Aunty's theme goes techno

[Connex]

Found this rather amusing on Melbourne's The Age website this evening.

I never thought I'd ever say this, but the ABC News theme has been remixed by a Perth group, and I have to say, it sounds pretty good - and I'm not much of a music listener.

ABC theme remix bangs the drum ... and bass

MATT BUCHANAN AND LEESHA MCKENNY
June 2, 2010 - 11:11AM

A track composed in the vineyards of the NSW Hunter Valley in 1985 and heard throughout Australian homes for almost 20 years has become an unlikely breakthrough hit.

The former ABC TV News theme, composed by Tony Ansell and Peter Wall - and used by the broadcaster until 2005 - has been remixed by Perth band Pendulum.

Wall said he was alerted to the remix last week by a regional reporter who heard it pumping from a souped-up V8 stereo in Rockhampton.

"I'm happy for someone to have rediscovered it because it's probably the best thing we ever wrote," he said. Rearranged with a drumbeat, the distinctive piccolo trumpet and 40-piece orchestra tune could still pass rather convincingly as a rousing South American national anthem.

But in just a week, it's made it into DJ sets, has had thousands of hits on YouTube and has become available for sale on iTunes.

As for royalties, Wall's happy to see what happens. But he did have this to say about the current ABC radio news theme: "The lead trumpet … is out of tune."

Those who watched ABC News in the 1990s and into the mid-2000s would recognise the familiar trumpet in the background.

Anyway, here it is:
<object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/3iysSJ51sRc&hl ... ram><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/3iysSJ51sRc&hl=en_GB&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>[/youtube]
Of course, the classic rendition is available here.

What do you guys think? I think it's very clever and quite a refreshing change to Aunty's news.

[tbc1983]

That's the norm these days; you pinch someone's original tune, you rehash it, realse it as your work and you're called an artist...as opposed to being called a muso.

Cheers!

[STA 1440]

Quite frankly; I love it!

And it's not often I'd say that about a remix!

[MetroTasCatcher]

That's the norm these days; you pinch someone's original tune, you rehash it, realse it as your work and you're called an artist...as opposed to being called a muso.

Cheers!

Hahahaha! Hit the nail on the head there tbc1983!
One of the few remixes I have liked is "Funky Town" by Psuedo Echo, sounds much better than the Lipps Inc's original.

[MaxHeadway]

That's the norm these days; you pinch someone's original tune, you rehash it, realse it as your work and you're called an artist...as opposed to being called a muso

More than 20 years ago, "Doctorin' the Tardis" by The Timelords was a huge hit, so such a thing's not that new. (That song combined the Dr Who theme with "Blockbuster" by The Sweet, and the main tune was that of "Rock 'n' Roll" by Gary Glitter.)

[Brendan03]

Saw this earlier, as I posted on someone's facebook -- This would have been a great idea to play on ABC News as they celebrated the transition to digital television. ABC only changed their 'theme' for ABC News in 2005, after having the same theme since 1985 and by those timeframes, They probably won't change it again for a while.

Still, This is a nice simple way of showing that tunes can be modified quite well without butchering them.

... After further thinking, This seems to me more like something Triple J would play for their news casts (Remembering that they have a "remix" of the "Majestic Fanfare")

[Andrew]

hahahah that's great. Pendulum are awesome - they are from WA. I have two of their three albums so far.

[MetroTasCatcher]

That's the norm these days; you pinch someone's original tune, you rehash it, realse it as your work and you're called an artist...as opposed to being called a muso

More than 20 years ago, "Doctorin' the Tardis" by The Timelords was a huge hit, so such a thing's not that new. (That song combined the Dr Who theme with "Blockbuster" by The Sweet, and the main tune was that of "Rock 'n' Roll" by Gary Glitter.)

That was the first song I ever bought from iTunes a few years back, very good song