Inventory of the World Cup “Brainwashing Divine Comedy”
I was a junior in 2010, and we all watched the World Cup in South Africa that year in the dormitory. Each dormitory has different broadband speeds, some are fast and some are very slow. At night, shouts and shouts can always be heard in the boys’ dormitory. The internet speed in my dorm is very slow, so every time I have to endure the cruel reality that other dormitories cheer first.
Once the dormitory next door was bored, and cheered at the beginning of a game, which made those of us in the “Internet Turtle Speed” dormitory rush to see who scored the goal. In the end, we were laughed at by a classmate in Beijing: It’s nothing, just Just teasing you!
For students who are still in college, the four-year World Cup is undoubtedly a joyous party—you can socialize, have dinner, supper or even stay out at night for various reasons. It really stands out from the crowd. For the foreign language students who were “proud of skipping classes” more than ten years ago, staying up late to watch the game seems to show some irrefutable rationality: “After watching the game, I listened to the post-match interview to practice listening. ”
In a World Cup, you can practice far more than listening. The theme songs at the opening ceremony are catalysts that can improve your music taste.
African music features
Also in 2010, a group of straight men in the dormitory surrounded a 13-inch computer screen and saw Shakira’s peerless electric buttocks. Of course, what is even more unforgettable is the exotic World Cup theme song “Wakawaka”. At first, no one knew what waka meant, but after I checked it out, waka turned out to be Swahili, meaning “flame” and “shine”, so I started teaching my classmates about science, and by the way, tried to learn Swahili well ( Complicated, eventually give up).
A theme song can not only cultivate a sense of music, but also increase knowledge, and become a measure of life growth.
According to the data, the theme song of this “brainwashing divine comedy” is partly taken from Zangaléwa, which was sung by the Cameroon Makossa band Golden Sounds in 1986 and became popular in Africa. Because most of the members are former Cameroon soldiers, they always It’s wearing military uniforms, making exaggerated dresses, and dancing. The band’s name “Makossa” is taken from a local music genre in Cameroon, based on folk dance music, adding guitars, wind instruments, accordions and other instruments, with a swing style. The content of the lyrics of this song is generally in praise of African stragglers during World War II, and until now, this song is still a popular song in Africa.
A theme song can not only cultivate a sense of music, but also increase knowledge, and become a measure of life growth. No wonder there is a saying recently that “a man’s life is divided by the World Cup held every four years”.
On June 10, 2010, Latin diva Shakira performed at the World Cup Kickoff Concert in South Africa
Puerto Rican singer Ricky Martin performs at the World Cup stadium in France on July 12, 1998
1998, a watershed moment in world football
Although the theme song of the World Cup that I am most impressed with appeared in 2010, the theme song that can truly be called a trans-epochal significance is actually the 1998 Divine Comedy “The Cup of Life”.
For the World Cup, which is the most influential event in the world today, the 1998 World Cup in France can be said to be a milestone competition: this is the first World Cup with 32 teams participating, and the competition system has changed accordingly and continues to this day : First, divide into 8 groups for round robin, then the top two in each group will enter the knockout round until the final champion is determined.
1998 is also known as the first commercial year of the football world’s highest honor. With the rise of the Internet and commercial advertisements, world-renowned brands such as McDonald’s, Coca-Cola, Adidas, and Nike began to enter the football world and became sponsors and sponsors of the most high-profile competitions. long term partner. This model of embracing commercialization was also led by the Swiss Blatter who took over after the former Football Association President Brazilian Havelange stepped down.
This FIFA model, which not only does not reject, but welcomes commercial cooperation and exposure with open arms, is still difficult to judge the pros and cons after many years: football, which has become a mass consumer product, has earned enough attention and attention in the following 30 years. But it also allowed FIFA, UEFA and other institutions to breed internal corruption. The source of the cracks in effective operation lies in Blatter’s “opening the door to welcome guests” – the order of football with one hand and one hand paying money, which is still applicable to European and even world football that is clearly marked.
Fashion show at the opening ceremony of the 1990 World Cup in Italy
After laying the groundwork for so long, I can finally talk about the theme song “The Cup of Life” that resounded through the streets and alleys in 1998. The moment when the Puerto Rican Ricky Martin twisted his electric buttocks, it seemed to be exactly the same as the scene of Shakira singing and dancing in a grass skirt at the opening ceremony of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa—both Latin singers and cross-generational The theme song of the World Cup, from 1998 to 2010, who can say that this is not a reincarnation of football in the global village.
