Radio Stations in GTA III

The radio stations in Grand Theft Auto III are a huge expansion over the radio stations of its predecessor, Grand Theft Auto 2. Like GTA 2, radio stations can only be heard while in a vehicle. Most radio stations play a mixture of music, DJ chat, and spoof advertising. GTA III includes different genres of music and introduced a talk show radio. In law enforcement vehicles basic radio cannot be heard but police chatter can be heard instead.

Although many of the songs that appear in the game were written specially for the soundtrack (or in some cases for the soundtracks of previous games in the series), a large number of tracks were contributions by real artists. Craig Conner and Stuart Ross created the original tracks, often with vocals and performances by other musicians. It is worth noting that virtually none of the contributing real artists were particularly well-known at the time, and appearing on such a popular video game was no doubt greatly advantageous to their careers.

The player can listen to the following radio stations:

Head Radio

File:Headradio.jpg

Head Radio is soft rock and adult contemporary radio station hosted by DJ "Michael Hunt" (Russ Mottla), and owned by Love Media (a fictional media company in the GTA world). Head Radio is the Diablos gang's favorite radio station. This is the third appearance of a Head Radio station in a GTA game.

The following songs can be heard on the station:

  • 01. Dil-Don't - "Stripe Summer"
  • 02. Whatever - "Good Thing"
  • 03. Craig Gray - "Fade Away"
  • 04. Conor and Jay - "Change"
  • 05. Frankie Fame - "See Through You"
  • 06. Scatwerk - "Electronic Go Go"
  • 07. Dezma - "Life Is But A Mere Supply"

Double Clef FM

File:Doubleclefffm.jpg

Double Clef FM is hosted by Morgan Merryweather (Gerry Cosgrove) and plays a selection of popular sequences from various classical operas. In the game, Double Clef FM is the favorite radio station of the Leone Mafia Family. Morgan Merryweather is a stereotype of a pompous classical music afficionadio, interspersing the tracks with references to his refined lifestyle. His cultural references, however, are often incorrect. For instance, he at one point likens a piece of music to "Fellini's Lolita." Lolita was written by Vladimir Nabokov, and adapted for film once by Stanley Kubrick and again by Adrian Lyne. Federico Fellini never turned the book into a film. Moreover, Merryweather notes that he spent a summer "reading Proust in the original Italian." Marcel Proust wrote in French, not Italian. It is also alluded to that he is a pedophile, for example when he calls a song "overpowering, much like a twelve-year-old nephew who lets you bounce him on the knee one last time".

The following songs can be heard on the station:

K-Jah

File:Kjah.jpg

K-Jah hosted by Horace "the Pacifist" Walsh (Herman Stephens). K-Jah is the favorite station of the Yardies gang, and plays dub/reggae music with interspersed bits of chatter from the DJ. All tracks played on the station are from the Scientist's album "Scientist Rids the World of the Evil Curse of the Vampires". The frequency for the station, as mentioned by some between-song commercials, is 103.7. It is also one of the few stations not owned by "Love Media", the fictional corporation owned by Donald Love, as can be seen from Horace's line "We have no love for Donald Love, man.".

K-Jah's west coast affiliate is named K-JAH Radio West, as seen in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.

The following songs can be heard on the station:

Rise FM

File:Risefm.jpg

Rise FM is hosted by "Andre The Accelerator" (voiced by "Andre") and plays four to the floor style electronic dance music. The playlist in the game is presented as a continuous liveset which is being played and broadcast live from a nightclub called the Planetarium. This station does not feature any commercials. Rise FM is one of the Colombian Cartel's favorite stations. Rise FM is also the name of a real-life internet radio station which is owned and run by Denmark based Rise Future Media. However, it is in no way connected to the GTA version..

The following songs can be heard on the station:

  • 01. Slyder - "Neo (The One)"
  • 02. Slyder - "Score (Original Mix)"
  • 03. Chris Walsh & Dave Beran - "Shake (Revolt Clogrock Remix)"
  • 04. Shiver - "Deep Time"
  • 05. R.R.D.S. - "Innerbattle"

Lips 106

File:Lips106.jpg

Lips 106 is hosted by Andee (voiced by Shelley Miller), and plays mainly pop music.

