Radio Stations in Fallout

[PaxVenire]

Hello y’all, I wanted to start a discussion regarding music and radio stations in the Fallout franchise. Obviously, this was an implementation of Bethesda and carried into the world of the classics by Obsidian with New Vegas.

I’ve heard much debate over the inclusion of a radio station throughout the years within the Fallout franchise.
On one hand I’ve heard the argument that blasting radio music in the world of Fallout is a detriment to the overall bleakness of the arid post-nuclear wasteland. Fair enough, I personally couldn’t imagine walking down that gruesome hallway into the Master’s chamber and seeing him for the first time while listening to “Bongo bongo bongo I don’t wanna leave the Congo, oh no no no no no”.
On the other hand, I see the argument made that radio stations make total sense within the universe, not just for the music that would give weary travelers some form of happy escape from the bleak reality, but also for the constant news updates the radio DJ gives the surrounding region. Another fair point, in a society that’s progressing past the destruction of the bombs, this would be absolutely crucial.

Here are my thoughts: They don’t work, unless they do. What I mean is that the radio station should be carefully crafted with the world’s setting, the story’s themes, and the overall universe in consideration.
To give an example, I’m going to compare Radio New Vegas/Mojave Radio from Fallout: New Vegas with Diamond City Radio form Fallout 4.
Both radio stations have DJs that give updates to the world as the player makes their way through the game, both play oldies music from the 1900s, and both have in-universe advertisements for businesses that can be found in-game. However, Radio New Vegas/Mojave Radio works and Diamond City Radio does not.

The simple reason is because Mr. New Vegas is treated in-game like an actual character living in the world around him (yes I know he’s an AI canonically, but my point still stands). His news updates don’t just revolve around the player, he’s constantly giving flash updates on the war between the NCR and Legion, what’s going down on the Strip and outside in the Mojave, and what routes wastelanders should avoid due to danger. When he does report on the player’s actions he even sometimes has reporters conduct interviews with the NPCs the player helped, like an actual news station would, to explain how he receives this information. The advertisements he reads revolve around the businesses of the Strip, which canonically make sense as he is programmed by Mr. House who wants to attract business to the Strip to fund his goals. Now onto the music he plays, he doesn’t just throw on any 1950s song he can find, he has a select track of music that fits the game world tonally, thematically, and otherwise just the kind of music that real people living in this world would listen to. He even makes a comment how when Christmas rolls around, he has a track listing ready for the season. And when it comes to Mojave Radio, it’s the same tracks as Radio New Vegas without the host and news updates for anyone who prefers just the music alone. To recap, Mr. New Vegas wasn’t written as just a radio station you throw on for kicks, he is treated as an actual extension of the game world. His music fits the narrative, and by proxy so does Mojave Radio.

Diamond City on the other hand, is quite the opposite. The DJ, Travis, is treated as a nothing more than a joke rather than an actual character living in the game world and dealing with the problems the rest of the Commonwealth is dealing with. He can barely string a sentence together without sounding like a miserable awkward sack at first, and even when the player completes the quest to make him more confident, he provides nothing to the game world aside from a somewhat better voice on the station. He seems to only know about the world’s events when the player gets involved, making it seem like the radio station was created specifically to revolve around the player much like a lot of Bethesda’s game design, and has nothing in the way of explaining where he even gets this information. There are no reporters roaming the corners of the Commonwealth to get the information he knows, not even Piper who we’re told actually does investigative reporting. Even if it was Piper giving him the updates, she can’t be in all corners of the Commonwealth at once while also spoonfeeding Travis information, especially if she’s the player’s companion. When it comes to advertising, his advertisements are almost always written as jokes. Now onto the music. The music played is also void of any purpose. There’s a lot of tracks lazily recycled from Fallout 3’s Galaxy News Radio, a tiny amount of new songs similar to Fallout 3’s soundtrack, and a ton of novelty joke records about sex double entendres or nuclear radiation/atomic bombs because Bethesda thinks that just because the game is set in a post-nuclear environment, these type of songs belong there. The only thing I like about Diamond City Radio is that it’ll play Magnolia’s songs after the player visits Goodneighbor, lending to new music being made post-war like New Vegas with the Lonesome Drifter. To recap, the radio station in Fallout 4 seems to have been created as just some kinda big joke when it isn’t magically revolving around the player.

