14. Hard Rock & Heavy Metal
Example name: The Vault
Basically a modern day V-Rock, with many of the same major artists from the 70s and 80s when hard rock became a major music form and stylised in 'hair' and glam metal. No death metal though, since I find the appalling screaming and thrashing poisons anybody with operational ears. A lot of the V-Rock bands are still going strong with new material and even if not up to the benchmark of their heyday, still has critical acclaim. Later, post-80s tracks from Megadeth and Metallica can be utilised in aiding the modern vibe. Whether the die hard fans would be satisfied with that is another question.
Playlist suggestions: Dio - Stand Up And Shout Rage Against The Machine - Guerrilla Radio Manowar - Warriors of the World United Metallica - Hit The Lights Alice in Chains - Rooster Airborne - Let's Ride Megadeth - Polaris AC/DC - Spoilin' For a Fight Judas Priest - Living After Midnight Rainbow - Kill the King Pantera - Cemetery Gates Motörhead - Ace of Spades Black Sabbath - Paranoid
Chances of inclusion: 50%
15. Soul & Contemporary R&B
Example name: Little Seoul Soul
Here is another station that is capable of spanning generations, though I pray they omit the likes of R-Kelly and Ne-Yo that discredited The Vibe. Even with a San Andreas display, soul is hardly a fruitful LA genre; its origins are much clearer in Detroit, Memphis and New Orleans, but chances have enhanced significantly with the arrival of Stevie Wonder's "Skeletons" on the second trailer. The fact there's a district of Los Santos called Little Seoul means there's a slight opportunity of some Korean pop (Psy anyone?), but I preferred to run with the tongue-in-cheek idea of a Korean DJ presenting soul on the airwaves.
Playlist suggestions: Kool & the Gang Too Hot Faith Evans - Love Like This Stevie Wonder Skeletons Booker T & the MGs Soul Clap 69 Wilson Pickett - In The Midnight Hour Barry White - What Am I Gonna Do With You Surface - Happy Alicia Keys - Brand New Me Earth, Wind & Fire - September Curtis Mayfield Superfly Al Green - Let's Stay Together Ben E. King Street Tough Marvin Gaye Got To Give It Up Mayer Hawthorne - The Walk Smokey Robinson & The Miracles - You've Really Got a Hold On Me Cee Lo Green - I Want You (Hold On To Love)
Chances of inclusion: 50%
16. Classical & Opera
Example name: Opus FM It's been too long since Rockstar had a classical station and I can't contemplate a satisfactory reason why not. Saints Row has demonstrated just how well it can be implemented and everybody will be able to instantly recognise a few compositions. The harmonious melodies are hilarious juxtaposition for the carnage ensuing and the epic symphonies can make any event more powerful and cataclysmic. Perhaps the best reason to feature classical is the music copyright - anything pre-1923 is public domain (so every composer listed below) therefore free to use. Either Rockstar can make their own recording or pay for a pre-existing one - and I'm sure they can be obtained relatively cheaply.
Playlist suggestions: Elgar - Pomp and Circumstance March No. 4 Chopin - Nocturne Op.9, No.2 Bizet - Habanera from Carmen Tchaikovsky - Dance of the Little Swans from Swan Lake Saint-Saëns - The Aquarium from Carnival of the Animals Debussy - Clair de Lune from Suite bergamasque Delibes - Divertissement: Pizzicato from Sylvia Rosas - Over the Waves Ponchielli - Dance of the Hours from La Gionconda J. Strauss II - Voices of Spring Waltz Copland - Hoe-Down from Rodeo Ricketts - Colonel Bogey March J. Strauss - Radetzky March Holst - Jupiter from The Planet Suite Mozart - Dies Irae from Requiem Mass in D Minor Rimsky-Korsakov - Flight of the Bumblebee from The Tale of Tsar Saltan
Chances of inclusion: 40%