8 April 2010
Pop World Cup 2010: Group C – England 0 Slovenia 3
Slovenia have made a lot of friends so far in this tournament but have not secured many points: they need a win to have any chance of progressing. England are developing a reputation for versatility, but that also means that the outcome of their games depends very much on which team turns up on the day. A draw is no good to anyone – we should expect both managers to be throwing the kitchen sink at the opposition.
This match closes at midnight on Tuesday 13th April
ENGLAND: Black The Ripper – “Righteous Freestyle” The Manager Says: “With our recent victory fresh in our minds, the England team is determined to surprise their fans with another genre shift. From bhangra to grime – the manager is enamoured of the deceptively calm stringy background, the blunt, harsh truth in the lyrics, the hard-fast rhyming and all served up in a punchy 2.04. Black the Ripper an exciting striker we’re proud to showcase!”
Length: 2:04 Played: 516 
SLOVENIA: Uroš Umek vs Andja - “Obey” The Manager Says: “Time to unleash the big guns. This Slovenian bosh hero Uroš Umek has been in the game more than 16 years, but is still every bit as talented as on his teenage debut. Guest striker Andja is finally up to full fitness after a terrible Achilles bitrate injury early in the season, all those Inverse Benassi training sessions have clearly paid off. I’ve been humming this track since my first day in the managerial role, Brian!”
Length: 4:34 Played: 456
Group C Match 5: Which of these tracks do you prefer?
- SLOVENIA - Umek vs. Andja (76%, 34 Votes)
- ENGLAND - Black The Ripper (24%, 11 Votes)
Total Voters: 45
Poll closes: 13 April 2010 @ 11:59 pm
Loading ...Commentary Box Analysis: The English style of hip-hop is attractive to some but others prefer a slicker and shinier kind of game. How Black the Ripper will match up to the poppiest formation deployed so far by the bosh-and-only-bosh Slovenian manager is not easy to predict. Two very contrasting styles facing up to each other it could go either way.
RESULT! Chile 1 Switzerland 1 A tough game and an enjoyable game. The energetic Chileans had the best of it, scoring early and piling on the pressure. they failed to puncture the resilient Swiss defence again, though, and the Swiss came back in the second half, scoring a sweet goal and then holding on for dear life. “The Chileans have almost too much pep for their own good, zipping the ball around the pitch and playing a simple, direct passing game.” “A corker this is not – both teams have bottled out of a passionate, bravura performance – this match is corked.” “Sens Unik have got a 90s feel to their play (does this count as “old skool” hip hop now?) and yet manage to make it sound totally fresh. The interplay between the players is a joy to behold.” “Love the Gaucho Fire Engines, it’s always great to find two unexpected styles that go together.” “I’m leaning towards the Swiss entry for the background organ as much as hot-footed Solaar.”
Coming up: in no time at all, the match to complete Group C, where Algeria and the US go head to head without knowing what they’ll need. This group remains on a knife-edge.
Tim in FT • pwc10/pwc10 group C • 456 views
That’s no grime. [pause] It’s even more old-fashioned boom-bap hip-hop. If we cannot disable it the resistance is doomed!
(Mind you, I really dislike the Slovenian Pink as well – I mean, where’s the autotune? – but at least it’s not teh enemy.)
I really hope this isn’t my last game in the tournament – I’ve had some tough opponents though and this match is no exception!
Kat and I were stuck with a horrible group, against the mightiest countries in pop football. I am voting for Slovenia here partly because it’s more fun than what strikes me as a fairly ordinary UK hip hop track. Also an England win is the one result that would make it impossible for Algeria to qualify with a draw, so I was not inclined to vote for them for selfish tactical reasons even before hearing the tracks.
This is a chippy performance from England and they risk a red card for dissent before the match has even begun. Leaving that aside their is a vigour and sense of cameraderie to their play which I find more appealing than the posturing of the Slovenians. These bosh-merchants attempts to dictate play see them getting tied up in knots and while their defence is solid I’m not sure the manager can iron out the kinks from their performance. I’d like to see England win because they offer more varied play but they need a more confident performance than this if they’re going to progress.
Nice to hear some UK hip-hop – not lacking skills, but even at 2 minutes there’s a predictability that creeps in a little.
