The OST is very little "80s"?

[Bearded Geek]

Caveat: I really don't like most of the OST. At all.

...But part of that might be because despite the game being set in a retrofuturistic world based on the 1980s almost none of the music actually fits. It's all modern stuff. Or Jazz, which is nice. To me the soundtrack is a bit disjointed to the 80's aesthetics. I was expecting 80's punk / new wave, not 2020s metal and waporwave. It just doesn't fit. But again that's just me.

Of course I am also old, and maybe too old to enjoy this type of music. At least I can opt to always turn radios off

(Edit: Anyone who said waporwave actually sounds "80's" lied to you. Protip!"

 

[AlienSpaceBats]

I think the setting being CD Project's own spin on the setting 50 years after the 1980s inspired origin gave whoever was behind the radio selection slightly more scope in the music they wanted to offer. Even Johnny Silverhand is adverse to electropunk.

What I have found is that people's definition of what Cyberpunk music should sound like varies wildly, for my preference, almost none of what is actually in-game is, not even the Samurai stuff. I also really don't like that Vaporwave has somehow become synonymous with Cyberpunk (genre?)

I like about 10% of the radio tracks, can tolerate some but in-game I am often switching stations, the only one that doesn't have anything I turn off is Pacific Dreams.
I would have liked a station that was entirely talk radio, give Max Mike his own station, no music.

 

[Tvaroog]

The soundtrack is inspired by 90's industrial and electronic dance music rather than 80's.

Anyone who said waporwave actually sounds "80's" lied to you. Protip!

It's called vaporwave. What you have in mind is probably synthwave, though. Neither is really represented in the game (which people have been complaining about). There are other genres on the radio. I mostly listened to Pacific Dreams.

 

[Gothic_Wizard]

This is the probem with movies, PC games, etc trying to envision the future. It's hard and more times than not in a decade or two it will look cringe. Take most 80s, 90s movies that were places in the future. The hair cuts, clothing, makeup is just painful to look at today. So no their imaging what the music in a alt timeline might sound like 50 yrs from now in said alt timeline isn't going to jive with everyone. And that's ok, that's art. Not everyone is awed at Picasso. Same difference here.

 

[krisansinisa]

Well, that's what you get when you hire artists which are completely disjointed from the targeted genre(s) and never made anything even closely resembling the Cyberpunk vibe.

The opening track, that should get you hyped up for entire thing is a hip hop nonsense for crying out loud.
Nina Kravitz is completely out of the place yet she got to make an entire station with her own music.

Now, don't get me wrong, I have nothing against those artists, I just think they don't belong in this universe and should fit better somewhere else.
Do you know why The Witcher 3 OST is close to perfect? Because bands like Percival, closely related to the genre they're supposed to make the music for, are hired.

If they still wanted to have well known artists make the music for the game, a darkwave, synthpop, EBM (not EDM) scene would be much better fit. Bands like Combichrist have already done music for Devil May Cry, VNV Nation have had everyone who played Hellblade burst into tears, Faderhead has released a game inspired tracks, and that is just to name the few. There is a whole plethora of bands and artists in modern underground scene that would fit better into this universe than any of the ones they hired, and my honest opinion is CDPR mostly hired them for the sake of having a "popular artists" in credits. Same applies to Keanu, but that's a completely different subject.

 

[LeKill3rFou]

To be honest, I never think too much about that... But overhaul, in my opinion, Cyberpunk OST is damn great. And I don't care if it fit or not... it's just awesome
Ousider No More (P.T. Adamczyk), The Rebel Path (Marcin Przybyłowicz, P. T. Adamczyk), Night City (REL & Artemis Delta), Bells of Laguna Bend (Marcin Przybyłowicz, P. T. Adamczyk) or even No Save Point (Run the Jewel), to only quote few ones, are amazing soundtracks...

(even combat soundtracks are awesome^^ > Valentinos by P.T. Adamczyk)

 

[Tvaroog]

Well, that's what you get when you hire artists which are completely disjointed from the targeted genre(s) and never made anything even closely resembling the Cyberpunk vibe.

There's no such thing as cyberpunk vibe.

• Bladerunner was "drawing on the jazz scores of classic film noir as well as Middle Eastern texture and neo-classical elements".
• Dark sci-fi films of the 80s The terminator and Escape from New York had pulsating synths while
• Robocop and Total Recall had bombastic orchestral scores by Basil Poledouris and Jerry Goldsmith.
• Akira and Ghost in the shell drew elements of traditional music from East Asia and Europe.
• Johnny Mnemonic and The Matrix featured various 90's heavy rock and electronic artists mixed with classical music.
• Deus Ex had "melodious and ambient music incorporated from a number of genres, including techno, jazz, and classical".

Idea that there's a single type of music associated with cyberpunk genre is false.

 

[Jep1st]

I personally like hearing new music instead of the same old classics you hear pretty much everywhere. A lot of the songs in the game I have also included in my day to day playlists in real life.
Samurai as a band is more in line with the old school rock music.

 

[LeKill3rFou]

I can't wait to listen 89.7 Growl FM to listen the new songs from the community...

