In case you haven’t noticed, I really like the Tony Hawk games. I’ve already mentioned how they introduced multiple generations to various bands. One of my absolute favourite soundtracks in the series was the one released for Tony Hawk’s American Wasteland. The main game itself included roughly 63 tracks, however they also released a standalone album full of original material recorded specifically for the game itself. This consisted entirely of mall-emo and pop punk bands from the early 2000’s covering various 80’s punk and hardcore songs. In theory, that sounds like the worst idea on the planet, but there were quite a few highlights on the soundtrack that I think are mention of doing write-ups on. Let’s take a look at some of them.

For a band so overly poppy and universally beloved, Fall Out Boy sure have a habit of covering uber-tr00 IMN favourites every once in a while (Jawbreaker, Joy Divison, etc.). However their cover of Gorilla Biscuit’s Start Today is actually really great. I’d wager it’s probably even better than the original in some respects, the production is a hundred times fuller and I seriously believe Patrick Stump is a better singer than Anthony Civarelli, no joke. This was just after they’d released From Under The Cork Tree, so they were relatively well known but not super massive at this point. They did a damn good job on it though, personally.

I’ve never given a shit about T.S.O.L. in my entire life and have never seen the appeal in their music whatsoever. Alkaline Trio, on the other hand, have been favourites of mine for over a decade. I’ve always felt they were a band anyone could get into. Whether you’re a stangry beardo who only likes Goddamnit and Maybe I’ll Catch Fire or a fresh-faced kid who got into them via Good Mourning, they always have something for everyone. Those chugging riffs mixed in with the twinkly piano really highlight. It sounds a bit dull compared to their usual affair but that’s T.S.O.L.’s fault, not theirs.

Some of these covers are a bit too straightforward though, for my liking. It’s honestly quite weird hearing Taking Back Sunday cover a band as downright goofy and irreverent as the Descendents. This is one of the few where I feel they should’ve just used the original instead of going to the trouble of getting another band to cover it. You could easily be forgiven for thinking they’d just gotten Milo Aukerman himself to do the vocals on this song, it sounds so similar you wonder why they even bothered in the first place. It’s still better than literally anything they ever released after Louder Now though, so that’s something.

Now we’re talking. My Chemical Romance are one of my all-time favourite bands, so hearing them cover a Misfits song and do it justice was like a dream come true. The production here is absolutely top notch and I love it sounds 100x faster and more intense than the original. IMN’s can bitch all day about how “faggy” Gerard’s voice is and how it he can’t hold a candle on Danzig but at least MCR can actually play their instruments properly, lmao. Plus they actually knew to quit while they were ahead, instead of propping up the bloated corpse of their band and whoring it out a good two decade past its use by date.

I’m amazed out of all the bands to cover this song, they went with Thursday. Like I could definitely see Alkaline Trio or Saves The Day covering this, but Thursday? You get one of the most out-there, weird and experimental bands from the mall-emo era and get them to cover the fucking Buzzcocks? This seems way too straightforward and earnest for them, it doesn’t fit.. Still this cover absolutely rips and Geoff Rickley’s voice is about a hundred times less annoying than the original guy. I’m getting flashbacks to 8th grade just listening to this.

Lastly, could you believe that before he became a huge SJW, Buddy Nielsen was covering Suicidal Tendencies? I wonder what happened to him in the intervening years that made him go from a fun dude who likes hardcore into the stangry Tumblrina he is now. Like if u miss when Buddy Nielsen used to actually make decent music, instead of calling people out over Twitter and giving political speeches at Warped Tour.

What do you think? Is the Tony Hawk’s American Wasteland soundtrack a good relic Do you think they should’ve gotten Brand New to cover Teenage Kicks by The Undertones? Do The Kids These Days™ even give a shit about half of these bands? Let us know in the comments below.