# Classical, Popular, and Movie Music Ruined by Other Associations **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [September 6, 2024, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classical-popular-and-movie-music-ruined-by-other-associations/1006871 "2024-09-06T19:36:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![pjd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pjd/32/3009_2.png) [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2024, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classical-popular-and-movie-music-ruined-by-other-associations/1006871/61 "2024-09-07T20:17:06Z")
The largo from Dvoraks New World symphony will always be associated with Hovis bread in the UK. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/6Mq59ykPnAE/hqdefault.jpg "Hovis 'Bike' advert 1973 (Britain's favourite TV ad)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Mq59ykPnAE&t=10) and Bach’s Air on thee G string will always be associated with Hamlet cigars. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/VUjn8u-hRH8/hqdefault.jpg "Happiness is a cigar called Hamlet") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUjn8u-hRH8) ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2024, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classical-popular-and-movie-music-ruined-by-other-associations/1006871/62 "2024-09-07T20:37:13Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > I can’t listen to Ludwig Van without getting physically sick… I really like Ludwig Von Drake’s little education cartoons, why dont you like them? Oh. 🤪 > [@Terminus\_Est](#): > > “Yakety Sax” is by no means serious music, but it’s now forever associated with Benny Hill. It has branched out into other similar comedy… In fact, I have heard/read “Set that to Yakety Sax and it is comedy genius”. ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2024, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classical-popular-and-movie-music-ruined-by-other-associations/1006871/63 "2024-09-07T20:53:34Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue” is forever _O’Hare Airport United Terminal Theme Song_ in my brain. For some odd reason I associate it with Southwest Airlines 😅. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2024, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classical-popular-and-movie-music-ruined-by-other-associations/1006871/64 "2024-09-07T23:34:06Z")
When the last movement of Dvorak’s “New World” Symphony starts, it’s hard not to think of “Jaws”: [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/89jOPAGJq-M/hqdefault.jpg?sqp=-oaymwEmCOADEOgC8quKqQMa8AEB-AH-BIAC4AOKAgwIABABGHIgVSgsMA8=&rs=AOn4CLC1xJtYpCVBM-HXG5-p9ihBzEZMDQ "Dvorak - Symphony No. 9 (From the New World) Mvmt 4") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89jOPAGJq-M) ---
**Author:** ![zbuzz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e19b73/32.png) [@zbuzz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zbuzz)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2024, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classical-popular-and-movie-music-ruined-by-other-associations/1006871/65 "2024-09-08T04:29:58Z")
> [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](#): > > Another one from _2001: A Space Odyssey_: when was the last time you heard anyone sing “Daisy Bell” in a normal voice? Does Japanese count as normal? This is how I associate that song more than 2001, anyway. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/phtfV4jUMQE/maxresdefault.jpg "Revenge of the Nerds - Cycle Race") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phtfV4jUMQE) ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2024, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classical-popular-and-movie-music-ruined-by-other-associations/1006871/66 "2024-09-08T06:03:24Z")
Deleted ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2024, 7:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classical-popular-and-movie-music-ruined-by-other-associations/1006871/67 "2024-09-08T07:40:00Z")
I think for a generation of TV watchers, _Yankee Doodle_ and _This Old Man_ are Barney songs. ---
**Author:** ![Toxylon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f05b48/32.png) [@Toxylon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toxylon)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2024, 9:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classical-popular-and-movie-music-ruined-by-other-associations/1006871/68 "2024-09-08T09:32:10Z")
That is true, but gladiators and their blood-soaked arenas are in fact closely related to clowns and circuses. I feel the song fits both contexts well. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2024, 9:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classical-popular-and-movie-music-ruined-by-other-associations/1006871/69 "2024-09-08T09:50:30Z")
> [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](#): > > When the last movement of Dvorak’s “New World” Symphony starts, it’s hard not to think of “Jaws”: Or if you’re a wrestling fan, you might thing of Der Ring-General, WALTER. [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/OhZ7apFrNv0/hqdefault.jpg "Walter Epic Entrance: WWE NXT, Jan. 18, 2022") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OhZ7apFrNv0) ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2024, 10:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classical-popular-and-movie-music-ruined-by-other-associations/1006871/70 "2024-09-08T10:43:22Z")
> [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](#): > > When the last movement of Dvorak’s “New World” Symphony starts, it’s hard not to think of “Jaws”: I feel a closer connection might be The Rite of Spring: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/EkwqPJZe8ms/maxresdefault.jpg "Stravinsky The Rite of Spring // London Symphony Orchestra/Sir Simon Rattle") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EkwqPJZe8ms&t=235) ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2024, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classical-popular-and-movie-music-ruined-by-other-associations/1006871/71 "2024-09-08T12:09:29Z")
Changing tack entirely… I had forgotten about this: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/P5ilV7YblgU/maxresdefault.jpg "Nouvelle - Very Boggy (1999, UK)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5ilV7YblgU) ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2024, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classical-popular-and-movie-music-ruined-by-other-associations/1006871/72 "2024-09-08T13:31:46Z")
