EA has just revealed the soundtrack for the upcoming The Sims 2: Apartment Life expansion, and while it may not contain They Might Be Giants performing in Simlish like the FreeTime soundtrack, it does have Good Charlotte, who have never appeared on a game soundtrack unless you count...all of them. At this point I've heard more Good Charlotte in video games than I have anywhere else, though I'm not sure if that says something about me, the music industry, or both.

Other artists joining Good Charlotte include Junkie XL, Katy Perry, and Sunny Day Sets Fire, one of those bands with a "look how cool our name is" name, made more infuriating by the fact that it is actually a pretty cool name. Hit the jump for the full track listing, or just turn the music off and stream your favourite music over the internet.

EA seems to want to make it clear that the announcement of Madden 09's official soundtrack is an event, and music boss Steve Schnur told Kotaku about a few more promotions to drive the point home: First, Target's pre-order bonus for the game will be an iTunes card that lets you download ten of the soundtrack songs free. Second, an artist from the soundtrack will be playing nightly on the Jimmy Kimmel Show beginning August 4th, and third, both past and current Madden artists will play at the first-ever "Maddenpalooza," an all-day music and gaming event in conjunction with the Rose Bowl in Pasadena on August 11th.

We were curious: why is this massive music promotion for Madden such a huge deal to EA? It seems perplexing at first to see a publisher throw so much muscle behind a soundtrack. But it turns out there's a rather sensible motivation behind it that seems to be a win-win for EA, music artists, and for the gaming audience (or would that be a win-win-win?)

Hit the jump for Kotaku's full interview with Schnur:

Get ready for difficult-to-pronounce names. Composer Knut Avenstroup Haugen has done a two-disc soundtrack for Age of Conan, featuring a variety of Scandinavian musicians, including Helene Bøksle, folks from Norway's State Opera Choir, and three songs kicked in by rock group Turbonegro, who performed at the game's launch event.

That's Turbonegro in the pic above, by the way, sporting spooky eyeliner and a crossbow. Oh-kay!

The first disc has the in-game orchestral tunes, or at least the ones Avenstroup Haugen considers to be "the very best". The second CD has more orchestral music plus the Turbonegro tracks, and the announcement mentions that the band's lead singer Hank Von Helvete says he's read "every Conan comic". How many comics are there, guys? I actually don't know.

Helvete's result is apparently a "rock-anthem of Imotephian evil". I don't know what that means, either. Plenty of info on these musicians follows the jump; the announcement doesn't specify the soundtrack's release date, but says it will "soon be available at music retailers across the Western hemisphere". Plus, the first disc is already available on iTunes, so have at, iPodders.

There is no way in hell I will every buy a copy of 2K Sports' Don King Presents: Prizefighter. I hate Don King, I'm not all that fond of boxing, and...wait, did you say Bootsy Collins? Awww dammit. That's right, Bootsy Collins is doing an original song for the upcoming fighting game, and when you add in songs by Parliament, James Brown, George Clinton, and Tower of Power, you've got an oddly funk-hungry Fahey on the verge of shelling out $US 60 based on the game's soundtrack alone.

Then of course I remember iTunes, but it was damn close there for a minute.

Joining Bootsy and the crew are some bands of the less funky persuasion, such as Run DMC, Suicidal Tendencies (though Infectious Grooves was pretty damn funky), Blue Oyster Cult, and Iggy Pop, so there really is something for everyone to remember to download from iTunes. Hit the jump for more info while I dig up a gift card I have lying around.

The launch of Gran Turismo 5 Prologue is coming up fast and Sony is announcing an action packed soundtrack to go along with. Leading the pack is an exclusive in-game remix of Weezer's "Automatic" and a special remix of Mars Volta's "Goliath". Also along for the ride exclusively in North America are Justice, SebastiAn, DJ Shadow, The Earaches and Pride Tiger.

You can check out the entire list of artists and their tracks after the jump.

While Blue Dragon didn't do too much for me as a game, the music was nothing short of wonderful - exactly the sort of thing I've come to expect from Final Fantasy legend Nobuo Uematsu. Now you can get all of the music with none of the boring blue gameplay as Sumthing Else Music announces the release of the Blue Dragon Original Soundtrack. Two-discs worth of Uematsu goodness should now be available at retailers nationwide, though knowing how well most shops stock these things you might be better off going for the digital download available from www.sumthingdigital.com for only $US 9.99, or wait for it to show up on iTunes.

I love the random stuff that occasionally pops up on Gamasutra, such as this combination how-to on doing winter field recordings and essay on why we need better ambient winter sounds in games. Part lavish love letter to snow and its various states, part practical considerations, Finnish game sound designer Tapio Liukkonen tells us why this stuff is important and why field recordings can trump studio technology:

Valve have released, to their online store, an official Orange Box soundtrack, upon which you'll find all the hits you've grown to know and love from the year's orangest (and bestest) compendium. Like some of the haunting score to Episode 1, for example. An Episode 2. And Portal, with the catchy electronic score joined by two versions of "Still Alive". If you're less of a Half-Life fan and more of a Team Fortress kind of guy/gal, you're also covered, with its "troop-rallying anthems" also making their way onto the CD. The Orange Box Original Soundtrack is available now, and is selling for $9.95.
The Orange Box Original Soundtrack [Steam]

Looking for a last minute stocking stuffer that won't set you back more than three CD-Rs? Give your loved ones (who are apparently just an afterthought) the Universe At War official soundtrack, which has been released by Petroglyph today for free. Three discs worth of music from the game's three distinct factions is sure to be the perfect soundtrack to your holiday. The OST was composed by Frank Klepacki of Dune II and Command & Conquer fame, so you know it's worth the download.

Introducing the Universe at War Soundtrack, Merry Christmas, Petroglyph Community! [Petroglyph]

We all know by now that Nintendo of Japan offers its Club Nintendo members way better swag than we will ever see here in the States. But in case you needed more proof, here it is. Currently, Club members are being offered a choice between three gifts that range from so-so to totally awesome. First there's the so-so Nintendo desk calendar followed by two much better choices: a two-disc Super Mario Galaxy Soundtrack and a Wii classic controller shaped like a SNES pad. Something tells me Nintendo is going to end up with a lot of calendars sitting in a warehouse somewhere.

[via: Digital Battle]