In short, I think radio stations work in Fallout, but only when they’re treated with care and craftsmanship. It should be relevant to the world. If there’s a DJ, there should be a reason for the DJ to be hosting the station, news about the game world overall rather than player-centric, an explanation on how they get their information, and the music should compliment the game’s themes and setting rather than just to give players music to listen to.

So what are your thoughts on radio stations in the games? Do you love em, hate em, or are you split in the middle?

 

[The_Proletarian]

I have long been thinking about having a Radio Station in The Hub that you can tune into when playing Fallout 1. The most probable would be a radio station hosted by someone from Children of the Cathedral. That's typical for organisations like that.

 

[PaxVenire]

I have long been thinking about having a Radio Station in The Hub that you can tune into when playing Fallout 1. The most probable would be a radio station hosted by someone from Children of the Cathedral. That's typical for organisations like that.

In one of the worst sequences of Fallout 4, that being the Kellogg memory sequence, its show that the NCR has a radio station up and running.

 

[TheKingofVault14]

In one of the worst sequences of Fallout 4, that being the Kellogg memory sequence, its show that the NCR has a radio station up and running.

Wow I never knew that's what was being said during that sequence, thanks for sharing this Pax!

 

[PaxVenire]

Aside from Fallout 4, the existence of a radio station or at the very least 1960s music in the Fallout 1 era is also heavily implied by the Fallout 2 Vault Dweller memoirs where he references Frank Sinatra.

"They want me to write my memoirs. Fine. I'll do it. But as the song goes, I'll do it my way. And I'm old enough that I will get my way."

 

[Iprovidelittlepianos]

Aside from Fallout 4, the existence of a radio station or at the very least 1960s music in the Fallout 1 era is also heavily implied by the Fallout 2 Vault Dweller memoirs where he references Frank Sinatra.

"They want me to write my memoirs. Fine. I'll do it. But as the song goes, I'll do it my way. And I'm old enough that I will get my way."

Don’t forget that the Chosen One has apparently listened to Rocketman by Elton John, as he explains to Renesco in New Reno.

edit: it just occurred to me that the Vault Dweller likely would’ve heard Frank Sinatra when growing up in Vault 13 as opposed to hearing it out in the wasteland.

 

[PaxVenire]

Don’t forget that the Chosen One has apparently listened to Rocketman by Elton John, as he explains to Renesco in New Reno.

Shit that’s right, I forgot about that. That actually supports my argument of post-1960s music working well with the Fallout setting. I’ve talked to a lot of people who have this weird notion that music in the Fallout universe can ONLY go up to the 1960s and that 1970s+ doesn’t work with the setting.
I understand this argument to a degree, obviously not every song gels well with the setting, same can be said with songs made in the 1930s-1960s. But there are certainly more modern songs and genres that work with Fallout. I mean Disco is confirmed to have existed in the setting too, and as far as songs go, Rocket Man fits pretty well too imo.

edit: it just occurred to me that the Vault Dweller likely would’ve heard Frank Sinatra when growing up in Vault 13 as opposed to hearing it out in the wasteland.

While I agree that certainly could be the case, I don’t think it negates also being able to hear it out in the wasteland. When it comes to Fallout 1, I don’t think radio stations akin to Radio New Vegas were a thing just yet, but I think a radio station being made after the game’s story during the creation years of the NCR makes total sense. I found that small piece of lore in Fallout 4 to actually be pretty sensical, ironically.

 

[Iprovidelittlepianos]

Shit that’s right, I forgot about that. That actually supports my argument of post-1960s music working well with the Fallout setting. I’ve talked to a lot of people who have this weird notion that music in the Fallout universe can ONLY go up to the 1960s and that 1970s+ doesn’t work with the setting.
I understand this argument to a degree, obviously not every song gels well with the setting, same can be said with songs made in the 1930s-1960s. But there are certainly more modern songs and genres that work with Fallout. I mean Disco is confirmed to have existed in the setting too, and as far as songs go, Rocket Man fits pretty well too imo.

