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Popworldcupjustice: Ecuador vs France

  • June 25, 2014
  • Brad O'Mance

worldcupthing2header

ECUADOR V FRANCE

Guest referee:
Jason Lipshutz — Associate editor/Pop Shop blog editor, Billboard.com

Ecuador32 '¡Salve, Oh Patria!'

“You have to respect a national anthem with not just defined movements, but also dramatic tension. After Ecuador's anthem struts in with a sprightly little refrain, the tempo change happens, and the burly men singing seem to furrow their brows, unsure whether they'll get to deliver that chest-thumping chorus once more. Breathe easy, Ecuadorian pop stans: the proud men once again get "turnt", and end the banger with a certain melodic splendour. With such peaks and valleys — the Romeo & Juliet of national anthems, some would call it — Ecuador's grand song deserves a pop star with storytelling chops to deliver it. How about Taylor Swift? The follow-up to 'Red' could very well be titled 'Red, Blue and Yellow: A Full-Length Tribute to Ecuador'. The follow-up to THAT album would be an album about breaking up with an entire demo­cratic republic.”

France32 Metallica — 'La Marseillaise'

“Hoist those devil horns high, France, because this isn't Before Sunset, it's a fucking 'metal' show! Here, the pre­vi­ously mulleted 'lads' of Metallica pair the legit­im­ately sumptuous French national anthem with some treach­er­ous guitar noodling otherwise known as 'Master Of Puppets', in an attempt to honour their host country with a song about self-destruct­ive drug abuse. If the band had run with the idea instead of simply poked at it, a full crunchy rock version of 'La Marseillaise' could have been le mag­ni­fique; instead, James Hetfield and co keep chugging along and relegate the anthem to a kitschy intro­duc­tion. Metallica once had an anthem on the Mission: Impossible 2 soundtrack, but their mission to perform a head-banging French national anthem appeared to be — wait for it — 2 impossible 4 them."

Jason's full time score:

Ecuador 3 — France 1

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Next up: Portugal vs Ghana and USA vs Germany

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  • Brad O'Mance
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Popworldcupjustice: Honduras vs Switzerland

  • June 25, 2014
  • Brad O'Mance
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Pop as in popular
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    New Music Friday: Let's kick off 2021 with some KLF
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Further reading
  • 1
    New Music Friday: Let's kick off 2021 with some KLF
  • 2
    The Top 45 Singles Of 2020
  • 3
    New Music Friday: Mae Muller doesn't want to be dependent
  • 4
    New Music Friday: There's a big one from Royal & The Serpent
  • 5
    New Music Friday: Baby Queen takes the throne
  • 6
    Twenty Quid 2020: Dua Lipa is the winner
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