Football and Music

I told you he wasn’t the messiah.

It isn’t clear whether he walked again or if he was pushed…sorry…mutually concented this time.

But it looks like Ashley was to blame.

Click on KK’s nose to read up and listen to some previous F&M postings:

I would welcome suggestions on a song to accompany this latest farce.

This is Part 1 of a World Cup themes post. Part 2 tomorrow later.

“Ah Dennis glad you could make it. I have some good news ! England have won the bid to stage the 2018 World Cup and they want you to sell hot dogs outside of Wembley.”

There are some World Cup Qualifiers coming up this Saturday and the following Wednesday (Sept 6th/10th) - in relation to it I want to post some official theme songs from previous tournaments.

- Note these are the official themes as sanctioned by the tournament hosts and not a song knocked out by other parties to cash in.

We are starting from 1986 in Mexico and a very curious tune which sounds a bit disjointed.
I can’t find any more information and I’m not sure as to who created it and sings it:

» Tema Mundail Mexico 86

» Forward four years and to Italia ‘90… England’s best peformance (after 1966) to date.
This time we have Gianna Nannini and Edoardo Bennato, a couple of popular Italian singers who wail away on this one:

» Gianna Nannini and Edoardo Bennato - Un’Estate Italiana Video here

Finally for now it is the 1994 World Cup in which the then clueless septics hosted.
For their theme they did they went all patriotic (they always do though given the opportunity) and got Daryl Hall [of Hall and Oats] with The Sounds of Blackness and sang about their Gloryland.

This song borrowed from a traditional American song - the Battle Hymn of the Republic.
You’ve heard the tune. There are few clubs in England in which their fans sing a version of it; “Glory glory Leeds United…” See told you you knew it.
You’ll hear the glory glory part near the end:

» Daryl Hall and the Sounds of Blackness - Gloryland - Video in all its bombastic glory here

*BONUS* -> The USA being the poster boy from crass commericalism cashed in with a CD too. I think this was the first time a ’soundtrack influenced by…’ was done. Don’t think was one for Italia 90, but I might be wrong.

Anyhoddles like many of the related CD’s released since the songs - apart from two - bear little relation to it’s supposedly linked subject. The saving grace of it though is those two songs on there which are footie themed are quiet listenable.
The soundtrack-type CD in question was called Soccer Rocks (sic) The Globe.

I’ve gathered together some of the tracks from the album, well not all of them… well I’ve precluded one of them which was a very well known song done by that child molester Mr Paul Gadd.

The Americans seem to be into him and it doesn’t look like they either don’t know about him or don’t care because if you go to a Ice Hockey game or an American football game you will hear them go up the glitter with that tune all the time. As mentioned I haven’t included it but have added all the others:

Click here to get it

- Coming up next: France’98, Japan/Korea2002 and 2006 Germany.

» Time for another versus…

This is an interactive post where you choose the winner.

The last time we did this was with a compo between singing Middlesbore fans who did a song about their club. The final result went to Ewan Carmichael who won by a landslide.

Today it is a battle of the punk bands. But not between your usual suspects. This one pitches a couple of punk acts from the continent against each other.

Have a read of their bio, then listen to the song and vote afterwards to decide - Do you love or hate football ?

BUT TAKE NOTE… this isn’t actually about whether you actually do love or hate footie, that point is pretty moot since you are here reading this. The competition is about the song. Please take time to hear both tracks and then vote to decide if it is yah or nah:

- First up is a Dutch band “Speedtwins”, who were around in the original punk explosion of the 1970’s. They were the support band when the Sex Pistols toured the Netherlands and they released a punk cover version of The Who’s “My Generation”. Sadly the original lead singer died and eventually in the ’80’s they disbanded.

In 1978 they recorded this track which sounds like an anti-footie song, but was actually directed at the Argentinian junta that organised the ‘78 World Cup.

