Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2 was an iconic game and that is largely to do with the soundtrack. There are so many good songs in the game but the one that came to mind today was “No Cigar” by Millencolin.

When I think of “No Cigar”, I think of the school level, jumping down the set of stairs with the turn at the very beginning. I think “No Cigar” is probably one of the ultimate Tony Hawk’s songs for a couple of reasons. It’s angsty and has the complainy pop punk voice. It has great rolling drum intro. It has massive singalong potential. The lyrics are classic pop punk outsider lyrics:

“Cause I don’t care where I belong no more
What we share or not I will ignore
And I won’t waste my time fittin’ in
‘Cause I don’t think contrast is a sin”

I don’t know any other songs by Millencolin, so it’s exclusively associated with the game. Songs like “Guerrilla Radio” by Rage Against The Machine are classic Tony Hawk’s songs but I know about them outside the game. There’s probably a generation of people who will always hear “No Cigar” and their brains add the sound of wheels on concrete on top. That’s a really unique connection that the Tony Hawk’s series made.

You can listen to “No Cigar” by Millencolin here.