What is that noise in Englishman in New York?

November 1, 2005 1:19 PM

Stingfilter: That weird Nintendo-sound....

I was listening to Sting's second solo album, "Nothing Like Sun" last night. On track 3, 'Englishman In New York', there is a noise on the chorus which I have finally identified as the sound Mario makes when jumping in the Nintendo Super Mario Bros. game.

My question - why the hell is it there? It doesn't seem to add to the song, it's just an annoying "bweep! bweep!" on the chorus. Was Hugh Padgham just smoking crack that day or what?

posted by TeamBilly to Media & Arts (6 answers total)

I always thought it was a percussion instrument similar to a talking drum. I think it unlikely that it's from a video game; notice that the ending pitch of the "ooo-eep" isn't consistent.

Compare the "woo-doop" featured prominently on 'Why Should I Cry For You?'

That's just how Sting rolls...
posted by jmcmurry at 2:04 PM on November 1, 2005

Yeah, it's not from Mario. It's a percussion sound akin to the noise you get when you move a straw up and down in your McDonald's soda.

Can't find the name of it though.
posted by o2b at 3:18 PM on November 1, 2005

Best answer: It's a cuica (bottom of page).
posted by pmbuko at 3:26 PM on November 1, 2005

Response by poster: Hmmm. I found a page that has sounds of cuicas (Brazilian Percussion) and checked it out. It might indeed be a cuica - however, the sound is extremely consistent on the song - I wouldn't doubt if it was a sample of a cuica. Interesting. Thanks for the answers guys.
posted by TeamBilly at 3:56 PM on November 1, 2005

Related question
posted by Sharcho at 4:04 PM on November 1, 2005

Slightly off-topic, but I remember the first time I noticed that Supertramps' "The Logical Song" contained a sound sample from a favorite old hand-held digital football game I loved. Specifically the sound when a team turned the ball over on downs.

Carry on.
posted by terrapin at 4:17 PM on November 1, 2005