Has there been any game that has had a bigger impact on gamers music tastes than the Tony Hawk series?
I discovered some of my favourite bands (NOFX, Bad Religion, Suicidal Tendencies) from the Tony Hawk games, and it introduced me to hip hop and rap music as well.
The Tony Hawks games have been studied for the impact their music has had. But for all this impact, the original game had a very small soundtrack – only 10-songs!
With every game, the soundtrack grew larger and larger: THPS2 had 15 songs, THPS3 had 20, and THPS4 had 35 songs.
But 10 songs is so small, it fit’s nicely into a list. So lets rank the soundtrack to Tony Hawk Pro Skater!
Note: Obviously this list is subjective and is entirely based on my own opinions and feelings. Your ranking will probably look different.
10 – Committed – Unsane
I want to make it clear that I absolutely don’t think this is a bad song! It’s great, with its crunchy bass lines and hypnotic drumming and it has a force behind it that demands attention.
This is not a song you can zone out to.
The thing is, the rough and distorted vocals have a distinctly aggressive and grimy vibe, and I prefer the lighter, more pop-punk songs on the soundtrack.
“Need for correction
Commited – Unsane
I stand with a gun in my hand
It’s time for inspection
Wipe off the blood on ya hands”
It’s a great song from a great alternative band at the time, but something had to be last on this list, and I’m choosing this one.
And also: is it me, or does ‘Unsane’ sound the kind of stupid algorithm-avoiding word that someone on TikTok would come up with?
9 -Screamer (Nothing to me) – Speedealer
This is a very similar song as Committed: agressive, rough, about violence and anger.
However, at around the 1-minute mark, the song suddenly switches up and becomes very high energy, the vocals speed up ten-fold.
This is because its a different song. As the title suggests, the first Sogn is called Screamer, and the second song is called Nothing To Me.
It’s such an odd idea to have two very short songs and just put them together
Whilst I think that nothing To Me is a great song, Screamer is less so, and so it gets the number 9 spot here.
8 – Euro Barge – The Vandals
Now I love The Vandals (‘I got an idea for a movie’ is one of my favourite songs of all time), but I just don’t think this song fits the vibe of the rest of the songs in the soundtrack.
Whilst the song is a much faster song than Committed, the roughness is here too, and it is quite an agressive song.
Whilst it’s done for comedic effect (the whole song is about being annoyed at people who cut in line), a whole song about wanting to beat someone up is a bit much.
The way the chorus is more of a run-on sentence never really did it for me either.
That being said, some sections of the song always stick in my brain, and there is some part of me that does actually really like the dumb lyric in the chorus:
“I am the ambassador,
Euro Barge – The Vandals
I’ll fucking kick your ass-ador”
7 -Vilified – Even Rude
I had thought that this song was pretty standard ‘I’m tough and cool’ song without much else going for it.
But there is a lot more to this song than I remembered: the section with very fast talk-singing (almost rap?) the ups and downs with the tempo, and the very messed up lyrics, this is a pretty cool song with a lot going for it.
The story is about a guy who breaks bad, or becomes vilified, after he is rejected by a woman. Its a pretty messed up song but with some great lyrics that beg to be analysed.
“It took me a little while to realise the error of my old ways
Vilified – Even Rude
Clean and narrow is the sparrow that never flys straight
I’m earning my wings and feathers but I don’t have it all together yet”
The song itself has varying drums, guitar riffs and the song itself just gets better on repeat listens.
The song grew on me the more I listened to it for this blog, and I eventually looked up the band, Even Rude. They were an interesting funk/rock/punk/metal band.
Sadly, despite their song appearing on the original Tony Hawk game, the band did not become a break-out success. At the time of writing, they don’t even have a Wikipedia page!
Also, off topic but there is one lyric in this song that frustrates me to no end!
Try walking over me now, see if I don’t snatch you and catch you up
In the web that has more bridges than that book you read
What book is he talking about??
6 – Here and Now – The Ernies
All great songs need a very good opening.
Just as a specific song we will discuss later, opens with “Pick it up”, Here and Now opens with the classic: “Here we go!”
The chorus is very light and flowy, the perfect music to play as you get a great line in the game.
However, the verses have never thrilled me with their lyrics: it’s more a story of the universe and how it works.
