Rockstar Newswire

In our continuing nostalgic ruminations in this 10th Anniversary year since the release of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, today we take a look back at the game’s soundtrack and think back to those halcyon early years of MTV when it actually was all about music + television. In between the channel’s signature moon man interstitials and ‘veejay’ visits to your living room from Martha Quinn and J.J. Jackson, came the original wave of music video programming that transfixed and inspired a generation of kids - including many of us here at Rockstar. Frequently surreal, heavily driven by contemporary fashion photography and design of the period, and now laden with pop music history – enjoy this rundown of just ten (in no particular order) of our favorite 1980s music videos of songs that appeared in the Vice City soundtrack….

"Video Killed the Radio Star" The Buggles (Flash FM)

A bizarre little clip in its own right, now etched in history for being the first video ever played on MTV when they launched in August 1981, is "Video Killed the Radio Star" by The Buggles. Apparently actually the second filmed version of the video - the original being a slightly simpler yet still pretty strange performance clip heavy on post-disco-futurism - this one was tailor made to suit its destiny. Filled with campy sci-fi imagery, follow the wonderment of a young girl seeing her old-fashioned radio explode as Trevor Horn (later of Yes and Art of Noise fame) and The Buggles play otherworldly explorer-scientists heralding in the new music video era...

Hit the jump below for the rest of our faves.

As we throwback to the 80s in a Vice City state of mind celebrating the game's 10th anniversary and forthcoming mobile release, here's a special edition of the Rockstar Soundtrack Alumni Concert Calendar compiling a list of places and dates where you can catch notable artists you've heard in our games perform live.

It's great to see so many of these legendary artists still so actively touring around the world, so whether you had your dial locked to Flash FM, Wildstyle Pirate Radio, Wave 103, V-Rock, Fever 105 or Wave 103 - there's bound to be a nostalgic favorite act out there from the Vice City radio waves to catch coming your way. Peruse the below list we've put together that covers dates into early 2013 from the East Coast to the West Coast, across Europe, Australia, South America and more. Do shout in comments if you're aware of any other soundtrack performances we missed, experience some live music from the decade of excess and revisit a time when wearing neon was un-ironic...

Hit the jump to see the full calendar.

Released last week on Halloween, enjoy the new official music video for "TEARS", from Max Payne 3 soundtrack composers HEALTH.

"TEARS" is available as a single on iTunes and as part of the Max Payne 3 Original Soundtrack on iTunes and on CD via the Rockstar Warehouse.

Previously:
“TEARS” by HEALTH Single Now Available on iTunes
Max Payne 3 Official TV Commercial

In the wake of our summertime post cataloguing seasonal concert appearances by notable Rockstar soundtrack alumni, many of you had some specific special requests you asked us to track down in the future (a special shout to Richie.Rich_96, VinewoodTits and others). Our latest edition for the early fall season includes some of those along with many others you've heard in Rockstar games new and old as we encourage you to get out there and experience some great live music from just a few of our favorites. Of course, we also encourage you to do chime in in comments with any other appearances you may know of, requests for other soundtrack artists you'd like to see in future roundups, or with your own experiences from perhaps having personally attended a summer show.

Here's a selected fall lineup with shows all over the North America, Europe, and Australia including all of HEALTH's upcoming tour dates along with events from Max Payne 3's Emicida and Trouble & Bass, Red Dead Redemption's Jose Gonzales, Grand Theft Auto IV's Crookers, Max Cavalera, Iggy Pop, Jeru The Damaja, DJ Premier, Philip Glass, and David Rodigan, Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars' Turntables On The Hudson, and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas' Parliament and the Funkadelics and Toto.

See the full fall calendar after the jump.

With the original Max Payne now available on both iOS and Android devices, here's a nostalgic look and listen at a direct by-product of that first game's release from over a decade ago.

In 2002, the trend of the hip-hop street mixtape was in full swing - inexpensively mass produced and released on CDs (no longer commonly available on cassettes and not yet made obselete by the Internet). DJs like Clue (heard on the radio in Liberty City Stories), Kay Slay, and Queens-based DJ Whoo Kid ruled the scene with releases chock full of rap exclusives and original freestyles. To up the showmanship and excitement around each of these CDs, DJs would often enlist high-profile hosts and theme up the mixtape with a homage or parody of popular sporting events or hit movies of the time like Final Destination, Unbreakable and more.

Owing to his own videogame obsessions and to his friendship with Grand Theft Auto III's DJ Stretch Armstrong, Whoo Kid was the first DJ to theme up popular rap mixtapes around our games - starting with Grand Theft Auto: The Mixtape (hosted by Capone of CNN) in early 2002 - and followed up shortly thereafter with this blockbuster Max Payne mixtape hosted by both N.O.R.E. and Baby aka Birdman of Cash Money and filled with then-heavily-anticipated remixes, freestyles and dis records.

Today, you can hear a crisp digital rip of this decade-old gunshots, Max Payne samples, and BulletTime sfx-laden mix at mixtape site DatPiff.com - a nice, nostalgic treat for both hardcore Max fans and fans of early aughts street rap.

A few highlights to check out in there: 

• Tracks 2, 18, 26 - Original samples from Max Payne 1 ripped by Whoo Kid from his PS2 copy of the game.
• Track 7 - Lil Wayne's "Max Payne" - made custom for Whoo Kid specifically for this mixtape, a pre-YMCMB Wayne freestyles over Nas' "Ether" instrumental with lines like "They call me Bad Wayne / And I'm like Max Payne / The sickest shit to hit since anthrax came ... I come through and do my Grand Theft thing / my cran-ap, tan cap, slant back thing...".
• Tracks 8, 15 - Some seminal G-Unit street cuts, hitting as part of 50 Cent's mixtape world domination before he would explode later that year as the hottest new rapper out (50 would host Whoo Kid's Max Payne 2 mixtape later that year, pre-dating the game's sequel itself).
• Tracks 9, 16, 29 - The Lox aka D-Block have been mixtape staples since the heyday, and Whoo Kid made sure this mixtape had them present in full force. Keen GTA soundtrack fans may remember some vintage late 90s Lox mixtape freestyles licensed for an appearance on DJ Clue's Liberty City Stories radio station mix. Some of the most serious gamers and down to earth guys in the rap biz, we're still good friends with The Lox to this day and they've made cameos and soundtrack appearances in many of our games from The Warriors to GTAIV.
• Track 27 - Big Noyd's "Maximum Payne" - the Mobb Deep affiliate rapper is responsible for a few street classics himself, and here blessed Whoo Kid with a little custom freestyle all about gunplay and bullet-time.

http://www.datpiff.com/DJ-Whoo-Kid-Max-Payne-The-Official-Mixtape.300322.html
 

As Serrano gives his Comando Sombra henchmen the signal to unleash hell on Club Moderno’s dance floor and Max puts down his lowball glass and picks up his PT92 - you are treated to a bass-driven set teeming with energy and filled with Trouble & Bass' own funhouse collection of house, electro and fat low end.