# What's that clown music? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 4, 2004, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-that-clown-music/243542 "2004-05-04T22:43:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2004, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-that-clown-music/243542/81 "2004-05-11T17:20:47Z")
> [@Lamia](#): > > Okay, no worries then. šŸ™‚ > > To continue throwing out titles, Carl Orffā€™s ā€œO Fortunaā€ from _Carmina Burana_ is a good one I learned about back in music class. Itā€™s the dramatic Latin choral piece often used for medieval battle scenesā€¦or for introducing a new line of powerful automobiles or athletic shoes. Although it sounds trumphant, itā€™s about cursing the cruelty of fate. Oh, and while the lyrics do come from a medieval poem, Orff was a 20th century composer. I love this piece. I associate it specifically with _Excalibur_ and in general with cataclysmic clashes between the forces of good and evil. Unfortunately, every time this music comes on, my wife perks up and says ā€œOld Spice!ā€ Apparently in the 1980s in India, where she grew up, the music was used in an Old Spice (aftershave lotion) commercial. (groan) ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2004, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-that-clown-music/243542/82 "2004-05-11T19:20:20Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > I swear, thereā€™s a web site out there somewhere (and Iā€™ll find it if I get a chance) that lets you transcribe a melody into a simple start-higher-lower-lower-higher notation, and finds a match. [http://name-this-tune.com/](http://name-this-tune.com/) [http://www.themefinder.org/](http://www.themefinder.org/) ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2004, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-that-clown-music/243542/83 "2004-05-11T19:48:59Z")
Thanks, **rowrbazzle** ā€“ it was [http://name-this-tune.com](http://name-this-tune.com) that I had seen before. So, cool homework assignment: somebody whistle the doot-doot-doodle-doodle-doot-doot-dah-dum into the applet, and see if it comes back with ā€œEntry of the Gladiatorsā€. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2004, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-that-clown-music/243542/84 "2004-05-11T19:55:55Z")
> [@Slithy Tove](#): > > To clear out a few more: > > The ā€œfactory musicā€ in Warner Broā€™s cartoons is ā€œPowerhouseā€ by Raymond Scott. > > Alfred Hitchcocks theme music was ā€œFuneral March for Marionettesā€ by Charles Gounod. > > In old U.S. TV shows every establishing shot of London had ā€œRule Britannia.ā€ > > If in the UK but other than London, it was ā€œIn an English Country Garden.ā€ > > If in Paris, the can-can from Offenbachā€™s ā€œOrpheus in the Underworld.ā€ > > If in Russia, ā€œMeadowlandsā€ (the Red Cavalry anthem that Michale Palin sang with the Russian sailors), or ā€œSong of the Volga Boatmenā€ (ā€œyo-oh heave hoā€) > > The sun always rises to either the opening of Griegā€™s ā€œPier Gynt,ā€ or Rossiniā€™s "William Tell Overture (the part before the Lone Ranger music.) Good list! One moreā€¦in old movies and TV shows, every establishing shot of a college or university features ā€œGaudeamus Igiturā€. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2004, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-that-clown-music/243542/85 "2004-05-11T20:22:35Z")
I wonder if ā€œShopping Spreeā€ on [this collection](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B000000IAW/104-1336370-2365528?v=glance) is the one Iā€™m thinking of? Gotta Google it at home, where I have audio. ---
**Author:** ![mambozzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@mambozzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mambozzy)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2004, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-that-clown-music/243542/86 "2004-05-12T13:52:04Z")
No doubt this has already been covered elsewhere on the SDMB or by Cecil himself but Iā€™m too lazy and fed-up with dial-up to search for it myself (no doubt someone will post a link momentarily). However, what the hell is that ā€œNeener-neener-neenerā€ song that EVERY kid around the world knows and uses to taunt others with? ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2004, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-that-clown-music/243542/87 "2004-05-12T14:43:14Z")
I donā€™t know about ā€œneener, neener, neenerā€ but ā€œnah, nah-nah, nah-nah, nahā€ is probably from ā€œA-Tisket, A-Tasketā€, a good example of which can be found [here](http://www.towerrecords.com/product.aspx?pfid=1007847). ---
**Author:** ![Pashnish\_Ewing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8797f3/32.png) [@Pashnish\_Ewing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pashnish_Ewing)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2004, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-that-clown-music/243542/88 "2004-05-12T15:22:51Z")
> [@Eve](#): > > I wonder if ā€œShopping Spreeā€ on [this collection](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B000000IAW/104-1336370-2365528?v=glance) is the one Iā€™m thinking of? Gotta Google it at home, where I have audio. Eve, Iā€™ve listened to each one of the samples from that album (a complete list can be found [here](http://www.towerrecords.com/product.aspx?pfid=1195756)), but I havenā€™t found a match. Some of them are sooooo close, with all the plinking and the plunking. I also checked the short list of samples from this [other](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000000IAX/qid%3D1084373710/sr%3D11-1/ref%3Dsr%5F11%5F1/104-9578871-8757560) TV Dinner CD, but still no luck. I found some other suggestions from this thread and they were also close, but no match ( **Plink, Plank, Plunk!** and **Jazz Pizzicato** are both on this [Leroy Anderson](http://www.towerrecords.com/product.aspx?pfid=1206661) CD). The only bit of good news from my search is I found the ā€œgeneric quiz show bonus question themeā€, which I believe was used on \*\* The Jokerā€™s Wild\*\* and a few others. Itā€™s **Syncopated Clock** from the Leroy Anderson link. Pash ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2004, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-that-clown-music/243542/89 "2004-05-12T17:42:11Z")
