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The origins of the Futurama theme music. watch!

youtube.com — Perhaps one of Henry's most well-known influences on contemporary popular culture is to the theme song of the TV series Futurama. The tune is inspired by Henry's 1967 song "Psych é Rock." Ceremony (1969) (in collaboration with English band Spooky Tooth)

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  • nakeddave, on 11/11/2007, -7/+86dugg for the trippy music video.
    • jaynemother, on 11/05/2007, -1/+15what else would you digg it for?
    • simpleid, on 11/05/2007, -1/+13"omg its futurama in the pasturama"
      only youtube comment that made me laugh a little. :-D
      • Protoss, on 11/05/2007, -1/+1pasturama...reminds me of pasteurized...
    • rac1234, on 11/11/2007, -0/+3Dugg for all the vintage electronics that make a nerd like me drool.
    • Pssdoff, on 11/06/2007, -0/+1Did NOBODY notice the tags???
      "Throbbing Gristle Nurse With Wound"
      WTF!?
  • Jayg28, on 11/06/2007, -15/+8I liked the video but Henry who?
    • SPThom, on 11/05/2007, -1/+17Pierre Henry.
    • Doorfingers, on 11/05/2007, -3/+20Maybe if you clicked the link, you would know.
      • sgtbutterscotch, on 11/05/2007, -2/+14Yeah, but it seems like the submitter expects us to know this Henry before we click the link.
      • srgtTarantula, on 11/05/2007, -5/+2Awwwww snap! No you didn't!

        He's calling you out jay, you just gonna let him school you like that?
      • massproductions, on 11/05/2007, -0/+9There's a reason Digg embeds video submissions. It's so we don't have to click the link.
        • ajchavar, on 11/05/2007, -0/+6holy *****, i literally didn't know about that little thickbox thing until you said that and i clicked the thumb. . .wow i need to spend more time on digg, despite what my gpa says.
        • Ivers, on 11/05/2007, -0/+2I didn't even realize that till I read your comment.
        • gavintlgold, on 11/05/2007, -0/+1I'm in awe. Why don't they advertise that?!??!??!?
  • FallenHero, on 11/14/2007, -5/+363Hypnotoad commands you to digg this article...
    • Sornos, on 11/14/2007, -1/+116All glory to the Hypnotoad.
      *clap*
    • schroeder, on 11/06/2007, -3/+6I think Hypnotoad made the video.
    • kutateli, on 11/11/2007, -1/+53(~).(~)
    • wushu18t, on 11/11/2007, -1/+33what the hell?? when did i digg this?
    • jmcbain, on 11/05/2007, -0/+2Hypnotoad commands me to digg this article.
    • Xondar, on 11/06/2007, -1/+2I guess Hypnotoad also commanded everyone to Digg this comment.
  • solarwind24, on 11/05/2007, -14/+2Henry, Oh Henry. Are ya hungry?
  • pilot3033, on 11/06/2007, -17/+23sounds a little like "wild thing" too
    • samBAKER, on 11/05/2007, -17/+2Yeah, except for the "wild" and the "thing" .... sounds NOTHING like it
      • JustFender, on 11/05/2007, -0/+4you gotta be deaf not to hear that resemblance man!
    • wafflez, on 11/05/2007, -1/+20same chords >_>.
      (E D A, and a variation of B in there)
      • sgtbutterscotch, on 11/05/2007, -2/+16I dugg you because that sounds smart and informed.
        • srgtTarantula, on 11/05/2007, -3/+3Listen here, I'm the only sargent in this town, so beat it brown noser.
          • silverwolfe, on 11/05/2007, -0/+2Well I'm the only Marshall McLuhan.
      • vornan19, on 11/05/2007, -0/+3Not same chords. Most of the intervals are similar.
        Besides, Wld Thing is played in A!
        • obliviousfool, on 11/11/2007, -0/+3I had to look this up because I wondered how close the two would be. For Futurama, the chords would be...
          F# F# B B E E A A F# F# B B E E A A
          (and continues ...Ab F# F# B Bb E E A Ab F# F# B Bb C# C# A A Ab Ab)
          Wild Thing, of course, would be AA DD EE DD repeated, so if you transposed that to the key of F#, you'd get
          F#F# BB C#C# BB
          (...Then maybe E F# E F#?)
          So it is somewhat similar. You have to give these folks some credit! :-) I hear it mostly in the rhythm.
  • leontes, on 11/10/2007, -83/+3I don't hear any resemblance between this and the Futurama main theme. I mean, it slower, has some different timing, but just because all the instruments are the same, uses the same chord progression and has the same underpinnings doesn't mean they are at all related.
    • cmedley, on 11/05/2007, -0/+20except they are.
      futurama's theme is based on this music, no one is saying they ripped it off.
    • gmiley, on 11/10/2007, -0/+62Except that the guy that wrote the Futurama theme specifically named this song as his inspiration for it.
    • srgtTarantula, on 11/05/2007, -1/+9I'm assuming you were trying to be sarcastic, but that would be making an ass out of you and me..
    • danwallace, on 11/10/2007, -0/+22"I don't hear any resemblance between this and the Futurama main theme... except for the following resemblances: "
    • bagelpirate, on 11/05/2007, -0/+1I could definately tell the Futurama theme song was derived from this
  • SPThom, on 11/06/2007, -2/+33I love this song. IMO you can also hear some influence on the Austin Powers theme in there.