I actually think the Rocketman reference is just one of the many things in Fallout 2 that shouldn’t be taken seriously and/or misses the point of the setting. A lot of what the Chosen One says is meta and absurd anyway.

While I agree that certainly could be the case, I don’t think it negates also being able to hear it out in the wasteland. When it comes to Fallout 1, I don’t think radio stations akin to Radio New Vegas were a thing just yet, but I think a radio station being made after the game’s story during the creation years of the NCR makes total sense. I found that small piece of lore in Fallout 4 to actually be pretty sensical, ironically.

I guess that’s fine, I’m not saying it contradicts canon or anything, I just find it more likely that one would have access to pre-war recorded entertainment in a Vault versus in the wasteland.

Anyway, I don’t mind radio technology being utilized by various sufficiently advanced groups in the wasteland, but I’m not a fan of the way radio stations are implemented in the new games. First of all, the silly 50s songs really don’t help the atmosphere of the game, it only works in situations like the intros of the games as kind of a forlorn echo of what the world used to be like. Radio New Vegas is the only instance it really makes sense for the reasons you stated, news and advertisements. But I’d still prefer it if bars and saloons relied on old jukeboxes, records, or even live performers instead of radio music. And Pip-Boys don’t need to pick up radio signals. That’s what those walkie talkies were for in Fallout 1.

 

[PaxVenire]

I actually think the Rocketman reference is just one of the many things in Fallout 2 that shouldn’t be taken seriously and/or misses the point of the setting. A lot of what the Chosen One says is meta and absurd anyway.

I get what you mean, Fallout 2 has a ton of odd lines to the point you can’t tell what’s “real” or not at times. Looking at the dialogue and context in which Rocket Man is referenced, it’s certainly meant to be a funny line, but I don’t think it’s anything too absurd as to disqualify it’s validity, it just seems like a line of banter you can choose to say:

The Chosen One: "What do you sell here?”
Renesco: "I sell recreational drugs mostly. That's why they gave me that idiotic appellation, 'the Rocketman.' Hmmmph. I also sell some caravan supplies. You NEED anything or can I get back to something important?"
The Chosen One: "Rocketman, huh? Know the line in that Elton John song, "Rocketman, burning off the mmmncfnfm there at home?' What's he really saying there?”

I don’t mind radio technology being utilized by various sufficiently advanced groups in the wasteland, but I’m not a fan of the way radio stations are implemented in the new games. First of all, the silly 50s songs really don’t help the atmosphere of the game, it only works in situations like the intros of the games as kind of a forlorn echo of what the world used to be like.

I semi-agree, I do think silly 50s songs don’t work in Fallout. Fallout 4 has a ton of silly songs that don’t fit the setting at all. Songs like Uranium Rock, Atom Bomb Baby, and Craw Out Through the Fallout that are only in the game because they mention radiation.
New Vegas’s soundtrack consisted of songs about love, losing, winning, being alone, feeling blue, hope, songs that one would expect from a western setting and a especially Las Vegas and fit well within a post-post-nuclear setting.
Radio stations can work, you just have to justify it before you insert it.

Radio New Vegas is the only instance it really makes sense for the reasons you stated, news and advertisements. But I’d still prefer it if bars and saloons relied on old jukeboxes, records, or even live performers instead of radio music.

I agree, more live performers should be added to the game. Fallout 1 and 2 had live singers, New Vegas had the performers at the Tops, and Fallout 4 had Magnolia. I also like that with the Tops performers and Magnolia, their music gets added to the radio. I wish more post-war music would be made for the radio stations off the bat rather than just a couple tracks when you meet an NPC.

And Pip-Boys don’t need to pick up radio signals. That’s what those walkie talkies were for in Fallout 1.

