Dolores Haze and Shelley Winters as Charlotte Haze with Peter Sellers as Clare Quilty.Due to the MPAA's restrictions at...
by Stanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick was an American film director, writer, producer, and photographer who lived in England during most of the last four decades of his career...
and again
Lolita (1997 film)
Lolita is a 1997 French-American drama film directed by Adrian Lyne. It is the second screen adaptation of Vladimir Nabokov's novel of the same name and stars Jeremy Irons as Humbert Humbert and Dominique Swain as Dolores "Lolita" Haze, with supporting roles by Melanie Griffith as Charlotte Haze,...
by Adrian Lyne
Adrian Lyne
Adrian Lyne is an English filmmaker and producer. He is best known for directing films that focus on sexually charged characters and often uses natural light, a fog machine and other effects to create eroticized atmospheres...
. Federico Fellini
Federico Fellini
Federico Fellini, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI , was an Italian film director and scriptwriter. Known for a distinct style that blends fantasy and baroque images, he is considered one of the most influential and widely revered filmmakers of the 20th century...
never turned the book into a film. Moreover, Merryweather notes that he spent a summer "reading Proust in the original Italian". Marcel Proust
Marcel Proust
Valentin Louis Georges Eugène Marcel Proust was a French novelist, critic, and essayist best known for his monumental À la recherche du temps perdu...
wrote in French, not Italian. It is also alluded to that he is a pedophile, for example when he calls a song "overpowering, much like a twelve-year-old nephew who lets you bounce him on your knee one last time".
Flashback 95.6
Genre: Hi-NRG
Hi-NRG
Hi-NRG describes a form of high-tempo disco music as well as a genre of electronic dance music originating in the United States during the late 1970s...
, 80s
80s
-Significant people:* Titus Flavius VespasianusRoman Emperor * Titus Flavius Domitianus, Roman Emperor...
Pop music
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
Tracklist:
- Debbie HarryDebbie HarryDeborah Ann "Debbie" Harry is an American singer-songwriter and actress, best known for being the lead singer of the punk rock and new wave band Blondie. She has also had success as a solo artist, and in the mid-1990s she performed and recorded as part of The Jazz Passengers...
- "Rush RushRush Rush (Debbie Harry song)"Rush Rush" is a song by the American vocalist Debbie Harry. Released as a single in 1983, it is taken from the soundtrack album of the film Scarface .-Song information:...
" - Elizabeth DailyElizabeth DailyElizabeth Ann Guttman , better known by her stage names of Elizabeth Daily and E.G. Daily, is an American voice actress, actress, singer-songwriter, and musician...
- "Shake It Up" - Paul EngemannPaul EngemannPaul Robert Engemann is a 1980s pop musician best known for his 1983 song "Scarface ". The song featured prominently in the film Scarface, which was released in the same year....
- "Push It to the LimitScarface (Push it to the Limit)"Scarface " is the title of a song written by Italian record producers Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte, and recorded by American musician Paul Engemann. It appeared on the soundtrack for the 1983 motion picture Scarface...
" - Amy HollandAmy HollandAmy Holland is a pop rock singer. She is of Dutch descent and changed her name from Boersma to Holland , because she thought it would make a better stage name. Her mother was country star Esmereldy and her father was opera singer Harry Boersma...
- "She's on Fire" - Elizabeth DailyElizabeth DailyElizabeth Ann Guttman , better known by her stage names of Elizabeth Daily and E.G. Daily, is an American voice actress, actress, singer-songwriter, and musician...
- "I'm Hot Tonight"
Summary: Flashback 95.6 plays 1980s pop music
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
, and is hosted by "Toni" (Maria Chambers). It is aimed at people who are "stuck in the 80s" and, between songs, Toni reminisces about her hedonistic lifestyle during that time. Toni is also a DJ in two of GTAIII
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City is a 2002 open world action computer and video game developed by British games developer Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It is the second 3D game in the Grand Theft Auto video game franchise and sixth original title overall...
and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories is a 2006 sandbox-style action video game developed by Rockstar Leeds in association with Rockstar North. It was published by Rockstar Games for the PlayStation Portable in late 2006 and later for the PlayStation 2 in March 2007. The game is the eighth...
, both of which are set in the 1980s. The tracks on Flashback 95.6 are all taken from the soundtrack
Scarface (soundtrack)
Scarface is the soundtrack to the 1983 film of the same name. Released the same year as the film, the album featured music created exclusively for the film by Giorgio Moroder, who produced all of the tracks...
of the 1983 gangster film Scarface
Scarface (1983 film)
Scarface is a 1983 American epic crime drama movie directed by Brian De Palma, written by Oliver Stone, produced by Martin Bregman and starring Al Pacino as Tony Montana...
and all composed by Giorgio Moroder
Giorgio Moroder
Hansjörg "Giorgio" Moroder is an Italian record producer, songwriter and performer based in Los Angeles. When in Munich in the 1970s, he started his own record label called Oasis Records, which several years later became a subdivision of Casablanca Records...
. Flashback is another of the Colombian Cartel's favorite radio stations. The DJ's name might also reference the film, with the protagonist named Tony Montana.
Game Radio FM
Genre: Underground hip hop
Underground hip hop
Underground hip hop is an umbrella term for hip hop music outside the general commercial canon. It is typically associated with independent artists, signed toindependent labels or no label at all....
