Tag Archives: taste

How Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater Soundtrack Transformed My Musical Taste: A Band’s Reflection

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WIn the late ’90s and early 2000s, countless parents purchased Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater for their kids, unaware of the profound influence it would have on their musical tastes. From Bad Religion to Papa Roach and Millencolin, these games became the ultimate compilation albums, mirroring the failed spins and grinds their players experienced.

While FIFA games are known for their licensed soundtracks, they often feel detached. In contrast, the Pro Skater soundtrack felt like a raw, handmade mixtape, soaked in sweat and nostalgia from countless sessions at the local skatepark.

“Most bands were picked because they came from the skate scene. Even the hip-hop from the original punk era, which dominated the skate culture in the ’80s and ’90s, led to a realization: ‘I never thought I’d be a tastemaker, but my loyalty to the culture shaped that role,'” remarked one artist.

“Tony was deeply involved in punk rock,” shares Chris DeMakes from Less Than Jake before their performance at this year’s Slam Dunk Festival. “Ultimately, he had to approve the bands for the soundtrack, which reassured me,” added Roger Lima from the same band: “Skating and music culture are so intertwined; it makes sense for there to be a truly authentic soundtrack.”

The influence of these games on participating bands has been unparalleled. “I recall playing previous iterations of THPS and dreaming about a chance to be featured,” shares AFI bassist Hunter Burgan. “Yet, we didn’t fully grasp the immense impact it would have long after we’d been on the soundtrack. I can’t tell you how many people have approached me over the last two decades saying THPS3 introduced them to AFI.”




“Tony had to approve the band on his soundtrack, so I felt better about it” … Less Than Jake. Photo: Piers Allardyce/Rex/Shutterstock

“Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater made me realize that all my closest friends were metalheads,” Demakes reflects. “I spoke with John Feldman of Goldfinger, and even though Superman wasn’t a worldwide hit, it became a breakthrough for them through the game.”

When the first Tony Hawk Pro Skater launched in 1999, those grey PlayStation discs served as vehicles for punk rock, introducing the genre to countless unsuspecting youth. Now, 25 years later, new artists are featured alongside the bands that originally shaped the game’s sound.

“These games have drastically shifted my musical preferences!” expresses Sammy Ciaramitaro, vocalist for hardcore band Drain. “They brought punk and a wealth of other incredible music to my childhood room.” Drain is one of the newer artists included in the soundtrack of the remake. “Our inclusion signifies the evolution of hardcore,” he adds. “We feel privileged to join forces with Turnstile and hope young players discover our music while gaming.”

Other bands like Ataris, which weren’t on Tony’s radar back then, dreamed of being featured in future installations. “We’ve matured alongside the Pro Skater franchise,” says bassist Mike Davenport. “During our rise in the late ’90s, we felt honored when our track ‘All Souls Day’ made it to the 2020 Pro Skater 1+2 remake.”

Davenport recalls moments from their tour: “On our tour bus, we were playing Pro Skater when our driver yelled, ‘Look outside!’ Suddenly, the TV flew towards us, and we instinctively swatted it away. Unfortunately, the TV and PlayStation perished, but we were spared.”




Davey Havok performed at AFI in 2007. Photo: Reuters/Aramie

After joining the franchise in 2002, Jake feels a sense of pride returning to the Pro Skater series decades later for the remake. “We’ve been around for 33 years, and it’s great to be invited to video games.”

“As long as there are gamers, there will be opportunities to connect them with music,” remarks Burgan.

This legacy of the Pro Skater soundtrack continues to resonate. There’s even a cover band dedicated to performing it live. “When they followed us on social media, I was shocked. I never thought he would actually perform on stage with us,” says one band member.

In a viral Instagram moment, Tony Hawk surprised the audience at the 900 in East London, joining Agent Orange and Goldfinger for a frenzied performance. “We’ll always be grateful for him showing up, especially since he appreciates bands covering songs from his game,” says Shaw.




“I can’t sing every song” … Tony Hawk at the 900 in London in 2022. Photo: Doug Young

“Five bands from the video game series have only performed covers,” Hawk stated. “My surprise appearance was a thrill. I’m proud of the soundtrack, but I can’t sing every song or recall the lyrics!”

Since the original Pro Skater, its soundtrack has continuously benefitted the featured bands. “I met Tony at a music festival recently,” shares Burgan from AFI. “His passion for music makes being part of THPS even more special.”

While the Pro Skater franchise solidified its legacy, Jake reflects on how easily it could have gone the other way.

“Imagine creating a product that missed the mark,” he chuckles. “But in Tony’s case, he had a fantastic game that kids embraced wholeheartedly.”

“Pro skater games might not have made an immediate impact,” Lima acknowledges. “But every aspect was effortlessly cool, monumental for us… we’ve lost count of how many times fans mentioned it. Check the comments on YouTube and you’ll see. Many haven’t heard of us until now.”

Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3+4 is available now.

Source: www.theguardian.com

After Mating, Noisy Spiders Have a Taste for Their Peers—You’ll Be Surprised!

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Feedback provides the latest science and technology news from New Scientist, highlighting interesting items. You can reach out to Feedback@newscientist.com with stories that might intrigue readers.

Curious Connections

Earlier this year, feedback sought an example of “No kidding, Sherlock.” Reader Roger Eldem requested evidence supporting the claim that inadequate rest increases the risk of injury during prolonged tasks.

