Music Monday: Videogame Noir(e) – Redux

Yes, I’m aware that I featured music from Rockstar Games and Team Bondi’s L.A. Noire last month. But honestly, the instrumental score is only half of the experience. A fair amount of the game involves driving around, going from crime scenes to suspects’ apartments to the police station and everywhere in between. During that time, the game’s score doesn’t play; rather, between twenty and thirty songs from the era play randomly on your car’s radio. As a player, you of course have the option of having your partner do the driving, effectively warping you to wherever you need to be. Even then, you’ll usually hear a few notes of a song starting to play — and often times, that’s enough to get your toes tapping and continue to immerse you in the 1947 Los Angeles the game presents you.

There hasn’t been an official soundtrack release of the radio track songs; however, Rockstar Games and Verve did release an EP called “L.A. Noire: Remixed” which featured remixes of six of the songs. In general, the remixes are done well, and still keep the feel of the original songs; however, none of those tracks have made it here. Sometimes old school is still the best.

Stone Cold Dead in the Market — Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Jordan

That Ol’ Devil Called Love — Billie Holiday

Murder He Says — Dinah Shore