Hmm, I disagree with this. Pip-Boys picking up radio signals make complete sense considering they were created with the purpose of equipping Vault Dwellers in mind. Fallout 1 and 2 not having a radio on the Pip-Boy seemed to me more like a result of radio signals playing no significance in the game rather than a deliberate exclusion from the wrist computer. The only use of a radio I can think of is the Mariposa force fields and Vic’s radio.
The 3D games introducing a newer model of the Pip-Boy with Geiger counter, motion sensor, and radio functionality pre-installed makes sense to me, it’s something you’d want Vault Dwellers to be equipped with for when the All Clear comes through and they emerge into the post-nuclear world.

 

[Gizmojunk]

I do think silly 50s songs don’t work in Fallout.

They certainly don't.

The Fallout setting should have had their own modern music from each decade—though favoring the 50's timing and aesthetic; not obsession with actual music from the 1950's.

Their own 1970s & 80s should have seen concerts by the likes of Larry Blackmon and Iggy Pop—theirs, from their world, not from ours...

Spoiler

 

[PaxVenire]

Their own 1970s & 80s should have seen concerts by the likes of Larry Blackmon and Iggy Pop—theirs, from their world, not from ours...

I'm confused, are you saying the Fallout universe should have more modern music or that they should do 50s-esque covers of 1970s/1980s music?

 

[Gizmojunk]

The Fallout setting is not the 1950's, it is the type of future expected by the 1950's pop culture.

One of the influences of the original game was the film, Forbidden Planet... It's a 1950's representation of the future—it is not the 1950's in the future.

Spoiler

Modern music could be about modern times, modern concerns, modern fads, it doesn't have to be about modern sock-hops, or parroting Elvis Presley and Chuck Berry.

What it might have is the 50's aesthetic of music. Bethesda could have hired musicians capable of producing 50's —style— music that was about and relevant of the future (and post apocalypse), instead of using 40's & 50's tunes that had nothing to do with the 2070's. Fallout used the older music as an allusion to the golden age, there is no music like that anywhere in Fallout 1 or 2, outside of the intro track for each game—recalling the lost past.

Spoiler

Here is an example —unrelated to Fallout, that IMO would have been quite apropos:


Here is another:


...And my favorite (that I harped about for years on Bethesda's forums) :

Eventually they used this one I think.


Notice the name of the album above; Folk Songs for the 21's Century—sung by Mr.Ed no less.
*Obviously these are existing songs that can be linked to as examples, not the ideal tracks that could have had been custom made for the games.

 

[TheKingofVault14]

The Fallout setting is not the 1950's, it is the type of future expected by the 1950's pop culture.

One of the influences of the original game was the film, Forbidden Planet... It's a 1950's representation of the future—it is not the 1950's in the future.

THIS, this right here is exactly what the late Shamus Young was talking about in his video, regarding Bethesda misunderstanding a lot of aspects of the Fallout series such as this one:




Truth be told, I used to misunderstand the reasoning behind the usage of the 1950s retrofuturism aesthetic, until I saw that video. The way he broke it down was such a "lightbulb moment" for me when I first saw it, and @Gizmojunk I'd say you summed it up quite well yourself.

And still to this day, Bethesda & a majority of other Fallout Fans don't seem to get this point sadly.

 

[PaxVenire]

What it might have is the 50's aesthetic of music.

Going back to praise for Radio New Vegas, it doesn't limit itself to songs from the 30 year window of 1930-1960 like Bethesda's stations do. As a matter of fact more than half of the music on the radio in New Vegas is actually from the 70s, 80s, 90s, and even 00s:

Spoiler: "Modern" New Vegas Tracks

Heartaches By The Number (1980 re-recording)

It's A Sin To Tell A Lie (1979)

Sit And Dream (2009)

Where Have You Been All My Life (2003)

American Swing (1997)

Hallo Mister X (1997)

Manhattan (1997)

Slow Bounce (1997)

Strahlende Trompete (1997)

Von Spanien Nach Südamerika (1997)

That's 10 out of the 19 total tracks that aren't from the 1950s in New Vegas yet fit perfectly with the retro futuristic world, so much so that the real world 1950s music in New Vegas blends in perfectly without it feeling weird or banging over your head the fact that they're from the real-world 1950s.

