Music! inFamous Edition

You know.  I never really thought of it until a few minutes ago, but for all the lauding I've done of the inFamous soundtrack, and all the annoyance I've expressed over the fact that it's been locked into iTunes like a priceless bauble clenched in the jaws of some ever-hungry behemoth, I've never actually featured it here, much less talked about it.  And despite the fact that I have a download code for the inFamous 2 soundtrack (the 'Red' edition at least, which came with the Hero edition of the game for irony's sake, I suppose) that I've yet to cash in just yet, I do really really enjoy the soundtrack to the first.  It is fairly mood-dependent, but when you're really ready and willing for it, there's likely nothing else you want to hear.

To start, I may as well start where everyone (more or less) started, with the song in the Superpowers Trailer that made us all stop and pay attention.  It's called "Malabar Front" by the band "If These Trees Could Talk".  And while it wasn't on the inFamous soundtrack proper, well, it's close enough.

I would surmise that it's not on the soundtrack proper, however, because honestly, it sort of just doesn't mesh with the overall mood and delivery of the rest of the soundtrack.  The song is somewhat out of place when the other tracks seek out a more urban, industrial vibe.  Which was, of course, attained by using instruments that were not quite instruments.  It was a story way back, but I'll be damned if I can find the article right now;  I'm sure you all remember anyway.

One of the best ways to highlight the industrial, urban vibe created by the use of urban elements (Namely trashcans and that sort of thing, stuff you'd probably see in "Stomp") would be just to show you, I suppose.  And there's no better a track to highlight that, while also being a completely badass track, than "Alden Strikes", which comes up a little bit into the game.

Not only do you know shit has gone down just by listening to that, but it also gets you pumped and able to do something about it.  At times, it very nearly resembles something you'd hear out of a God of War game, even, if not directly, but in tone.  It's a very, very good piece for combat, which, if I remember correctly, you are doing when this plays.  If there's any song off the soundtrack that I could listen to over and over again, this would be one of them, for sure.

The next is one, The Courier of the more subdued songs of the game, but for whatever reason, it has this quality about it that I can't wrap my head around; all I know is that after I've started listening to it, I just want to continue to do so.  It doesn't go to a lot of places, but it has a really good tone that could very easily be used for different scenarios; all of them with a sort of seedy vibe, or perhaps that of espionage.  Which, again, I believe is what is happening when the song plays.

And of course, the one song that I had in mind this whole time, the song the game leaves you with as the credits roll and your mind is exploding from the revelations of the ending is just perfect.  Even moreso than Malabar Front, this is pretty much the iconic song of the game for me.  Maybe because of what it's attached to, but, there's something gained from listening to it outside of that.  The song is called "Silent Melody" and is done by "Working for a Nuclear Free City" especially for inFamous.  It's the only song to feature lyrics on the whole soundtrack, and wasn't done by Amon Tobin, Jim Dooley, or JD Mayer who were the composers for the rest of it, but it fits right in, for me at least.

Now hopefully I'll be able to play my damn copy of inFamous 2 in the next day or two.  If the weather will back the hell up off me and let me enjoy myself.