, Midwest hip hop
Midwest hip hop
Midwest hip hop is hip hop music performed by artists from the Midwestern United States. In contrast with its East Coast, West Coast and Southern counterparts, Midwest hip hop has very few constants...
, East Coast hip hop
East Coast hip hop
East Coast hip hop is a regional subgenre of hip hop music that originated in New York City, USA during the 1970s. Hip hop is recognized to have originated and evolved first in the East Coast...
Tracklist:
- ReefRed SpydaAndy "Red Spyda" Thelusma is an American Hip Hop producer who has worked on many songs for artists such as 50 Cent. He is also known for producing songs for D-Block, Mobb Deep, Amerie, D-12, and G-Unit. Other notable works by Red Spyda have included his contributions to the in-game soundtrack of...
- "Scary Movies (Instrumental)" - Royce da 5'9" - "We're Live (Danger)"
- NatureNature (rapper)Jermain Baxter , better known as Nature, is an American rapper, best known for his association with fellow Queensbridge-born rapper Nas.-Career:...
- "Nature Freestyle" - JoJo Pellegrino - "JoJo Pellegrino Freestyle"
- Pretty UglyPretty UglyPretty Ugly is the fourth studio album by the punk rock band Lunachicks. It was released by Go-Kart Records in 1997.-Tracks:# Yeah # Throwin It Away # The Day Squid's Gerbil Died # Dear Dotti # Mr. Lady # Spork # What's Left # Gone Kissin...
and Royce da 5'9" - "Spit Game" - Royce da 5'9" - "I'm The King"
- RushRed SpydaAndy "Red Spyda" Thelusma is an American Hip Hop producer who has worked on many songs for artists such as 50 Cent. He is also known for producing songs for D-Block, Mobb Deep, Amerie, D-12, and G-Unit. Other notable works by Red Spyda have included his contributions to the in-game soundtrack of...
- "Instrumental Bed 1" - Black RobBlack RobBlack Rob is a rapper who was formerly signed to Bad Boy Records.-Music career:Black Rob began associating with the label as early as 1996, appearing on the Bad Boy remix to 112's "Come See Me"...
- "By A Stranger" - AgallahAgallahAgallah , born Angel Aguilar, is a Puerto Rican and Filipino-American rapper who was a member of the The Diplomats-affiliated group Purple City and the group Propain campaign. He was formerly known as 8-Off Agallah, but changed the name because it was controversial; 8-Off is a variation of the name...
and Sean PriceSean PriceSean Price is an American rapper and member of the hip hop supergroups Boot Camp Clik and Random Axe. He came to fame as one-half of the duo Heltah Skeltah, performing under the name Ruckus, or in short Ruck, along with partner Rock. He also is featured in the video game NBA 2K11 as a playable...
- "Rising to the Top" - RushRed SpydaAndy "Red Spyda" Thelusma is an American Hip Hop producer who has worked on many songs for artists such as 50 Cent. He is also known for producing songs for D-Block, Mobb Deep, Amerie, D-12, and G-Unit. Other notable works by Red Spyda have included his contributions to the in-game soundtrack of...
- "Instrumental Bed 2"
Summary: Game Radio FM provides the radio of Liberty City with hip hop
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
featuring many lesser-known real-life artists and MCs
Master of Ceremonies
A Master of Ceremonies , or compere, is the host of a staged event or similar performance.An MC usually presents performers, speaks to the audience, and generally keeps the event moving....
. The station is hosted by DJ Stretch Armstrong and Lord Sear as themselves. Game Radio FM is one of the favorite stations of the Southside Hoods in the game. The instrumental "Scary Movies" which can be heard at the beginning of the radio loop, was produced by Red Spyda
Red Spyda
Andy "Red Spyda" Thelusma is an American Hip Hop producer who has worked on many songs for artists such as 50 Cent. He is also known for producing songs for D-Block, Mobb Deep, Amerie, D-12, and G-Unit. Other notable works by Red Spyda have included his contributions to the in-game soundtrack of...
for Eminem
Eminem
Marshall Bruce Mathers III , better known by his stage name Eminem or his alter ego Slim Shady, is an American rapper, record producer, songwriter and actor. Eminem's popularity brought his group project, D12, to mainstream recognition...
and Royce da 5'9" (Bad Meets Evil
Bad Meets Evil
Bad Meets Evil is an American hip hop duo from Detroit, Michigan that consists of rappers Royce da 5'9" and Eminem . They are best known for collaborating on a self-titled song that appeared on Eminem's major-label debut album The Slim Shady LP in 1999, their early association with Dr...
).
Head Radio
Genre: Soft Rock
Soft rock
Soft rock is a style of music which uses the techniques of rock music to compose a softer, more toned-down sound. Soft rock songs generally tend to focus on themes like love, everyday life and relationships. The genre tends to make heavy use of acoustic guitars, pianos, synthesizers and sometimes...