Bethesda could have hired musicians capable of producing 50's —style— music that was about and relevant of the future (and post apocalypse), instead of using 40's & 50's tunes that had nothing to do with the 2070's. Fallout used the older music as an allusion to the golden age, there is no music like that anywhere in Fallout 1 or 2, outside of the intro track for each game—recalling the lost past.

Allow me to play a sort of devil's advocate for Bethesda in this regard. The problem isn't that they are using music from the 1930s-1960s, the problem is that the songs they license come off as gimmicks rather than taking the world or story's theme into account.

I hear this question all the time: "Why do people listen to 300+ year old music in Fallout? Did they stop making music after the 1950s in the Fallout universe????"

In truth, you don't have to explain an in-universe reasoning behind wastelanders in Fallout listening to our universe's old music. Music is a tool that can be used to convey all sorts of things. While the radio stations play music that is 70+ years old to us in Fallout, it's not meant to be taken as a literal reflection of the Fallout universe's inability to create new music, rather it's just meant to convey the style of music that might have been made before the Great War in this quasi-1950s universe.

Sure you can call Bethesda lazy for not writing and producing 20+ new and original songs for their video games, but at the end of the day it's a lot easier to just license music than go through all that work. That being said, Fallout 4 did add some songs skin to what you asked for:

Spoiler: Fallout 4's Original Songs

Goodneighbor

I'm The One You're Looking For

It's Just You

Man Enough

Train Train

Obsidian also did what you wished for with these songs:

Spoiler: Fallout: New Vegas' Original Songs

Begin Again

Cobwebs and Rainbows

Home On The Wastes

New Vegas Valley

Streets of New Reno

*Obviously these are existing songs that can be linked to as examples, not the ideal tracks that could have had been custom made for the games.

I'm glad you clarified that, because I was gonna say that Fallout 4 actually uses one of the songs you listed, and is one of the tracks I can't stand in the game. Tracks such as this in Fallout 4 is what makes the game feel theme park-y (aside from everything else) as it seems like it was only added because it mentions the word "fallout".

I understand what you mean though. A better example might be this scene from Mad Max where the filmmakers actually put in the effort to write a song for this mere minute-long scene that involves lyrics that apply to the current political and cultural issues of the movie:

 

[PaxVenire]

THIS, this right here is exactly what the late Shamus Young was talking about in his video, regarding Bethesda misunderstanding a lot of aspects of the Fallout series such as this one:




Truth be told, I used to misunderstand the reasoning behind the usage of the 1950s retrofuturism aesthetic, until I saw that video. The way he broke it down was such a "lightbulb moment" for me when I first saw it, and @Gizmojunk I'd say you summed it up quite well yourself.

And still to this day, Bethesda & a majority of other Fallout Fans don't seem to get this point sadly.

I just learned that he passed away from this comment, that's very unfortunate. Love this video though.

 

[Gizmojunk]

THIS, this right here is exactly what the late Shamus Young was talking about in his video, regarding Bethesda misunderstanding a lot of aspects of the Fallout series such as this one...

I haven't ever believed that they misunderstood (overall), rather I very much do believe that they intentionally overlook these salient points in favor of a simplified elevator pitch. It's just more reliably understood to the mass market that "Fallout is like the 1950's of the future!" instead of "Fallout is the future that the 1950's thought would happen—along with the little detail that the physical laws of reality are bent and twisted around their fears and misconceptions about the atomic bomb, and the effects of radioactivity.
—Say whut?... No... "Fallout is like the 1950's of the future!".

There were game reviewers who thought FO3 was a period piece set in an alternate 1950's.

Sure you can call Bethesda lazy for not writing and producing 20+ new and original songs for their video games, but at the end of the day it's a lot easier to just license music than go through all that work.

Isn't that a definition for Lazy?

I'm glad you clarified that, because I was gonna say that Fallout 4 actually uses one of the songs you listed, and is one of the tracks I can't stand in the game. Tracks such as this in Fallout 4 is what makes the game feel theme park-y (aside from everything else) as it seems like it was only added because it mentions the word "fallout".

