Be Glad It Ain't The Spam Song

April 5, 2009 9:56 PM

Here goes my lamest question ever...so, I have for some reason become determined to have the "Liberty Bell March" (aka the "Monty Python" theme song) as my phone's ringtone -- but, I'd like a clip of the ACTUAL recording, not some crappy MIDI file (which is all it seems I can find). anyone know where I can find that?
posted by EmpressCallipygos to grab bag (15 comments total)

This do it for you? If so, you might need it as an mp3, which this site will give you.
posted by niles at 10:01 PM on April 5

That would give me the mp3 file on my computer, how do I get it to my phone?
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 10:06 PM on April 5

For that, you would need an mp3 converter/ringtone maker. If you google, they're everywhere.

"I want free ringtones!" is the one I pulled up right away. I don't have any recommendations per se, but that one looks legit as far these things go--hopefully someone will chime in with their preferred ringtone maker or a ringtone of the actual song.
posted by librarylis at 10:09 PM on April 5

What sort of phone do you have? You need either a data cable or to use a site like PhoneZoo to have it texted to your phone.
posted by IndigoRain at 10:10 PM on April 5

That depends on your phone. For my phone, I just plug it in to my computer and copy the mp3 to my phone's memory. Yours may be similar, but could possibly be different. Google can help (example keywords), and it's probably that someone here can point you in the right direction.
posted by niles at 10:11 PM on April 5

you might need it as an mp3, which this site will give you.

Ugh, that site had tons of popups and free-quiz-before-we-let-you-do-stuff crap. No thanks.

...I'll have to dig out my phone to find what kind it is -- I may have to come back later. I'm kind of a luddite about these things.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 10:15 PM on April 5

You're right. I grabbed my "I don't know why my coworkers use this site - investigate further" bookmark. I meant to link to easy, ad-free vixy instead.

That said, this site has a whole bunch of tv themes, including Monty Python, already as mp3s. That may be easier for your luddite self :)
posted by niles at 10:18 PM on April 5 [1 favorite]

Well then, for luddite clarification, once you have the MP3 file, you can upload it to PhoneZoo.com and they will text it to your phone, assuming your phone supports MMS text messages (e.g. you can get text messages with pics and sounds attached.) Or you can use your phone's internet browser to go to their site. Unless you have a texting or data plan, this may cost you money from your cellphone carrier. Assuming you don't have a data cable (USB cable) which is free, or bluetooth in both your computer and phone (but I have never used bluetooth so I can't advise you on that).
posted by IndigoRain at 10:24 PM on April 5 [2 favorites]

Zamzar will get the theme from a yourube video and convert it to mp3 all online for you.

I've used mobile17 a bunch of times to convert mp3s to ringtones. Totally free and you can do it right online. Need to wait a while at peak times, but it always comes through.
posted by cmgonzalez at 10:48 PM on April 5

There's a free way to do it: Find out what your phone service gave you as an e-mail address for sending picture messages and send the mp3 to that address. For example, I can e-mail mp3s to [e-mail], and save the attached mp3 as a ringtone.
posted by emelenjr at 12:12 AM on April 6

archive.org has an mp3 of the Liberty Bell March as performed by John Philip Sousa & his band, in case you want what is probably the oldest recording of the march performed by its composer.
posted by bjrn at 2:06 AM on April 6

I think we're getting there! I've downloaded the clip that bjrn linked to -- not only does it sound like the original source recording that the Pythons used, but the person who uploaded it to the site added the little "tthbbbfff" sound that accompanied the foot-squish at the very end.

Now -- I know that I've been able to get pics and video texted to my phone, but it sounds like it may be easier to just get a USB cable if they're just a couple bucks. Yes?

This all tickles me in a place I can't reach, and thank you for indulging my geekery.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:12 AM on April 6

Personally, to do this sort of thing I find an MP3 of the song and using something like GoldWave or Audacity to cut it down to the most interesting/recognizable continuous 30 seconds and send it to my phone using email or bluetooth.
posted by wierdo at 8:52 AM on April 6

emelenjr: "There's a free way to do it: Find out what your phone service gave you as an e-mail address for sending picture messages and send the mp3 to that address. For example, I can e-mail mp3s to [e-mail], and save the attached mp3 as a ringtone."

I don't know what data carrier you're using, but I'm pretty sure that would cost me money on AT&T if I didn't have a data plan.

Seconding GoldWave. It's free and easy to use. You'll also need to Google lame_enc.dll and place it in your System_32 folder because it doesn't come with Goldwave. That DLL file encodes MP3s.

EmpressCallipygos, I really love my data cable. They're usually $10-$20. You still haven't mentioned what kind of phone you have, but you can use the cable to transfer pics and ringtones back and forth between your phone and computer and you can learn things like how to sync your contacts between your computer and phone. I use a program made for Sony Ericsson phones called My Phone Explorer, and I can access my phone's calendar, notes, and even archive text messages on my PC. It's well worth the few dollars for the data cable.
posted by IndigoRain at 12:20 PM on April 6

It costs money in the sense that I pay $5 or whatever it is per month extra for unlimited messaging (Verizon). So, yes, not technically free. But free as in I'm already paying for the service provided by my cell provider. I was just offering that as an alternative to bringing a third party mp3-to-ringtone-sent-to-my-phone service.
posted by emelenjr at 2:03 PM on April 16