As a casual gamer who dabbles in sports titles, I find that among the first settings I'll tweak every time is "SOUNDTRACK -- OFF". You see, after mere minutes of toss-off crunk, nu-metal, and teenie pop that the media conglomerates paid to place, I'm ready to smash my GameCube. But since I like the GameCube, I smash my radio instead, just out of spite.
But then I saw this ad in The Onion. My mind... It be blown.
(Click it to enlarge.)
Yes, the soundtrack features Interpol, Mogwai, Cornelius, Belle and Sebastian, Pavement, Yo La Tengo, GBV, and DJ Spooky.
WHAT? REALLY?
Are we believe that 2K6 Sports turned over its soundtrack responsibility to a 30-something indie nerd?
But it gets better. See who's on the rest of the MLB 2K6 soundtrack. Yes, not only Pavement, but also its two spin-offs.
And... Belle and Sebastian, the twee-est, fey-est of the twee-fey? Yo La Tengo, the favorite of dead record store clerks everywhere? Mogwai's slow-build noise symphonies? Interpol's minor chord dirges? Associated with sports?
The rigorous market research that went behind this decision reveals much about the character of Major League Baseball. Although the players may look indistinguishable from, say, the stars of the WWE these days, their fans -- especially the ones who would invest the time in "Franchise Mode" -- are and will remain geeks with scoring sheets and a taste for sensitive rock and roll.
God bless us. I mean, them.
Wow, that's almost enough to make me want to play a videogame!
Posted by: mlo | March 22, 2006 at 02:11 PM
The NBA 2K6 soundtrack is pretty smart, too.
Posted by: Chuck Muncie | March 23, 2006 at 07:27 AM
It sounds like they turned it over to... Matador Records. Most of those bands are (or were) signed to Matador. That's the common thread.
... or it's just a sick April Fool's Day joke that ran a week early.
Posted by: minijonb | April 03, 2006 at 11:34 AM