Listening to the World Cup

“With ESPN’s broadcast of the World Cup’s opening match, my fellow tweeters began to crack jokes about The Lion King. We imagined Rafiki calling the matches, or Mufasa, and half expected the referees to lift up the Jabulani to announce the arrival of the New Ball. Most folks simply observed, ‘I feel like I am watching The Lion King.’ There is a good reason for this. The score used by ESPN to frame its coverage was written by Lisle Moore. The Utah composer gave us muscular music for a sporting event, upbeat music for a media event organized around putting us all in the mood to buy a shirt, a ball, or a Coke. Layered over the orchestral swells are the oddly familiar sounds of African voices, or, I should say, African-sounding voices. Africa is scored here as a noble landscape, peopled by a unified chorus, singing together in a harmonic convergence of tribal cultures.” (Social Text)

1 thought on “Listening to the World Cup

  1. Siony's avatarSiony

    I agree with your writings .., the World Cup yesterday was so beautiful to see .., besides the smell of “The Lion King”, all cultures come together there and once again very beautiful.

    Reply

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