| 1 | [[quoteright:338:[[WesternAnimation/LongHairedHare https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lhh_combo.PNG]]]] |
| 2 | [[caption-width-right:338:Of course you know, ThisMeansWar]] |
| 3 | %% |
| 4 | ->''"GIR, would you please... stop... singing?"'' |
| 5 | -->-- '''Zim''' after '''GIR''' has been singing the Doom Song for 6 months, ''WesternAnimation/InvaderZim'', "[[Recap/InvaderZimS1E1TheNightmareBegins The Nightmare Begins]]" |
| 6 | |
| 7 | Sometimes, someone is singing or playing a musical instrument or a [[JungleDrums drum]] -- not to be malicious or anything -- and he just [[PunctuatedForEmphasis WILL. NOT. SHUT. UP]], until it finally makes another character yell for him to stop or just start screaming insanely, or lash out in some way. It doesn't necessarily have to be ''bad'' music (though it often is), it's just that it's incessant (or sometimes just in a style the hearer just can't stand to hear) and goes beyond the hearer's point of enduring, and to him it becomes like NailsOnABlackboard and he just wants it to end. The "madness" is usually figurative and temporary, but can occasionally be literal and permanent. |
| 8 | |
| 9 | Related to BigShutUp, which is often the outcome. Also related to DreadfulMusician. Can be related to ItWontTurnOff. Could be a case of TheThingThatWouldNotLeave if this happens inside a person's house or AnnoyinglyRepetitiveChild if the one making the music is a child. Compare BrownNote, which is a related trope. (The difference? This trope is when the music is not harmful itself but irritates you to madness; Brown Note is when the music is ''inherently'' harmful.) Also compare LoudOfWar, which is this trope done maliciously. ''Also'' compare HellIsThatNoise. Not to be confused with EarWorm, although it could be caused by one. Make it so only one character (or a few) can hear the music, and it becomes a form of TerribleTicking. For when the character simply hates a song for reasons besides it being overplayed, see CharactersMostHatedSong. |
| 10 | |
| 11 | ---- |
| 12 | !!Examples: |
| 13 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 14 | |
| 15 | [[folder:Advertising]] |
| 16 | * In the Cheetos commercial [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBoImLUbaoE "Piano,"]] a girl and Chester the Cheetos cheetah are repeatedly playing just the beginning of the tune "Chopsticks" over and over. Finally, a guy in the foreground has had enough and says, "Don't you two know anything else?" The girl and Chester look annoyed, then [[LoudOfWar start playing it again]] -- one octave higher. |
| 17 | * [[https://youtu.be/-WMr7HpG6Vo One Sprite commercial]] in the early 2000s had a family on a road trip as the parents sang "Polly Wolly Doodle" [[HollywoodToneDeaf (and rather badly at that)]], the camera then pans to one of the kids sitting in the back seat with a "Please Kill Me" look on his face as he bangs his head against the window. A caption then appears saying "Need a [=CD=] player?" |
| 18 | [[/folder]] |
| 19 | |
| 20 | [[folder:Anime & Manga]] |
| 21 | * ''Anime/DarkerThanBlack'': Hei's downstairs neighbors practice for their band into the wee hours of nonstop. This never bothered him, either due to his zen-like calm, or the fact that he's generally never home. But when he has Kenji Sakurai as a guest, he complains about the noise. |
| 22 | * ''Manga/MimisTalesOfTerror'': In "The Woman Next Door", Mimi gets very annoyed by the loud music coming from the apartment directly over hers, and is puzzled that the other people on that floor don't seem to be able to hear it as much as she can. It eventually becomes a non-issue as the man in that apartment becomes frightened by the mysterious woman in the apartment beside his and hurriedly moves away. |
| 23 | %%* This is how ''Anime/WelcomeToTheNHK'' starts. |
| 24 | [[/folder]] |
| 25 | |
| 26 | [[folder:Comedy]] |
