‘Cause I’m T.N.T., I’m dynamite…
No one’s going to argue with the fact that the Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater series had some of the best video game soundtracks of all time, but they were more than catchy tunes for grinding to (not like that, come on).
How many of us went out and bought a Rage Against The Machine album because of THPS? How many of us know every single word of ‘Express Yourself’ thanks to THPS? These songs haven’t just stayed with us, they’ve helped shape us.
They’re also inextricably tied to Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater forever. As soon as you hear them, you’re back with the gamepad in your hand, searching for the S to complete your K-A-T-E.
Here’s a Spotify playlist, should you wish to relive your teenage years over and over.
1. ‘Superman’ by Goldfinger
Featured on: Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater
If there’s one song that epitomises Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, it’s ‘Superman’. Punchy, upbeat and with horns so hot they’ll scald your eardrums, if teenage bedrooms had a national anthem, this would be it.
2. ’96 Quite Bitter Beings’ by CKY
Featured on: Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3
That RIFF. The first time you heard it, you immediately went out and bought a £25 guitar from a car boot to try and learn it. Chances are that guitar lies gathering dust in your parents’ attic, but the riff is still fresh in your mind.
3. ‘Bring The Noise’ by Anthrax and Public Enemy
Featured on: Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2
Rap? Metal? Rap metal? It was almost too much for your virgin teenage ears to handle, but once Chuck D gets in your head, there’s no getting him out.
4. ‘Drunken Lullabies’ – Flogging Molly
Featured on: Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 4
It is literally impossible to listen to this and not want to start chugging immediately. Not that we ever drank excessively as teenagers. Nope, no sir.
5. ‘Ace of Spades’ by Motörhead
Featured on: Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3
RIP Lemmy, you brilliant, beautiful bastard, you.
6. ‘Guerrilla Radio’ by Rage Against The Machine
Featured on: Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2
“Turn that *blank* up!” Perhaps not quite as incendiary as RATM had intended, but still, it rocked.
7. ‘Express Yourself’ by N.W.A.
Featured on: Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 4
Did you make a note to? Just as long as you did.
8. ‘T.N.T.’ by AC/DC
Featured on: Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 4
Oi! Oi! Oi! Oi!
9. ‘When Worlds Collide’ by Powerman 5000
Featured on: Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2
No offence to Powerman 5000 or Powerman 5000 fans (???), but why on earth would you be listening to ‘When Worlds Collide’ outside the context of THPS?
The video currently has 9m+ views on YouTube, mind, so either Powerman 5000 have a very healthy fanbase or, more likely, nine million people went, “What was that weird song from Tony Hawk’s again?”
10. ‘Fight Like A Brave’ by Red Hot Chili Peppers
Featured on: Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3
They may be are definitely shit now, but once upon a time the Chili Peppers were hot, fresh and exciting. Now, lying withered in a pool of weird-smelling liquid at the bottom of the vegetable drawer, they dream of the days they fought like braves. Still, this song kicks ass.
11. ‘Police Truck’ by Dead Kennedys
Featured on: Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1
Part of the beauty of THPS was that your dad could be walking past your room, stick his head round the door and ask, “What are you doing listening to [band he liked in the 80s]?” It’s not quite father-son bonding, but it’s the closest the PlayStation generation ever came to it.
12. ‘Shimmy’ by System Of A Down
Featured on: Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 4
System Of A Down, the kings of unintelligible shouty-metal. Rumour has it not even they know what they’re singing about it, but honestly, it couldn’t be clearer:
“IWANNASHIMMYSHIMMYSHIMMYTHROUGHYEAHRECKYADORNYEAHAAAUUUUGH.”
Crystal.
13. ‘Blitzkrieg Bop’ by The Ramones
Featured on: Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3
Okay, this song has more of a life outside of THPS than the others, but it was still an integral part of what made Pro Skater 3 great. Besides, you had to know at least one song to justify owning that Ramones tee. Yes, you know the one.
14. ‘The Number of the Beast’ by Iron Maiden
Featured on: Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 4
Everyone had a crack at doing their best Bruce Dickinson “YEEAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!” to ‘Number of the Beast’. Everyone failed. There is only one Bruce Dickinson.
15. ‘Jerry Was A Race Car Driver’ by Primus
Featured on: Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1
By far the weirdest song on any THPS soundtrack, possibly the weirdest song on any video game soundtrack ever, but you never forgot ‘Jerry Was A Race Car Driver’. And yes, believe it or not, that bass guitar was played by a human being.
16. ‘Let’s Get Dirty’ by Redman
Featured on: Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3
Christina Aguilera’s remix/remake may have been the megahit, but Redman’s original is really where it’s at. Remember how your eyes widened as you realised that music could be like this.
17. ‘All My Friends Are Metalheads’ by Less Than Jake
Featured on: Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 4
If this doesn’t make you want to go out and skank like an absolute madman, then you’ve betrayed your teenage self. Your teenage self has branded you a sellout and doesn’t want anything to do with you. Your teenage self has burned all your photographs and clothes. Your teenage self wants to be emancipated.
18. ‘No Cigar’ by Millencolin
Featured on: Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2
Mmm, delicious teenage angst. Popping ollies, hating your parents, being misunderstood, and Millencolin. Those were the days. The miserable, miserable days.
Honourable mentions
‘The Boy Who Destroyed The World’ by AFI
‘Anarchy In The UK’ by Sex Pistols