, Adult Contemporary
Tracklist:
- Dil-Don't - "Stripe Summer"
- Whatever - "Good Thing"
- Craig Gray - "Fade Away"
- Conor & Jay - "Change"
- Frankie Fame - "See Through You"
- Scatwerk - "Electronic Go Go"
- Dezma - "Life Is But A Mere Supply"
Summary: Soft rock
Soft rock
Soft rock is a style of music which uses the techniques of rock music to compose a softer, more toned-down sound. Soft rock songs generally tend to focus on themes like love, everyday life and relationships. The genre tends to make heavy use of acoustic guitars, pianos, synthesizers and sometimes...
and adult contemporary radio station hosted by DJ "Michael Hunt" (Russ Mottla), and owned by Love Media (a fictional media company in the GTA world, parody of Clear Channel Communications
Clear Channel Communications
Clear Channel Communications, Inc. is an American media conglomerate company headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It was founded in 1972 by Lowry Mays and Red McCombs, and was taken private by Bain Capital LLC and Thomas H. Lee Partners LP in a leveraged buyout in 2008...
). Head Radio is the Diablos gang's favorite radio station. This is the third appearance of a Head Radio station in a GTA game.
K-Jah
Genre: Dub
Dub music
Dub is a genre of music which grew out of reggae music in the 1960s, and is commonly considered a subgenre, though it has developed to extend beyond the scope of reggae...
Tracklist:
- ScientistScientist (musician)Scientist, born Hopeton Brown in Kingston, Jamaica, 1960 , was a protégé of King Tubby , one of the originators of dub music.-Biography:...
- "Dance of the Vampires" - ScientistScientist (musician)Scientist, born Hopeton Brown in Kingston, Jamaica, 1960 , was a protégé of King Tubby , one of the originators of dub music.-Biography:...
- "Your Teeth in My Neck" - ScientistScientist (musician)Scientist, born Hopeton Brown in Kingston, Jamaica, 1960 , was a protégé of King Tubby , one of the originators of dub music.-Biography:...
- "The Corpse Rises" - ScientistScientist (musician)Scientist, born Hopeton Brown in Kingston, Jamaica, 1960 , was a protégé of King Tubby , one of the originators of dub music.-Biography:...
- "The Mummy's Shroud" - ScientistScientist (musician)Scientist, born Hopeton Brown in Kingston, Jamaica, 1960 , was a protégé of King Tubby , one of the originators of dub music.-Biography:...
- "Plague of Zombies"
Summary: Hosted by Horace "the Pacifist" Walsh (Herman Stephens). K-Jah is the favorite station of the Yardies gang, and plays dub
Dub music
Dub is a genre of music which grew out of reggae music in the 1960s, and is commonly considered a subgenre, though it has developed to extend beyond the scope of reggae...
reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
music with interspersed bits of chatter from the DJ. All tracks played on the station are from the Scientist
Scientist (musician)
Scientist, born Hopeton Brown in Kingston, Jamaica, 1960 , was a protégé of King Tubby , one of the originators of dub music.-Biography:...
album Scientist Rids the World of the Evil Curse of the Vampires
Scientist Rids the World of the Evil Curse of the Vampires
Scientist Rids the World of the Evil Curse of the Vampires is an album by the dub musician Scientist. It was originally released in 1981. A digitally remastered version was released by Greensleeves Records as the twenty-fifth of their Reggae Classics series in 2001.-Album information:The album was...
. The frequency for the station, as mentioned by some between-song commercials, is 103.7. It is also one of the few stations not owned by "Love Media", the fictional corporation owned by Donald Love, as can be seen from Horace's line "Me have no love for Donald Love, man."
K-Jah's west coast
West Coast of the United States
West Coast or Pacific Coast are terms for the westernmost coastal states of the United States. The term most often refers to the states of California, Oregon, and Washington. Although not part of the contiguous United States, Alaska and Hawaii do border the Pacific Ocean but can't be included in...
affiliate is named K-JAH Radio West, as seen in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is a 2004 open world action video game developed by British games developer Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It is the third 3D game in the Grand Theft Auto video game franchise, the fifth original console release and eighth game overall...
.
Lips 106
Genre: Pop music
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
Tracklist:
- Fatamarse - "Bump To The Music"
- Marydancin - "Wash Him Off"
- April's in Paris - "Feels Like I Just Can't Take No More"
- Lucy - "Forever"
- Boyz 2 Girls - "Pray It Goes Ok?"
- Da Shootaz - "Grand Theft Auto (Joyride)"
- Funky BJs - "Rubber Tip"
Summary: Hosted by "Andee" (Shelley Miller), Lips 106 plays pop music
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
. Lips is the Yakuza's favorite radio station. The song "Grand Theft Auto" by Da Shootaz was originally featured in the soundtrack of the first Grand Theft Auto
Grand Theft Auto (video game)
Grand Theft Auto is a 1997 action-adventure video game created by British games developer DMA Design and published by BMG Interactive. The game allows the player to take on the role of a criminal who can roam freely around a big city. Various missions are set for completion, such as bank...
game, where it can be heard on the fictional N-CT FM radiostation.
MSX FM
Timecode (DJ)
Timecode, real name Rob Playford, is a UK drum and bass DJ, producer and record label owner.-Biography:He is best known as founder of Moving Shadow—one of the biggest record labels in the drum and bass scene named Moving Shadow, formed in 1990—and as engineer and producer for Goldie on...
Genre: Drum and Bass
Drum and bass
Drum and bass is a type of electronic music which emerged in the late 1980s. The genre is characterized by fast breakbeats , with heavy bass and sub-bass lines...
