10 Reasons Tony Hawk's Pro Skater Soundtrack Was More Influential Than The Beatles
4. The Beatles Weren't Alternative
One of the major reasons that the THPS soundtrack was so successful was that it was raw, alternative music. We had skate-punk, nu-metal, hip-hop, ska-punk, country, rock ‘n’ roll and more. These bands represented counter-culture, sticking it to the man and being an individual. They were perfectly incorporated into a game about skateboarding; a sport that was made for the rebels and the outcasts.
The Beatles, on the other hand, were a pop group. They were safe, they were played on the radio, they were the sort of band your parents encouraged you to listen to. The Beatles were essentially a glorified Ed Sheeran. Jumped-up, nonsense chart music. Their fans would be the plastic, basic, popular kids in school who regularly called you a goth or a mosher and screamed the chorus of a particular Avril Lavigne single in your direction whenever they saw you with a skateboard.
Whilst the THPS bands were promoting freedom and individuality, The Beatles were busy promoting conformity and bullying. Had their lacklustre band bothered to stick around past 1970, they’d probably be making guest appearances at the X Factor finals. (Lip-syncing their songs, of course.) You’d never catch Operation Ivy doing that.