Update, April 27: Grand Theft Auto IV’s soundtrack-skewering update is upon us, and fans have collected the full list of affected songs.
Grand Theft Auto IV came out when I was at the height of my classic rock phase, which means I spent a lot of time listening to Liberty Rock Radio. To this day, I can’t hear ELO’s Evil Woman without seeing the long drive across the bridge from Dukes to Algonquin. Now any future replays of GTA IV are going to sound a lot less nostalgic.
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As noted earlier this month, license expirations mean the end for some cornerstones of the GTA IV soundtrack, and that update is now live. Users on Reddit and at GTA Forums have collected the full list of affected songs, which you can see below.
Big names lost mostly come from the classic rock collection, including Stevie Nicks, David Bowie, Black Sabbath, The Doors, and AC/DC, though the biggest volume of tracks lost are from Eastern European station Vladivostok FM. Many of those tracks have been replaced, but Schweine – the song that plays as soon as Nico gets off the boat – is notably absent.
- Vladivostok FM
- Kino – “Группа крови” [Gruppa Krovi / Blood Type] (1988)
- Marakesh – “Ждать” [Zhdat / To Wait] (2006)
- Zveri – “Квартира” [Kvartira / The Flat] (2006)
- Seryoga – “King Ring” (2005)
- Splean – “Линия жизни” [Liniya Zhizni / Lifeline] (2000)
- Basta – “Мама” [Mama / Mother] (2006)
- Leningrad – “Никого не жалко” [Nikogo ne Zhalko / A Pity for No One] (2002)
- Ranetki Girls – “О тебе” [O Tebe / About You] (2006)
- Dolphin – “РЭП” [Rap] (2008)
- Glukoza – “Швайне” [Schweine / Pigs in German] (2005)
- Ruslana – “Wild Dances” Ukranian FM Version (2004)
- Oleg Kvasha – “Зеленоглазое такси” Club Remix [Zelenoglazoe * Taksi / Green Eyed Taxi] (2007)
- Liberty Rock Radio
- The Smashing Pumpkins – “1979” (1995)
- Stevie Nicks – “Edge of Seventeen” (1981)
- Electric Light Orchestra – “Evil Woman” (1975)
- David Bowie – “Fascination” (1975)
- Black Sabbath – Heaven And Hell (1980)
- The Journey
- Terry Riley – “A Rainbow in Curved Air” (1969)
- Michael Shrieve – “Communique: ‘Approach Spiral'” (1984)
- San Juan Sounds
- Angel y Khriz – “Ven Báilalo” (2004)
- IF99 – International Funk
- Gil Scott-Heron – “Home Is Where the Hatred Is” (1971)
- Liberty City Hardcore
- Cro-Mags – “It’s the Limit” (1985)
- Leeway – “Enforcer” (1988)
- K109 The Studio
- Tamiko Jones – “Can’t Live Without Your Love” (1979)
- The Vibe 98.8
- Mtume – “C.O.D. (I’ll Deliver)” (1984)
- Radio Broker
- Ralph Myerz – “The Teacher” (2006)
- The Beat 102.7
- Fat Joe (feat. Lil Wayne) – Crackhouse (2008)
- Papoose – Stylin’ (2008)
- The Classics
- Brand Nubian – All for One (1990)
- Marley Marl (feat. Craig G) – Droppin’ Science (1988)
- K109 (The Ballad of Gay Tony)
- “Still In Love” by Rose Royce
- L.C.H.C. (The Lost and Damned)
- “Call from the Grave” by Bathory
- Liberty Rock Radio(The Lost and Damned)
- “Touch Too Much” by AC/DC
- “Five To One” by The Doors
- “Jane” by Jefferson Starship
- “Run To The Hills” by Iron Maiden
- Vladivostok FM(The Ballad of Gay Tony)
- “Salvation” by Sucker DJs
- “Music” by Jonathan Peters feat. Maya Azucena
- “When Love Takes Over” by David Guetta feat. Kelly Rowland
- Vice City FM
- “C’est la Vie” by Robbie Nevil
- “History” by Mai Tai
- “Teardrops” by Womack & Womack
- “Wood Beez (Pray like Aretha Franklin)” by Scritti Politti
- “You’re the Voice” by John Farnham
- Video Editor
- “A City Under Siege” by Boy 8-Bit
- “Boxer” by Crookers (feat. Nic Sarno)
- “Stickin” by SonicC
- “The Best Thing” by Hook N Sling
- “You Never Know” by Marly
Original story, April 10:The Grand Theft Auto series has always had a killer soundtrack, but GTA IV will be losing some of its classic songs later this month due to the expiration of music licences.
According to Kotaku, some of GTA IV’s music licences are due to expire later this month, resulting in some of the game’s songs being removed on April 26 – almost ten years after the release of GTA IV on PS3 and Xbox 360.
Those who own the title on PS3 will be given the option either on or before April 26 to download digital versions of the removed tracks separately. However, we currently don’t know if this same option will be made available to PC owners.
GTA IV’s soundtrack includes gems such as Edge of Seventeen by Stevie Nicks, Bump N’ Grind by R. Kelly, and Jailbreak by Thin Lizzy. We currently don’t know which songs are in the firing line.
As Kotaku highlighted, Rockstar have been forced to pull songs from the GTA series before due to music licences expiring. Back in 2014, GTA: San Andreas received a Steam update that removed 17 songs from the game.
Songs will be removed from GTA IV on April 26.
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