, Jungle
Oldschool jungle
Jungle is a genre of electronic music that incorporates influences from genres including breakbeat hardcore, and reggae/dub/dancehall. There is debate as to whether jungle is a separate genre from drum and bass as many use the terms interchangeably...
Tracklist:
- CalyxCalyx (artist)Calyx is a UK based drum and bass act, specialising in the techstep style. Previously the duo Larry Cons and Chris Rush , it is now a solo project of Larry Cons....
- "Quagmire" - Rascal and Klone - "Get Wild"
- Ryme Tyme - "Judgement Day"
- HexHexA hex is a magical spell, usually with malevolent purposes such as a curse. The term is derived from the German word Hexe for a witch.Hexa– is a prefix from the Greek word for 'six', as in hexagon, a polygon with six corners....
- "Force" - Omni Trio - "First Contact"
- AquaskyAquaskyAquasky is a breaks and jungle group composed of Dave Wallace, Kieron Bailey & Brent Newitt. In early 1995 they got together to produce their own music. Shortly afterwards they sent a demo tape to Moving Shadow records and the seeds of a musical alliance were sown...
- "Spectre" - Rascal and Klone - "Winner Takes All"
- Ryme Tyme - "T Minus"
- nCodeNCode (company)nCode was a company providing engineering solutions that was acquired by German data acquisition company HBM in August 2008. The original head office was in Sheffield, UK and then in Southfield, Michigan, with both locations now used by the new nCode division of HBM. The company was founded in...
- "Spasm" - D.KayD.KayD.Kay aka David Kulenkampff is a drum and bass producer.In 2001 D.Kay came together with Rawfull to form Ill.Skillz. Tracks from D.Kay were released on Soul:R, Bingo, Hospital and Renegade Hardware, and he has worked with Kasra, Marcus Intalex and Black Sun Empire...
- "Monolith" - Dom & Ryme Tyme - "Iceberg"
Summary: MC'd
Master of Ceremonies
A Master of Ceremonies , or compere, is the host of a staged event or similar performance.An MC usually presents performers, speaks to the audience, and generally keeps the event moving....
by MC Codebreaker and mixed by DJ Timecode
Timecode (DJ)
Timecode, real name Rob Playford, is a UK drum and bass DJ, producer and record label owner.-Biography:He is best known as founder of Moving Shadow—one of the biggest record labels in the drum and bass scene named Moving Shadow, formed in 1990—and as engineer and producer for Goldie on...
, MSX FM is a station that plays Jungle
Jungle
A Jungle is an area of land in the tropics overgrown with dense vegetation.The word jungle originates from the Sanskrit word jangala which referred to uncultivated land. Although the Sanskrit word refers to "dry land", it has been suggested that an Anglo-Indian interpretation led to its...
/drum and bass
Drum and bass
Drum and bass is a type of electronic music which emerged in the late 1980s. The genre is characterized by fast breakbeats , with heavy bass and sub-bass lines...
music and has no commercials. The station is based on a pirate radio theme which broadcasts illegally across Liberty City. The station's FM frequency is mentioned to be 101.1, an allusion to the 2001 Moving Shadow
Moving Shadow
Moving Shadow was a UK-based jungle/drum and bass record label that was started in 1990 by Rob Playford. Alongside such labels as Suburban Base, Formation Records, D-Zone, Reinforced, and Metalheadz, Moving Shadow grew to become one of the best-regarded and longest-lived labels in its genre,...
mix CD mixed by Timecode named "Moving Shadow 01.1
Moving shadow 01.1
Moving Shadow 01.1 is a 73 minute long mix CD created by Rob Playford, aka DJ 'Timecode', founder of the record label Moving Shadow.Tracklisting:Omni Trio - First ContactAquasky - SpectreRascal & Klone - Winner Takes AllCalyx - Catapult...
". The tracks featured on MSX FM are a subset of those on 01.1. MSX FM is the second favourite station of the Southside Hoods. It should also be noted that the game is set in the year 2001 while the station has the frequency 101.1, while it has the suffix "98" in Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories
Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories
Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories is a 2005 sandbox-style action video game developed by Rockstar North and Rockstar Leeds. It is the ninth game in the Grand Theft Auto series...
, which takes place in 1998.
Rise FM
Genre: Trance
Trance music
Trance is a genre of electronic dance music that developed in the 1990s.:251 It is generally characterized by a tempo of between 125 and 150 bpm,:252 repeating melodic synthesizer phrases, and a musical form that builds up and breaks down throughout a track...
Tracklist:
- Chris Walsh & Dave BeranDave BeranDave Beran is the chef de cuisine at Next , which is co-owned by Grant Achatz....
– "Shake (Revolt Clogrock Remix)" - ShiverShiver (disambiguation)Shiver refers to shivering, a bodily function in response to early hypothermia in warm-blooded animals.Shiver may also refer to:* Eskalofrío, a 2008 Spanish horror film*Shiver, a novel by Maggie Stiefvater...
– "Deep Time" - R.R.D.S.Cloud2GroundCloud2Ground was an American Christian electronic dance music production duo, consisting of Jeremy Dawson and Chad Petree. Dawson and Petree grew up in Shawnee, Oklahoma, and met when they were teenagers. They played together in various bands, before separating to pursue other projects...
