Various Artists - JSRF: Jet Set Radio Future

Video game music is rarely memorable; there are really only a few examples that come to mind: Super Mario Bros., Toe Jam & Earl, and The Legend of Zelda. These simple tunes provided not only an epic backdrop that augmented the game, but ingrained those notes into a section of your cerebrum for eternity. Things have indeed changed since those days of 16-bit marvel. Today, with games like Final Fantasy and Tony Hawk Pro Skater, the music is beginning to require a bit more attention from gaming studios. Not only are they using big name bands, artists, and composers, these games are spawning official soundtrack releases. Which brings me to the topic at hand: the JSRF: Jet Set Radio Future soundtrack, featuring music from the Latch Brothers, Cibo Matto, and Scapegoat Wax, among others. This album can be described as a Latch Brothers album, a group made up of Mike D, former Mary's Danish bassist Chris Wagner, and Kenny Salcido, a former employee of the now defunct Grand Royal. The three were commissioned to create original songs and remixes for the background music and the soundtrack. What came of the work? Well, really, just music that would sound great to play a video game to – good job guys! The Latch Brothers tracks are comprised of various break beats, synth tones, children singing, and random electronic squeals and bleeps. The songs fall somewhere in between rave anthems and songs that the Chemical Brothers would rather just forget about. The rest of the soundtrack consists of a few decent tracks: “Aisle 10 (Hello Allison…)” from Scapegoat Wax, the most annoying Cibo Matto track I’ve ever heard, “Birthday Cake”, some decent rhymes in “Rockin’ The Mic” from The Prunes, Russel Simins’ “I’m Not A Model”, and tracks from video game composers Hideki Naganuma and Richard Jacques. Like I said, it’s a video game soundtrack. In the context of the game, which centers itself on a group of rebel rollerbladers who oppose an oppressive, evil corporation, I’m sure these songs are great. However, as a collection of songs that you would put on at a party or to cruise around blaring from your car stereo, it’s a bit weak. Obviously, Beastie Boys fans would probably like to get the soundtrack just to hear what Mike D has been up to, but don’t entertain any notion that it will sound anything like the Beasties. [www.jsrf.com]