I went ahead and listened to other songs by these guys, and they honestly aren't that bad. It seems to be a common trend for non Crush 40 singers to not be at their best with Sonic themes, hell I actually enjoy some of Cash Cash's original work despite my distaste for most of their Sonic tracks. One exception is Jarred Reddick. Endless Possibility is my jam.
Just want to throw in here that I'm not only dissapointed in the theme due to the vocals, but due to the disconnect in relevance. Also not the biggest Crush 40, or any of that buttrock, fan. I was sincerely hoping after the first handful of theme snippets that Forces would be following more in the footsteps of Sonic R and half of SA1 by having more of an electronica/dance influence. Unfortunately the music is a major loss of hype for me, but I still want to play the game.
Honestly, I'm kind of waiting to see the credits on the soundtrack to find out who actually wrote the lyrics to the main theme. Part of the cheese of past Sonic themes (Mostly excluding Crush 40, but sometimes not) was that a lot of the songs' lyrics were written first by a Japanese composer and then translated for someone in English to work with.
I find it funny that there are so many fitting bands from the mid-2000's still up and going (and good) that weren't considered over freaking Hoobastank. Take pretty much any rock group that came up at the record label Tooth & Nail between 2001 and 2010 and you're likely to find a much better choice for vocals and lyrics that would assuredly be cheaper than getting "that one guy from Hoobastank." Seriously, listen to MxPx's 2008 album Secret Weapon and tell me it wouldn't perfectly match an Adventure-era Sonic soundtrack. Or anything from Emery (sans some of the heavier screaming) and Stephen Christian from Anberlin doesn't seem to be doing all that much lately, I would love to hear his voice on a Sonic theme. I'm just hung up on how this choice was even made, I guess. Someone at Sonic Team just must be a huge Hoobastank fan...?
I think that is correct, didn't Jun said in one of those Sonic Channel columns he had that he picked artists he was a fan or influenced his work. Maybe Ohtani is the same. And it makes total sense since every musical act the series has had since Adventure were either past their prime or literally who the fuck are they.This doesn't make the music they did bad, but it puts in perspective on why Doug was chosen for Forces. The only one I can think of that was relevant during the time of the game release was Akon and all he did was ruined Sweet Dreams with his whoos.
Akon was probably just another marketing gag conceived by SEGA, who thought a great way to promote Sonic 06 was getting the guy who literally had a No. 1 hit with a song called "I wanna fuck you"!
It's a bit odd considering how 'forced' the lyrics feel, to me at least. I wonder if by 'wrote the lyrics' he actually meant "spent time trying to get some lyrics to awkwardly fit into a pre-written melody." Also seems a bit weird considering some of the fan-made attempts at lyrics sound a bit more natural, so I feel maybe he had restrictions to work with. Also, I'm noticing a good few people scratching their heads not knowing who Hoobastank are/were. TBH I was the same until I remembered Elite Beat Agents on the DS: they did the second-to-final track in that game and it was one of my faves at the time.
To be fair, we had a ton of bands that filled that same niche back in the mid-2000s; Papa Roach and Breaking Benjamin come to mind.
Why do the vocals feel so... disjointed from the actual song? Man, I'm really disappointed by this. The only other main theme I don't like is Secret Rings - I've enjoyed almost every other theme song even if the game hasn't ended up matching it. I wanted to like this so much but I just don't. I was pleasantly surprised to be taken back to 2004 Dragonball AMVs with Hoobastank, though! The vocals alone don't bother me, they just really don't fit the song imo.
I appreciate Tomoya Ohtani-san's efforts in making music that's versatile in style and also Douglas Robb as an experienced vocalist. It's time to turn your thinking around: 'Fist Bump' is a high level power pop hymn. It makes your head bop. It's not bad — it's something else. And so is Park Avenue's stage music. On another note, the sample must be some kind of rough mix. Sounds a little different than the previous instrumental.
Ahh yes.... Hoobastank. "The Reason" is probably one of the most iconic one hit wonders of the 2000s. Not only does the whole song feature a pedal tonic but it also has some of the most beautiful, poetic lyrics of all time. I'm being sarcastic of course.... Honestly, it just fits too uncomfortably well with sonic. I can't believe I didn't think about this sooner, to be honest. It's so silly and as deep as a kiddy pool, I love it.
Have you heard Crush 40's version of "Seven Rings in Hand"? //forums.sonicretro.org/public/style_emoticons/default/v.png
That's a theme song I would enjoy so much more if it wasn't playing constantly throughout the whole game. Not sure what the logic there was. That being said, Crush 40's version is a great alternative.
I think this is probably the best way to look at the theme song situation. It really feels like they're just trying to imitate themselves. There's just no need to do that though. Hopefully the rest of the game has better tracks.
...or the Sonic Series just needs some different composers that could bring some life into the games' music? I mean... Hideki Naganuma's style wouldn't really fit the tone of Forces, but... it'd probably be better than whatever Tomoya Ohtani is doing with this game's soundtrack.
I'm enjoying it more this side of the weekend. Also, I feel like it's gonna grow on a lot of people, no matter how much they don't want to hear that right now. :^) I mean, sure it's not quite Live and Learn, but I feel like it could certainly rank above His World and Reach for the Stars given enough time. For me, this is the first mainline Sonic vocal theme I've listened to on a loop since Endless Possibility, so it's definitely doing something right.
Oh man, now you mention it, the fact it was repeated constantly throughout the game REALLY didn't help. What were they thinking! I like the Crush 40 version a lot more, but even more than that the Bentley Jones Fairytales in Trance remix version! It completely changes the song but somehow I just prefer the super slowed down pace.