The following songs can be heard on the station:

  • Fatamarse - "Bump To The Music"1
  • April's In Paris - "Feels Like I Just Can't Take No More"1
  • Lucy - "Forever"1
  • Boyz 2 Girlz - "Pray It Goes Ok?"1
  • Da Shootaz - "Grand Theft Auto"1
  • Funky Bjs - "Rubber Tip"1

Game Radio FM

File:Game Radio.jpg

Game Radio FM provides the radio of Liberty City with hip hop featuring many lesser-known real-life artists and MCs. The station is hosted by DJ Stretch Armstrong and Lord Sear as themselves. Game Radio FM is one of the favorite stations of the Southside Hoods in the game. The instrumental "Scary Movies" which can be heard at the beginning of the radio loop, was produced by Red Spyda for Eminem and Royce Da 5'9" (Bad Meets Evil).

The following songs can be heard on the station:

MSX FM

File:Msxfm.jpg

MSX FM MC'd by MC Codebreaker and mixed by DJ Timecode, MSX FM is a station that plays hardcore drum and bass music and has no commercials. The station's FM frequency is mentioned to be 101.1, an allusion to the 2001 Moving Shadow mix CD mixed by Timecode named "Moving Shadow 01.1". The tracks featured on MSX FM are a subset of those on 01.1. MSX FM is the second favourite station of the Southside Hoods. It should also be noted that the game is set in the year 2001 while the station has the frequency 101.1, while it has the suffix "98" in Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories, which takes place in 1998..

The following songs can be heard on the station:

  • 01. Calyx - "Quagmire"
  • 02. Rascal & Klone - "Get Wild"
  • 03. Ryme Tyme - "Judgement Day"
  • 04. Hex - "Force"
  • 05. Omni Trio - "First Contact"
  • 06. Aquasky - "Spectre"
  • 07. Rascal & Klone - "Winner Takes All"
  • 08. Ryme Tyme - "T Minus"
  • 09. nCode - "Spasm"
  • 10. D. Kay - "Monolith"
  • 11. Dom & Ryme Tyme - "Iceberg"

Flashback 95.6

File:Flashbackfm.jpg

Flashback 95.6 plays 1980s pop music and is hosted by "Toni" (Maria Chambers). It is aimed at people who are "stuck in the 80s" and, between songs, Toni reminisces about her hedonistic lifestyle during that time. Toni is also a DJ in two of GTAIII's prequels, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories, both of which are set in the 1980s. The tracks on Flashback 95.6 are all taken from the soundtrack of the 1983 gangster film Scarface. Flashback is another of the Colombian Cartel's favorite radio stations. The DJ's name might also reference the film, with the protagonist named Tony Montana.

The following songs can be heard on the station:

Chatterbox FM

File:Chatterboxfm.jpg

Chatterbox FM is a talk radio hosted by Lazlow himslef. On this station Lazlow talks with guests and callers (mainly citizens of Liberty City).

The following persons are credited for guest voices:

  • Lucien Jones
  • Karin Bykowski
  • Hank Stewart
  • Abbi Davis
  • Mellowvision.com
  • Paul Maloney
  • bernieS
  • Frank Fava
  • Kit Halsted
  • Joe Casalino
  • Dan Houser
  • Jay Crutcher
  • Frank Chavez
  • DJ Rush
  • A.M. Watson
  • Laura Bykowski
  • Navid Khonsari
  • Sherry Wohglmuth
  • Porkchop
  • Renaude Sebbane
  • Kyle Machlachlan
  • Sabby
  • Kim Schaefer
  • Debi Mazar
  • Nick Mandelos
  • David Connell
  • Reed Tucker
  • Jennifer Kolbe
  • Ami Plasse
  • Keith Broadus
  • Cameo Carlson
  • JD Leeds
  • Micheal Madsen

Commercials

The myriad commercials that appear throughout the game deserve a special mention. They are all written by Dan Houser and Lazlow (the latter of whom also produced them). They are fairly convincing as real adverts as they adhere to many typical marketing clichés and tricks. Several adverts mention telephone numbers and official websites. Rockstar actually created these websites, and though many links just eventually lead back to the Rockstar site, some are really quite detailed. The Petsovernight.com website displays pictures of animals and promises "If it's got a central nervous system, we've got it ready to go in a box to your house", tying in with the humour in the commercials.

