Tag Archives: fifa 06 soundtrack

#1295: The Rakes – Strasbourg

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Whoa, whoa, whoa. I haven’t written about The Rakes in a long, long time. One of my earliest posts for this series was for a song by the band. I give a brief bit of context on how I came to know the group in the two sentences that make up the second paragraph. And then I also give links to three other songs of theirs that I knew I would never be writing about. Had to leave you good readers waiting with a suspense lasting 12-and-a-bit years. But the moment has come. And no better way to mark the arrival than with an album opener. ‘Strasbourg’ is the first song on the band’s 2005 debut album Capture/Release. I, however, came to know the track through different circumstances. If you had a peek at one of the tags below, you may have already figured those circumstances out. And if not, it was because of FIFA 06. The song was on the soundtrack.

‘Strasbourg’ is a fiery, punky number, suitable to get any album off to an energetic start. First you hear some feedback, then the guitar gets going. The drums join in, followed by the bass. And then singer Alan Donohoe enters the frame after this calculated layer-by-layer introduction of instruments. The track details the trials and tribulations of a couple trying to flee 1980s Germany, when the Berlin Wall was still up and all of that business, for the French city of Strasbourg which is located pretty much on the border. I think the main highlight of the track is how it suddenly switches up a gear r two in energy and vigour during the choruses, in which Donohoe wails out “We’ll meet in Strasbourg” alongside backing vocals from guitarist Matthew Swinnerton. It’s like hell breaks loose for those moments before sanity’s regained for the more “conservative” verses. Great dynamic going on there.

And yeah, this track is another one of those sprinkled throughout this ongoing list that I was introduced to and grew accustomed to because of its inclusion on a video game’s playlist. Specifically one by EA Sports. ‘Strasbourg’ wasn’t the first song by The Rakes I’d ever heard. By the time of FIFA 06’s release, I’m sure I would have seen the music video for ’22 Grand Job’ on MTV2 multiple times. That’s one that’ll get its own post one day. So I definitely knew who The Rakes were. Just so happened that someone in the EA headquarters caught wind of the band and thought they were cool enough to add to the game. I do remember 10-year-old me attempting to sing along to this tune many a time. And I think I got nearly all the lyrics down, even the German ones. But again, like a lot of songs on FIFA, the track had gone through the censorship wringer. Alcohol references and obvious curses were either muted or replaced with cut-out phrases from other parts of the song, and the ending comes to an even more awkward sudden end than it does already on the album. This ‘clean’ version is below.

#1055: Duels – Potential Futures

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This track is another instance of the music team at EA completely bossing their roles when choosing the songs to be used in their FIFA games in the 2000s. ‘Potential Futures’ by Duels was featured on the soundtrack for FIFA 06. It’s the one and only song I’ve ever listened to by this band. That’s something that probably isn’t likely to change. Don’t think my life’ll be heavily affected if I were to never hear any of the two albums the band have made in full. Then again, maybe I’m the fool to sell the band short like this. If anyone out there can tell me that Duels have made these fine records that I haven’t heard, I’ll welcome your thoughts and opinions with open arms.

Although I was regularly playing the FIFA game around the time of its release, I never fully appreciated the song until years later. In 2009, I asked for another copy of the game after my original from 2005 had some sort of glitch/error where the loading bar before the matches would just stop, which essentially defeated the whole purpose of having the item in the first place. My mum was confused as to why I wanted this old game. I could see where she was coming from. But I always felt I never got as much time with that FIFA edition before it glitched out, so it seemed right to me. I had my established favourites from that game having played it before. Some of them I’ve written about on here. And a few others that just never got a post. Due to this, I want to say I must have muted all of the other songs, including ‘Potential Futures’, to stop them from playing in the menu sections. Its stomping intro would usually crop up in those pre-match loading screens though. But when I did let the whole track play out from 2009 onwards, it was like I’d known the whole song my entire life. Only took maybe a few listens to start singing along to it.

The track narrates the tribulations of a Mr. Jimmy DeLancia, a fictional character who hates where he’s working and wants to hightail it out of the dead end town he’s currently living in. Why such a specific name was used is because the album that this track went on to appear (albeit in a newer re-recorded form which I think is inferior to the original single version) was supposed to be a concept album based around this man, a bit like Pretty Things’ S.F. Sorrow. The idea fell through though, and Jimmy only gets the brief mention here. I’ve come to think of the ‘Potential Futures’ phrase as some sort of company name, with its slogan/mission statement being sung by… I guess, the public who are buying into whatever this company’s selling. It’s the contrast between the disillusioned DeLancia verses and the happy, big singalong choruses that does it for me. Got those nice organs in the back during the latter that makes everything sound on this higher plane of existence. Some nice chord changes and movements that make each transition between song sections very fluid. A strong song in general.

