Grand Theft Auto III
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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The soundtrack of the game Grand Theft Auto III is popular not only with fans of the game, but also with lovers of mid- to late-1990s music. 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.
As mentioned, the only time a player can hear the radio is when the protagonist hijacks a car (or in the "Audio" section of the pause menu). The station that will be playing when the player gets in 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.
