Sure, The Clash’s “London Calling” might seem like a good choice until you actually, you know, listen to it.
Although the 2012 Summer Olympics in London are still an entire year away, there has already been substantial media coverage on the far side of the Atlantic. And according to Alan Connor’s essay for the BBC, one of the songs used “as part of the countdown coverage” has been a version of The Clash’s “London Calling.”
(MORE: One Year to Go Until the 2012 Olympics)
Don’t get us wrong; NewsFeed loves The Clash. We even like this particular song. In spite of all this however, we just don’t feel that a song about food shortages, “nuclear error” and “zombies of death” really riles up the Olympic spirit.
It’s true the phrase “London calling” is a quintessentially British, as the BBC would start broadcast messages to occupied countries in World War II with it. And, sure, the Olympics have always had a war-like mentality to them. However, The Clash song, a punk-rock anthem about their own society’s ills, hardly suggests a go-for-gold sportsman anthem, does it? As Connor told NPR, the song is “celebrating London, but it’s also repudiating the previous decade’s idea of London. When he says, ‘We ain’t got no swing,’ I think Joe Strummer is trying to put in the bin the red-bus, black-taxi, groovy-baby kind of London.”
But NewsFeed realizes that choosing a perfect song — one that includes references to London, competition and 2012 — would be all but impossible, unless it was specially written for the games. But there has to be something out there that would be better suited to the 2012 Olympics, right? Queen’s “We Are The Champions”? Fergie’s “London Bridge”?
On second thought, anthems are tough. If you have something better, please put your suggestion in the comments below.
Megan Gibson is a reporter at TIME. Find her on Twitter at @MeganJGibson. You can also continue the discussion on TIME’s Facebook page and on Twitter at @TIME.
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