Music rocked this year's Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), the annual convention/circus for the videogame industry in Los Angeles. Thousands of developers, artists and journalists from around the world took over downtown for four days of pyrotechnics. Gamers who turned out to preview games for this year's competing console systems -- Microsoft's Xbox, Nintendo's Gamecube and Sony's PlayStation 2 -- were treated to live performances by popular artists, plus a host of new warez aimed at the MP3 generation.

Here are the highlights:

Party Gigs
Every year, the big game makers churn out the free booze and finger foods for bloodshot E3 attendees. Past performances have included Beck and Macy Gray. This year, Nintendo kicked things off on Wednesday with a set by jazz singer, Diana Krall. Microsoft's bash at the Palladium Thursday night earned the highest marks from party-goers with surprise performances by Third Eye Blind and Blink-182. Sony followed up Friday night with its own prize, a raucous set by Everclear in the company's downtown movie studios. Third Eye singer Stephan Jenkins summed up exactly why he and other bands are so eager to play E3 events: "Me get free games!" he said.

Orgy Plug In
Orgy guitarist Ryan Shuck and guitarist/keyboardist Amir Derakh roamed the halls Saturday, checking out the latest games and scouting out the potential for doing a game soundtrack. "We're mass gamers," Shuck confessed between rounds of playing the upcoming Unreal Championship for Microsoft's Xbox. The band travels with a PlayStation hooked up in their bus. Much of their songwriting inspiration comes from games. "'Fiction (Dreams in Digital)' is all about Lara Croft style virtual girls," Shuck said. "They're taking over the world." The band hopes to join the ranks of artists who are composing songs specifically for games. Such a project is appealing, Shuck said, because it would let the band break out from the traditional album-oriented song structure. "With a game, you don't have to write a single," he enthused, "you can just write for hours."

Game Music
Orgy isn't the first band to get the game music bug. Ever since Trent Reznor scored the eerie sounds and music for the ultra-violent shooter Quake back in 1996, artists and game companies have been looking to recapture the magic. David Bowie, Wu Tang Clan and Rob Zombie have followed up with varying degrees of success. This year, a host of upcoming games being previewed at E3 hyped the inclusion of exclusive tunes. Gran Turismo 3, the ultra-realistic racing game due for PlayStation 2 this June, will feature new tracks by Snoop Dogg , Raekwon, plus a special remix by Lenny Kravitz of his hit, "Are You Gonna Go My Way." Frequency, a unique music generator game coming in November for PlayStation 2, features electronica from Crystal Method, BT, Dub Pistols, DJ Q-Bert and Juno Reactor. Players will be able to remix tracks by these artists as part of the game play; they'll even be able to collaborate with others via the Internet. Finally, id Software confirmed that Trent Reznor will be recording the music for the highly anticipated new Doom game, due, the company says, "when it's done."

DJ Games
Software like Mixman and Acid pioneered the market for DIY DJ software that lets amateur musicians create their own customized songs. This year, other companies behind the so-called "audio game" genre got into the mix with accessible programs for desktop jockeys. The Germany-based eJay (www.ejay.com) unveiled its latest music creation software for PCs, which lets users easily drag n' drop selected "sound blocks" (ranging from hip-hop to trance) into an on-screen mixing board. Another German company, Magix (www.magix.com), touted a multimedia alternative called Music Maker, which lets players mix not only specially selected song tracks, but video clips as well. The Korean-based manufacturer, g:company, showed off its self-described "dancing game:" ag-mix (www.ag-cd.com), which challenges players to keep the beat on the computer keyboard.

360 Degree Concert DVDs
Enroute, a video and photography company in Silicon Valley, unveiled FirstPerson, a new interactive video technology that lets fans view a previously recorded concert from wrap-around 360 degrees. "We want to bring the fans to the artist," said executive vice president, Paul Cha as he demonstrated the software. The debut example will come out this November with FirstPerson Britney Spears, a 360-degree concert taped in Holland. While Britney performs her hits onstage, fans can move a camera mounted from the perspective of someone sitting front row center, moving the view up or down, zooming it up into Britney's face, or spinning it around into the crowd. Cha said that the technology is still in its early stages and that, at some point, viewers might be able to manipulate a camera positioned from a variety of viewpoints around the stage. No other artists have been announced.

DAVID KUSHNER
(May 22, 2001)