Radio Broker - Grand Theft Auto IV - Part 8-11

Sorry I've missed a few days of posts. I've been dealing with getting ready to move, including a garage sale. That also entailed getting rid of my CD collection which was both traumatic and liberating. I've gone entirely digital now (With the exception of a few choice pieces of cherished vinyl). It feels good.

Back to my GTA Radio Broker series though. To make up for my lack of posts the last few days, we're going to do four tracks today.

The first is from Tom Vek,the innovative disco-punk artist that brought you dance floor kids "I Ain't Sayin' My Goodbye's". While the track included in GTA, "One Horse Race" is not as dance ready, nor as catchy, it's a pretty solid track. Funky bass, plenty of forward guitar and appropriately wailing (if slightly whiny) vocals. The end drones on a bit too long. "This is not a test of fate" repeated over and over and over gets a bit tiring.

MP3: Tom Vek - One Horse Race

Purchase through Amazon - One Horse Race

Tom Vek

The second track is from down under band, Teenager. "Pony" definitely has some explicit, sexually themed lyrics, although I have yet to be able to track them down (the band has no official site, the myspace page doesn't have them, and the web has turned up nothing so far). But you don't need to understand them to get the vibe of the song, which to me takes me back to the early 00's and the birth of the electroclash scene. This song really reminds me of acts like Mount Sims or something Larry Tee would have produced. It's all attitude and sex, while also being slightly tongue-in-cheek. This is becoming one of my favorite tracks on Radio Broker and I'm looking forward to hearing more of Teenager.

MP3: Teenager - Pony

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Teenager

The third track I've got for you today is from one of my favorite bands of the last decade, cow bell happy, the Rapture. "No Sex For Ben" is a track that doesn't seem to appear anywhere outside of GTA, but it seems to follow the rest of Raptures move toward more slickly produced disco-punk and away from the more raw, complicated sounds of Echoes. This isn't my favorite track by the NY boys, but it's right up there with the good stuff. Besides, you can always use more cowbell.

MP3: The Rapture - No Sex For Ben

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The Rapture

Finally, we've got Les Savy Fav's "Rage in the Plague Age". It's weird. I've never been truly drawn to these NY indie-rockers. On the other hand, I like their stuff every time I hear it. They've got so much in their music that reminds me of the early 80s post-punk scene. The Clash, Buzzcocks, PIL, all squeezed, mashed, tweaked and most importantly, revitalized. Oddly, this track has NEVER come up on my Radio Broker station while playing the game. I realize that the song selection is random, but come on! Never? Not once?

MP3: Les Savy Fav - Rage in the Plague Age

Purchase through Amazon - Rage in the Plague Age

Les Savy Fav