I have no problem with using the word Fallout in Fallout—it's not a fourth wall meta, it's radioactive dust after nuclear detonation. The Theme park accusation (in my experience) tends to describe the naive presentation of a themed event over the expected reality. Disney's Pirates ride has the talking points, but it wouldn't BE like that. Bethesda has made a virtual Fallout experience in the vein of Westworld (or Roman World), where the player sees themselves walking in the wastes, and finding medical supplies in a 200 year old box labeled First-Aid, found in a house 200 feet from a road.... and with Jet in it no less; Jet being invented after the war, near Reno. That's the Theme Park.

 

[PaxVenire]

Isn't that a definition for Lazy?

I mean sure, but it was also probably cost effective too. You gotta remember Bethesda isn’t making these games out of passion but for maximum profit and so putting this much effort into world building probably doesn’t even cross their mind.

I have no problem with using the word Fallout in Fallout—it's not a fourth wall meta, it's radioactive dust after nuclear detonation.

I don’t mind atomic terminology being used in songs for Fallout either. What I have a problem with is when the developers add the songs simply because it has atomic terminology rather than because it compliments the game itself. Just because it takes place in a post-nuclear world doesn’t mean throwing in a bunch of novelty joke records into the game is appropriate. As I said above, music is a very effective tool and if used smart, can amplify a game’s atmosphere.

The Theme park accusation (in my experience) tends to describe the naive presentation of a themed event over the expected reality. Disney's Pirates ride has the talking points, but it wouldn't BE like that. Bethesda has made a virtual Fallout experience in the vein of Westworld (or Roman World), where the player sees themselves walking in the wastes, and finding medical supplies in a 200 year old box labeled First-Aid, found in a house 200 feet from a road.... and with Jet in it no less; Jet being invented after the war, near Reno. That's the Theme Park.

I agree with this point but the music on the radio station definitely factors into the theme park feel of the game. The radio track listing was an afterthought, and put together seemingly by someone who thought “Okay this game takes place in a 1950s world and a nuclear post-apocalypse. Let’s add a lot of 50s music like rock n’ roll and let’s throw in some joke records too because Fallout is funny.”
The songs on the radio are there simply because Bethesda thought they needed a radio station.
Were Bethesda to take note of New Vegas’ radio, they would have factored in things like the story of Fallout 4 and its underlying themes. For example, songs that could convey the feeling of sadness about the loss of your family, the world around you being gone with you as the sole survivor, suspicion of synths replacing humans, doing mindless busywork for factions, time moving on (this one is already in Fallout 4 and is one of the few tracks I like), rebuilding the world from its devastation.
They could’ve also factored in the setting of the game. Being Boston, you could’ve had some Irish folk songs.

These songs don’t bang you over the head that you’re playing Fallout, rather they are subtle tracks befitting the setting and can stand out as a more realistic reflection of the world you’d be immersing yourself in (assuming Fallout 4 was made to be immersive in this hypothetical).

 

[Gizmojunk]

The radio track listing was an afterthought, and put together seemingly by someone who thought “Okay this game takes place in a 1950s world and a nuclear post-apocalypse. Let’s add a lot of 50s music like rock n’ roll and let’s throw in some joke records too because Fallout is funny.”

Not just someone who probably thought that, but likely someone who has never touched the original games, and has zero idea of them. We discovered early (and later by personal admission) that there were developers on FO3 who had not played Fallout, some possibly hadn't heard of it before.

Emil Pagliarulo & Pete Hines are both exempt, because they were working as game reviewers at the (now defunct) Adrenaline Vault website; surely they could not have missed Fallout 1 & 2 when it released; that makes them worse for the treatment they both gave it, and the brand damage they both inflicted upon it and their abuse of the fanbase.

 

[Hardboiled Android]

In one of the worst sequences of Fallout 4, that being the Kellogg memory sequence, its show that the NCR has a radio station up and running.