Roger hasn’t yet finished his research but continues to share examples of self-evident truths. Here are two more while we await further contributions. First, a paper published in June in Demographics presented findings concerning political preferences in relationships: Couples with opposing political views are more likely to separate. Phys.org has summarized this effectively: Research shows couples with conflicting political views face higher separation risks.

Feedback acknowledges that political differences can create tension in relationships. When did we start selecting partners solely by looks and style?

On the theme of problematic relationships, Roger shares another notable discovery from the 2016 Journal PLOS 1 titled Sexually cannibalistic behavior in colonial spider species. It discusses the dynamics of these spiders, where females often consume males post-mating. Research highlights that males may be choosy about their partners, preferring younger, more robust females.

As Phys.org aptly noted: Male orb-weaving spiders are often cannibalized by females.

No apologies here; feedback maintains its critical stance. The complexities are not as straightforward as they seem. Researchers indicate that males in solitary species may not be selected for, as they rarely encounter females, thus opting not to risk decapitation during mating. This contrasts with social species that carefully select males before sacrificing them for reproduction.

Clearly, many instances of “No kidding, Sherlock” exist. Can others find more examples? New insights are always welcome.

Disproven Fiction

As a long-time science fiction reader, Feedback enjoys revisiting stories that are now outdated. These narratives often held plausible premises that have since become unlikely or completely impossible.

Sometimes, what was once considered a “prediction” has been surpassed by time. For instance, Blade Runner was released in 1982 and set in 2019. Now, well over six years have passed since that date, with flying cars still absent. However, the film accurately portrayed the pitfalls of tech billionaires. Depending on your perspective, whether you subscribe to Star Trek or Terminator, the late 1990s were supposed to be defined by either superhumans born from eugenics or nuclear devastation.

We would like to highlight another phenomenon: groundbreaking scientific findings that undermine significant story premises. For example, World War discoveries previously attributed to the apparent absence of life on Mars.

A similar scenario unfolds in Revelation Space, a book by Alastair Reynolds. Feedback still cherishes these novels, and anyone who hasn’t delved into them should stop reading now.

The narrative revolves around the eventual clash between our galaxy and the Andromeda galaxy billions of years from now. Consequently, humanity is perceived to be limited by Inhibitors that restrict intellectual life until the crisis resolves.

However, on June 2nd, Natural Astronomy published a paper under an unexciting title: Uncertainty in Milky Way and Andromeda Collision. Researchers simulated the movements of galaxies within the local cluster and concluded that the current positioning and mass of galaxies leave room for dramatically different potential outcomes. They assert that “the fate of our galaxy remains completely open.”

Readers are encouraged to share other recent discoveries that have subverted plausible science fiction narratives.

More from GS

In the London Centric Newsletter, readers will uncover “The Real 5G Conspiracy: How Londoners Misrepresent Their Phone Signals“. The article addresses how, despite high mobile coverage signals, functional data download capabilities are absent. Londoners may claim to be connected to modern 5G networks, yet they lead lives devoid of 4G awareness.

The article was inspired by an app creator named SignalTracker, who tests various networks while roaming around London “with five different mobile phones.”

Capitalism continues to evolve. Reader Brian Darvel has drawn our attention to this mobile detective, Martin Sims.

Have you shared your feedback?

You can send your stories to feedback@newscientist.com, including your home address. Previous and current feedback can be found on our website.

Source: www.newscientist.com

AI that predicts flavor preferences can advise brewers on improving beer taste

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Beer brewers produce a wide variety of flavors from just a handful of ingredients

Cthredrig/Getty Images

Artificial intelligence that can predict taste from beer's chemical composition could help create alcohol-free versions that taste exactly like regular beer.

Predicting flavor from a compound is difficult because complex interactions between ingredients and the psychology of taste can result in surprisingly different perceptions, even among people who have tasted the same thing.

To deal with this, kevin verstrapen Professors at the University of Leuven in Belgium have developed an AI model that can predict the flavor profile of beer based on its chemical composition and suggest ways to improve the flavor.

The model was trained on beer reviews by a panel of 16 expert tasters who scored each beer on 50 attributes, as well as 180,000 public ratings from online beer rating websites. The study compared these subjective descriptions with measurements of 226 compounds in 250 Belgian beers.

“Hundreds of these compounds are received by our nose and mouth, but mostly in the nose, and then processed in the brain to give us what we think of as flavor,” Verstrepen says. “The fact that we can actually predict this accurately using machine learning is pretty amazing.”

Verstrepen and his team used this model to predict how to improve the flavor of beer by adding mixtures of specific compounds, such as lactic acid and ethyl acetate. The resulting beer was given significantly higher ratings by a panel of trained tasters.

In another study, which has not yet been published, after making the changes suggested by the model, non-alcoholic beer became indistinguishable from regular beer, Verstrepen said.

The idea is that brewers should aim to implement AI recommendations by tweaking recipes, rather than simply adding flavors, he says. “Simply adding pure aroma compounds is not really acceptable in beer brewing. All you need is malt, hops, water, and yeast.”

“So I look at it as a tool, specifically to be used to make better non-alcoholic beer, but not to take away the art of crafting good beer in an artisanal way,” Versträpen said. To tell.

topic:

  • chemistry /
  • Eating and drinking

Source: www.newscientist.com