No Sex for Ben

Song: No Sex for Ben
Artist: The Rapture
Album: The Music of Grand Theft Auto IV




I haven’t bought a video game console since… gosh, I think it was high school. And it was the Super Nintendo. I have since played a game here and there, love the new Nintendo Wii (though my experience is only really with bowling) and really dug Guitar Hero, which lets me play out my rock star fantasies in the comfort of a living room. What has escaped me though it the “Grand Theft Auto” phenomenon. I had heard about the game when it was released due to its controversial violence and themes, but didn’t really realize just how involved the whole thing is.

I still haven’t played “Grand Theft Auto” and understand that I sound WAY old when I marvel at how far gaming has come. I read, since I was interested, a couple reviews of “GTAIV” which were pretty unanimously glowing. Many said it was the best movie of the summer, yet in a game. I can’t speak on that, but a read of the Wikipedia page devoted for the game proves one thing… Donkey Kong this ain’t!

What does interest me is the amount of time they’ve spent incorporating music into the game, and they have also gone as far as to create a soundtrack for the game with a bunch of top notch artists. Included is “No Sex for Ben” a Timbaland produced bouncy little ditty from the NYC dance-rock hipsters. I was a huge fan of the bands last record, ‘06’s “Pieces of People We Love,” and while “No Sex for Ben” doesn’t quite sound like that record I really dig it.

Apparently the game features several different radio stations that you can listen to including a couple talk stations and all. You’d expect some cheesy background music but no… they paid the price and got some really great and diverse artist to include music for the game. Kanye West, Jill Scott, R.Kelly, Bob Marley, The Black Keys, !!!, Shaggy, R.E.M., Genesis, Stevie Nicks… the list goes on and on. Totally impressive.

Frankly, I don’t need another thing to waste any of my time so I don’t see myself becoming any kind of game addict. But if they’re a conduit for odds and sods songs getting released I’m all for it. Especially if their as fun as this Rapture track.

Enjoy.