In case you didn't know, certain subway trains play a three-note phrase from the West Side Story song "Somewhere." It's a fascinating phenomenon to hear "There's a place..." though I wish the timbre weren't so close to the sound of chalk on a blackboard.
Traces of West Side Story turn up elsewhere, too. People have noted that Danny Elfman's theme song for The Simpsons starts with the three-note "Maria" progression, except that the words are "The Simpsons."
But I'm not sure anyone hears the other West Side Story notes that I hear in the theme to The Simpsons. So the first person to identify that West Side Story "source" song and musical phrase gets a point.
Anyone can play. Leave your guesses in the comments section, using a distinct moniker so you aren't confused with the other players, such as Debbie and Deborah.
You can listen here.
Source (1:27)
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11 comments:
Jet's theme.
Sorry, Dave--that's not what I hear. But if you hear it in a section, feel free to give me the time it turns up.
Which leads me to clarify: Probably the best way to clinch this one would be to name the tune and also the time that it turns up.
Officer Krupke, 19 seconds in?
I got the time wrong. It's actually more like 14 or 15 seconds in. Then another part of the song at 44 seconds, I think.
AND, btw, I've always thought that the beginning of that theme sounded like "Maria" but I thought it was just me.
Now I'm going crazy but it's all starting to sound like different songs from West Side Story. 51 seconds in it sounds a bit like "Something's Coming."
Debbie, you must be going crazy. Because now you're hearing what I'm hearing: The "maybe tonight" phrase from "Something's Coming."
Could it be? Yes it could!
You get the point!
As for Officer Krupke and the Jets Theme I'm open to listening closer, but (to me at least) "Something's Coming" is really substantial when Bart skateboards along the sidewalk.
Apropos of none of this, My word verification for this comment is "gismism."
Re the substantiality: What I mean is that a relatively substantial chunk of "Something's Coming" is very clearly audible, whereas the other citations aren't nearly as clear.
Good for you, Debbie, on hearing "Maria," which I never paid no mind to. You must feel very validated. I have a feeling like that over the subway trains playing "Somewhere."
I was able to pinpoint which notes were familiar, but wasn't able to place where it came from in WSS without listening to the entire score again.
All you have to do, Myra, is listen to WSS like 1 billion times!
I know that, when the time comes, you will be able to ID musicals quotes from Rent, Spring Awakening, Next to Normal, Altar Boyz, Wicked, and the collected works of Vienna Teng and Kelly Clarkson (separately as well as together, as the case may be)....
I'm waiting for the WSS new revival cast album!
You've also heard The Simpsons theme a billion times more than I have.
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