| 27 | * Comedian Creator/JohnMulaney's most famous bit is about the time he and his friend had some fun terrorizing the customers at their local diner. They put enough money in the jukebox to play 21 songs, and proceeded to select "What's New Pussycat?" by Music/TomJones to play 21 times in a row. Then, at the last minute, they decided to replace the eighth "What's New Pussycat?" with a single instance of "It's Not Unusual", just to give their tortured victims a HopeSpot before going right back to "What's New Pussycat?" again. The staff unplugged the jukebox after the 11th "What's New Pussycat?". |
| 28 | [[/folder]] |
| 29 | |
| 30 | [[folder:Comic Books]] |
| 31 | * Cacofonix, the Bard from ''ComicBook/{{Asterix}}'' qualifies, so much so that this talent is often [[LoudOfWar weaponized]]. |
| 32 | * The Donald comic ''[[http://coa.inducks.org/s.php?c=H+89025 Drie Konigen]]'' has Donald chased by ''The March of the Three Kings'', wherever he goes. It ends [[SadistShow with him being forced to sing it]]. |
| 33 | * A ''Film/NationalLampoon'' comic strip had a guy with a downstairs neighbor who had the worst taste in music, who left for a couple of weeks with his phonograph playing Tennessee Ernie Ford's "Sixteen Tons" - the record started skipping, repeating "owe my soul to" over and over. Nobody could get in and shut it off, and eventually the guy ended up on the street, blank-eyed and chanting [[MadnessMantra "Owe my soul to Tennessee Ernie...Owe my soul to Tennessee Ernie..."]] |
| 34 | [[/folder]] |
| 35 | |
| 36 | [[folder:Fan Works]] |
| 37 | * ''FanFic/FantasyOfUtterRidiculousness'': All Alice wants to do is get a good night's sleep, but Megas' "La Cucaracha" horn from right outside her house makes that impossible. Granted Coop was just trying to get her attention, but she still felt it was rude. |
| 38 | * ''WesternAnimation/TheSmurfs1981'' theme song drives Johan and Peewit crazy when they hear it being sung over and over for the first time in the ''Fanfic/EmpathTheLuckiestSmurf'' story adaptation of "The Smurfs And The Magic Flute". |
| 39 | [[/folder]] |
| 40 | |
| 41 | [[folder:Films — Animation]] |
| 42 | * ''WesternAnimation/{{Trolls}}'': The Trolls love singing and do so at every opportunity, except for grumpy Branch. While he and Poppy are camping out for the night, she starts singing "Dream a Little Dream of Me", but he cuts her off. Then she goes into a [[DisneyAcidSequence very trippy]] rendition of "Sound of Silence". Apparently touched, Branch holds out his hand, and she hands over her guitar, which he promptly tosses into the campfire. |
| 43 | [[/folder]] |
| 44 | |
| 45 | [[folder:Films — Live-Action]] |
| 46 | * Brave Sir Robin's Minstrels in ''Film/MontyPythonAndTheHolyGrail''. (Though that probably has more to do with the lyrics than the quality of their singing). They eventually get eaten by the rest of the knights, AndThereWasMuchRejoicing. |
| 47 | * ''Film/AnimalHouse''. During a scene at the toga party, [[TheCameo Stephen Bishop]] is playing a guitar and singing when Bluto happens by. After listening to the singing for a while, Bluto takes the guitar away from the guy, smashes it to pieces against a wall and then [[HypocriticalHumor utters a halfhearted sorry]]. |
| 48 | * ''Film/ItsAWonderfulLife'': When George returns home after discovering that Billy misplaced the deposit money, he begins to mentally unravel while Janie can be heard practicing ''Hark the Herald Angels Sing'' on the piano. Eventually, he snaps and shouts, "Haven't you learned that silly tune yet? You've been playing it over and over! Now stop it! Stop it!!" |
| 49 | * ''Film/WhoFramedRogerRabbit'': the director is arguing with Roger after he blows his lines. The wacky cartoon music continues playing in the background, until the director finally shouts, "[[LeftTheBackgroundMusicOn Can we lose the playback please!?]]" |
| 50 | * ''Creator/CheechAndChong's Next Movie'' features a stoned Chong pretending to be Jimi Hendrix...with his guitar hooked to a ''big'' amplifier. The entire neighborhood quickly knows he's playing, and even Cheech has trouble getting inside to stop him; the sound blasts keep slamming the front door in Cheech's face. |
| 51 | * The villain in ''Film/TheDrillerKiller'' was driven homicidally insane partly due to his wannabe rock star neighbors never shutting up. |
