Are we thieving magpies?
June 13, 2007 5:19 PM   Subscribe

Monty Python fans, I need your help. Please tell me if my sketch group has inadvertently duplicated one of their jokes.

In it one guy recounts something, then the other guy corrects him and says "No no, that's not what he said, he said...." Then he opens his mouth and classical music comes out.

Here's the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NcggwDPTzMw

Someone in the comments said it was a Python joke. Is it? We do a lot of absurdist humour so occasionally we "come up with" jokes that are really old Flying Circus or Family Guy jokes rattling around in our subconscious. We're trying to build a reputation so we want to be careful about this kind of stuff.

Thanks!
posted by Idiot Mittens to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (17 answers total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
Closest thing I can think of is the Man With a Tape Recorder Up His Nose. If there's a closer match, it's probably too obscure (i.e. not a Flying Circus sketch, but from one of the live performances or German shows) to be worth worrying about.
posted by DrJohnEvans at 5:22 PM on June 13, 2007


I don't think it's a Python joke.
posted by danb at 5:23 PM on June 13, 2007


That song definitely sounds like it's from a Python sketch... I remember the song but I can't remember the skit.
posted by puddpunk at 5:37 PM on June 13, 2007


Sounds a bit more like something from The Goon Show. Most of those shows are over 50 years old now, so the statute of hackitude is passed and you can steal with impunity.
posted by Lentrohamsanin at 5:43 PM on June 13, 2007


Just watched the clip and that was definitely more like the Goons. They did a lot of bizarre sound effect substitution jokes.

The only Python thing I can think of is a series of vox pop clips that features stock footage of people and animals with the sounds of other animals underneath (a dog going moo, a cat oinking, goat noises under Nixon, etc.)

If for some reason you guys don't know the Goons you really need to. One of modern comedy's biggest failings is pace, as opposed to the oft sited timing. The Goons were masters of pace, knowing exactly when to go ridiculously fast and when to go so slow that it was almost painful. It's time for rapid fire gags and the true slow burn (as opposed to just spinning stuff out (like virtually everything on SNL and the occasional really clunker on Mr. Show) to make a return, IMHO.


(Sorry to go on. I've been listening to them again a lot recently.)
posted by Lentrohamsanin at 5:57 PM on June 13, 2007


Reading the actual comments, the comment is "from monty python", and it comes immediately after "whats the song tittle [sic]". What is the song? Is it possible that it was used in Monty Python?
posted by Plutor at 6:11 PM on June 13, 2007


It could remind somebody of "Man With a Tape Recorder Up His Nose," and dude on the right is a little Graham Chapmanish, so I can see how somebody might make an association. But I think you're in the clear.
posted by kmennie at 6:14 PM on June 13, 2007


What is the song? Is it possible that it was used in Monty Python?

No. The "song" is Beethoven (I forget which movement), and it's from the Clockwork Orange soundtrack.
posted by Koko at 6:26 PM on June 13, 2007


5th, maybe.
posted by Koko at 6:26 PM on June 13, 2007


Response by poster: I'm "dude on the right." Goddamn that Graham Chapman is a handsome bloke.

That's a good point that they could have meant the song is from the show, I hadn't read the actual comment. I was emailed by a guy in the group and said I'd look into it. But I still think they meant the joke. The man with a tape recorder up his nose is reminiscent, but so far I think we're in the clear.

The song is "The Thieving Magpie" by Rossini. I chose it because we wanted a sudden orchestral boom.
posted by Idiot Mittens at 6:34 PM on June 13, 2007


There was a TV commercial recently with a similar idea, just for the record. Two people opening their mouths and conversing through songs; one guy who can't.
posted by stopgap at 6:35 PM on June 13, 2007


Aside from "Man With A Tape Recorder Up His Nose" there are no Monty Python skits that are similar to this.

Not that you need to believe me, but like I'm sure many on Mefi, I own all of the Flying Circus discs, all the movies, and despite not understanding German, have even watched the 2 episodes of Fliegander Zirkus all the way through online.
posted by chimaera at 8:30 PM on June 13, 2007


stopgap: this Avis car rental commercial.
posted by ALongDecember at 10:07 PM on June 13, 2007


The song was used in "The Meaning of Life" film, but it was just in the background. I don't recall it coming from anyone's orifices.
posted by pg at 12:06 AM on June 14, 2007


There's a couple of Chuck Jonesy things popping up here, but I can't pin any of them down. Animal character swallows gramophone or something like that, another character props mouth open and music plays, then closes mouth to make it stop. I don't think you can be accused of ripping off this old gag. I bet it has vaudeville predecessors.
posted by dhartung at 1:10 AM on June 14, 2007


Response by poster: Alright, cool. We were considering reshooting it for an interstitial in a pilot but now it does kind of seem like an old gag. Whatever, not my joke. And we've got lots of better ones.

Thanks for your help everyone!
posted by Idiot Mittens at 5:12 AM on June 14, 2007


The song was used in "The Meaning of Life" film, but it was just in the background. I don't recall it coming from anyone's orifices.

Obviously the orifice was off-camera.
posted by DrJohnEvans at 10:07 AM on June 14, 2007


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