    I recommend the "Fatboy Slim Malpaso" remix of this song if anybody's interested. Available on iTunes or, y'know, somewhere for free.
  • fuckedupworld, on 11/06/2007, -4/+55I didn't feel right watching that without first taking 5 hits of acid.
  • mysql101, on 11/06/2007, -33/+1This song contains some of the same instruments used in the futurama theme song, aside from that I can't say that I'd would have said this is where the theme song comes from.
    • mashw, on 11/05/2007, -0/+4Well then you obviously have no understanding of music or natural ear for these things.
  • gmiley, on 11/05/2007, -25/+2.
  • magnus3994, on 11/05/2007, -40/+2buried to prevent the digg effect
    • joshuagor44, on 11/05/2007, -1/+10It's YouTube, don't worry.
    • Puppetfunk, on 11/05/2007, -1/+31We have yet to crash youtube. So buried for being an idiot.
    • magnus3994, on 11/05/2007, -10/+3lol, you think i was serious, i dugg it
      • sgtbutterscotch, on 11/05/2007, -0/+11I bet if you google "knock knock joke" and click on the first link and look at the first joke, you'll be able to find something that will add to your sense of humor.
        • magnus3994, on 11/06/2007, -1/+8knock knock. whos there? orange. orange who? orange you glad you came-a-knockin'?
          that sucked
      • Asianwaste, on 11/05/2007, -1/+4You fail at sarcasm then...
      • bagelpirate, on 11/05/2007, -0/+1Please don't practice your comedy on digg.
    • tybris, on 11/05/2007, -2/+3Errrr.... I think Google's million servers will hold up.
    • keeganspeck, on 11/04/2007, -1/+1Burying it has no positive effect on the stability of the site, if you still clicked the link.
  • JohnDavis730, on 11/05/2007, -4/+23well imitation is the highest form of flattery
  • NeoSporin, on 11/05/2007, -11/+3I always thought Nirvana or Pixies when hearing the theme song...
    • JustFender, on 11/05/2007, -2/+2dugg down why? i can believe that, the song uses mainly 3 chords, (3 chord cobain) just like Nirvana, Nirvana sounded very similar to the pixies...
    • woodenspoon, on 11/05/2007, -1/+2Wild Thing too
    • afidler, on 11/05/2007, -0/+2nirvana?
      really?
    • econofast, on 11/05/2007, -0/+1I've always heard a bit of a Smells Like Teen Spirit in there as well - the first two chords of Futurama are 1/2-step lower than the first two chords of SLTS (E-A vs F-Bb). Add a "chka chka chk" between them and you're pretty close. Of course, SLTS is a 1-4-2-5 chord progression, a slight modification of one of the most common chord progressions in pop music (1-4-5, which is a derivative of a standard 12-bar blues). Wild thing is a 1-4-5. Wave of Mutilation by The Pixies is a 1-3-4, thus the more "minor" sound. Futurama uses a 1-4-7, which to an ear accustomed to a "usual" 1-4-5 progression has the same effect.
      Or perhaps, I am totally BSing all of this.
  • KingBunny, on 11/05/2007, -19/+5It sounds more like "inspiration" for the theme song, or even a coincidence. This "version" is hardly recognizable, and also a bit annoying, although that may just be the sound quality.
    • MikeSD34, on 11/04/2007, -0/+9The BBC says that the futurama song is a 'pastiche' of the linked song:
      http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/artist/w84h/

      Wikipedia describes a pastiche as "The word has two competing meanings, either meaning a "hodge-podge" or an imitation."

