Tone Challenge

Beware ... there's a Warcraft post coming soon. But, keep reading, it's not this one !

As I was leaving work tonight, I heard something I thought I'd never hear ... My phone, ringing in someone else's pocket. Ok. Not my phone exactly but the ring tone. I currently use the Ennio Morricone theme tune to The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, which actually works rather well (if you customise it to remove the very quiet bit at the start).

But ... someone else has it now, so it's no longer unique and therefore I need a new one.

What shall it be ? I've got lots to choose from. The tracks I use come from the iTunes library which has only 11314 usable tracks in it. I need more. There's a few rules though :

It has to avoid resulting in the phone being put in a bucket. You know the type.
It has to be instantly recognisable. You know, a song you hear and immediately know what it is.
It has to start being loud immediately so you grab the phone before the answer thingy kicks in.
Cheesiness has to be avoided (see bucket comment but add water)

Wait ... what's this ? Another music post so soon ? Yey ! I like doing these. I'll do another one sometime "soon" which will have the amazing tracks that didn't make the Top 40 due to not having long enough in the library.

If I had a partner, the Alisha's Attic B side "Wonderful U" would be perfect, although some relationships I know turn into their other B side "When You Coming Home ?".

The Gorillaz track M1A1 would be an amazing ring tone. Hearing the "HELLOOOO IS THERE ANYONE THERE" ringing out across the floorplate would be highly amusing. At least for a short time before you raced across, not to answer it but to rescue it from the water bucket.

It takes a while to get started too, so you'd need that custom thingy. I use an app for that, which I won't name and therefore advertise because it annoyed the hell out of me by giving unwanted notifications saying "You haven't made a ring tone this week". Yeah. Cos I'm happy with the one I have.

Another couple that are worthy but take time starting are In The Round by The Cardigans (love that song) and In The Hall Of The Mountain King, which is part of Edvard Grieg's Peer Gynt. They're great pieces of music because they build gently ... but unsuitable to go on the phone for the exact same reason.

I've been thinking of a few good candidates :
Antmusic by Adam and the Ants - well recognisable and loud early start.
Expresso Love by Dire Straits - same with the good start before the vocals come in.
Black Velvet by one hit wonder Alannah Myles - instantly recognisable start again but it'll date you if you recognise it ;-)

I'd love to grab an Alisha's Attic, Hannah Peel, All About Eve (esp. Scarlet or The Pearl Fisherman) track for it but they fail the instant recognition test.

Classical is a good source to mine. Adagio For Strings by Barber is another one that's instantly recognisable but ... I associate it with the segment of the Homeworld game where it kicks off when you warp back home to hear radio chatter describing your home planet being turned to glass by orbital bombardment. However ... Mars by Gustav Holst is a good one, as is anything from Carnival of the Animals.

Another few good candidates :
Sk8r Boi by Avril Lavigne - great start but recognition test ?
Mercy by Duffy - very catchy
Sweet Dreams by the Eurythmics - could be, although I prefer the Bat For Lashes version
Tranvision Vamp's Baby I Don't Care - not sure what people would think of the primal scream that starts that one
River City People's version of California Dreamin'

TV shows ? Movies ? I flat refuse to use any of the Star Trek themes. Ha ! I know you thought I'd be tempted. Farscape is a good one, Thunderbirds !!! (bit too common). Firefly ? Awesome series.

Off the wall thought - I wonder if I could get a copy of the Bunbury's cricket song ? Wonder who would recognise that. Maybe as something that only comes up when people from cricket phone me. I know someone who uses the old BBC cricket theme.

I'd better close off there (and join the queue on the WoW server). I'm actually tempted to try something local (and highly nuts). Ooo arr ooo arrr.