| 52 | * In the Australian indie film ''Samson and Delilah'', the main character's brother is in a band. As they are living on an Aboriginal compound in the middle of the bush, they don't do anything but play music all day, right outside Samson's bedroom, and throughout the movie every time we hear them play it is the exact same song. Mid-way through the movie, Samson gets so sick of listening to it that he attacks them, smashing their instruments. |
| 53 | * In ''Film/TheSmurfs'', Patrick Winslow is driven crazy by the Smurfs constantly singing their theme tune. |
| 54 | * In ''Film/MadMaxBeyondThunderdome'', some of the kids have run off. The other kids are showing Max which direction they went, and are chanting a lament in the background. Eventually, Max yells, "Stop the noise, STOP THE NOISE!" |
| 55 | * In ''Film/RobinHoodMenInTights'', Prince John calls for the knights to stop Robin and his men. About 50 men in suits of armor start marching into the room from all sides, the clanging of their armor getting louder and louder and ''louder''. After several minutes of this, Prince John, who has taken refuge under a table and is holding his ears, says, "I hope this is worth THE NOISE!!!" |
| 56 | * In ''Film/{{Rocket Man|1997}}'', the hero and his rival for the astronaut position are both placed in isolation chambers for psychological testing. However, the two chambers aren't isolated enough, so the test subjects can hear each other. The hero passes the time by singing "John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt" for several hours, pushing the other guy to the brink. |
| 57 | * In the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxSv3MVzxlw short film]] "aaaahhhh le petit vin blanc", a man is harassed by the song ''Ah! Le Petit Vin Blanc''. It culminates in him punching a hobo who's playing it on a musical saw, accidentally killing him, and the ending gives a whole new meaning to "organ grinder". |
| 58 | * In ''Film/{{Ghost|1990}}'', Sam convinces Oda Mae to help him after serenading her all night with an enthusiastic rendition of "I'm Henry the Eighth I Am". (Molly claims this is also how he convinced her to go out with him.) |
| 59 | * In the Film/{{Apocalypse}} film series movie ''Revelation'', the song "Amazing Grace" that is sung by the Haters being incinerated becomes a choir song and is made to look as if the two One Nation Earth converts Willy Spino and Cindy Bolton are getting sick of hearing it. |
| 60 | * In the Creator/MarxBrothers film ''Theatre/AnimalCrackers'', Ravelli (played by Chico) plays the song "Sugar Time" on his piano, but gets stuck and keeps playing the same section over and over. |
| 61 | -->'''Ravelli:''' I can't think of the finish.\ |
| 62 | '''Spalding:''' That's strange, and I can't think of anything else!\ |
| 63 | '''Ravelli:''' You know what I think? I think I went past it.\ |
| 64 | '''Spalding:''' Well, if you come around again, jump off. |
| 65 | * In ''Film/FredClaus'', the elf DJ won't stop taking requests to play "Here Comes Santa Claus", so Fred shoves him into a cabinet so he can play something else. Fred switches the radio to Music/ElvisPresley's "Rubberneckin' that gets the whole elf crew dancing. Unfortunately, it leaves the workshop in total chaos since it also causes the Elves to neglect their jobs just as Santa and efficiency expert Clyde Northcutt walk in. |
| 66 | * ''Film/TheTallBlondManWithOneBlackShoe'' is a concert violinist marked as a spy. After a [[HoneyTrap female spy seduces him]], he confesses to her that he's not just a violinist. She leans in with interest (as do the other spies listening in on a monitor) and he admits he also composes. He excitedly gets up to play a bit of his opera for her -- it may be of some interest to academic musicians, but to these folks (and us) it's loud, screechy, toneless noise. The spies listening in shut off the sound; she has to shout for him to stop. |
| 67 | * ''Film/CoolRunnings'': within moments of one of their number starting to sing in order to raise donations, he is given money to stop. |
| 68 | [[/folder]] |
| 69 | |
| 70 | [[folder:Jokes]] |
