# What's the origin of that 'Oriental music?' **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 8, 2001, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-origin-of-that-oriental-music/71701 "2001-07-08T15:32:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2001, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-origin-of-that-oriental-music/71701/1 "2001-07-08T15:32:23Z")
You know: doo da-DOO da-DOO da-DOO DOO DOOOOO. For a reference you can hear it at the intro to The Vapors’ classic “Turning Japanese.” ---
**Author:** ![kniz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c37758/32.png) [@kniz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kniz)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2001, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-origin-of-that-oriental-music/71701/2 "2001-07-08T18:16:32Z")
It is politically incorrect to use **Oriental**. What I’m saying is that **Asian music** sounds better 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Chas.E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e99b99/32.png) [@Chas.E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chas.E)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2001, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-origin-of-that-oriental-music/71701/3 "2001-07-08T18:22:17Z")
In this case, the term “oriental” is correct, because the tune is associated with “orientalism” which is an art-historical term used to indicate something that exoticises Asia. In this particular case, the tune originated with The Vapors. There’s nothing traditional or Asian (or oriental) about this tune, it merely uses the traditional pentatonic scale used in Asian music. ---
**Author:** ![kniz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c37758/32.png) [@kniz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kniz)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2001, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-origin-of-that-oriental-music/71701/4 "2001-07-10T03:40:44Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Chas.E \* > \*\*In this case, the term “oriental” is correct, because the tune is associated with “orientalism” which is an art-historical term used to indicate something that exoticises Asia. > In this particular case, the tune originated with The Vapors. There’s nothing traditional or Asian (or oriental) about this tune, it merely uses the traditional pentatonic scale used in Asian music. \*\* Yeah, but you didn’t say **the traditional pentationic scale used in _Oriental_ music.** ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2001, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-origin-of-that-oriental-music/71701/5 "2001-07-10T04:06:24Z")
Yeah, he also didn’t use the smiley that looks like a Warner Brothers World War II era cartoon Nip. ---
**Author:** ![Adithya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e99b99/32.png) [@Adithya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Adithya)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2001, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-origin-of-that-oriental-music/71701/6 "2001-07-10T12:23:15Z")
The term ‘Asian’ is really no use at all.You gotta specify which part of Asia cos they differ as much as Americans and Brazilians,despite both being called ‘America’. ---
**Author:** ![Marcus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85e7bf/32.png) [@Marcus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marcus)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2001, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-origin-of-that-oriental-music/71701/7 "2001-07-10T12:32:05Z")
I believe that the film of the book will be called “Murder on the Asian Express”. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2001, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-origin-of-that-oriental-music/71701/8 "2001-07-10T19:39:32Z")
They’ll also remake the Peter Sellers movie as _The World Of Henry Asia_ ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2001, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-origin-of-that-oriental-music/71701/9 "2001-07-10T20:25:03Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Mjollnir \* > \*\*For a reference you can hear it at the intro to The Vapors’ classic “Turning Japanese.” \*\* For another, every time the villainous Chinese evildoers were introduced in the mid-1960s Saturday morning cartoon _Fearless Fly._ Or pretty much every time somebody Asian was introduced in an animated cartoon made before, oh, 1970 or so. C’mon, no one’s going to come up with a serious answer to this question? I’m fascinated! …all right, _moderately_ fascinated. ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2001, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-origin-of-that-oriental-music/71701/10 "2001-07-12T05:24:31Z")
That music sounds like it is Japanese origen to me. As far as the oriental versus asian, I have tried really hard to find some with actual reasons behind the politically correct statements. The best I’ve found after a long search is that a) Asian-Americans generally don’t really like the term and b) Oriental is a colonial British term and thus had an inherently negative bias. I can’t find any other arguements, studies, dissertations. It’s a real black hole. ---
**Author:** ![Chas.E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e99b99/32.png) [@Chas.E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chas.E)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2001, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-origin-of-that-oriental-music/71701/11 "2001-07-12T06:25:55Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by China Guy \* > **That music sounds like it is Japanese origen to me.** Well that’s weird, because all the “traditional Japanese” music originated in China and Korea.