Some examples of commercials within the game are:

  • Dormatron - An invention that burns calories while sleeping — by moving the limbs strapped to the device while the owner sleeps. Exactly how the subject is strapped in is never explained but is implied as a form of bondage in Liberty City Stories. Parodies 'miracle' weight-loss products that are either ineffective or repackaged versions of proven methods.
  • Equanox - (not to be confused with 'Equinox') Alertness pills from Zaibatsu Pharmaceuticals, with a long and concerning list of side-effects. Parodying No-Doz, as well as dangerous pharmaceuticals. The name appears to be a portmanteau of Equus (Horse) and Nox (Sleep), which suggests that the drug is a horse tranquilizer. Zaibatsu, meaning "conglomerate", is a commonly used word in the GTA series as well as a faction on Grand Theft Auto 2, Zaibatsu is advertised as a pharmaceutical company, not to be mistaken with Maibatsu, a fictional car manufacturer parodying Japanese manufacturers in reality.
  • Eris Running Shoes - Parodies the controversy over Nike's controversial outsourcing and labor practices (Eris, like Nike, is a Greek goddess). This sneaker company employs children ("It's fun! We get to play with knives!", "Yesterday, I made a dollar!" "My friend Joey sewed his hands together!"). Eris appears in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas as one of the clothing brands, and are promoting their "Rampage" line.
  • Fernando's New Beginnings - "A revolutionary new way to save your marriage," explained further during Fernando's stint on Chatterbox FM.
  • Liberty City Survivor - A Battle Royale esque reality show with "20 recently paroled guys...equipped with grenade launchers and flamethrowers". They have to hunt each other down until only one man is left standing. Parodying reality television, especially the very early 2000s trend towards more degrading formulas such as Fear Factor. Liberty City Survivor is also a reference to a promised-but-cancelled multiplayer mode in GTAIII. However, "Liberty City Survivor" would come to frutition as the multiplayer mode in Liberty City Stories. The voiceover is from Jeff Berlin.
  • Maibatsu Monstrosity - A sports utility vehicle by a Japanese brand (possibly a parody of the Toyota Land Cruiser or Mitsubishi Montero) notable for its size ("It's so big; we lost little Joey in the back and couldn't find him for an hour") and low gas mileage ("So what if it only does three miles to the gallon, I'm a mom, not a conservationist"). The Liberty Tree says in its newspaper that there were problems with the prototype in the 90s with a few injured persons. Parodies the elephantine sports utility vehicles that were commonplace on American roads in the 2000s, there is also an advertisement in the GTA 3 handbook for the Maibatsu Monstrosity showing a larger Landstalker.
  • Petsovernight.com - A dot-com company that ships its customers live animals (including exotics), anywhere in the country. A parody of some of the decidedly ridiculous dot-com enterprises at the time of the game's release. "Delivering little bundles of love.. in a box.. directly to your door."
  • Pogo the Monkey - A platform action game where players play as a monkey with a banana cannon who attacks scientists and steals gems. Pogo's final mission is to take over the White House and become president of the United States. The radio adverts make particular parody of the merchandising blitz surrounding popular platforming games that featured anthropomorphic protagonists such as Crash Bandicoot and Sonic the Hedgehog. A fake arcade version of Pogo the Monkey can be found in several places in Vice City.
  • Rakin & Ponzer - Mocking compensation culture, this law firm commercial urges listeners to sue anyone for anything. The first of a recurring ad theme encouraging insurance fraud.
  • The House of Tomorrow - A specialist electronics retailer promoting high-tech items such as 3D virtual reality helmets of questionable usefulness as vital in the digital era, a parody of such real life retailers as The Sharper Image.
  • The Medieval Millennium Fair - A Renaissance fair that takes place every weekend at Liberty City Park, and sells spells, potions and other medieval artifacts.

The ads are voiced by: Stephanie Roy, Gerry Cosgrove, Sean Lynch, Lazlow, Alex Anthony, Jonathan Hanst, Chris Silvestro, Jeff Berlin, Shelley Miller, Ron Reeve, Maria Chambers, Alana Silvestro, Alice Saltzman, Dan Houser, Frank Chavez, Craig Olivo and Laura Bykowski.

Non Selectable Radio Stations

There are several stations that can be seen advertised on billboards throughout Liberty City. However, these are not available for selection at any time during the game and have no songs or DJs associated with them. They are Liberty FM, WLLC ‘The Zone’ and Liberty Soul FM. It is not clear whether these stations were originally intended to be ‘real’ stations but dropped during development, or if they were simply designed to sit alongside other fake brands advertised in the game.

Another possible non-selectable station is what has been referred to as Orbit FM. However, close inspection of the ad (both in the game and in the instruction manual) shows that the correct name is OR-Bit. There is no ‘FM’ and no evidence that it is a radio station.

Notes

1 - Fictional artist, song was made for the game.

2 - Song was mixed for the game.



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