| 71 | * A tourist visiting deepest Africa becomes ever more maddened by the incessant sound of native drums, about which the natives will only ever say, "Very bad when drumming stops!" About to completely lose it, he finally forces one of them to tell him what happens when the drumming stops. The native replies: "Bass solo". |
| 72 | * Bagpipers are no stranger to people's general criticism for their sound... |
| 73 | -->"Why do bagpipers always march when they play?"\ |
| 74 | "To get away from the noise!" |
| 75 | [[/folder]] |
| 76 | |
| 77 | [[folder:Literature]] |
| 78 | * Not playing an instrument exactly, but in ''Songs of the Humpback Whale'' by Jodi Picoult, one of the main characters is a scientist who studies, well, whale songs. For a while he plays recordings of them at home all the time, until he catches his wife ''attacking the stereo with a knife'' because she can't stand to listen to them anymore. |
| 79 | * "Hail Carpathia" becomes musical torture for Chloe Williams when she is held in custody by the Global Community in the ''Literature/LeftBehind'' book ''Armageddon''. She counters this somewhat by singing [[TheVillainSucksSong "Fail Carpathia"]]. |
| 80 | * ''Literature/ThePlantThatAteDirtySocks'': Norman loves to sing, and is incredibly loud when he does it. It drives his brother up the wall. |
| 81 | |
| 82 | [[/folder]] |
| 83 | |
| 84 | [[folder:Live-Action TV]] |
| 85 | * ''Series/DoctorWho'': [[Characters/DoctorWhoMasters The Master]] has had four drumbeats repeating in his head his whole life. It turns out this was a way for the Time Lords to return themselves to the universe, but it still drove him mad. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxeoLhLdqnQ should you want to experience it yourself, click the link]]. |
| 86 | * ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'': |
| 87 | ** In the episode "[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS3E3TheSurvivors The Survivors]]", the only apparent survivors of a massacre on Rana IV are an old man and his wife. Little does the Enterprise crew know that the old man is actually a nigh-omnipotent being with a terrible secret. He implants [[OminousMusicBoxTune the melody of his wife's music box]] [[TerribleTicking into Counselor Troi's mind]] in order to [[PsychicStatic distract her from delving further into his emotions]]. |
| 88 | ** In the episode "[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS4E20Qpid Qpid]]", Q turned the bridge crew into Robin Hood and his merry men. Geordie became the Alan a-Dale analog, and kept plucking annoyingly at a lute. Finally Worf had had enough, walked up, snatched the lute and smashed it against a tree (in an homage to ''Film/AnimalHouse''). |
| 89 | --->'''Worf:''' Sorry. |
| 90 | * In the ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' episode "[[Recap/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS07E10ItsOnlyAPaperMoon It's Only a Paper Moon]]", Nog starts out listening to Vic's recording of "I'll Be Seeing You" so often that it starts to drive Jake nuts, leading him to kick him out of their quarters. |
| 91 | * In the ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' episode "[[Recap/StarTrekS1E4TheNakedTime The Naked Time]]", the psychoactive Psi 2000 water causes Kevin Riley to hole up in Engineering and repeatedly subject the crew to his [[DreadfulMusician horribly off-key]] rendition of "I'll Take You Home Again, Kathleen". |
| 92 | * ''Series/MontyPythonsFlyingCircus'': |
| 93 | ** The Cheese Shop sketch. When John Cleese's character enters, he speaks in such SesquipedalianLoquaciousness that the proprietor thinks that he's complaining about the bouzouki player. The customer assures him that he "delights in all manifestations of the Terpsichorean muse." After making dozens of requests for cheese, with the proprietor stating that he's just run out of each variety, the frustrated customer finally screams, "Will you shut that bloody dancing up?!?" |
| 94 | ** Also happens in the Spam sketch; as the chorus of Vikings begins singing "Spam, spam, spam, spam..." it takes a few seconds before the proprietress of the café bellows at them to shut up. By the end of the sketch, they simply ignore her and keep singing. |
