The Upcoming
  • Cinema & Tv
    • Movie reviews
    • Film festivals
      • Berlin
      • Tribeca
      • Sundance London
      • Cannes
      • Locarno
      • Venice
      • London
      • Toronto
    • Show reviews
  • Music
    • Live music
  • Food & Drinks
    • News & Features
    • Restaurant & bar reviews
    • Interviews & Recipes
  • Theatre
  • Art
  • Travel & Lifestyle
  • Literature
  • Fashion & Beauty
    • Accessories
    • Beauty
    • News & Features
    • Shopping & Trends
    • Tips & How-tos
    • Fashion weeks
      • London Fashion Week
      • London Fashion Week Men’s
      • New York Fashion Week
      • Milan Fashion Week
      • Paris Fashion Week
      • Haute Couture
  • Join us
    • Editorial unit
    • Our writers
    • Join the team
    • Join the mailing list
    • Support us
    • Contact us
  • Competitions
  • Facebook

  • Twitter

  • Instagram

  • YouTube

  • RSS

Archive

Official London 2012 Olympic songs reviewed

Official London 2012 Olympic songs reviewed
28 July 2012
Freddy Powys
Avatar
Freddy Powys
28 July 2012

The London 2012 Olympic Games are finally upon us, and after a shaky few weeks of frayed tempers and truly dismal weather, national enthusiasm is starting to tick over quite nicely for what’s been dubbed by many as “the greatest show on Earth”. But as the Games begin, spare a thought for the lucky few who have been selected to soundtrack the festivities. How can they possibly hope to capture in song the adrenaline and dedication, the elation and despair associated with the world-famous sporting event (bearing in mind that Eye Of The Tiger has already been written and recorded)? Without further ado, here is our verdict on the five Olympic tracks officially sanctioned for London 2012.

Muse – Survival 

Survival was commissioned to be the main soundtrack of the Olympic games, Muse seem like the perfect choice of band for such an occasion. This massively overblown Imperial March of a song will either spur our heroes on to unprecedented heights, or scare them witless before any sport even gets underway. More indebted to the ridiculous bombast of Queen than anything they’ve released so far (and that’s saying something), the track opens with a full-blown orchestra and only escalates from there, throwing military drums, evil-sounding guitars and everything but the kitchen sink into the mix to create an occasionally thrilling, always absurd monument to human endeavour. The chorus, delivered in gloriously unrestrained falsetto, simply states “I’m gonna win!” In Muse’s world, it’s definitely not the taking part that counts.

The Chemical Brothers – Theme From Velodrome 

Electro veterans the Chemical Brothers, on the other hand, have dialled back their ambitions and set their sights on just one of the Olympic venues: the Velodrome. Taking clear inspiration from the vocodered stylings of Kraftwerk – the only other band to have paid electronic homage to the relatively unsung world of cycling, with their Tour De France album – this propulsive, quasi-instrumental track is energetic, danceable and all over in three minutes flat. Chris Hoy would do well to crank it up in the locker room before he takes to the saddle next week, to defend his three gold medals from Beijing ’08.

Elton John vs. Pnau – Good Morning To The Night

Old Reg has attempted to reinvent himself more than once recently, teaming up with the Scissor Sisters and Lady Gaga among others to no great avail. Australian duo Pnau – better known over here for their Empire Of The Sun side project – may just represent the shot in the arm he’s been looking for: this feisty little number hijacks the hook from 1972’s seminal Mona Lisas And Mad Hatters, which is still catchy enough to inject life into the rather generic, post-Black Eyed Peas backing track. A curious mash-up for such a monumental occasion, but a fun one nonetheless.

Delphic – Good Life 

Good Life’s bewildered refrain of “How does it all end? When do we get there? What does it matter? Why do you still care?” seems to sum up London’s slipshod, alright-on-the-night approach to the Games rather well. Alas, the same cannot be said of the music, which is too slight to be even remotely memorable after its four minutes are up. The accompanying sine wave video is hypnotic and there is no doubting the passion in lead singer Rick Boardman’s delivery, but let’s be honest – it’s never a good sign when you are outdone in the excitement stakes by the disembodied, 40-year-old voice of Elton John.

Dizzee Rascal feat. Pepper – Scream

Dizzee Rascal unveiled this striking new track at last years V Festival, complete with diva-esque vocals from his protégé Pepper. While the jury is still out prior to the songs official release on 5th August, it seems to be a wide-eyed exhortation to “feel it from your heart” and “scream it from your soul” – which is all very commendable, and perhaps appropriate given the memorable recent celebrations of Michael Phelps and Kelly Holmes, to name but two. The East End boy done good will be anxious to play a significant part in this local event, and should provide a spark of charisma that’s often lacking in other contributions to the official Olympic soundtrack.

Freddy Powys

Related Items

More in Archive

Achieve timeless elegance this S/S 2014 with S.I.L.K.

Ellie Owen
Read More

Bespoke jewellery by Charlotte Tamar

Niten Thakor
Read More

Enjoy designer luxury with Alexis Smith Lingerie’s A/W 2013 collection

Ellie Owen
Read More

Embrace vibrancy and colour with PPQ this winter

Ellie Owen
Read More

Kenzo Metallics adds the sparkle to you Christmas wardrobe

Niten Thakor
Read More

A Christmas alternative: Cranberry and Orange Jeweled Nut Bake

Bethany Stone
Read More

An Austique shopping guide: your one-stop shop for last minute gifts

Christianna Pugliese
Read More

A comforting twist to designer heels

Michelle McGill
Read More

Iain Duncan Smith condemned for refusing to meet with Trussell Trust

Abbie Cavendish
Read More
Scroll for more
Tap
  • Popular

  • Latest

  • TOP PICKS

  • Albert Adrià reopens Enigma on 7 June as a “fun-dining” restaurant and cocktail bar
    Food & Drinks
  • Paolo Nutini at the 100 Club
    ★★★★★
    Live music
  • Crimes of the Future: Three new clips from David Cronenberg’s dystopian body horror film
    Cannes
  • The Father and the Assassin at the National Theatre
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • Plan 75
    ★★★★★
    Cannes
  • November (Novembre)
    ★★★★★
    Cannes
  • Forever Young (Les Amandiers)
    ★★★★★
    Cannes
  • “Ruben is wonderful at picking holes in our behaviour and our egos”: Woody Harrelson, Ruben Östlundand and cast at the Triangle of Sadness press conference
    Cannes Film Festival 2022
  • Summer Scars (Nos Cérémonies)
    ★★★★★
    Cannes
  • Holy Spider (Les Nuits de Mashad)
    ★★★★★
    Cannes
  • Emergency
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • Men
    ★★★★★
    Cannes
  • Triangle of Sadness
    ★★★★★
    Cannes
  • Aftersun
    ★★★★★
    Cannes
  • Paris Memories (Revoir Paris)
    ★★★★★
    Cannes
The Upcoming
Pages
  • Contact us
  • Join mailing list
  • Join us
  • Our London food map
  • Our writers
  • Support us
  • What, when, why
With the support from:
International driving license

Copyright © 2011-2020 FL Media

Anne Gorke AW 12/13 collection: where the wild things are
UK to keep AAA credit rating