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If anyone is even still checking this post, we FINALLY got our spoof wedding action video onto YouTube. It’s about 7 minutes long and can be seen at the link below. Enjoy!
That was HILARIOUS! Their take on what “all Elfman music” sounds like was great! I’m still laughing…
Thanks!
I got the sheet music from pianothemes.com, which is where I got the Edward Scissorhands arrangement too. The site also has arrangements from Batman, Batman Returns, Beetlejuice, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Nightmare Before Christmas, Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure, and Spider-Man.
And in terms of YouTube, once we get a final edit of the gag video with a bit of the actual ceremony video added before and after for context, we’re definitely putting it online (probably sometime next week). I’ll let you know when it’s there!
The transcription I did was so many years ago, I can only find the printed sheet music at this point, so I don’t have anything that I can send you electronically. But, looking at it again now, I realize that I sort of “cheated” with the notes in that section… that is, because it DOES sound like two different pianos going at the same time, what I did with the right hand is not quite what the actual song sounds like.
Essentially, my transcription is just eighth notes for those two measures, two different keys played with the right hand for each of those 16 eighth notes. Starting an octave above high C, the notes are as follows (“b” meaning “flat”):
Db/Bb Db/Bb C/A C/A Db/Bb Db/Bb Bb/G Bb/G
C/A C/A A/F A/F Bb/G Bb/G G/Eb G/EbTo play it the same as in the actual song, as far as I can tell an extra hand would have to be simultaneously playing quarter notes an octave higher as follows: Db C Db Bb C A Bb G
But as best as I can figure out with only 2 hands, playing just that first bit with the right hand is still pretty accurate. Let me know what you think, and if you have any suggestions or other questions! Hopefully this helped.
Yes, I transcribed the Love Theme years ago (and still play it every once in a while when I sit down to the piano)! Are the measures in question the section lasting from about 20-24 seconds on the CD track?
Let me know and I’ll help out as best I can!
Excerpt from Matt Groening’s liner notes of the CD “The Simpsons: Songs in the Key of Springfield”:
“We approached Danny Elfman, whose career I’d been following since I saw him perform as the leader of The Mystic Knights Of The Oingo Boingo (best described as an avant-garde Cab Calloway-on-Mars vaudeville ensemble) at the Whiskey-a-Go-Go on the Sunset Strip in the late ’70s. Elfman had recently composed the soundtrack to Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure, and I knew he’d be perfect.
“I gave Elfman what I called a ‘flavors’ tape, featuring the kind of sound I wanted for The Simpsons theme. The tape included The Jetsons theme, selections from Nino Rota’s Juliet Of The Spirits, a Remington electric shaver jingle by Frank Zappa, some easy-listening music by Esquivel, and a teach-your-parrot-to-talk record.
“Elfman gave it a listen and said, ‘I know exactly what you’re looking for.’
“A month later we were recording the now-famous Simpsons theme on the 20th Century-Fox lot with a huge orchestra. I think all the producers were a little nervous and fidgety about the untrendy audactiy of the music. But then-executive producer James L. Brooks came in, listened a bit, then said, ‘My God! This is great! This is lemmings-marching-to-their-death music!'”
I have to agree with you about those Main Titles, Lucius! I haven’t actually listened to the Wisdom CD in years, but reading your post reminded me that I used to LOVE that particular track and, like you, would listen to it all the time. I just now put the CD in to check it out for ol’ times sake, and I still do love #16! Thanks for reminding me.
Yeah, I caught that too. Perhaps just another jab at the theme song (instead of at Elfman himself?), such as in a far-earlier episode in which Bart is whistling the theme and Marge says something like, “Bart, stop whistling that annoying tune.”
I just finished listening to Corpse Bride while decorating the apartment for Halloween (and wearing my Corpse Bride shirt), and I’m getting my stereo set up to pipe Nightmare Before Christmas outside for the trick-or-treaters. (Our neighborhood’s trick-or-treat day is today.)
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…’Course, I guess you’d HAVE to be logged in to post a message…
Do you mean “Love Theme: King and Queen” from “Forbidden Zone”? I actually wrote out piano music for it a few years ago, just from listening to the track on the CD over and over and trying to figure out the notes… it’s pretty fun to play.