| 95 | * One ''Series/{{CSI}}'' case involved a garotted musician. [[spoiler:Turned out he was killed by an angry neighbour who couldn't stand the noise.]] |
| 96 | ** This is also the plot of the ''Series/{{Bones}}'' episode "The Wannabe in the Weeds". |
| 97 | ** Not music, but still "incessant noise", a ''Series/CSIMiami'' episode involves, among other murders, that of a handyman which had been electrocuted to death. Turned out that the handyman's work (to renovate a kitchen) had been going on for several months and a neighbor was sick of it enough (because it didn't let her sleep) to drive her to murder. |
| 98 | * In the ''Series/{{Mash}}'' episode "The Smell of Music", Winchester's French horn aggravates BJ and Hawkeye such that they refuse to bathe until he gives it up. |
| 99 | ** In another episode, Colonel Potter drives everyone else crazy by insisting on repeated playings of "Sentimental Journey" over the camp speaker system. |
| 100 | * Norton often did this in ''Series/TheHoneymooners'', prompting Ralph to finally yell at him to stop. |
| 101 | * ''Series/CurbYourEnthusiasm'': |
| 102 | ** In season 7, Sammy sings in the shower as Larry's trying to sleep, prompting an extremely agitated outburst. 'SHUT THE FUCK UP!' |
| 103 | ** Cheri Oteri's appearance was as a mentally unstable nanny who was driven mad by constantly hearing the ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'' theme while working at an amusement park. She sings it constantly and it drives her into a murderous rage. |
| 104 | * "The Song That Never Ends" from ''Series/LambChopsPlayAlong'' drives Shari Lewis mad. |
| 105 | * In the BBC comedy show, ''Series/NotTheNineOClockNews'', Gryff-Rhys Jones played a colonial planter, driven to drink by the noise of the jungle, who staggers drunkenly onto the verandah and demands, "Will you shut up! Will this damn noise never end!" The camera pans back, revealing that what we have taken to be the chittering of night insect noise is really 30 or 40 natives, each of whom is playing with a Rubik's Cube... |
| 106 | * In ''Series/ModernFamily'', Jay gives Gloria a karaoke machine, and she keeps singing off key, to Jay's dismay. He keeps trying to break it to her gently, but in the end it's Manny who snaps and yells at her to stop. In TheStinger, Jay tries out the karaoke machine, but Manny pulls the plug and warns Jay, [[ImpliedDeathThreat "This won't be the last plug I pull"]]. |
| 107 | * As one of the final challenges in the second season of ''Series/TheMole'', the players had to spend the whole night in different hotel rooms suited to their own fears/annoyances. One player was stuck in a room where "Tiny Bubbles" played the entire time. Sometimes half speed, sometimes double speed, sometimes backwards... |
| 108 | * In an episode of ''Series/{{Undeclared}}'', a girl played "How Bizarre" by OMC on a portable stereo non-stop for several hours. |
| 109 | * In the TV adaptation of ''Literature/TheSaddleClub'', Lisa invokes this to get her mother to let her quit clarinet lessons. It works. |
| 110 | * In ''Series/{{Weeds}}'', Nancy sang "Polly Wolly Doodle" ad nauseam while banging on a pot (no pun intended - probably) when Silas refused to leave his room after breaking up with his girlfriend. |
| 111 | * In one episode of ''Series/ILoveLucy'', Little Ricky takes a liking to the drums. His father is thrilled at first, but Little Ricky won't. Stop. Playing. And. Creating. A. Rhythm. That. They. Find. Themselves. Doing. ''Everything''. To. |
| 112 | * In ''Series/TheGoldenGirls,'' the ladies get back from a long car trip to Atlanta (they live in Miami.) Rose walks in the door singing "Three bottles of beer on the wall..." She gets down to two, then quits and says she going to bed. Dorothy jumps on her about this, "You get all the way to 'two bottles of beer,' then you quit?" Rose cheerfully says, "Drives you nuts, doesn't it?" |