This wonderful thread is full of classical (etc.) music _mentally altered_ by associations with films, commercials, etc…but _ruined_? To me, only one composer could do that…P. D. Q. Bach! Examples are numerous. There’s a passage in Handel’s _Messiah_ (can’t recall which at the moment) that I can no longer here without a chuckle. Here’s a great example: at 8:25 in the video below (in “Concerto for Horn and Hardart.”) Could a Doper help identify the piece that’s being parodied? It sounds like the slow movement from some Mozart symphony, perhaps? (Not the one mentioned in the Wikipedia article). In PDQ’s version, the tune is left hanging – it never resolves to its expected cadence. [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/8UN_Zb48cVI/hqdefault.jpg?sqp=-oaymwEmCOADEOgC8quKqQMa8AEB-AHeA4AC4AOKAgwIABABGH8gLCgbMA8=&rs=AOn4CLD2_RAjp2yAyNcaS8u4PMMhpN5WBg "P.D.Q. Bach: Peter Schickele Presents An Evening with P.D.Q. Bach") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UN_Zb48cVI) ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2024, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classical-popular-and-movie-music-ruined-by-other-associations/1006871/73 "2024-09-08T13:39:06Z")
> [@Toxylon](#): > > That is true, but gladiators and their blood-soaked arenas are in fact closely related to clowns and circuses. I feel the song fits both contexts well. Somewhere on YouTube, there is a video of the song. One of the comments on the page is “Either gladiators are a lot swishier than I thought, or clowns are a lot more butch than I thought.” ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2024, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classical-popular-and-movie-music-ruined-by-other-associations/1006871/74 "2024-09-08T17:25:57Z")
Oh, I know. I’m just saying that it’s a fairly classic movie song, and it’s been co-opted by those Modelo commercials. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2024, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classical-popular-and-movie-music-ruined-by-other-associations/1006871/75 "2024-09-08T17:42:28Z")
In the comments section under the Sicilienne by Gabriel Fauré, somebody was compelled to post, basically “hur-hur, that’s the Harry Potter theme.” I really hate the “Cerulean Blue” monologue from the Devil Wears Prada, which asserts that us normies are not unequipped but completely unqualified to make choices, any more than raccoons scavenging dumpsters. Especially since our betters also claim that beyond taste to morality and conviction. Still, [stupidity is a value system of joy.](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=YqeO4VBgrqs&pp=ygUVUHJva29naWV2IGRhcnRoIHZhZGVy) ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2024, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classical-popular-and-movie-music-ruined-by-other-associations/1006871/76 "2024-09-08T18:10:26Z")
> [@Pleonast](#): > > The 20th Century Fox Fanfare is indelibly linked in my mind to Star Wars. Every other use of it is terrible. When the Phoenix Symphony did a showing of the film, with the orchestra doing the music, the audience cheered at the Fox Fanfare! Fun Fact: it was written by Alfred Newman, and is his most-used composition > [@Si\_Amigo](#): > > Whenever I hear Don’t Fear the Reaper I automatically think of “Needs more cowbell!”. I Not only did it not ruin it for me, but I cut the audio clip of Walken saying “I got a fever! And the only prescription is…MORE COWBELL!” and grafted it before the song. > [@mbh](#): > > Bach’s “Toccata and Fugue in D Minor” is the villain’s theme song in many horror movies. And sports! Rollerball! ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2024, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classical-popular-and-movie-music-ruined-by-other-associations/1006871/77 "2024-09-08T20:07:19Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > Bach’s “Toccata and Fugue in D Minor” is the villain’s theme song in many horror movies. True, but it doesn’t ruin it as music, at least not for me. Of course, you never even hear all of the Toccata let alone any of the Fugue. Similarly with Ponchielli’s Dance of the Hours from the OP. I don’t think the visuals from Fantasia ruins this as music, because it is performed faithfully, if I recall correctly. Allan Sherman disembowels it. There are some Rossini overtures I cannot hear without hearing Bugs Bunny’s voice; also Brahms Hungarian Rhapsody #2 with Bugs (I think) on the keyboard. I loved those cartoons as a kid, and they really were my introduction to classical music. But enough already, memory, let them go. Then there are the crap pop songs made out of romantic piano concertos – “Tonight We Love” from Tchaikovsky’s 1st, and “Full Moon and Empty Arms” (blech) from Rachmaninoff’s 2nd. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2024, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classical-popular-and-movie-music-ruined-by-other-associations/1006871/78 "2024-09-08T20:26:03Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > Here’s a great example: at 8:25 in the video below (in “Concerto for Horn and Hardart.”) Could a Doper help identify the piece that’s being parodied? It sounds like the slow movement from some Mozart symphony, perhaps? Prokofiev’s Symphony 1 (“Classical”) second movement? ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2024, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classical-popular-and-movie-music-ruined-by-other-associations/1006871/79 "2024-09-08T20:32:15Z")
Oops no, Mozart Piano Concerto 21 slow movement used in the movie “Elvira Madigan” Come to think of it, the pizzicato obligato sounds a bit like a nod to Haydn’s Clock Symphony too. Quite a mash-up. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2024, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classical-popular-and-movie-music-ruined-by-other-associations/1006871/80 "2024-09-08T21:41:05Z")
> [@PatrickLondon](#): > > Mozart Piano Concerto 21 slow movement That’s it! Thanks. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classical-popular-and-movie-music-ruined-by-other-associations/1006871.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classical-popular-and-movie-music-ruined-by-other-associations/1006871.md?page=5)