– "Innerbattle" - SlyderCloud2GroundCloud2Ground was an American Christian electronic dance music production duo, consisting of Jeremy Dawson and Chad Petree. Dawson and Petree grew up in Shawnee, Oklahoma, and met when they were teenagers. They played together in various bands, before separating to pursue other projects...
– "Score (Original Mix)" - SlyderCloud2GroundCloud2Ground was an American Christian electronic dance music production duo, consisting of Jeremy Dawson and Chad Petree. Dawson and Petree grew up in Shawnee, Oklahoma, and met when they were teenagers. They played together in various bands, before separating to pursue other projects...
– "Neo (The One)"
Summary: Hosted by "Andre The Accelerator" (voiced by "Andre") and plays four to the floor
Four to the floor
Four-on-the-floor is a rhythm pattern used in disco and electronic dance music. It is a steady, uniformly accented beat in 4/4 time in which the bass drum is hit on every beat in common time...
style electronic dance music
Electronic dance music
Electronic dance music is electronic music produced primarily for the purposes of use within a nightclub setting, or in an environment that is centered upon dance-based entertainment...
. The playlist in the game is presented as a continuous liveset
DJ mix
A DJ mix or DJ mixset is a sequence of musical tracks typically mixed together to appear as one continuous track. When a DJ mix or DJ mixset is recorded onto some medium, it is often referred to as a mix tape...
which is being played and broadcast live
Live radio
Live radio is radio broadcast without delay. Before the days of television, audiences listened to live dramas, comedies, quiz shows, and concerts on the radio much the same way that they now do on TV. Most talk radio is live radio where people can speak about their opinions/lives....
from a nightclub
Nightclub
A nightclub is an entertainment venue which usually operates late into the night...
called the Planetarium. This station does not feature any commercials. Rise FM is one of the Colombian Cartel's favorite stations. Rise FM is also the name of a real-life internet radio station which is owned and run by Denmark based Rise Future Media. However, it is in no way connected to the GTA version.
Chatterbox FM
Lazlow
Lazlow Jones, is an American writer, producer, director and talk show host based in New York City. He was the host of Technofile, a radio show syndicated on more than 100 radio stations in America and as well as Sirius XM Satellite Radio...
(who also co-wrote the script along with Dan Houser
Dan Houser
Dan Houser is an English video game producer and vice president of creativity for Rockstar Games...
), Chatterbox FM is the only radio station in the game that does not feature music. Much like the talk radio
Talk radio
Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often feature interviews with a number of different guests. Talk radio typically includes an element of listener participation, usually by broadcasting live...
stations in the real world, Chatterbox features a format in which listeners call in with opinions, concerns, and complaints, and the host responds with his take on the situation.
The station features two long interviews with fictional Liberty City characters. The first is with Fernando Martínez—a recurring character in the GTA series—who is the founder of Fernando's New Beginnings, which is billed as a sort of revolutionary new "miracle" therapy designed to save struggling marriages. Martinez speaks in a heavily exaggerated Spanish accent; when pressed about his heritage, he replies that he is "Latin." Martinez spends the length of the interview deflecting any deep review of his services, and instead relays his particular brand of folksy and absurdist wisdom. At the end of his interview, however, it is revealed that his therapeutic "techniques" are merely a thinly-veiled excuse for the husband to commit adultery when it suits him. Martinez asserts that whenever a man is tired of his wife, he should cheat on her, thereby reducing the anxiety he feels towards his wife, and thus "saving" the marriage. Until the next time. This results in Lazlow throwing Fernando out the studio, accusing him of being "just a cheap pimp from upstate". The second interview is with the pacifist, organic food-eating martial artist Reed Tucker, whom Lazlow constantly makes fun of. Towards the end of the interview, tired of being mocked, Reed attempts to karate chop the studio's desk "into two half desks", claiming he "already visioned" it. After failing miserably, Lazlow starts mocking him by adopting his voice and making comments about him ("I bruise easily, don't throw any tofu
Tofu
is a food made by coagulating soy milk and then pressing the resulting curds into soft white blocks. It is part of East Asian and Southeast Asian cuisine such as Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Indonesian, Vietnamese, and others. There are many different varieties of tofu, including fresh tofu and tofu...
or bean curds at me"). It is said by both Lazlow and Reed that he has a food market called "Now and Zen" in Trenton, but this does not exist in the game.
The callers and calls are humorous, and the replies Lazlow gives to his callers are usually comically caustic and opinionated. A common reply to nonsense callers is "Well I'm sure that's a lesson to us all." Several calls reference elements of the game's storyline. Maria Latore calls regarding relationship troubles with her boyfriend, and Toni Cipriani calls complaining about his mother's failure to treat him like a real man, though he disallows Lazlow to use his name, and he's the only character to utter the word "shit" twice on any of the GTA3 stations. Lazlow scolds him the first time, but doesn't on the second use. Ironically, Toni is the first character that the player encounters that uses the word. Maria calls in about Claude (the main character): "He don't talk much". Another call is from a SPANK-head, referring to the increasingly popular leisure drug prevalent in the game. He refers to Lazlow as a pansy and goes on about conspiracies and government brainwashing involving toothpaste
Toothpaste
Toothpaste is a paste or gel dentifrice used with a toothbrush as an accessory to clean and maintain the aesthetics and health of teeth. Toothpaste is used to promote oral hygiene: it serves as an abrasive that aids in removing the dental plaque and food from the teeth, assists in suppressing...
