For a video game, that's a pretty impressive feat. The music in Sonic Adventure 2 made me feel cool at a point in my life when that was all that mattered. And while it may sound grandiose, it was also something of a gateway: As a prepubescent youth with only a passive interest in contemporary popular music, this was my first extended exposure to anything in the vicinity of punk or hip-hop-and if drunkenly bonding with strangers over the merits of "Escape from the City" is any indication, my experience isn't unique. Sonic Adventure 2's soundtrack represents the perfect amount of zeitgeist pandering.
Sega has a long history of making-or attempting to make-games that feel "current." This is both the company's defining trait and ultimate undoing it gave them a competitive edge in the '90s when a game starring Michael Jackson didn't seem totally insane and terms like "Blast Processing" and "Xtreme" carried a semblance of cachet, but it's also resulted in some horrible miscalculations. (The version which appeared in the first Sonic Adventure boasts the iconic line "You can call me Knuckles / Unlike Sonic, I don't chuckle.") It should be noted that, despite contributing some of the game's most noteworthy performances in "Unknown From M.E." and Knuckles' level music, rapper Hunnid-P claims to have received no royalties and "little acknowledgment from Sega" for his work. (Granted, "I know that your lucky color is that cool shade of blue / Won't mind painting myself blue for you" wouldn't seem out of place on Blonde on Blonde.) One of Sonic Adventure 2's most memorable non-rock moments is Knuckles the Echidna's " Unknown From M.E.," a hilariously literal hip-hop track that is equally adored and derided by fans. Heroine and Sonic mega fan Amy Rose gets the faux-funk of " My Sweet Passion," which features the soundtrack's most inscrutable set of lyrics. Tails "Miles" Prower-Sonic's insecure, scientifically-minded sidekick-gets "Believe In Myself", a self-affirming Bangles sendup made "modern" by Senoue's chugging guitar.
These character themes highlight the scope of both games' soundtracks. It's a song cherished by so many that some have even fought to have it replace the Star-Spangled Banner as the United States' national anthem. But to a generation of gamers who came of age in the late '90s and early '00s-especially those who were reared on primordial, "All Your Base Are Belong To Us"-esque meme culture- Sonic Adventure 2's "Escape from the City" is an epochal anthem. To '80s kids, that's probably still the case. Pop culture pundits will tell you that the quintessential piece of video game music is the theme to 1985's Super Mario Bros. I am also about to beat Sonic Adventure 2 for the first time in over a decade, and have been forced to reconcile my nostalgia with the harsh reality that it is not a terrific game: The controls are frustrating, the "treasure-hunting" levels dramatically upset the game's pace and the Doomsday plot reads like a Bob Books Armageddon. At the time of writing this, I am unemployed and addicted to Postmates. Fifteen years later, and my early, illustrious English education has clearly paid off.
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