Soccer nerds of the land are united by FIFA 11, the video game that has been around since, well, there’s probably someone out there who knows those stats; it’s the soundtrack that we’re really interested in. Yes, it actually has more than English commentators and endless hours of goal-scoring enjoyment. While speaking of a brilliant mix of music emitting from a video game might cause some to initiate “handbags at ten paces”—one of those British phrases for a soccer spat—it’s actually pretty cool. Ambient chill, dance, electronic and rock all hold hands and dance around the proverbial maypole, and the results are such that I added most of the tunes to my iPod.
Discovering this was all purely random, even if my buddy’s game selection was not. The melodies rolled around in my head long after he lost to Chelsea, and I was inspired to search for great music wherever it may lie and that night, even folk music was not refused a chance to emit from my sound system. Check out a few of my personal faves from the game and see what you think. These may be old to you, in which case you may rejoice that others are finding them, or you may be a virgin to them all and are now rejoicing that you’ve discovered them. Or you may hate them all and will stick to your Rock Band soundtrack. Well, at least you tried them. These are all available for download on iTunes:
Trick Pony from IRM by Charlotte Gainsbourg
1977 from 1977 by Ana Tijoux
Don’t Turn the Lights On from Business Casual by Chromeo
Odessa from Swim by Caribou
Rhinestone Eyes from Plastic Beach by Gorillaz
Fire With Fire from Night Work by Scissor Sisters
Ace of Hz from Ladytron 00 – 10 (coming out soon) by Ladytron