A bit odd that there was a Hall of Congress and a President Aradesh before the Republic was formed, since both of these things are mentioned as already existing on the day of the declaration of NCR. I suppose Shady Sands could have already had a Hall of Congress and called Aradesh its president just for its own government, but it seems implausible.

Or maybe they built the Hall of Congress in preparation for federation? It seems a bit odd to come up with some official building with an official name. Maybe Aradesh being the first President was a package deal with accepting the republic? Seems pretty bizarre. Or maybe they held a presidential election concurrent with the vote for federation?

Also it's a bit strange that this would be put to a popular vote - how could you even stage a popular vote in all of these places if the infrastucture of a unitary state doesn't exist? Wouldn't it make more sense if this was something voted upon by delegates to Shady Sands, as happened with the Declaration of Independence or the Constitution in America?

Also, it seems ridiculous that all five of the states of NCR were gained simultaneously. I would expect it to be some kind of slow agglomerating process, first of Shady and Junktown banding together as the state of Shady and proclaiming their own Republic, then gaining the Hub and/or Adytum due to their extensive trading relations, and years later gaining Maxson and Dayglow since those areas were more outlying and less developed. A process of universal acclamation all on the same day seems strange and fraught, and stranger still that NCR kept the exact same number of states until post-New Vegas. Hardly the dynamic up-and-comer of Fallout 2 and the past of New Vegas.

(Obviously the answer is Bethesda just didn't really think this through)

Also, the constant refrain of "the Southwest" is funny and comes across so natural. The southwest of what? America was annihilated over a hundred years before the declaration of the Republic. At the time of Fallout 1 nobody talks or cares about America, California's relative position within it is an artificial distinction that has become entirely irrelevant. Maybe by the time of New Vegas with a wider understanding of history and California's place in the world, but at the time of Fallout 1 they should just call it California.

Going back to praise for Radio New Vegas, it doesn't limit itself to songs from the 30 year window of 1930-1960 like Bethesda's stations do. As a matter of fact more than half of the music on the radio in New Vegas is actually from the 70s, 80s, 90s, and even 00s:

Spoiler: "Modern" New Vegas Tracks

Heartaches By The Number (1980 re-recording)

It's A Sin To Tell A Lie (1979)

Sit And Dream (2009)

Where Have You Been All My Life (2003)

American Swing (1997)

Hallo Mister X (1997)

Manhattan (1997)

Slow Bounce (1997)

Strahlende Trompete (1997)

Von Spanien Nach Südamerika (1997)

That's 10 out of the 19 total tracks that aren't from the 1950s in New Vegas yet fit perfectly with the retro futuristic world, so much so that the real world 1950s music in New Vegas blends in perfectly without it feeling weird or banging over your head the fact that they're from the real-world 1950s.

The obvious distinction I would draw here is that these are not post-1960s pop songs. They're mostly instrumentals, and universally by literal who's that no one has ever heard of before. Indeed, most of these songs literally only exist to be licensed to media productions as faux-period pieces. Listening to these songs, the untrained ear would have absolutely no notion that these weren't period pieces. Even though these songs weren't made for the game, they might as well have been.

You also missed at least three: "Lone Star," "Let's Ride Into the Sunset Together," and "In the Shadow of the Valley" were all recorded in I think the 2000s by the Lost Weekend Western Swing Band.

They could’ve also factored in the setting of the game. Being Boston, you could’ve had some Irish folk songs.

This would've been pretty cool actually. Or for chrissakes, give us some maritime songs... this is Boston, the heart of American seafaring and whaling. Could've been broadcast out of Easy City Downs.

 

[PaxVenire]

Also, the constant refrain of "the Southwest" is funny and comes across so natural. The southwest of what? America was annihilated over a hundred years before the declaration of the Republic. At the time of Fallout 1 nobody talks or cares about America, California's relative position within it is an artificial distinction that has become entirely irrelevant. Maybe by the time of New Vegas with a wider understanding of history and California's place in the world, but at the time of Fallout 1 they should just call it California.

In Fallout 76, the Brotherhood of Steel who trekked to West Virginia from Lost Hills already refers to California as New California.