Synic Selects Vol. II - Best of Tony Hawk

The concept for Synic Selects Vol. II came to me very shortly after releasing the first edition, and I was so excited about the idea that I had to actually force myself to wait almost a full month before releasing it. (I was gonna do a full month or more between Volumes, but I have no self control.) I suppose the inspiration for this Volume sprouted as I was compiling the first, since the first Volume was entirely punk, and the Tony Hawk video game soundtracks are notoriously punk-heavy. But in the chaos of the world today I think we could all use some more punk in our lives. It's a hell of a lot cheaper than therapy, isn't it?

I believe that everyone on planet Earth who has ever picked up a video game controller, Nintendo, Sony, Microsoft, or otherwise, has at some point in their lives experienced a Tony Hawk game. Be it one of the Pro Skaters, Undergrounds, American Wasteland, or one of the later entries in the franchise, everyone has some sort of experience with these games. Some of us still play them from time to time to this day. There's something about them, the simple controls, the wretched graphics, repetitive story missions, that just takes us back to a simpler time in life. A time when we were young, carefree, and Tony Hawk got recognized in public as Tony Hawk, and not some old guy that looks like Tony Hawk. Go ahead and look up any of the songs listed here on YouTube, or any of your own favorites that didn't make it onto this list, and I guarantee the comments will be flooded with references to the classic games.

In building this list I gave myself a few basic rules, otherwise I would have a playlist of hundreds of songs. While that actually sounds pretty cool to me, I figure for the sake of keeping things basic, I'd boil it down to just my favorites. I wanted to make sure every game between Pro Skater and American Wasteland were represented, as those were my personal favorites, and I also wanted to be sure I did not repeat any artists that may have appeared in multiple games. The following list is what I came up with. So, without further introduction, here it is. Synic Selects Vol. II - Best of Tony Hawk. Crank it loud, collect the letters to SKATE, and try to wallride the school bells. But most of all, enjoy.

Synic Selects Vol. II - Best of Tony Hawk

1. Police Truck - Dead Kennedys

2. Jerry Was A Racecar Driver - Primus

3. Cyco Vision - Suicidal Tendencies

4. You - Bad Religion

5. Pin the Tail on the Donkey - Naughty By Nature

6. Ace of Spades - Motorhead

7. Amoeba - Adolescents

8. T.N.T. - AC/DC

9. Drunken Lullabies - Flogging Molly

10. Blackball - The Offspring

11. Anarchy in the UK - Sex Pistols

12. I Wanna Pierce My Brain - Rubber City Rebels

13. White Riot - The Clash

14. I Love Livin' in the City - Fear

15. High Anxiety - Suicide Machines

16. Rock n' Roll High School - The Ramones

17. Add It Up - Violent Femmes

18. Liberate - Disturbed

19. X - Los Angeles

20. Midlife Crisis - Faith No More

21. Rise Above - Black Flag

22. Wild in the Streets - Circle Jerks

23. Who Do You Want To Be - Oingo Boingo

*SECRET TAPE:

Born Fe Rebel - Steel Pulse

*The Secret Tape was included as a fun bonus because it is a personal favorite song of mine, and I think it stands out the most from the rest of these soundtracks. I mean think about it, a compilation of punk, rock, and hip hop, with a random reggae jam thrown into the mix? You're full of surprises, Birdman.