Your guide to the music of Euro 2012 CBC Music - Free Streaming Radio, Videos, Songs, Concerts & Playlists

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In case you’re wondering why you see flags waving out of car windows and pubs overflowing at nine in the morning, the Euro 2012 soccer tournament kicked off this past Friday. For the next three weeks, 16 European nations will run around, fall over and feign injuries until one of them is crowned champion.

As with every televised sporting event that takes place over weeks, viewers will hear much of the same music over and over. You may recall the 2010 World Cup’s official song, “Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)” by Shakira, and the song featured in a Coca-Cola ad, “Wavin’ Flag” by K’naan.

If you plan on watching the Euro tournament, chances are you’ll hear these songs.

“Endless Summer” by Oceana
You may not recognize her name, but you will almost certainly hear Oceana’s official song of Euro 2012, “Endless Summer.” In 2009, the German-American singer released “Cry Cry,” a hit that topped the charts in both of Euro 2012’s host nations, Poland and the Ukraine. In late 2011, the tournament announced that Oceana would sing this year’s song. I don’t know if dance music can sound distinctly European, but if so, “Endless Summer” is the embodiment of that sound (apologies to “Mr. Saxobeat”).

“Let’s Get Crazy” by Gogol Bordello
Coca-Cola’s “Transformation” commercial has been produced in several different languages, and if it’s run as often as their World Cup 2010 commercial, you’ll be hearing this song everywhere. New York-based Gogol Bordello is made up of an international crew of musicians, including Ukrainian-born lead singer, Eugene Hütz. They recorded the party anthem “Let’s Get Crazy” for Coke’s Euro 2012 campaign, though it borrows from their 2007 single “Wonderlust King.”

Euro 2012 theme
This year’s tournament reuses the music from the 2008 tournament, produced by Rollo Armstrong of British electronica group Faithless. This melody-free work plays during official video pieces and commercial stings. It also sounds like the kind of music that plays during the pre-flight video on a really hip airline.

“Chicken” by the Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster
Adidas is the official sportswear sponsor of the tournament, but Nike has produced the more compelling commercial. You may see this spot, entitled “My Time is Now,” and hear the accompanying psychobilly track. The song is “Chicken,” which was released in 2003 by now-defunct British band the Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster.

“Koko Euro Spoko” by Jarzębina
Poland, one of the tournament’s host countries, selected its official song on a reality show last month. The winner was “Koko Euro Spoko” by Jarzębina (pronounced "Krzbyw"), a group of older women in traditional Polish costumes. While the song has been criticized as kitschy, it has also become quite popular, and since been featured in a TV commercial and spawned this weird Gotye mash-up.