      Hardly coincidence, and at the very least an inspiration.
  • KingMoses, on 11/06/2007, -2/+54...but did this one ever have a beatbox version? I think not.
    • stoanhart, on 11/05/2007, -0/+1Prepare for the stereophonix experience...
  • compgeek, on 11/05/2007, -10/+3I could see how this could be an influence it does bear some resembalance to the futurama theme just the futurama theme is more sped up and has more stuff added to it always neat to know the inspiration behind a catchy theme
    • withoutamartyr, on 11/06/2007, -0/+13...'"?!!.,...

      Go ahead and pepper those throughout your comment.
      • saifatlast, on 11/05/2007, -3/+7Hmm" I l?ike you!r ide.a,s s'o I j...us!t sti?ck? tho"se f?un'ny symb'ols. in any?whe're I, lik?e righ"t
    • bagelpirate, on 11/05/2007, -0/+1Its a huge influence, its very easy to tell how similar this is to the Futurama theme song, unless you're tone deaf.
  • spkthed, on 11/05/2007, -14/+1I think that Danny Elfman probably is innovative enough to have come up with his own stuff.
    • swingerbone, on 11/04/2007, -0/+9Christopher Tyng is Futurama's composer - Elfman did Groening's The Simpsons, not Futurama.

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Tyng
      • spkthed, on 11/05/2007, -7/+1Ah, good call. That's kinda lame really, sounds like Christopher Tyng ripped off both Danny Elfman's style AND that song :p
    • zachshmack, on 11/04/2007, -0/+1You're right. Unfortunately, this has no bearing on the discussion, because Elfman wrote the Simpsons theme, not the Futurama theme.
  • Elliuotatar, on 11/11/2007, -1/+127This doesn't just bear SOME resemblance to the Futurama theme, it bears a LOT of resemblance. Oh sure some notes were changed here and there. I think the futurama theme is a lot easier on the ears; this version is quite discordant. But they're definitely the same song.
  • TheNik, on 11/05/2007, -2/+9.mp3 plz
  • hmunkey, on 11/05/2007, -10/+5Am I the only one who feels like a loser for liking that song?
    • clude, on 11/05/2007, -0/+14i think so
    • hellokittyownsu, on 11/05/2007, -0/+2Didn't you always feel that way regardless of liking that song.
  • 5plic3r, on 11/06/2007, -1/+36But since "Psyché Rock" uses the same chord progression as the 1965 hit "Wild Thing", that makes "Wild Thing" the origin of Futurama's theme music. ;)
    • EricSchC1, on 11/05/2007, -0/+7I thought it sounded more like "Louie Louie"
      • JustFender, on 11/05/2007, -0/+2i love how louie louie and wild thing are basically the same song
    • ZannaDiosa, on 11/05/2007, -0/+7The chord progression is 1-4-5-4. It's a blues progression. The "origin" of Futurama's theme music is the blues. Like most contemporary American music.
  • rwallen, on 11/11/2007, -3/+194My wife heard this playing in the other room and just yelled "Don't watch Futurama without me"
    • K4P741NxKRUNCH, on 11/11/2007, -1/+88Lucky lucky you
    • iheartjebus, on 11/05/2007, -13/+5yeah, lemme know if you guys ever get a divorce. :)
    • safesolvent, on 11/11/2007, -1/+13atleast she lets you DIGG without her...
    • hylas, on 11/11/2007, -2/+21"My wife heard this playing in the other room and just yelled "Don't watch Futurama without me"
      Truly a Marriage. Made. In. Heaven.
      • ShinRaTDR, on 11/11/2007, -1/+11I'm not sure. why the. periods were. necessary.
        • LBobRife, on 11/06/2007, -1/+11Makes your text read like it's being said by Captain Kirk?
        • ahoyhoy, on 11/07/2007, -1/+11That's what I wonder about my wife all the time
    • Etheo, on 11/05/2007, -1/+4Ever thought of trading spouses? Mine is available!
  • kpaphysicist, on 11/05/2007, -0/+15Dugg for hearing a jazz lick being played on chimes.
  • wannapiece, on 11/05/2007, -3/+5Oh man trippy and totally mellow, awesome vid! Totally Dugg
  • JenadaeXX, on 11/05/2007, -0/+3The beginning before the actual song starts is sampled a lot in rap music as well.
  • FlapJaw, on 11/05/2007, -7/+7it's a common chord progression
  • Soofi, on 11/05/2007, -3/+19Say no to drugs.
  • Matt174e, on 11/06/2007, -0/+28I always thought the Futurama theme sounded Christmas'y
  • antiver, on 11/05/2007, -0/+14Fatboy slim remix of the original?
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RilGl-lF7zw
    • Jugalator, on 11/05/2007, -0/+5Well, we're getting closer and closer to the Futurama version. ;)
  • nicoladimaria, on 11/05/2007, -0/+5futurama is even getting better
  • dstz, on 11/04/2007, -0/+3Not to forget his friend and music theorist Pierre Schaeffer, whose work on cutting audio tapes for artistic purposes pretty much predates most of the later music genres. One of his book from the 60s is awe inspiring, with chapters about spectrum and pitch, threshold and transients, textures, dynamics, and a kind of "music theory for sounds". "Treaty of musical objects" is a wonderful book, that does not teach much to our modern understanding since it's all the basis of modern music, but nonetheless there is something visionary in this book that transcends the time it was written in.
    • withoutamartyr, on 11/05/2007, -1/+2I didn't know amazon.com had a digg account.
  • HanSolo69, on 11/05/2007, -9/+2Matt Groening is such a god damn hippie.
  • Immune, on 11/05/2007, -4/+1WTF...
  • ljpost0, on 11/04/2007, -0/+1Interesting use of images
  • neuroswitch, on 11/04/2007, -0/+1If you like this, check out Joe Meek's work with The Tornados. Particularly the single "Telstar."
  • KLowD9x, on 11/05/2007, -0/+6I saw the capacitor swimming around like sperm, then "fertilizing" some strange object.

