SongFilter: It has lots of children singing for an extended period

November 10, 2006 6:00 PM

SongFilter: It has lots of children singing for an extended period

Sorry, I can't give you much to go on. All I have is:

* I last heard it when I was in Blockbuster a couple of months ago, so presumably it's been on some film soundtrack.
* Lots of children singing in unision for at least twenty seconds (and maybe the whole song).
* The children sing in a similar way to those on the chorus of Pink Floyd's The Wall, except without London accents and in a more mournful, resigned, almost wailing way.

I really liked it and must have it!

posted by pollystark to media & arts (30 comments total)

You Can't Always Get What You Want, by the Rolling Stones.

It has a super long child choir intro that I hate.
posted by JekPorkins at 6:17 PM on November 10, 2006

Maybe something from The Langley Schools Music Project?
posted by stefnet at 6:19 PM on November 10, 2006

Although it seems odd to have heard that in Blockbuster...
posted by stefnet at 6:20 PM on November 10, 2006

IMDB has about 250 movies with "choir" as a soundtrack search word. Something from Charlie and the Chocolate factory?
posted by saffry at 6:24 PM on November 10, 2006

Thanks for the responses so far.

It's definitely not You Can't Always Get What You Want. I'm also fairly sure it was a pop song of some sort with the child choir as an element, rather than the whole piece.
posted by pollystark at 6:35 PM on November 10, 2006

Happy Xmas (War is Over) by John Lennon?
posted by jbickers at 6:40 PM on November 10, 2006

It's not something I'd expect to hear anywhere, let alone in a Blockbuster, but Excerpt From a Teenage Opera comes to mind.
posted by easternblot at 6:58 PM on November 10, 2006

Sufjan Stevens - "Chicago"
posted by user92371 at 7:03 PM on November 10, 2006

I seem to remember a big children's choir section on either the first or last song in the movie "Toy Story" (the Robin Williams movie). Maybe "The Turning of the Year"?
posted by amtho at 7:10 PM on November 10, 2006

Abba, "I Have a Dream"?
posted by norm at 7:34 PM on November 10, 2006

amtho, do you mean "Toys"?
posted by phatkitten at 7:40 PM on November 10, 2006

Gorillaz - Dirty Harry?
posted by chrisamiller at 7:41 PM on November 10, 2006

Seconding "Turning of the Year" — it has a slightly melancholy element to it. Soundtrack is on Amazon with music samples — try either no. 2 or no. 13.
posted by WCityMike at 7:50 PM on November 10, 2006

Could it be the cover of The Beatles' song I Will from the movie Love Affair? Annette Bening teaches it to her students and at the end of the movie they sing it to her.
posted by iconomy at 8:11 PM on November 10, 2006

"Panic" by the Smiths has a bunch of kids singing "hang the dj, hang the dj, hang the dj" in it(lots near the end of the song), and it was on the "Shaun of the Dead" soundtrack.
posted by bunglin jones at 8:25 PM on November 10, 2006

Polyphonic spree, tho they're not kids but prob. on a recent soundtrack)??
posted by sneakyalien at 8:33 PM on November 10, 2006

Sorry about the above nonsense, could it possibly be The Polyphonic Spree? They did the soundtrack for the recent (enough) movie Thumbsucker.
posted by sneakyalien at 8:38 PM on November 10, 2006

Red Hot Chili Peppers' "Aeroplane"?
posted by emelenjr at 8:48 PM on November 10, 2006

the movie "Toy Story" (the Robin Williams movie)
You mean "Toys", not "Toy Story", surely?
posted by AmbroseChapel at 9:09 PM on November 10, 2006

The first thing that sprang to mind for me was Badly Drawn Boy's "Year Of The Rat", but I don't think that's been on any soundtracks. It's got a chorus of kids singing "everybody needs to know it's the year of the rat / every day we've got to hold on / cause if we hold on / we can find some new energy".
posted by toddshot at 10:00 PM on November 10, 2006

Make sure to check user92371's answer, "Chicago," by Sufjan Stevens. It's an earworm. (You can preview it at Amazon.)
posted by cgc373 at 11:02 PM on November 10, 2006

Seconding Gorillaz - Dirty Harry, first thing that sprang to mind for me after reading the description.
posted by chrissyboy at 12:50 AM on November 11, 2006

You could try contacting Blockbuster to ask them what's been on their play rota and whether they recognise the song. I've found people often like that sort of alightly unusual question - after all, it indicates they got something right with their music selection, at least for you - and are helpful in trying to answer it.
posted by paduasoy at 1:35 AM on November 11, 2006

Hi all. Thanks again for the responses.

I've listened to the following and it's not them:
Chicago
Happy XMas (War Is Over)
Season Song

I'm also, from the descriptions, pretty sure it's not:
Year Of The Rat
Aeroplane
Polyphonic Spree
Panic
I Will
(or any of the children's choirs)

Thanks for the help everyone.
posted by pollystark at 3:43 AM on November 11, 2006

Hit the Ground Running by Smog has a group of children singing. It is upbeat (for smog at least) and may have been featured on some soundtracks.
posted by rabbitsnake at 6:43 AM on November 11, 2006

The first song that came to mind with a children's chorus is "In the Living Years" by Mike & the Mechanics. Don't know if it's been on any soundtracks, but they may just have a muzak loop at Blockbuster.
posted by srah at 8:03 AM on November 11, 2006

The new age group Adiemus features lots of children's singing on various tracks. You'll recognize some of their music clips from various commercials and film soundtracks. It's also the sort of thing you might hear played in a record or video store.
posted by briank at 8:10 AM on November 11, 2006

Could it be the soundtrack to Les Choristes? I'm sorry I didn't find samples to listen to, but maybe you can dig some up.
posted by TochterAusElysium at 10:49 AM on November 11, 2006

Pat Benatar - We Belong ?
posted by mushroom_tattoo at 4:57 PM on November 12, 2006

Late to the party... if not Gorillaz, maybe you heard "Toy Soldiers" by Martika?
posted by FearTormento at 12:34 AM on November 20, 2006