| 113 | * In ''Series/{{Scrubs}}'', JD imagines Colin Hay of the band Music/MenAtWork singing his song "Overkill" on the sidewalk, while playing a guitar. He starts to follow JD, still singing, showing up in increasingly improbable places, like an elevator and taking the place of a corpse at the morgue. At last Dr. Cox tries to talk to JD while this is going on, loses his temper, and smashes Colin's guitar. |
| 114 | -->'''Colin Hay:'''...I have other songs, you know. |
| 115 | * In a famous (or perhaps infamous) episode of ''Series/TheGongShow'', every single act that came out on stage sang Morris Albert's "Feelings". The judges began fighting over who could gong the act first. |
| 116 | * Maw Maw from ''Series/RaisingHope'' will incessantly play "The Chinese Torture Song" (Chopsticks) whenever she gets near a piano. |
| 117 | * ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'': |
| 118 | ** One night at three in the morning, Sheldon decides to play the bongos, waking Leonard and Penny up. He even turns some of their dialogue into rhythmic chants to go along with his drumming. |
| 119 | --->'''Sheldon:''' Leonard sleeps, while I play bongos!\ |
| 120 | '''Leonard:''' No, no he doesn't.\ |
| 121 | '''Sheldon:''' Leonard no sleep, while I play bongos! |
| 122 | ** In another occasion, Sheldon becomes obsessed with a tune that he can't remember the title of and plays it constantly trying to try and figure it out. When he plays it on the keyboard late at night, Penny has enough and takes the keyboard away. So Sheldon starts playing it on the tuba instead. |
| 123 | * Marshall and Lily from ''Series/HowIMetYourMother'' have a special lullaby for their baby son Marvin. Marshall plays a guitar and sings the lyrics while Lily plays a violin, xylophone and tuba. Their neighbor yells at them to shut up. Marshall adds him to the lyrics. |
| 124 | * ''Series/MalcolmInTheMiddle'': In one episode, a musician relative of the Mankussers arrives to the Ranch and pesters Francis by [[MickeyMousing constantly playing the piano to accompany his actions whenever Francis enters the room]]. Unlike other examples of this trope in this page, Francis actually tells him (and goes as far to learn German to make sure he understands) that this is beginning to annoy him and to please cut it out -- the musician's response is to pick Francis' German/English dictionary and tell him in English "[[{{Jerkass}} screw you]]". The subplot ends with Francis smashing the electronic piano [[RageBreakingPoint in a rage]]. |
| 125 | * While Jim is working in Stamford on ''Series/TheOfficeUS'', he and Karen get into a war of this. She creaks her chair back and forth, then he starts to sing "Lovefool." Andy joins in. |
| 126 | -->'''Andy:''' ''[singing]'' Love me, love me. Say that you love me. ''(speaking)'' Whatever happened to [[Music/TheCardigans those guys?]] |
| 127 | * ''Series/ArrestedDevelopment'' has Michael Bluth informing his family that the tune will change once he is in charge of the family company to a rising dramatic drumbeat, before he suddenly turns around to tell his brother who is playing a Native American drum to stop. |
| 128 | -->'''Michael:''' Buster! You can't do that on the balcony, buddy?!\ |
| 129 | '''Buster:''' ...Mom says it's too windy. |
| 130 | * ''Series/DrakeAndJosh'' has Josh try to impress his Mindy's parents by hosting a fancy dinner, including a harpist. However, the dinner gets ruined when [[ItMakesSenseInContext Drake's wrestling match with his girlfriend gets out of control]] and they destroy the dinner table. The harpist continues to play while the chaos is happening and Mindy's parents decide to leave and forbid their daughter from dating Josh. She does not stop until Josh interrupts his [[WhatTheHellHero big]] [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech rant]] to Drake to tell her to. |
| 131 | * ''Series/{{Kaamelott}}'': Perceval finds an [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oud oud]] abandoned by Gipsies ("Their crossbows sure look weird"). When Arthur starts playing it at night, Léodagan yells at him to shut up. He gets maybe ten seconds of respite before Arthur starts playing again... while ''singing''. |
