V-Rock is a radio station featured in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories. The station is a rock station, primarily playing hard rock and heavy metal.
Description
In 1984, the station was based in Reddick, Florida, and was hosted by Couzin Ed and station "intern" Lazlow. By 1986, the station had relocated to Vice City and Lazlow is now the sole DJ following Couzin Ed's dismissal.
The station's promos often included derogatory comparisons to other stations, mocking the synthesizer-based music played by its competitors while stating that "real men" only listen to the rock music that V-Rock plays. The station's mascot is a vulture, as can be seen in the station's logo. Lazlow would often complain that the bird "got more air time than [he] did".
The station was officially endorsed by contemporary rock artists, including Jezz Torrent of Love Fist, who can regularly be heard in V-Rock's promos. The station also operated a studio adjacent to its Vice City headquarters, which would often be used by Love Fist for their recording sessions. V-Rock also features call-ins from members of the public. The three callers featured in GTA Vice City are Couzin Ed, who wishes to vent his anger at Lazlow for "stealing" his job, Mitch Baker, who berates the station for playing "girl's music", and a man who refers to himself as "Snow Dog". The phone line is also used in GTA Vice City Stories, although in this instance the only caller is a man who insults Couzin Ed.
The V-Rock Hotel in GTA San Andreas.
The V-Rock Hotel in Las Venturas, San Andreas takes its name from the radio station and features the V-Rock logo prominently on its sign.
Tracklist
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
- Twisted Sister - "I Wanna Rock" (1984)
- Mötley Crüe - "Too Young to Fall in Love" (1983)
- Quiet Riot - "Cum On Feel the Noize" (1983)
- The Cult - "She Sells Sanctuary" (1985)
- Ozzy Osbourne - "Bark at the Moon" (1983)*
- Love Fist - "Dangerous Bastard"
- Iron Maiden - "2 Minutes to Midnight" (1984)
- Loverboy - "Working for the Weekend" (1981)
- Alcatrazz - "God Blessed Video" (1985)
- Tesla - "Cumin' Atcha Live" (1986)
- Autograph - "Turn Up the Radio" (1984)
- Megadeth - "Peace Sells" (1986)
- Anthrax - "Madhouse" (1985)
- Slayer - "Raining Blood" (1986)
- Judas Priest - "You've Got Another Thing Comin'" (1982)
- Love Fist - "Fist Fury"
- David Lee Roth - "Yankee Rose" (1986)
Songs marked with * don't appear in the 10th Anniversary Edition
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories
- Dio - "Holy Diver" (1983)
- Queensrÿche - "Queen of the Reich" (1984)
- KISS - "Lick It Up" (1983)
- Dokken - "Breaking the Chains" (1981)
- Autograph - "All I'm Gonna Take" (1984)
- Accept - "Balls to the Wall" (1983)
- Scorpions - "Rock You Like a Hurricane" (1984)
- Krokus - "Long Stick Goes Boom" (1982)
- Ted Nugent - "Stranglehold" (1975)
- Ratt - "Round and Round" (1984)
- Judas Priest - "Electric Eye" (1982)
- Mötley Crüe - "Looks That Kill" (1983)
- Quiet Riot - "Metal Health" (1983)
Video
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories
Trivia
- A large portion of Couzin Ed's banter references the 1986 cult-documentary "Heavy Metal Parking Lot".
- One of the V-Rock stingers contains the first few seconds of the Dio song "Jesus, Mary & The Holy Ghost".
- This is the favorite radio station of the Vice City Bikers (alongside VCFL) and the Vance Crime Family (alongside VCPR).
- In Grand Theft Auto Online, it is possible to buy a jacket with the V-Rock logo on it as part of the Cunning Stunts update.
- Couzin Ed also says "Comin' atcha live! The bitch is back...", a reference to "Cumin Atcha Live" by Tesla, which is on the station's GTA Vice City playlist. "The Bitch Is Back" by Elton John is also a popular classic rock song, although it doesn't feature on either V-Rock playlist.
- Couzin Ed makes a reference to the heavy metal mockumentary This Is Spinal Tap, saying "let's turn it up to 12", an obvious play on 11 being "one louder" than 10 on the guitar amplifier volume control in the film.
- Lazlow quotes the Neil Young song "Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black)" during Couzin Ed's phone-in, quoting the line "It's better to burn out than to fade away." This was the final line in Kurt Cobain's suicide note when he committed suicide in 1994, and was also used in the 1983 Def Leppard song "Rock of Ages", and by Clancy Brown's character in the 1986 film Highlander.
- On the V-Rock logo and the text on its billboards, the word "Rock" is written in the same font as the logo for heavy metal band Iron Maiden.
- Slayer, Anthrax and Megadeth are part of the "big four" thrash groups. Metallica is the only band not to be featured on the station.
See Also
- K-DST - A radio station in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas which plays another song by KISS.
- Radio X - A radio station in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas which plays another song by Ozzy Osbourne
- Liberty Rock Radio - A radio station in Grand Theft Auto IV and its episodes which also plays metal, as well as other songs by Iron Maiden and Mötley Crüe.
- Los Santos Rock Radio - A radio station in Grand Theft Auto V which also plays metal, as well as another song by The Cult.
- Liberty City Hardcore - A radio station in Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City which also plays thrash metal.
Template:Gtaiii era radio stations