Welcome back, my friends, to the competition that is about to end. Rather behind schedule – not quite a month! – but when the football world cup has been this entertaining who can blame us? There are two matches to go. On Monday we’ll put up the POP WORLD CUP FINAL – England v Nigeria – which will then be set to end at the time the actual World Cup final kicks off (it’s almost as if we planned it). But before, this traditional appetiser, the third place match between our losing semi-finalists, lartsaegis’ Chile and Wichita Lineman’s Iran.
Both teams have given us some real highlights at this Pop World Cup. Chile got off to a slow (or maybe just long) start, gathering steam through the group stage before taking down the much-fancied Cameroon and Japan teams in the group stage. They’ve had a magnificent run, as have Iran, who have mostly stuck to an unusual and beguiling electro-tactic that neither the Swiss nor the Koreans could find a way past. In the end it was Foals who ended their winning run.
So now these sides take the pop stage one final time, and fight it out for third place. Iran have been here before, in 2006, Chile are new to this level. Tracks and poll below the cut – good luck both managers!
CHILE: Alex & Daniel – “Mundo Real”
And so, The World is not enough. But I wouldn’t undo any play we’ve made this tourney. Certainly, the cards conditions have been fulfilled, yes, I play a track in my back pocket that was fated to be our last anyway the win went. Alex Anwandter has been a pop cornerstone in Chile since the days of Teleradio Donoso, the indie-pop band he served in earlier in the 2000s. Since their dissolution he’s been behind his Odisea moniker, more electronic oriented pop, producing hot tracks for other Chilean groups, as well as stuff under his own name — speaking of which, he had at least half a hand in the Alex & Daniel project, a link up with Gepe (aka Daniel), also a top pop star in his own country, who used to play guitar in Javiera Mena’s stage band. Mundo Real is a song that stays upbeat even when, lyrically, times are feeling a bit low for two lovers — but even in the relative misery of loss, there’s always a way to get down without having to stay there.
From I, Andrew, and the rest of the Chilean National Pop Team: Te queremos (We love you). The legends have received their shine on the grand stage, and the present stars have been aligned. You can find our full eleven here. Thanks to remezcla, clubfonograma, discogs, Tom and the rest of you FT regulars I’ve gotten to know a bit more over the course of this tourney.
IRAN: Nu – “MAN O TO”
“I was going to play this in the final, and fully expected to lose to Nigeria. But it’s very lovely so it’ll suit the unpressured third place play-off.”
THE POLL:
Third-Place Match: Which Do You Pick? [ballot]
- CHILE: Alex & Daniel 53%
- IRAN: Nu 47%
Total Voters: 32
Poll closes: 10 Jul 2014 @ 13:10
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