“Quanta, mesons, hadrons, photons, neutrons
Here and Now – The Ernies
Electrons and protons combining to form
Atoms and molecules and compounds and cells
Tissues and organs in a system of a being”
This song sounds suspiciously like it’s trying to teach me!
But looking deeper, I think the message is that the world is huge and infinite and we are very small and insignificant, so we need to make the most of what we have (the here and now).
5 – Cyco Vision – Suicidal Tendencies
This song is relentless, punchy, angry-but-in-a-fun-way and a pretty good capsule of all Suicidal Tendencies songs.
The song itself is a pretty standard angsty teen message: I don’t believe you, only I can see the truth, only trust yourself.
With the punches of swearing, this is definitely a song that will hit home with the teenagers who hear it.
So why is it only number 6 on this list?
I have nothing against the song, and I love Suicidal Tendencies (who, ironically, saved my life) but I just see the Tony Hawk games as more pop-punk than metal.
I would rather skate around listening to fun catchy sing-along punk songs that agressive thrash metal, no matter how good it is.
4 – Jerry was a Racecar Driver – Primus
Primus is a band that you either love or hate. They revel in being weird and almost inaccessible to people. I saw them described as ‘Tool if they had a sense of humour’ which is just brilliant.
The opening 5 seconds of Jerry was a Racecar driver will tell you if you like them or not: the very weird warped guitar plucking is such an odd sound, and it sounds so out of place in a skateboarding game – but it works!
And around the halfway mark, as Les Claypool screams “Go!” and we are treated to this stunning bass riff that imitates a car engine – it’s out of nowhere and essentially bridges the first and second half of the sings together, and for my money its the best bit
The second half of the Song is about a fireman.
Why? What’s he got to do with Jerry?
Who cares, shut up and just enjoy the song!
3 – Police Truck – Dead Kennedys
Punk rock is by definition anti-authoritarian, and Skateboarding just generally fits into that category too. Skateboarders being hassled by cops is a stereotype at this point, so what better introduction to punk rock for skateboarders than police truck: a song entirely about corruption, hypocrisy and police brutality.
The band may not be too happy about the song being included on the soundtrack, but I am sure that a lot of people got into the Dead Kennedys from it’s inclusion!
The song has the brutal, parody lyrics combined with a really fun surf vibe guitar riff that makes for a fantastic song for this skateboarding game.
2 – New Girl – Suicide Machines
To me, this song reminds me of Tony Hawk even more so than the number 1 song on this list (see if you can guess what that is…)
New Girl is another one of those great fun songs: a high energy, positive pop punk song with an alternative bent, specifically the ska element.
I think the thing that makes it stand out slightly more is the keyboard element, which is so bright and fast-paced, but so different a sound that a lot of the other songs on this list.
From the intro with the incredibly fast drums, the screaming “YEAH!” And the off-beat ska guitar riff, the song is brilliant from from the get-go.
The song is also a very relatable story of getting a new girlfriend and wanting to shout about it and rub it in the face of your ex.
So, since I have expressed my love for pop-punk and ska throughout this list, can you guess what I put as number 1?
1 – Superman – Goldfinger
Could there really have been any other choice?
This track is the unofficial sound of the Tony Hawk games!
It is a fast-paced lighthearted fun song that is somewhere between punk, rock and ska – it pleases everyone!
Anyone to who has every played a Tony Hawks game, this song is the pinnacle of music greatness.
The song opens with a fast-pace drumroll, to some scatting, then “pick it up, pick it up, pick it uuuuupppp!”, and then the vibrant, joyful horn section. Within 10 seconds the song grabs you and pulls you in for a very fun song.
But again, the meaning of the song is noticeably darker than the sound would have you believe.
It’s the story of someone who is struggling, their life falling apart around then, whilst trying to seem like you have it all under control, pretending to be Superman.
It’s the secretly dark undertone, the hidden sadness that permeates a lot of ska songs.
The song is by all definitions a banger, and fully deserves it’s number 1 spot on this list.
Wrap Up
The Tony Hawks games are renowned for their fantastic soundtracks and introducing a whole generation to alternative music.
It was genuinely hard to rank these 10 songs because they are all fantastic! However I stand by my decision, even if I’m still wondering if I should put Suicidal Tendencies higher…
