Unknown Song #39 - Power Plant

Song - Power Plant

Artist(s) - Rick DiFonzo

Released - No later than 1997

Primetime Usage - 1997-98, 2000-05
Contained on - BRg Contemporary BRg1019 (Electric Arc)

Featured Highlight - Bears @ Vikings, 2000


*SONG IDENTIFIED* - 7/23/20

Unknown Song #39 was one of a handful of songs NFL Primetime debuted in 1997 that lasted until the end of the show.  It wasn't used all that often, especially after 2001, and it didn't tend to accompany games of real import.  Still, US #39's dark-yet-ambivalent tone is quite appropriate for teams going through adversity.  It also seemed to get disproportionately used for Jacksonville Jaguars' highlights in the early-2000s, which was fitting.  This particular highlight doesn't showcase the Jags, though.  It instead features two QBs from the class of 1999 squaring off in The Metrodome.

*EDIT* - Robert Enriquez confirmed on youtube that this song was used a couple times in 2004, and it was never used in 1999.

Unknown Song #36 (Oddball Week, Part 6) - Classical Interface

Song - Classical Interface

Artist(s) - Darryl Way

Released - 1991

Primetime Usage - 1997
Contained on - Rouge RMCD 2012 (Classical Rock)

Featured Highlight - Jaguars @ Ravens, 1997

*SONG IDENTIFIED* - 3/25/20

It's now time for the penultimate edition of Oddball Week.  Unknown Song #36, though not great, is still a big improvement over the last two.  As Kyle Caughlin pointed out on youtube, it's got a bit of a salsa flare to it.  That, plus the piano, makes it sound like Latin-infused early-'90s dance-club stuff.  The accompanying game highlight features the Jacksonville Jaguars, fresh off a surprising AFC Championship appearance, playing at the Baltimore Ravens and their "Flying B" helmets.

Power Cutter

Song - Power Cutter

Artist(s) - Robin Gurin (composer credit only), Georgia Shapiro, Alec Williams (performer credit only)

Released - 1994

Primetime Usage - 1994-96

Contained on - FirstCom A29 (Power Net)

Featured Highlight - Ravens @ Jaguars, 1996


Another track that has made its rounds on various NFL Primetime download collections, "Power Cutter" is one that makes no attempt to stand out.  It's more generic, repetitive, and background-ish than perhaps any other Primetime song, and it was clearly intended to be nothing more.  It works surprisingly well, however, because it at least provides a nice beat & some steady energy for your football-viewing enjoyment.  Power Cutter was created by the same trio that gave us The Event, and is also contained on the same, impossible-to-find FirstCom album.  You shouldn't have much trouble obtaining a legally dubious, lower-bitrate version on the web, but good luck finding an official, high-quality cut.

Power Cutter's featured highlight has two, then-new teams squaring off in an entertaining game in Jacksonville.  Fun fact!:  despite playing only two years in Baltimore, Vinny Testaverde was the Ravens' all-time leader in passing yards until Joe Flacco passed him in 2010.

"Young" Triumphs & Mistakes

Song - Race to the Death

Artist(s) - George Young, Bryan "Chuck" New

Released - 2000

Primetime Usage - 2000

Contained on - Chappell AV 154 (Guitar Drama)

Featured Highlight - Steelers @ Jaguars, 2000


One of the most obscure songs from the later heyday of NFL Primetime, "Race to the Death" seemed to be an attempt to replace the melancholy struggle motif previously occupied by Neck and Neck.  It's an OK song in small doses, though, and "small doses" were definitely what we got—it was just used a handful of times during only the 2000 NFL season.  The artists behind Race to the Death were, ironically, not so obscure…  well one of them at least.  I don't know a whole lot about Bryan "Chuck" New, but he does have a massive number of credits listed on Discogs.  George Young is a bit more famous, though.  In addition to being the older brother of Malcolm & Angus Young of AC/DC (and an AC/DC producer), he was also the co-writer & co-producer of top-10 disco hit "Love is in the Air" by John Paul Young (no relation).  Additionally, George Young was one of the inaugural inductees in the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) Hall of Fame in 1988.

I apologize for the quality of the included highlight video, but this was the only Primetime clip I've been able to find with Race to the Death.  This game was a fitting example of the decline of the Tom Coughlin Jaguars, but it's mostly memorable for one reason.  Steelers rookie Plaxico Burress, after getting a long reception over the middle, decided to do a celebratory spike even though he hadn't actually been touched.  It didn't ultimately affect the contest's outcome, but this play often shows up on "top sports blunders" lists.