. There are also five second image promos with Donald Love (a character that gives you missions in the game) saying, "You're listening to a Love Media station. Enjoy!"
Another two apparently unrelated calls appear to subtly reference each other; a caller who indicates he is fond of eating animals of any kind says he sometimes finds pigeons that have notes attached, commenting "it's like a fortune cookie
Fortune cookie
A fortune cookie is a crisp cookie usually made from flour, sugar, vanilla, and oil with a "fortune" wrapped inside. A "fortune" is a piece of paper with words of faux wisdom or a vague prophecy...
with wings". Another caller, a woman from "Citizens Raging Against Phones" (C.R.A.P.), a fictional pressure group within GTA3 who are against the use of telephones, declares that the group uses carrier pigeons in the place of telephones, but that they keep going missing, implying that the first caller is, in fact, eating these pigeons. Lazlow also points out the ironic fact that this anti-phone group had to use a phone to reach the station.
Other callers include an English man calling to tell Lazlow that he needs a nanny to spank him (who also calls into Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City is a 2002 open world action computer and video game developed by British games developer Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It is the second 3D game in the Grand Theft Auto video game franchise and sixth original title overall...
station K-Chat) , a man calling in regard to taxes (which he pronounces "Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
"), a man who hates clothes ("Does a lion wear clothes? And the lion is the king of the jungle!") this same caller is also featured in the sequel game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City is a 2002 open world action computer and video game developed by British games developer Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It is the second 3D game in the Grand Theft Auto video game franchise and sixth original title overall...
as a debate participant,on VCPR, nudist Barry Starks. And a caller who talks about turnips. Lazlow tells this caller that "This isn't 'Gardening with Maurice'." ("Gardening with Maurice" was later featured on WCTR, a talk radio station in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is a 2004 open world action video game developed by British games developer Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It is the third 3D game in the Grand Theft Auto video game franchise, the fifth original console release and eighth game overall...
). Another caller calls in just to say women are made from sand, a theory that was mentioned by Marvin Trill in San Andreas. Another male caller calls in to talk about a protest going on in Liberty City, though he never says what it's for despite Lazlow asking him numerous times about what he's protesting.
Finally, a war-veteran caller (who seemingly sounds like George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
) mentions an American-Australian war. Lazlow asks what the war is, and that he's never heard of it, which angers the veteran as he doesn't think Lazlow knows his history (in reality, though there has never been a military war between the two, this is probably to make a reference to several Grand Theft Auto games having been temporarily banned in Australia
Censorship in Australia
Australia is a federation, and responsibility for censorship is divided between the states and the federal government. Censorship of video games and Internet sites hosted in Australia are considered to be the strictest in the western world....
). This becomes a running joke in later GTA games, as commercials for Ammu-Nation in Vice City and San Andreas references certain guns being used when "we whooped Australia's ass."
Lazlow off-offhandedly mentions that he is only hosting Chatterbox because he "got kicked off the rock station". In the next game in the series, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City is a 2002 open world action computer and video game developed by British games developer Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It is the second 3D game in the Grand Theft Auto video game franchise and sixth original title overall...
, (set 15 years previously) he is the host of the radio station "V-Rock". The station is referenced again in Grand Theft Auto IV
Grand Theft Auto IV
Grand Theft Auto IV is a 2008 open world action video game published by Rockstar Games, and developed by British games developer Rockstar North. It has been released for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 video game consoles, and for the Windows operating system...
on the WKTT radio station, mentioning that Chatterbox has become defunct by 2007 and that Lazlow is attempting a new radio show called Integrity 2.0.
The guests on the station were voiced by: Lucien Jones, Karin Bykowski, Hank Stewart, Abbi Davis, Mellowvision.com, Paul Maloney, bernieS, Frank Fava, Kit Halsted, Joe Casalino, Dan Houser
Dan Houser
Dan Houser is an English video game producer and vice president of creativity for Rockstar Games...
, Jay Crutcher, Frank Chavez, DJ Rush, Laura Bykowski, A.M. Watson, Navid Khonsari, Sherry Wohglmuth, Porkchop, Renaud Sebbane, Kyle MacLachlan
Kyle MacLachlan
Kyle Merritt MacLachlan is an American actor. MacLachlan is best known for his roles in cult films Blue Velvet as Jeffrey Beaumont, Showgirls as Zack Carey, as Paul Atreides in Dune, and Ray Manzarek in the Oliver Stone film The Doors...
, Sabby, Kim Schaefer, Debi Mazar
Debi Mazar
Deborah "Debi" Mazar is an American actress, perhaps best known for her Jersey Girl-type roles; as sharp-tongued women in independent films; and for her recurring role as press agent Shauna Roberts on the HBO series Entourage.-Early life:...
, Nick Mandelos, David Connell, Reed Tucker, Jennifer Kolbe, Ami Plasse, Keith Broadus, Cameo Carlson, JD Leeds and Michael Madsen
Michael Madsen
Michael Søren Madsen is an American actor, poet, and photographer. He has appeared in more than 150 films, most of them small independent films, though he has starred in central roles in such films as Reservoir Dogs, Free Willy, Donnie Brasco, and Kill Bill, in addition to a supporting role in Sin...
