Polinsky List

A reader emailed me requesting that I make it more clear how my song posts fit in with the Mark Polinsky mp3/youtube postings of NFL Primetime music.  For those not familiar, the Mark Polinsky set is the most prominent of the "mp3 sets floating around the web" I've referenced multiple times on this site.  Polinsky's posts—instead of being named—have each song numbered, so here's a guide to which Polinsky numbers link to which songs.  I haven't posted anything about a few of these yet, so I'll update this post whenever I do add an entry about one of them.

01 - International Statement

02 - Powersurge

03 - Gladiator

04 - Highlights

05 - (Unknown Song #30)

06 - Legends

07 - Eric D.

08 - Pro

09 - Arnold

10 - Grid Lock

11 - The Event

12 - Roadhog

13 - Power Cutter

14 - Neck And Neck

15 - Crush

16 - (Unknown Song #29)

17 - Leading Edge

18 - Bad Company

19 - 1994-97 NFL Primetime title theme

20 - Showdown

Unknown Song #46 - Mortal Combat

Song - Mortal Combat

Artist(s) - Murray Munro

Released - 2001

Primetime Usage - 2001

Contained on - Atmosphere ATMOS144 (Total Movie 2)

Featured Highlight - Buccaneers @ Cowboys, 2001


I'm apologizing right away for the low video & audio quality of this highlight clip.  This is the only game with Unknown Song #46, and this clip comes from the only full-episode post of Week 1, 2001, that I could find (there's another, higher quality post that only has the late games).  The music track sounds like some sort of cheesy & dramatic Halloween monster-chase thing, at least from what I can make out of it.  If anybody knows of a better cut of this highlight (or if you know what the song is), please let me know so I can post it.  Thanks!

Unknown Song #45 - Survivors

Song - Survivors

Artist(s) - Daniel Darras & Christian Leroux (a.k.a. Basile Leroux)

Released - 1998

Primetime Usage - 2001

Contained on - Koka KOK2152 (Double Drama, Vol. 1)
Featured Highlight - Vikings @ Bears, 2001

*SONG IDENTIFIED* - 12/15/21

Unknown Song #45 isn't real memorable, but it's a good mood piece for certain games.  Not that we got to truly find out, of course, since the upcoming clip was US #45's only use on NFL Primetime (AFAIK).  This clip was the second post-9/11 highlight (immediately following the one from last week's post) and fit pretty well with the Vikings that year.  Not only was 2001 a tumultuous year for the U.S and the world, it was a tumultuous year for the Minnesota Vikings.  Pro Bowl offensive lineman Korey Stringer died of heat stroke during training camp, the team missed the playoffs for the first time in 6 years & suffered double-digit losses for the first time in 11 years, 10-year head-coach Dennis Green was fired just before the end of the season, Cris Carter left following the season, and—as you'll see in the video—players & coaches were often seen bickering with each other on the sidelines.

Unknown Song #44 - New Order

Song - New Order

Artist(s) - Paul Foss

Released - 1997

Primetime Usage - 2001
Contained on - ATMOS 92 (Virtual Corporation)

Featured Highlight - Giants @ Chiefs, 2001


*SONG IDENTIFIED* - 11/30/18

Unknown Song #44 is probably best remembered by NFL Primetime aficionados as accompanying the first post-9/11 highlight on the show.  The NFL's mission for that week wasn't just to mourn the national tragedy, but to also give people an entertaining & distracting respite.  US #44's dark & moody, yet energetic & determined sound perfectly fit that mission.  ESPN didn't choose this song solely for that purpose, though; it was also used during the Week-1 episode from 9/9/01 which obviously had nothing to do with any sort of tragedy.  The bigger question is:  why didn't they use US #44 again after Week 2?  It's a little too repetitive to be a real classic, but its mood & energy still fit well within the Primetime music pantheon.  It's kind of odd, frankly.  Anyway, enjoy the clip.

Unknown Song #43 - Hard Attack

Song - Hard Attack

Artist(s) - Christian Poulet, Fabien Chevallier

Released - 1995

Primetime Usage - 2001
Contained on - KOS 24 (Metal Warrior) (YouTube Link)

Featured Highlight - Redskins @ Chargers, 2001


*SONG IDENTIFIED* - 12/23/18

As with many of the one-off (*EDIT* - this song was also used for the Cardinals/Panthers game in Week 16 of '01—thanks to Kyle Caughlin for that info.) tracks on NFL Primetime, it's not surprising Unknown Song #43 didn't stick around.  I actually didn't know this song even existed until I was in the middle of cutting US #42 last week (it's the very next highlight, so I again apologize for the low video quality).  It's not a memorable or interesting piece, and it only accompanied an uncompelling game—the only interesting thing about the game is that it was the first of LaDainian Tomlinson's career.

Unknown Song #42 - Liberation Day

Song - Liberation Day

Artist(s) - Paul Foss

Released - 1998

Primetime Usage - 2000-01
Contained on - ATMOS 111 (Impact)

Featured Highlight - Rams @ Eagles, 2001


*SONG IDENTIFIED* - 5/6/19

OK, back to the Unknown Songs.  Unknown Song #42 is similar to Bad Company & Showdown, but was used less often on the show.  It has the same gritty, hard-hitting, rock/orchestral fusion style as those other two tracks, though.  Before I introduce the highlight clip, I should apologize for the low video quality.  I recall hearing US #42 multiple times way back when these Primetime episodes were current, but this is the only clip I could find online of it (that's also why I'm unsure of the exact years it was used).  In this video, the St. Louis Rams began their final Super Bowl run of the Kurt Warner era by edging out a good Eagles team in accursed Veterans Stadium.  The audio quality is fine, so you don't have to worry about hearing the song.

**EDIT** - It was apparently used a handful of times in 2000 & 2001.  Thanks to Robert Enriquez on youtube for this information.

We Interrupt Your Regularly Scheduled Programming

Song - Cold Fusion

Artist(s) - Ron Kristy

Released - 1997

Primetime Usage - 1999
Contained on - OneMusic OMROC014L (Powerstation)

Featured Highlight - Lions @ Seahawks, 1999


This track was on pace to be the Unknown Song for this week, but Kyle Caughlin identified it before I could get that far (special thanks to him for that).  "Cold Fusion" was one of two new NFL Primetime songs in 1999 (Bad Company being the other), but it was only used once as far as I know.  I guess its limited usage is understandable given how simple & repetitive it is, but it at least adds some decent tension to its lone highlight.  That highlight features a post-Barry Detroit Lions team going into the Kingdome and upsetting the Seahawks in Mike Holmgren's Seattle debut.  Enjoy!