Slovenia have been steadily improving I think – this is the first big Eurobosher I’ve heard this tournament that I’ve really liked. The distance between great and annoying with these things is pretty thin but I’m loving this – particularly taken with the swoopy female vocalist. She reminds me of Siouxsie Sioux at times, a v good thing as anyone who remembers England’s all-black change strip at the 1982 PWC will agree.
Leaning towards Slovenia here but its a tricky one. The Slovenian entry starts off pretty clunky and then just grinds up through the gears to become terrific. The English entry shows up how UK rap has come on in leaps and bounds in recent years and although Black The Ripper has a decent flow he’s doing it over fairly dated beats. I’ll give them a few more listens.
Blimey, there are nearly 60 tracks on the mixtape that this Black the Ripper track is taken from – and this is one of the shortest! I hope he’s a bit less hectoring on some of the other 59. This is a freestyle though, so you have to expect something a little more in your face. And that’s just fine over two minutes.
Not really feeling the Slovenian vocalist but Uroš Umek cranks it up nicely towards the end. This could be enough to win it for them, but I still fancy England to nick a point.
This was a tough one to call, but Slovenia just nick it for me (partly, I’m willing to admit, because I love the concept of an Achilles bitrate injury).
Great display of football from Slovenia! Looks like they have it all: muscle, passion, rhythm and a great striker.
The Slovenian management would like to avoid any uncomfortable silences in the Digital Economy dressing room by pointing out that Umek’s new album 1605 is out now and is very good!
On the forthcoming Weekend Update show for Resonance 104.4, Roger Bozack makes the penetrating analysis that the Slovenian track has a lot in common with the Martini Bros remix of “Missy Queen’s Gonna Die”. I’m pretty sure that he was finding similarities in their bombast, their relentlessness, their marriage of dance sounds and rock sounds, and that both feature a female vocalist talking about matters of the heart. (Though where MQGD was a kiss-off, this is a come-on…)
Sadly Black the Ripper did not get past Resonance’s censors.
Our friend Black seems more grim than ripping, which means he grips the sod well but has trouble getting the track untracked, despite the beautiful desolate atmosphere he surrounds himself with. Commenters noting the boshingness of the Slovenes should not overlook the equally compelling combination of Swiss bitch and deep-cow goth from the striker.* Slovenia delivers a good thumping, I say.
*There are three kinds of female goth: icy goth (like Anneke of The Gathering), passionately tormented goth (Kelly Clarkson,** Amy Lee), and having-a-cow goth (Lacey Mosley); I’m especially partial to the last two, and the Slovenians goth it up nicely in all three modes.
**Yes, she is goth!
After seeing England’s play early on I was sure they’d have this in the bag (fantastic strings, great flow) but Slovenia turn out to be totally unstoppable. YOMP.
Appropriate for this decisive night match to be taking place under a full moon. The toughest, deathliest group in PWC history goes to the wire, and exceptionally tough it proves to vote in too.
I’m a sucker for orchestral loops over heavy beats and BTR wisely keeps it short and sharp. SVN spread out more, gaining momentum over the course of the game while ENG stick to their guns despite another radical line-up change that could unsettle themselves more than the opposition.
I think they’re resilient enough to withstand SVN’s attack (not entirely convinced by the #9) but lacking real firepower up front – another stalemate altho that menacing industrial synth pattern was an inspired substitution towards the end that very nearly snuck it for ‘em.
Last call for votes in this group!
Oof! A really crunching victory for Slovenia here. As ever, my arithmetic is a bit dodgy so I stand correction on this but I think this takes Slovenia through (with the USA) on percentage difference.
WOO-HOO! I’d like to thank the excellent crowd that have supported us throughout the tournament and certainly helped us score that final goal today. We’re having the time of our lives out here in South Africa, Brian!
GAH this one is over as well?! Has the voting time been drastically reduced or something? I’d have voted SLO anyway, happily.
Oh England…the tabloid scorn has not been pretty. “Joe Cock-Up”, “Suckshinder More Like”, “Kick This Evil ££%$ Out”, and simply “LOL” from the Glasgow Herald. Whether a united UK team for the Pop Olympics will perform better we’ll see.
I am disappointed that my (Algeria) game against England featured easily their best performance!