”Italian Summer”, with a unique melody of the Apennine Peninsula style, is a classic sample of defining football with music.
In this theme song, which is officially defined as Spanish, Ricky Martin uninterruptedly mixed in some English and the most familiar French of the current host, France, such as the phrase that even kindergarten children could sing a few lines “go, go, go” followed by “aller aller aller” which means “forward” in French.
Although there are not many French elements in this Latin theme song, the bold and unrestrained style and strong sense of rhythm surprised the French who like surprises. And Ricky Martin, who once twisted his body and danced in front of Buckingham Palace, also brought unprecedented visual and auditory dual sensory impact to the World Cup. In fact, what most people don’t know is that Ricky Martin sang this song at the closing ceremony of the World Cup. It is reported that his performance at the Stade de France has been watched by more than 1 billion people in 187 countries around the world. It is called the well-deserved “global critical moment of Latin pop music”.
The album Vuelve where this song is located also sold more than 8 million copies that year, making Ricky Martin nominated for a Grammy Award for the first time in his life. At the subsequent 41st Grammy Awards Ceremony, he performed “La Copa de la Vida” again and received a standing ovation from the audience present.
Undoubtedly, 1998 was an inescapable year for both the World Cup and Ricky Martin. The wave of football invasion; the latter, after a live show around the world, firmly secured the throne of “Latin Singer” that year, and then successfully entered the English market, becoming a well-deserved world singer.
Forever “Italian Summer”
For many old fans, although the “When the Football Stars Shine” in 1998 is still fresh in the memory, in terms of the opening ceremony and the songs sung at the opening ceremony, the 1990 World Cup in Italy can be said to be an “immortal monument”. monument”.
In fact, to be particular, the 1990 World Cup is really particular: the ball used for the game is called “Etruria”, and each triangular inlay on the ball is printed with three meanings for the ancient Italian city-state of Etruria. Lion head pattern; the mascot of the current event is called “Chiao”. Its image is composed of five Lego-like letters I, T, A, L, and Y. The combination is the English name of Italy, the host of the current event. , and the hue is composed of the red, white and green colors of the Italian flag. The most wonderful thing is that the English name of this “Chiao” is Ciao, which is actually the greeting for “Hello” in Italian.
On January 28, 1976, the Greek Vangelis known as the “Tchaikovsky of the electronic music world”
What is more classic is the fashion show at the opening ceremony. At the Meazza Stadium in Milan, models in red clothes took the lead, followed by African and Asian models wearing North African national costumes and posing Buddhist flower gestures. When it came to the European session, Italian models in green see-through clothes grabbed the crowd. The limelight of the opening ceremony.
Then, there is the Divine Comedy that will still be regarded as a classic by countless fans 8 years later-“Italian Summer”. Perhaps it can be said this way: “Italian Summer”, which has a unique melody of the Apennine Peninsula, is a classic sample of defining football with music. And its English version is also very famous: “To Be Number One”.
But what is more interesting is the Italian female singer Nannini who sang this song at the opening ceremony. She is the sister of Italian F1 driver Alessandro Nannini. She sang at the opening ceremony of the World Cup in 1990. After becoming famous, she started her music career in the United States. Twenty years later, in 2010, 56-year-old Nannini appeared on the cover of Vanity Fair with a pregnancy photo. She was wearing a T-shirt that read “God is a woman.”
Like a shooting star across the World Cup stage, there is also the Greek soundtrack master Vangelis. 2002 was the first World Cup I watched in my life, and it was also the first time the World Cup, the world’s top event, came to Asia. I still remember that the name of the ball used in that tournament was very pleasant, called “Flying Fire Meteor”. Almost every boy in our class dreamed of a cool colored “Flying Fire Meteor” that summer.
Of course, although the theme song “Football Anthem” of that tournament did not have a single lyrics, it has a bright rhythm. Until now, every time I hear this melody, I hum it unconsciously. The musician who created this song is the Greek Vangelis known as “Tchaikovsky in the electronic music world”. Won an Oscar for Best Film Score.
Perhaps coincidentally, just 20 years after composing this hymn for the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup, on May 17, 2022, Vangelis died of heart failure in a Paris hospital at the age of 79. The green field of the World Cup not only gave birth to great football players, but also made a group of outstanding musicians.