    What was that?
    • victorycig, on 11/07/2007, -1/+12A capacitor swimming around like sperm, then "fertilizing" some strange object.
    • KbuPlatinum, on 11/04/2007, -0/+1It looked like it was portraying a viral life cycle
  • weizilla, on 11/05/2007, -0/+9only 23 days until the new dvd.... hopefully it'll get leaked before the release date
    • saifatlast, on 11/05/2007, -1/+21And hopefully the people who subsequently torrent it also go out and buy it, so that it's a commercial success.
    • ThreeDee912, on 11/05/2007, -3/+1Sadly, the show is gonna be canceled soon. See:
      http://adultswim.com/schedule/index.html
      • starlitdays, on 11/05/2007, -0/+4How can a show be re-cancelled? But, I get your point. Woe. Watching Futurama on Adultswim is like, a reason to stay up some nights.
        • sexybobo, on 11/05/2007, -0/+1It is not canceled. It is moving to comedy central and they are creating a new season of it.
          It is being pulled from syndication though. but far from canceled.
  • MCCULLAH, on 11/06/2007, -0/+4yea the creator of the theme song took samples from this song...added the Amen Break and there ya go a tizizight dnb theme song!
  • vaquerodiablo, on 11/05/2007, -0/+2its on emusic
    http://www.emusic.com/album/Various-Artists-Sunnys ...
  • Hedragon, on 11/05/2007, -0/+4Dugg because it leads directly to youtube and not to some stupid blog.
  • zjbird, on 11/05/2007, -0/+10YEAH FUTURAMA! Coming back 2008:-)
  • Nat3r, on 11/06/2007, -2/+16GOOD NEWS EVERYBODY!
  • smcoltd, on 11/05/2007, -0/+1It's not exactly the same, but man, what an awesome song and video.
  • Frosty122, on 11/05/2007, -4/+3NEWS EVERYBODY!
  • Wisgary, on 11/07/2007, -0/+17We all know the writers of futurama went back in time, played the futurama theme song in the past, inspired the people behind this video, ***** their own grandmas, and then came back to the future in time to write the next episode.
  • LeadHead, on 11/05/2007, -1/+1Futurama and this song are all versions of the oldie Louie Louie
    • afarnen, on 12/02/2007, -0/+0I bet the chord progression goes back even farther...

      Bach?
  • penguin5201, on 11/05/2007, -0/+1What a bad trip.
  • adikt, on 11/05/2007, -0/+2anyone have a torrent or nzb to the full original album?
  • shanealeslie, on 11/05/2007, -0/+7Used to have the album that came from - Pierre Henry was a hard core old school techno performer - the dude build his own instruments before integrated circuits or programmable logic gates had even been invented.
  • wbeavis, on 11/05/2007, -0/+0needs more cowbell.
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