.
Chatterbox FM is the Triad's favorite radio station.
Commercials
The myriad commercials are written by Dan HouserDan Houser
Dan Houser is an English video game producer and vice president of creativity for Rockstar Games...
and Lazlow
Lazlow
Lazlow Jones, is an American writer, producer, director and talk show host based in New York City. He was the host of Technofile, a radio show syndicated on more than 100 radio stations in America and as well as Sirius XM Satellite Radio...
(the latter of whom also produced them). They are fairly convincing as real adverts as they adhere to many typical marketing clichés and tricks. Several advertisements mention telephone numbers and official websites. Rockstar actually created these websites, and although many links eventually lead back to the Rockstar site, some are more detailed. The Petsovernight.com website, for example, displays pictures of animals and promises "If it's got a central nervous system, we've got it ready to go in a box to your house", tying in with the humor of the commercials.
Some examples of commercials within the game are:
- Dormatron - An invention that burns calories while sleeping — by moving the limbs strapped to the device while the owner sleeps. Exactly how the subject is strapped in is never explained but is implied as a form of bondageBDSMBDSM is an erotic preference and a form of sexual expression involving the consensual use of restraint, intense sensory stimulation, and fantasy power role-play. The compound acronym BDSM is derived from the terms bondage and discipline , dominance and submission , and sadism and masochism...
in Liberty City Stories. Parodies 'miracle' weight-loss products that are either ineffective or repackaged versions of proven methods. - Equanox - (not to be confused with 'Equinox') Alertness pills from Zaibatsu Pharmaceuticals, with a long and concerning list of side-effects. Parodying No-Doz, as well as dangerous pharmaceuticals. The name appears to be a portmanteau of Equus (Horse) and Nox (Night), which suggests that the drug is a horse tranquilizer. ZaibatsuZaibatsuis a Japanese term referring to industrial and financial business conglomerates in the Empire of Japan, whose influence and size allowed for control over significant parts of the Japanese economy from the Meiji period until the end of World War II.-Terminology:...
, meaning "conglomerate", is a commonly used word in the GTA series as well as a faction on Grand Theft Auto 2Grand Theft Auto 2Grand Theft Auto 2 is a video game that was released worldwide on October 25, 1999, by developer DMA Design , initially for the Windows operating system and the PlayStation console. The game was later ported to the Dreamcast console and the Game Boy Color. It is the sequel to 1997 hit Grand Theft...
, Zaibatsu is advertised as a pharmaceutical company, not to be mistaken with Maibatsu, a fictional car manufacturer parodying Japanese manufacturers in reality. - Eris Running Shoes - Parodies the controversy over NikeNike, Inc.Nike, Inc. is a major publicly traded sportswear and equipment supplier based in the United States. The company is headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon, which is part of the Portland metropolitan area...
's controversial outsourcing and labor practices (ErisEris (mythology)Eris is the Greek goddess of strife and discord, her name being translated into Latin as Discordia. Her Greek opposite is Harmonia, whose Latin counterpart is Concordia. Homer equated her with the war-goddess Enyo, whose Roman counterpart is Bellona...
, like NikeNike (mythology)In Greek mythology, Nike was a goddess who personified victory, also known as the Winged Goddess of Victory. The Roman equivalent was Victoria. Depending upon the time of various myths, she was described as the daughter of Pallas and Styx and the sister of Kratos , Bia , and Zelus...
, is a Greek goddess). This sneaker company employs children ("It's fun! We get to play with knives!", "Yesterday, I made a dollar!" "My friend Joey sewed his hands together!"). Eris' slogan is "Eris Running shoes, always running...from something". Eris appears in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas as one of the clothing brands, and are promoting their "Rampage" line. - Fernando's New Beginnings - "A revolutionary new way to save your marriage", explained further during Fernando's stint on Chatterbox FM.
- Liberty City Survivor - A Battle RoyaleBattle Royalethumb|260px|Cover of the 2009 expanded edition, ISBN 978-1-4215-2772-3 is a 1999 Japanese novel written by Koushun Takami. The story tells of schoolchildren who are forced to fight each other to the death....
esque reality show with "20 recently paroled guys...equipped with grenade launchers and flamethrowers". They have to hunt each other down until only one man is left standing. Parodying reality television, especially the very early 2000s trend towards more degrading formulas such as Fear FactorFear FactorFear Factor is an American stunt/dare reality game show. The original Dutch version was called Now or Neverland. When Endemol USA and NBC adapted it to the American market in 2001, they changed the name to Fear Factor. The show pits contestants against each other in a variety of stunts for a...