ā€œNeener neener neenerā€ is to the tune of ā€œRing Around The Rosieā€ I do believe. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Carnage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/max_carnage/32/12775_2.png) [@Max\_Carnage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Carnage)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2004, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-that-clown-music/243542/90 "2004-05-12T17:58:39Z")
Still no clue on the Chinese tune? ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2004, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-that-clown-music/243542/91 "2004-05-12T20:29:15Z")
It would help if you could give a better example. Is what youā€™re referring to part of the bridge in ā€œChina Groveā€? ---
**Author:** ![Thirty-Nine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f0a364/32.png) [@Thirty-Nine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thirty-Nine)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2004, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-that-clown-music/243542/92 "2004-05-12T20:38:55Z")
> [@](#): > > How about that surfing/beach music? I was actually wondering about this a few days ago. > > Does anyone know what Iā€™m referring to? Though Dick Dale pioneered the surf rock movement, the quintessential surfing song is **Wipeout by The Sufaris**. ---
**Author:** ![Pashnish\_Ewing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8797f3/32.png) [@Pashnish\_Ewing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pashnish_Ewing)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2004, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-that-clown-music/243542/93 "2004-05-12T21:50:15Z")
> [@Jeff Olsen](#): > > It would help if you could give a better example. Is what youā€™re referring to part of the bridge in ā€œChina Groveā€? I think you can hear it in (oddly enough) **Turning Japanese** by The Vapors. there is a sample clip on [this page](http://www.towerrecords.com/product.aspx?pfid=1931754) (song 9 - you can hear it between the :08 - :11 mark). **Max** , can you verify? Iā€™ll bet **Vision of Love** ā€™s surf/beach music can be found on [this](http://www.towerrecords.com/product.aspx?pfid=1054721) CD (my money is on Dick Daleā€™s **Miserlou** ). Pash ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2004, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-that-clown-music/243542/94 "2004-05-12T22:05:00Z")
> [@Lamia](#): > > Wow, Iā€™m better at this than I thought, because I can do this one too! Itā€™s ā€œMah-Na Mah-Naā€, by Piero Umiliani. It originally appeared in, of all things, a 1968 documentary about drugs, suicide, and the sexual underworld called _Sweden: Heaven or Hell_. Actually itā€™s **Mah NĆ  Mah NĆ ** (note the accents, which you can see on the album cover on the Umiliani link above). ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2004, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-that-clown-music/243542/95 "2004-05-12T22:08:31Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > Good list! One moreā€¦in old movies and TV shows, every establishing shot of a college or university features ā€œGaudeamus Igiturā€. Unless itā€™s a sports match, in which case itā€™s (IIRC) the Notre Dame fight song (or, more rarely, _On Wisconsin_). ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Carnage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/max_carnage/32/12775_2.png) [@Max\_Carnage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Carnage)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2004, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-that-clown-music/243542/96 "2004-05-13T13:21:14Z")
> [@Pashnish Ewing](#): > > I think you can hear it in (oddly enough) **Turning Japanese** by The Vapors. there is a sample clip on [this page](http://www.towerrecords.com/product.aspx?pfid=1931754) (song 9 - you can hear it between the :08 - :11 mark). **Max** , can you verify? Thatā€™s the one. I couldnā€™t think of a piece of music that incorporated it, but, yes, the beginning of Turning Japanese also has those 9 notes I think. Now then, where did it originate? ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2004, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-that-clown-music/243542/97 "2004-05-13T13:30:12Z")
> [@Max Carnage](#): > > Still no clue on the Chinese tune? Itā€™s something that can be played on all white keys on a piano, like Chopsticks. Keep the fingers a fifth apart, and you can play those few notes that everybody recognizes. It probably came from some ancient movie that had the stereotypical inscrutable oriental parting the bead curtains, smoking a water pipe, and offering a serving girl to the visiting detective. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2004, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-that-clown-music/243542/98 "2004-05-13T13:32:04Z")
> [@Pashnish Ewing](#): > > I think you can hear it in (oddly enough) **Turning Japanese** by The Vapors. there is a sample clip on [this page](http://www.towerrecords.com/product.aspx?pfid=1931754) (song 9 - you can hear it between the :08 - :11 mark). **Max** , can you verify? Yeah, that must be it. I think the problem was **Max** was a bit off in his numerical scale. the segment in ā€œTurning Japaneseā€ is more like 3232 33 11 3 ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2004, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-that-clown-music/243542/99 "2004-05-13T14:24:14Z")
The thing is that is more of a riff or a motiff then an actual tune. It just kind of has that ā€˜Orientalā€™ harmony sound. Just play on the black keys of a piano and you can have your own Oriental or Native American sound. That particular one may have been written for something like a Charlie Chan serial or something like that and then just re-used over and over. Though Iā€™m wonder now if you listend to Mikado if you wouldnā€™t hear it there. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2004, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-that-clown-music/243542/100 "2004-05-13T14:48:16Z")
> [@Zebra](#): > > The thing is that is more of a riff or a motiff then an actual tune. It just kind of has that ā€˜Orientalā€™ harmony sound. Just play on the black keys of a piano and you can have your own Oriental or Native American sound. > > That particular one may have been written for something like a Charlie Chan serial or something like that and then just re-used over and over. > > Though Iā€™m wonder now if you listend to Mikado if you wouldnā€™t hear it there. Itā€™s not part of the **Mikado** score. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-that-clown-music/243542.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-that-clown-music/243542.md?page=6)