Showcase showdown.

June 16, 2005 6:59 AM

I have an embarrassing confession: I love the music on The Price is Right. Help me find more like it.

I grew up watching The Price is Right, and I find that I'm always thrilled by the bright, buoyant, brassy sound of the theme music. I'd love to have a soundtrack album, but alas, there doesn't seem to be any such thing. But I do know that there's other music out there that has the same feel:

* The Sound Gallery series of British library recordings
* Much of Kaleidoscope World by Swing Out Sister
* Much of Bossanova 2001 by Pizzicato Five
* The theme song to Barbarella

Pointers to other similar works, old and new, would be much appreciated.

posted by eschatfische to media & arts (13 comments total)

Look for recordings by The Pizzicato Five (Japanese) and Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass.
posted by sourwookie at 7:13 AM on June 16, 2005

Oops. My eyes must skipped over the Pizzicato Five part of your post. Sorry.
posted by sourwookie at 7:13 AM on June 16, 2005

Esquivel!

It's the music used in the montage part a lot of Letterman skits.

I like this comp of his work a lot.
posted by bendybendy at 8:17 AM on June 16, 2005

I've always thought one track by Ugly Duckling, "La Revolucion," samples something that sounds a lot like The Price is Right theme.
posted by thebigpoop at 8:17 AM on June 16, 2005

I, too, love the Price Is Right music. YOU ARE NOT ALONE!

I found great joy in the following cd: Classic TV Game Show Themes which has many themes that have a similar fun brassy bouncy feel. I ended up sucking the cd into my ipod and making a playlist of my favourites, while eschewing the dogs.

(And even more embarrassing to admitting love of Price Is Right music, I admit to adoring the Match Game music, which is, happily, included on that fine compilation.)
posted by NewGear at 8:21 AM on June 16, 2005

You might also find things you like at the ultralounge site.
posted by JanetLand at 8:49 AM on June 16, 2005

Thanks, all. I'm familiar with ultralounge, and have Herb Alpert and Esquivel LPs in my collection -- I'm looking for something more uptempo. Less jazzy/loungy, more poppy.
posted by eschatfische at 9:00 AM on June 16, 2005

As the progression of the discussion moves towards Ultralounge and the like, the mention of Pizzicato Five reminds me of a disc I bought that you might also enjoy, Sushi 3003, which is a compilation of Japanese modern/retro music. It may lean a bit too much towards the "jazzy/loungy" than what you're specifically looking for in this thread, but I seem to remember some brassy stuff on the cd, and it is a great joy to listen to.

(FYI, the link I used above goes to a page with a picture of the cover and samples of the tracks. If you search for "sushi 3003" on Amazon, you'll also come up with another listing for what appears to be the same album, at a much better price both new and used. There's also a "Sushi 4004" that I don't own and can't comment on)
posted by NewGear at 10:01 AM on June 16, 2005

NewGear: something like Sushi 3003 is exactly what I'm looking for. Problem is, I already have it. You get best answer if nobody suggests something I don't already have.

4004 is not quite as good as 3003, with the exception of an absolutely amazing track by Oh!Penelope. Oh!Penelope's only full-length, Milk & Cookies, is a pop masterpiece unknown outside of Japan.
posted by eschatfische at 10:15 AM on June 16, 2005

I'm surprised no one has mentioned "Come On Down" by Crystal Waters. Warning: song has a very high novelty factor.
posted by unsupervised at 11:01 AM on June 16, 2005

You might like The Lonesome Organist.
posted by thewittyname at 12:41 PM on June 16, 2005

...and also maybe Fantastic Plastic Machine.
posted by thewittyname at 12:44 PM on June 16, 2005

Old "Library" music is often available on CD, and you might like that. This is music that was used for a fee in tv and movie production. Try Jack Diamond as a good source for this kind of music.

Testcard music, which was music played in England before the TV broadcast day starts is also similar. There are CD collections of testcard music available from Apollo Sound.

Finally, Dusty Groove Records, a brick and mortar and on-line retailer has a whole section of their store called "Now Sounds", and much of this is exactly what you are looking for.

Anything by the Brass Ring, Tearwaway Brass, Enoch Light, or the TJB (as mentioned above) is right up your alley.

Let me just say that I have over 1200 CD's, and much of my collection is off center like this. I could go on forever, but I will try to tamp down on my geeky fanboy rantings.
posted by Futurehouse at 1:55 PM on June 16, 2005