This one starts with a crowd noise and then… ah so this is where Fat Les got that drum beat from… then they do a version of a tune I posted about the other day. This time red is the colour:

» Speedtwins - Football Song

- Next is a current band: “Vanilla Muffins” who are from Switzerland. They are big footie fans and have recorded many songs on the subject of football. This is a general obsessed about the whole game sort of song:

» Vanilla Muffins - The Drug Is Football » Click for lyrics What´s the reason for your life, It´s a deadly poisoned knife when you go into the town just to see what´s down every day is like the other keep your fear undercover It´s the only way to pay for you addiction We live in one ghetto we´re not better boys the drug is football we live in one ghetto we got deadly bored but our drug is football You´re not the only one to think you had no fun but it ain´t no really good cause just for you to end it It could be the start of love take today without a drug It´s like the end of a beautiful friendship We live in one ghetto we´re not better boys the drug is football we live in one ghetto we got deadly bored but our drug is football

Now you’ve listened please vote »

The poll will close in a month. I will post more songs from the winner.

The old Chelsea song Blue Is The Colour is probably one of the most well known footie/musical songs around.

(There’s a note for myself - research and post a list of the top five most famous footballandmusic songs.)

There’s been other fans who like singing it about their team, but every time it’s reused it’s always sung about another team also playing in blue.

So you thought, but here are other colo(u)rs.

Hello and thank you to Peter Day who mailed and told me about a team in green over there in the U.S. of A who in a previous incarnation adopted and adapted the song for themselves.

Quick History:

The Portland Timbers were a member of the original football league started up in America - the NASL (North American Football League).
Sadly in 1981 they folded and only a couple of years later the league went tits up too.

A few years later an amateur league version of the club existed before folding five years later.

- Fast forward to 2001 and the Timbers rise again ! *ducks flying objects*

The current Portland Timbers play in the USL First Division.

In the late 70’s, so Peter tells me, the original Timbers appropriated the song and changed the lyrics (obviously) to fit their team.

Like the club the song was also revived and a revised version was done by a most excellently and appropriately named band - fuzzball:

» Fuzzball - Green Is The Color

Now it wouldn’t be a complete post if I didn’t include the “original” version of Green Is The Color…

I found an mp3 of it via this site. Not sure who sang this, the site doesn’t specify. Peter do you know ?

» Unknown Artist - Green Is The Color

Click to view the lyrics

- During the match there’s this bloke who takes a chainsaw to a tree trunk. I’m serious. If you don’t believe me take a look at this video of Portland’s 2007 season, which uses the fuzzball’s version of the song on the soundtrack. There he is, chopping wood.

- The Timbers will be playing the Vancouver Whitecaps tonight. The match will be live on Fox Soccer Channel (those of you outside of the U.S . fire up your TVU player.) The Whitecaps - who play predominantly in white also have a club song… an altered version of a certain English football clubs classic… which pair of Scotia singing twins covered and sang live at their stadium a few years back.

Before the Timbers news above I only thought that this was the only “other” version of the Blue Is The… song. I don’t have the Scotia twins version yet, still looking. If anyone out there can track it down…

Ah man this is perfect. Even though it's got nothing to do with them and the bands name is coincidental, the title of this track is the clincher. I've got to post it.

I started this and wrote the above over two weeks ago, but because of me full time werk I haven’t been able to get this one out there. Or any others actually. Give it a couple of weeks and hopefully have more time. In the meantime please bear with me.

(Pretend that is a couple of days before the start of the Scotia Prem League season and read on.)

Aberdeen last season had a mini-high with that UEFA Cup distraction, but despite their heroic they finished outside the top three and with nothing to show for their efforts.

During the summer though they shown their intent to bounce back by signing… a striker from Darlington.

Alright it is Tommy Wright who scored 15 goals last season, but worryingly for Jimmy Calderwood and the Aberdeen fans that is pretty much it for them regarding transfers.

The Dons board haven’t given Calderwood much of a budget so he’s made deals for some players and Wright - at £100,000 was their biggest signing.

This season will be a big ask and a challenge for them, which hasn’t got off to a good start with a 2-nil loss at home on the opening day. They scraped a win last Saturday at Motherwell and at the moment all signs say there must be improvement.

So with them probably facing their toughest season to date the band Aberdeen* ask…

* Who are actually from Aberdeen - Aberdeen in Florida. Yes there’s an Aberdeen in Florida.
More info about them can be found here, here and here.

» POSTSCRIPT: Before the Euro 2008 tournament I was halfway through a Scotia themed series. I fully intend to return to that, because I still have loads to post, very soon.