 

[Bearded Geek]

There's no such thing as cyberpunk vibe.

• Bladerunner was "drawing on the jazz scores of classic film noir as well as Middle Eastern texture and neo-classical elements".
• Dark sci-fi films of the 80s The terminator and Escape from New York had pulsating synths while
• Robocop and Total Recall had bombastic orchestral scores by Basil Poledouris and Jerry Goldsmith.
• Akira and Ghost in the shell drew elements of traditional music from East Asia and Europe.
• Johnny Mnemonic and The Matrix featured various 90's heavy rock and electronic artists mixed with classical music.
• Deus Ex had "melodious and ambient music incorporated from a number of genres, including techno, jazz, and classical".

Idea that there's a single type of music associated with cyberpunk genre is false.

I am talking about the radio stations, not the game soundtracks for say combat. Not only does the radio stations lack any 80's vibe, they are all almost all full of music I can't stand. As stated by another forum member above (who I agree with) I can stand about 10% of the songs and hate when I am in a car I can't turn the music off in.

If there's a mod fixing so you always control the radio? I'd install it immediately.

Post automatically merged: Jan 4, 2023

The soundtrack is inspired by 90's industrial and electronic dance music rather than 80's.

Oh so that's what's wrong with it...
Not only does the 90s and 80s as decades have completely different vibes, I had not heard of "industrial" as a genre until this post.

It's called vaporwave. What you have in mind is probably synthwave, though. Neither is really represented in the game (which people have been complaining about). There are other genres on the radio. I mostly listened to Pacific Dreams.

Well sorry for the spelling error. And no, I mean Vaporwave, something that is over and over on several playlists, homepages and youtube videos listed as "the sound of the 80s" or "back to the 80s", which again, it's not. (Neither is Synthwave btw, it too, was never the sound of the 80s).

I Know. I was 8 in 1980 and 18 1990. The 80s was literally my entire childhood and teens.

Post automatically merged: Jan 4, 2023

This is the probem with movies, PC games, etc trying to envision the future. It's hard and more times than not in a decade or two it will look cringe. Take most 80s, 90s movies that were places in the future. The hair cuts, clothing, makeup is just painful to look at today. So no their imaging what the music in a alt timeline might sound like 50 yrs from now in said alt timeline isn't going to jive with everyone. And that's ok, that's art. Not everyone is awed at Picasso. Same difference here.

But that's the point. I am so glad you actually can have the proper "big hair" and "Punk" hairstyles from the 80s instead of all just "21st century anime asian girls with swords" in game.

It's awesome to me that you actually can make V look something like this:

 

[koalahugs]

I am forever grateful that CP77 didn't jump on the nostalgic 80s music bandwagon. It's been done to death lately.

Like Tvaroog said, there's no such thing as a Cyberpunk vibe and I'm glad the radio stations are diverse.

I do wish there was an ultra easy way to make a custom radio station with our own music though... I want a Grimes station

 

[andrewdilley]

Just be grateful we don't have Rick Astley.

 

[Tvaroog]

Just be grateful we don't have Rick Astley.

I mean, if one's goal was to really recreate an 80's vibe? Alternatively, you could use Modern Talking if the action took place in continental Europe.

 

[CS554]

There's no such thing as cyberpunk vibe.

Like Tvaroog said, there's no such thing as a Cyberpunk vibe

Some movies captured certain aspects. Blade Runner's synths are like lamentation for dying world and lack of traditional instruments emphasizes how from animals to replicants, lot's of what is there is fake, this of course works very well in that work.

In cyberpunk in general, while novels don't come with soundtrack, there's corporate culture producing things which is presented via Us Cracks in game, then counter culture to that, which Samurai presented but is also presented via more relevant acts in 2077 on soundtrack. It's notable how aggressive and in certain terms plain lot's of things are, which captures the cyberpunk vibe in the Night City that is quite hostile place for everyone, but also is IMO quite close what I sometimes wondered how "cyberpunk" would sound, if there were still people instead of machines making music.

Even jazz station, which I really liked has something to do with cyberpunk, or rather genre that influenced cyberpunk a lot, Noir.

Regardless individual tastes and preferences I think it's pretty good study how cyberpunk would sound.

I don't know, if I added anything it wouldn't be like synthwave, it would be blues station competing with jazz station with old blue, I mean really old like it was back in 1920's and '30s.

"Times done got hard, money’s done got scarce
Stealin’ an’ robbin’ is goin’ to take place
‘Cos tricks ain’t walkin’, tricks ain’t walkin’ no more
I said tricks ain’t walkin’, tricks ain’t walkin’ no more
An’ I’m goin’ to rob somebody if I don’t make me some dough"

From "Tricks Ain’t Walking No More’" by Lucille Bogan


Or this from "Shave ’em Dry"

Got nipples on my titties, big as the end of my thumb,
I got somethin’ between my legs’ll make a dead man come,
Oh daddy, baby won’t you shave ’em dry?

...

Now your nuts hang down like a damn bell sapper,
And your dick stands up like a steeple,
Your goddam ass-hole stands open like a church door,
And the crabs walks in like people.

Last part even Bogan couldn't sing without laughing.

