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What's That Song in the Nike 'Human Chain' Olympic Commercial With Rampage Jackson and Maria Sharapova?

File Under: Jarvis Cocker, Lady Sovereign, Fatboy Slim,Basement, Black Grape, Ali in the Jungle, The Hours, Rampage Jackson, Olympic Commercial, Human Chain', Maria Sharapova

What's That Song in the Nike 'Human Chain' Olympic Commercial With Rampage Jackson and Maria Sharapova?
Ali in the Jungle,' by the Hours

The Hours deliver a melodic, punchy singalong in 'Ali in the Jungle' for the slick, zoetrope-inspired Nike 2010 Winter Olympics commercial/short film 'Human Chain.' It's all about getting up when you get knocked down, with the song's rising riffs cheering on infinitely duplicated athletes doing what they do best, over and over and split seconds apart.

The Hours members Antony Genn and Martin Slattery hail from major players in the 1990's Britpop scene. Slattery toured with Black Grape, Genn was a member of early Pulp and Elastica, and both worked with Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros. As Genn struggled his way out of the pits of heroin addiction, the two began forming the Hours in 2004 and have since strutted out with a Jarvis Cocker-approved indie album, 'Narcissus Road,' in 2007.

The album's inspirational sport references and overall rah-rah-rah lend themselves well to both the subject and tone of Nike's ad. The escalating piano riffs and emphatic lyrics of this indie anthem are a perfect fit for cloned athletes in continuous serial action, crash falls and all. Brian Beletic (who previously directed music videos for Lady Sovereign, Fatboy Slim and Basement Jaxx) playfully syncs the music and lyrics with Maria Sharapova's echoed signature grunts, Lance Armstrong's endless caravan chase with himself and Rampage Jackson's fall -- "Everybody gets knocked down" -- and triumph -- "How quick are you gonna get up?"

While sports are a repeated reference, they serve as a metaphor for the band's members' personal struggle and comeback, ringing fresh with positivity and carpe diem: "It's not where you're from, it's where you're at."

'Ali in the Jungle' has also been featured in the EA Sports FIFA 08 football game and as snooker player Ronnie O'Sullivan's theme song at the 2010 Wembley Masters.
Posted on Mar 1st 2010 5:30PM by Marina Galperin
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