pop culture ring tones, k?

July 22, 2008 12:59 PM

Looking for iconic, pop culture ring tones for my blackberry

Since I don't really find it appropriate to use actual songs with lyrics, etc as a ring tone in a business environment, I'm using some normal ringers, but I want to add to my collection of work-friendly, but familiar to the trained ear ring tones.

Example of course, is the ring tone from 24. I also have the ring tone from Chev Chelios's cell phone from the movie 'Crank'.

Are there other pop-culture ring tones that I can get that are somewhat normal rings, but will be recognizable to other aficionados?

posted by Industrial PhD to technology (14 comments total)

Here's the theme to The Golden Girls.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 1:03 PM on July 22

The original "One Missed Call" ringtone*.

It's actually much more pleasant than most ring tones I've heard.

* I haven't seen the US remake but I like to imagine its ringtone is completely different. Like, Kid Rock raping Warren Zevon different.
posted by fishfucker at 1:15 PM on July 22

ok, so the remake is strikingly similar How disappointing.
posted by fishfucker at 1:17 PM on July 22

Later seasons of Homicide: Life on the Street have a sample of the department phone line at the end of the theme song.
posted by mkb at 1:24 PM on July 22

I used to have the opening riff to the Violent Femmes' Blister in the Sun. It would just loop continuously without the expected pause for the 2 double snare drum accents. It would annoy the hell out of everyone around, which absolutely delighted me.
posted by Slarty Bartfast at 1:56 PM on July 22 [1 favorite]

Cash in on the retro video game craze and find some SFX from the early Mario and Sonic games.

I especially like the "1up" sound for receiving text messages.
posted by svolix at 3:15 PM on July 22

From the video game world:
I have the ringtone from Snake's communicator from Metal Gear Solid 2...

There's also the GTA3 beeper tone (which you can also select as a "retro ringtone" in GTA4).
posted by jozxyqk at 3:59 PM on July 22

My ringtone is the first 18 seconds of Rapper's Delight. As far as straight-up song samples go, it works really well as a ringtone, especially in a heavily music-oriented workplace.
posted by strangecargo at 5:32 PM on July 22

I've been using the instrumental part of Royksopp's song, "Remind Me" (approximately :48 - 1:04 in that video). It's the music that's used in the Geico "Caveman" commercial where the cavedude is on a moving sidewalk in an airport and he stops to look at a "so easy a caveman can do it" advertisement. It makes a great ringtone, and every now and then someone will stop me and say, "Where the heck have I heard that song before?"

I'm not sure where you can get a ringtone, but you could probably find an mp3 of the whole song using g2p.org, and chop it up yourself with software like Audacity. Make sure to get the version of the song that's on the Melody A.M. cd. There are a bunch of remixes out there and none of them are really recognizable as "that song."
posted by Balonious Assault at 6:33 PM on July 22

I use a clip from the beginning of Air's Alone in Kyoto as my ringtone and one from Kevin Shield's Are You Awake? as an alarm. Despite how pleasant they are, I now tense up whenever I hear them. Keep that danger in mind.
posted by PueExMachina at 9:17 PM on July 22

Theme from C.H.I.Ps!
posted by ian1977 at 5:28 AM on July 23

It took a bit of fiddling around, but I was able to make a riingtone out of the sound that R2D2 makes in Star Wars. Now trying to locate the "beepdeebeepbeep" sound that Twiki makes in Buck Rogers.
posted by rikatik at 5:40 AM on July 23

I like to use AudioHijack Pro on my mac to record stuff off of youtube or other web video sites.

Recently, "Let the Eagle Soar" by former Atty General John Ashcroft
posted by ijoyner at 11:47 AM on July 23

Oh yeah, you still need Audacity & requisite MP3 plugin to actually edit down the file. Also use Effect, Amplify to make it louder so it is loud enough to hear as a ringtone; the default it has in there works fine, just make sure it doesn't clip.
posted by ijoyner at 11:48 AM on July 23