Just to try how things like this would fit in and to present some critique to thought about people having better moral standards in the past, with a subtlety of a sledgehammer.

 

[Bearded Geek]

Of course there is such a thing as a "Cyberpunk vibe". Just like there is one for Westerns for example.

 

[krisansinisa]

There's no such thing as cyberpunk vibe.

• Bladerunner was "drawing on the jazz scores of classic film noir as well as Middle Eastern texture and neo-classical elements".
• Dark sci-fi films of the 80s The terminator and Escape from New York had pulsating synths while
• Robocop and Total Recall had bombastic orchestral scores by Basil Poledouris and Jerry Goldsmith.
• Akira and Ghost in the shell drew elements of traditional music from East Asia and Europe.
• Johnny Mnemonic and The Matrix featured various 90's heavy rock and electronic artists mixed with classical music.
• Deus Ex had "melodious and ambient music incorporated from a number of genres, including techno, jazz, and classical".

Idea that there's a single type of music associated with cyberpunk genre is false.

You're listing popular media mate, while I was listing the artists and their previous work.
You obviously know very little about underground darkwave, cybergoth, synthpop, EBM scene if you think there is no such thing as cyberpunk subculture, vibe or whatever word you want to quote.

Here is just one example for you mate

If you're going to tell me that hip hop bands like Run the Jewels and commercial mainstream likes of Grimes and Nina Kraviz can make better cyberpunk vibe than Gunship, then we have nothing to talk about. And thats just one example, which brings me back to my point, if CDPR wanted to have established well-known artist in credits, they should dig underground, not browse commercial top 40 lists.

 

[Tvaroog]

You're listing popular media mate, while I was listing the artists and their previous work.
You obviously know very little about underground darkwave, cybergoth, synthpop, EBM scene if you think there is no such thing as cyberpunk subculture, vibe or whatever word you want to quote.

You got me, I know very little about those.

You're listing popular media mate, while I was listing the artists and their previous work.

I'm not even sure what you're arguing about. The list I gave is a canon of Cyberpunk films and video games. There's plenty of references to those in CP2077. They all have different soundtracks, because they are made by different artists in different eras, they have different themes and they don't try to slavishly copy one another. This is relevant to the argument that there's one style of music associated with cyberpunk.

You say that CDPR should pick less known artists? First of all that has nothing to do with the topic - soundtrack not being 80's enough. Second, what does popularity of the artists have to do with anything, anyway? Do you think that the more obscure the music is the better it gets?

If you're going to tell me that hip hop bands like Run the Jewels

Ok, so you guys don't like hip-hop. I don't really listen to it myself. But a) it's only one of many styles in the game and not the most prominent one, b) in the 21st century it has replaced rock as the dominant esthetic in popular culture, so it would be silly to pretend it doesn't exist c) it fits nicely in a game about gangs

Of course there is such a thing as a "Cyberpunk vibe". Just like there is one for Westerns for example.

Not every western needs to have whistling and a jaw harp only because Morricone used it. Unforgiven doesn't sound like spaghetti westerns.

 

[krisansinisa]

You say that CDPR should pick less known artists? First of all that has nothing to do with the topic - soundtrack not being 80's enough. Second, what does popularity of the artists have to do with anything, anyway? Do you think that the more obscure the music is the better it gets?

Ok, so you guys don't like hip-hop. I don't really listen to it myself. But a) it's only one of many styles in the game and not the most prominent one, b) in the 21st century it has replaced rock as the dominant esthetic in popular culture, so it would be silly to pretend it doesn't exist c) it fits nicely in a game about gangs

None of that is what I'm saying, and I even clearly said that I have nothing against those artists.
Heck, bands like Run DMC, Cypress Hill, Public Enemy, House of Pain were, and still remain one of my favorite artists of all time, and I'm not even into the hip hop / rap, that much is true.

I also didn't say CDPR should pick less known artists, what I tried (and obviously failed) to say is that they should give a chance to the artists that had at least some previous endeavors with the genre.

But they went for "big names", because those "big names" in credits are good for marketing, who cares about the quality or their previous experience with genre, and if there is any to begin with.
I hope we can at least agree, pre-release marketing effort was very aggressive but it was also one of the most shameful ones I ever experienced from the video game developer. Having Grimes and Kraviz doing parts of the OST simply rings differently than some unknown underground band.

 

[Bearded Geek]

Not every western needs to have whistling and a jaw harp only because Morricone used it. Unforgiven doesn't sound like spaghetti westerns.

No, but if you put 90's hardcore in there it would be a deliberate break from tradition and everyone would recognize it as such.
You don't do Jane Austin with Nu metal if you keep it in it's original time period.
And to me using modern metal and hip hop over a retrofuturistic 80s setting is if not just as jarring, jarring nevertheless.

 

[LeKill3rFou]

A western with no "real western" soundtracks > The Harder They Fall
The OST is amazing if you ask me... Does it fit to western ? Who care ! Not me for sure

Edit :
And if we talk about Ghost In The Shell, a Cyberpunk masterpiece without doubt... The first song which come in mind to everyone (I assume) doesn't sound like to be "cyberpunkish", isn't it ?