. Liberty City Survivor is also a reference to a promised-but-cancelled multiplayer mode in GTAIII. However, "Liberty City Survivor" would come to frutition as the multiplayer mode in Liberty City Stories. The voiceover is from Jeff Berlin. - Maibatsu Monstrosity - A sports utility vehicle by a Japanese brand (possibly a parody of the Toyota Land CruiserToyota Land CruiserThe is a series of four-wheel drive vehicles produced by the Japanese car maker Toyota Motor Corporation. It is not related to the Studebaker Land Cruiser car produced in the US from 1934-1954....
or Mitsubishi Montero) notable for its size ("It's so big; we lost little Joey in the back and couldn't find him for an hour") and low gas mileage ("So what if it only does three miles to the gallon, I'm a mom, not a conservationist"). The Liberty Tree says in its newspaper that there were problems with the prototype in the 90s with a few injured persons. Parodies the elephantine sports utility vehicles that were commonplace on American roads in the 2000s, there is also an advertisement in the GTA 3 handbook for the Maibatsu Monstrosity showing a larger Landstalker. - Petsovernight.com - A dot-com companyDot-com companyA dot-com company, or simply a dot-com , is a company that does most of its business on the Internet, usually through a website that uses the popular top-level domain, ".com" .While the term can refer to present-day companies, it is also used specifically to refer to companies with...
that ships its customers live animals (including exotics), anywhere in the country. A parody of some of the decidedly ridiculous dot-com enterprises at the time of the game's release. "Delivering little bundles of love.. in a box.. directly to your door." - Pogo the Monkey - A platform action game where players play as a monkey with a banana cannon who attacks scientists and steals gems. Pogo's final mission is to take over the White HouseWhite HouseThe White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
and become president of the United States. The radio adverts make particular parody of the merchandising blitz surrounding popular platforming games that featured anthropomorphic protagonists such as Crash BandicootCrash Bandicoot (character)Crash Bandicoot, or simply Crash, is a video game character and the primary protagonist of the Crash Bandicoot series of video games. Introduced in the 1996 video game Crash Bandicoot, Crash is an Eastern Barred Bandicoot that was genetically enhanced by the series antagonist Doctor Neo Cortex and...
and Sonic the HedgehogSonic the Hedgehog (character), trademarked Sonic The Hedgehog, is a video game character and the main protagonist of the Sonic video game series released by Sega, as well as in numerous spin-off comics, cartoons, and a feature film. The first game was released on June 23, 1991, to provide Sega with a mascot to rival Nintendo's...
. A fake arcade version of Pogo the Monkey can be found in several places in Vice CityGrand Theft Auto: Vice CityGrand Theft Auto: Vice City is a 2002 open world action computer and video game developed by British games developer Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It is the second 3D game in the Grand Theft Auto video game franchise and sixth original title overall...
. - Rakin & Ponzer - Mocking compensation cultureCompensation culture"Compensation culture" describes a society in which it is acceptable for anyone who has suffered a personal injury to seek compensatory damages through litigation from someone connected with the injury...
, this law firmLaw firmA law firm is a business entity formed by one or more lawyers to engage in the practice of law. The primary service rendered by a law firm is to advise clients about their legal rights and responsibilities, and to represent clients in civil or criminal cases, business transactions, and other...
commercial urges listeners to sueLawsuitA lawsuit or "suit in law" is a civil action brought in a court of law in which a plaintiff, a party who claims to have incurred loss as a result of a defendant's actions, demands a legal or equitable remedy. The defendant is required to respond to the plaintiff's complaint...
anyone for anything. The first of a recurring ad theme encouraging insurance fraudFalse insurance claimsInsurance fraud or false insurance claims are insurance claims filed with the intent to defraud an insurance provider.-Health insurance fraud:...
. - The House of Tomorrow - A specialist electronics retailer promoting high-tech items such as 3D virtual reality helmets of questionable usefulness as vital in the digital era, a parody of such real life retailers as The Sharper ImageThe Sharper ImageThe Sharper Image is an American product brand, formerly associated with a defunct retail company, now licensed for use on consumer electronics and gift products....
. - The Medieval Millennium Fair - A Renaissance fairRenaissance FairA Renaissance fair, Renaissance faire, or Renaissance festival is an outdoor weekend gathering, usually held in the United States, open to the public and typically commercial in nature, which emulates a historic period for the amusement of its guests. Some are permanent theme parks, others are...
that takes place every weekend at Liberty City Park, and sells spells, potions and other medieval artifacts.
The ads are voiced by: Stephanie Roy, Gerry Cosgrove
Gerry Cosgrove
Gerry Cosgrove, also known as Gerald Cosgrove, is an actor who provides the voice of fictional radio DJ Morgan Merryweather, host of Double Clef FM, in the video game Grand Theft Auto III, created by Rockstar Games....
, Sean Lynch, Lazlow
Lazlow
Lazlow Jones, is an American writer, producer, director and talk show host based in New York City. He was the host of Technofile, a radio show syndicated on more than 100 radio stations in America and as well as Sirius XM Satellite Radio...
, Alex Anthony, Jonathan Hanst, Chris Silvestro, Jeff Berlin, Shelley Miller, Ron Reeve, Maria Chambers, Alana Silvestro, Alice Saltzman, Dan Houser
Dan Houser
Dan Houser is an English video game producer and vice president of creativity for Rockstar Games...
, Frank Chavez
Frank Chavez
Frank Chavez is a voice actor. He is best known for his works in the Grand Theft Auto video game series as the voice of Fernando Martinez, a DJ for the fictional Radio Station, Emotion 98.3.- Filmography :...
, Craig Olivo and Laura Bykowski.
General
Spoof sites by Rockstar
Commentary
- An IGN article about the sounds in the game, with full track listing.