#789: Oasis – Lyla

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Oasis’ sixth album Don’t Believe the Truth was released in 2005 and it was around that time that I really got into the habit of watching music television as soon as I woke up and went downstairs to the living room. ‘Lyla’, the first single from the record, was always playing on there. And it was supposedly a very big deal that this Oasis band was back with a new single and an album that was to drop soon. At the time I was 10 and don’t think I properly knew who Oasis were. I don’t think I remember caring that much about this song then either. In fact, I much preferred ‘The Importance of Being Idle’ which was released after. Then ‘Lyla’ was part of the soundtrack of FIFA 06, and after repeated listens I came to realise that it definitely deserved its number one spot in the charts.

So what’s it about? Well, knowing Noel Gallagher’s tendency to write a lot of nonsensical lyrics (which he admits himself) it’s probably safe to say that it’s about nothing very important. It’s about a larger than life character called Lyla, who is the sister of Sally from ‘Don’t Look Back in Anger’, and the narrator of the track just seems to be in awe of her. She’s the queen of everything, and everyone, and you, and yours, and mine. Despite the lack of lyrical substance, it still has a universal feel about it. Something that we can all relate to. Gallagher got that down to a tee on Definitely Maybe and Morning Glory, and ‘Lyla’ is very reminiscent of songs you would find on there. It’s probably why it did so well and became one of their most loved singles.

It’s a proper bouncer; it stays in one key for the majority of the song which provides this real drone-like quality, and Liam Gallagher sounds great on the vocal here too. Noel Gallagher’s fantastic on the backing harmony vocals, and I’ve always thought that the highlight is when he elongates the last ‘fall’ before the track goes into the ending ‘Hey Lyla’ section. That part was always repeated during the loading screens in the FIFA game so that got embedded in my head for a long time.

And that’s it. The ‘L’s’ are done. Thank you for joining me on this journey. It’s been five months which is the longest time I’ve spent on any letter with a regular schedule. I’ll take a bit of a break from here. This year’s been strange but this blog has been one of the main things keeping me intact. I don’t want to start becoming sick of it though. Need to come in fresh when it’s time for the M’s. So take care of yourselves, stay safe. I’ll see you on the other side.

My iPod #509: Bloc Party – Helicopter

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Ahhh. The very first song by Bloc Party I ever heard; I can vaguely remember watching its music video on MTV2 for the first time. Was around 2004 if I recall correctly. And even then I thought it was unusual seeing a multi-racial indie rock band. Especially one that was fronted by a black man. Being a black boy myself, I thought it was cool. Brought something new to the table. I can’t believe that it has been more than ten years that I’ve known the track.

“Helicopter”, named so (apparently) because of its rapid tempo, the intertwining guitar lines in the introduction and the spitfire rhythm section provided by former members Gordon Moakes and Matt Tong (who will be sorely missed by fans everywhere), is the second track on the band’s stellar debut album Silent Alarm. No one knows what it’s really about. Okereke said it is about himself; though there are many reasons why people think it is about George W. Bush. Looking at the lyrics you can easily see why the interpretation rose.

For me, the song brings a lot of nostalgia. Playing FIFA 06 on the weekends at the age of 10-11 were good times. Plus, it is hauntingly infectious. It is a crazy song with sudden stops and starts, string bends and relentless instrumentation that never seems to end. Well, apart from those aforementioned pauses. A song within the hearts and minds of many a Bloc Party listener.

My iPod #210: Nine Black Alps – Cosmopolitan

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“Cosmopolitan” is the second track from Nine Black Alps’ first album “Everything Is”. It was one of the first tracks to be recorded for it too. It was the first single by the band, and was released a year earlier in 2004.

Now I had known of Nine Black Alps when their videos for “Unsatisfied” and “Just Friends” started appearing on MTV2. I never really gave “Unsatisfied” a chance because every time the video started and Sam Forrest had such a glum look on his face, I was never sitting on the edge of my seat waiting for what would come next. “Just Friends”, I liked but it was a little too short. YouTube didn’t exist and I wanted to hear more of their material. How could I? When would the next opportunity arrive when I would another one of their tunes?

Christmas 2005 when I got FIFA 06, that’s when. “Cosmopolitan” was one of the tracks that EA had selected to be in their yearly football release. Something that’s quite strange looking at the tracks they have for FIFA 14. They would never choose something as hard-hitting as this again.

I love FIFA. Been getting it since 2002. So if an artist’s song is in there, if it is good, I will be able to decipher the lyrics and sing along to it all the time. “Cosmopolitan” was no exception.

With a lone guitar playing the riff for the first few seconds, the track then explodes into life. Brilliant guitar playing in the left and right channels while Sam Forrest really sings from the stomach – it’s almost like melodic shouting. It’s cool.

It’s very dark. But that’s no surprise. I say ‘dark’ all the time when I talk about this band but I can’t help it. They write dark stuff. “Everything Is”, lyrically, is especially dark. That album’s great.

P.S. Um… hello Hatch Records. If you see this, thank you for following me on Twitter. If you like this post could you comment below…. or favourite my tweet. It’s really awesome to know that one of my most liked band’s label has noticed me.