tobydodgen

If, like me, you got introduced to Hot Action Cop on the soundtrack to Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit 2, you've already heard the best of this album. All of Hot Action Cop is kinda ridiculous musically and lyrically, but "Doom Boom," "Goin' Down on It," and "Fever for the Flava" are some dumb fun party rock tracks coming in the wake of Sugar Ray. I even give a pass to "Don't Want Her To Stay" for being catchy. But the rest of the album after track 4 is practically unlistenable. The first four tracks are about how awesome it is to have fun and be horny while on drugs, and the rest is about how tragic it is for… More

This has been in my study time rotation for months now. It never goes too hard or reaches too far, but is just delightful to have in the atmosphere, like a fresh rain smell. No skips.

Megatech Body is a seriously banging electronica compilation that also happens to come with a Ghost In The Shell video game, in certain configurations. The game is a stylish, serviceable action adventure that takes a couple hours to complete, but its soundtrack rises above, especially with the title track Ghost In The Shell, as well as Firecracker, which feels engineered to ramp at exactly the climactic moment of a well-timed run.

Super Adventure Island has long been one of my favorite soundtracks, and only recently I learned it was composed by the great Yuzo Koshiro. His style is on full display here, along with an early mastery of the Super Famicom's sample-based sound chip. Koshiro expertly works around and through the echoey nature of the Super Famicom sound to bring smoothness and mystery to an otherwise bright, tropical beat. Contrast The Island of Everlasting Summer with the title screen track Gently Sun, or my favorite, Blue Blue Moon. Yuzo Koshiro's work for the Mega Drive is certainly his biggest, but Super Adventure Island is a gem.