The celebrations are still going strong in Spain, but here the World Cup is over. It has been a lot of fun, but now it is back to music blogging for me. I have a bunch of shit to go through that I’ve been meaning to up, so expect a random assortment of music in the next couple of days.

For those of you that missed the World Cup, here are the highlights, set to some sort of old Nintendo soundtrack (much better than the music you usually hear on soccer youtube videos, believe me).

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Party in the Hague! The Netherlands conquered Brazil, and they didn’t even play that great! But Brazil played even worse as soon as they were behind. At that point all the Dutch had to do was watch them self-destruct. Netherlands taking over!

Uruguay won a cheap victory over Ghana, so they get a cheap video featuring some sort of 80s throwback track. I have no idea if this is even Uruguayan music or not, youtube says it is, and that’s about the maximum amount of due diligence I have the patience for with this team.

Germany’s young team crushes old idols. Funky handicap indeed.

Remember, how I said that I would take any excuse to post a video of the Ex? Well, Spain’s victory over Paraguay will count for that too. This is a track from their record/book release, 1936, which is a document of the Spanish anarchists’ struggle against Franco.

Stay tuned for the semi-finals tomorrow!

Will I use any excuse to post a video of the Ex? Why yes I will. Nothing could be more appropriate anyway, the Ex are big football fans. The Dutch style is based on a freedom of movement, and incredible individual virtuosity (though you wouldn’t know it from this year’s team). Improvisation seems to inform all of this. Anyway, this particular lineup of the Ex was my favorite, I remember seeing those solos live, and it would give you goosebumps.

As for Brazil, they are all set to culturally take over the world. I’m not too impressed with Dunga’s team, but there is no doubt they are the most likely to win the World Cup at this point. When the Netherlands & Brasil face off this year it won’t be as impressive as this:

Seems like everyone in the world was rooting for Japan, which is too bad because Paraguay is awesome! This is what their traditional music sounds like, and it all really sounds that good. I think they are gonna get destroyed by Spain in the quarter-finals, but this is there first time ever getting this far so at least they can go back home with a sense of accomplishment.

What to say about Spain? I’m really rooting for them as they have yet to win the World Cup, yet they have the best style of all the teams. Cauto is based out of Barcelona, and does the dubstep thing.

Uruguay, a country I basically know nothing about, advanced. Anyway, sick beat.

Ghana beat the U.S., they were totally a class above the U.S. players, so congratulations are in order to the only remaining African team in the World Cup. Ghana has so much great music, and this hit song is a perfect example of perfect summer lounging around music. Highlife indeed.

England’s team was bad. English soccer seems to be perpetually trapped in memories of past glories, stubbornly refusing to adapt to a winning style. They were out of their element against the young men playing for Germany who are redefining the winning style, and quickly making a name for themselves.

The Argentina and Mexico game was tough for me to watch, I like both teams, but ultimately Argentina will no doubt result in more interesting matches. Oddly enough, this was the first cumbia track I heard where things clicked, and I decided I wanted to learn more. Dubbed out space percussion, and chill singing. Listening back to it now it seems relatively tame, but everyone has to start somewhere.

The New Cold Tropics

We’re in the middle of futbol fever, and this blogger is no exception. After all, it would be complete madness to take an interest in international music and culture and completely ignore the most beloved sport the world over. Meanwhile the South African location coincides with another interest on this blog – intense drone music. The vuvuzela is an instrument that has frequently been described as sounding like a massive swarm of insects, but listen closely and you begin to appreciate various tonal flutters in the midst of the chaotic maelstrom of deep swells from the more amateurish players. For fans of Tony Conrad and the like, this is not a series of games to be missed.

The best world cup blog out there is Bolas & Bandeiras. For a more abstract look, check out Moss Covered Grandfather. Meanwhile, one of this blog’s favorites, Ghetto Bassquake appears to be having something of a friendly trans-Atlantic internal feud. So maybe its a good thing the U.S. v. England match resulted in a draw, for music’s sake.

Unfortunately, being a soccer fan in the Bay Area means adjusting to a punishing sleep schedule… On the other hand, it is also nice living in a neighborhood in the U.S. with no shortage of bars, cafes, and restaurants full of fans watching the beautiful game. Luckily 2014 will be in South America, so the time zone difference will be less brutal.