…I guess it should also be noted, though, that one of Elfman’s also made their “Worst Superhero Films” list (at the end of the same article):
5: HULK
4: Fantastic Four
3: Catwoman
2: Daredevil
1: Batman & RobinIn St. Louis, radio station KDHX (which you can listen to online) has an all a cappella show from 8-10 every Sunday morning. One time, they played an a cappella version of The Simpsons theme! It was great (though I don’t remember the name of the group).
Here’s the explanation!
http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2004580002-2006100428,00.html
I understand what you are asking, but I have never heard of these instruments! Where did this rumor come from? What do the instruments supposedly sound like, and where do you think you hear them in Gray Matter?
Here’s the breakdown!
-The coat was made from a regular-sized one that I found at a vintage clothing store. I extended the length, added buttons, added an inside pocket (to hold Wonka’s notecards), changed the lapels, and drew on all the stripes with Crayola “Gel FX” markers.
-The black shirt is a plain t-shirt with buttons added.
-The paisley cuffs and collar are made from fabric that’s just attached to one of my own button-down shirts (since I couldn’t find an actual paisley shirt of the right pattern). I added cufflinks.
-Though it doesn’t show up too well on the photos, I made the silver “W” on the collar out of a small piece of tagboard, silver wrapping paper, and a bent paperclip.
-I made the cane with some acrylic tubing, Rainbow Nerds (a Wonka-brand candy!), a wooden arts-and-crafts ball that I painted black and white, and a few other odds and ends (silver wrapping paper, the tip of a yarn spool, part of an “M&M Minis” tube, a piece of a Christmas ornament).
-The hat is built around a regular black hat: I used black tagboard and felt to create the top hat shape, then added magenta ribbon and some more felt and black yarn for the band.
-I used white tagboard to add the “goggles” shape to a regular pair of sunglasses.
-I used flat red string to add “W”s to a pair of black shoes.
-Plus: chains and a pocketwatch, a woman’s wig, plain black pants, purple Nitrile gloves, minimal white makeup on the face, some notecards and pen for the “Welcome” cards, and (though it’s not shown in the photos) a large keyring holding about 40 keys.The project did set me back quite a bit, but I love Halloween and always try to save up some extra money for that time of year specifically for that purpose. Last year, my girlfriend and I created Jack and Sally costumes (including Zero, and Sally’s disembodied arm!), and before that I made an Edward Scissorhands costume.
Thanks! Have a great one!
-Matt
Thank you, everyone! I had so much fun making the costume… and even more fun playing with kids at the museum!
Yes, the hair (fortunately!) is a wig. As for the gloves, I wish I’d been able to get a pair more like Depp actually wore, but I could only find cheap Nitrile ones that came in a box of 40 for about 5 bucks. Though they did squeak pretty well with a little bit of effort!
I did the best that I could! Because it was a fun children’s event, though, I wasn’t annoyed at the kids like Wonka was in the movie. But I tried to get his mannerisms down, and his way of speaking… and, as there was even dancing and music going on, I went out on the dance floor with the kids a few times and tried to dance like Depp did when the Oompa Loompas were singing!
P.S. Some staff members took photos; I’ll post them if I get copies.
In keeping with the tradition of Elfman/Burton costumes (Jack Skellington and Edward Scissorhands the past 2 years), this year of course I had to be Depp’s Willy Wonka!
I work at a children’s museum here in Milwaukee, and we had a big Halloween event on Friday night. Part of the fun was a scavenger hunt where the kids had to find 5 top hats hidden all around the museum, and then at the end find Willy Wonka (me) who was walking around somewhere in the building. It was so much fun!! One kid asked me, “What was your favorite part of your movie?” Another set of kids came up to me and said, “We have a song to sing you,” and then started singing “Willy Wonka, Willy Wonka, the amazing chocolatier!” over and over again.
I would say Edward Scissorhands, though it’s hard to classify that as purely a comedy (in fact, almost every video store I’ve been to–even from one Blockbuster location to the next–has it shelved under a different category: comedy, drama, fantasy, science fiction… SCIENCE FICTION???). Much of the movie IS very humorous, and it’s extremely quirky.
But, in the case that you don’t think of it as a comedy/quirky score, then I’ll go with Nightmare Before Christmas. (Those are my two all-time favorite Elfman scores anyway… real original of me, huh?)
