Song from Liars episode of This American Life?

February 7, 2007 8:14 PM

Can you identify this song used in This American Life? Starts at 19:18 and continues for the entire segment.

It's mostly piano with what sounds like a string section backing it up. From episode #18, "Liars". Previously here, but their website seems to have been revamped. To make it more difficult (or easy?), the episode was made in 1996, which rules out all of the listed soundtracks and bands. It's not from the "I, Swinger" album, either.

posted by 0xFCAF to Media & Arts (6 answers total)

Best answer: Perpetuum Mobile by the Penguin Cafe Orchestra.
posted by mmcg at 8:21 PM on February 7, 2007

I know it was used in a US television commercial not so long ago, for a financial planning-type company. A bank, a mortgage lender, investment firm. It's on the tip of my tongue, but I can't conjure it up.

It is reasonably popular, someone will know!
posted by cior at 8:22 PM on February 7, 2007

Response by poster: Absurdly fast answer. Thanks!
posted by 0xFCAF at 8:26 PM on February 7, 2007

A friend told me that the second link on this google search will link to an mp3 of that song (remove the brackets): [-inurl:htm -inurl:html intitle:"index of" mp3 "perpetuum mobile"]
posted by :-) at 9:36 PM on February 7, 2007

Just for the record, there are several available versions of this song by PCO. This is the studio version from the Signs of Life album. (The version on Concert Program is nice too, but the original is the definitive one.)
posted by mykescipark at 2:36 AM on February 8, 2007

Awesome tune! I remember this episode. Thanks for posting.
posted by Happy Dave at 6:38 AM on February 8, 2007