| 132 | * ''Series/{{Even Stevens}}'': In one scene in the episode ''Secrets and Spies'', Louis is trying to figure out what Ren is up to, but Twitty is more interested in coming up with song names, so he repeatedly sings whatever Louis says back to him while playing his guitar. After getting fed up with this, Louis tries to get him to sing ''Louis is cool'', only for Twitty to instead sing ''Louis is a big nerd, he is the biggest nerd'', at which point Louis [[RageBreakingPoint tackles him to the ground]]. |
| 133 | * One of Q's punishments on ''Series/ImpracticalJokers'' has him making food deliveries all over the NYC area while driving a car that's been specially engineered to play one song over and over and over again. For eleven hours. And with puppets dancing along. |
| 134 | -->''Drive, drive, drive, drive, drive\ |
| 135 | It feels so good (So good!)\ |
| 136 | To be alive (Alive!)\ |
| 137 | Are we there yet? No!\ |
| 138 | Are we there yet? No!\ |
| 139 | Well then it's 1, 2, 3, 4, 5\ |
| 140 | Let's...''\ |
| 141 | [repeat ad infinitum] |
| 142 | * In one episode of ''Series/{{Emergency}}'', Johnny Gage's hobby-of-the-week is learning to play a musical instrument. After a disastrous experiment with bagpipes, he tries a trombone instead, and soon irritates his colleagues so thoroughly that Chet breaks his trombone. In the episode tag, Gage walks into the station kitchen/living area with a guitar and announces, "[[Music/JohnnyCash Hi folks, I'm Johnny Gage.]]" |
| 143 | * Played for drama in one episode of ''Series/TheWalkingDead2010'' when Dwight uses a ridiculously cheesy song to torture Daryl into giving up information. |
| 144 | [[/folder]] |
| 145 | |
| 146 | [[folder:Music]] |
| 147 | * Erik Satie's ''Vexations'' consists of the same thing (a theme and two harmonizations) repeated 840 times. The first performance was eighteen hours. |
| 148 | * In Music/DoctorSteel's music video for his song, "Back and Forth", there's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCKkcex6_Hg a little kid at the beginning playing an annoying plastic trumpet]], while his brother covers his ears. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCKkcex6_Hg#t=3m20s At the end of the video]] the brother suddenly gets in his face and shouts, "[[BigShutUp STOP!]]" |
| 149 | * The children's song "I Know a Song that Gets on Everybody's Nerves". |
| 150 | * Similarly "PlaygroundSong/NinetyNineBottlesOfBeer On The Wall," because you know there's light at the end of the tunnel, but it's so '''far''' away. |
| 151 | ** Just when that countdown finishes and you think you're safe... |
| 152 | --> "No more bottles of beer on the wall, no more bottles of beer. Go to the store and buy some more, 99 bottles of beer on the wall..." |
| 153 | * The music video for Music/BillyIdol's "Cradle of Love." The guy is so desperate to stop the girl's efforts to seduce him that at one point he runs over to the stereo - [[LeftTheBackgroundMusicOn which is actually playing the song]] - and tries to turn it off, but [[ItWontTurnOff even pulling the plug doesn't work]]. By the end of the scene he's reduced to a sobbing, quivering wreck. |
| 154 | * From Music/TomLehrer's "In Old Mexico", on ''Music/AnEveningWastedWithTomLehrer'': |
| 155 | -->The mariachis would serenade\ |
| 156 | And they would not shut up [[BegoneBribe till they were paid]]. |
| 157 | * Any variation of "The Song That Never Ends." It is said that some people started singing it not knowing what it was, and they'll continue singing it forever just because [[BrokenRecord this is the song that never ends]].... |
| 158 | * There is a genre of Website/YouTube videos that consists of annoying songs stretched out for up to ten hours, at times explicitly described as endurance tests for the listener. |
| 159 | * Paul Revere & The Raiders' Christmas album ''A Christmas Present... And Past'' starts with the track "Introduction", where Mark Lindsay is introducing the Salvation Army Band that appears on a few songs on the album: First he can't get them to play on cue, then once they do start playing, he can't get them to stop. |
| 160 | [[/folder]] |
| 161 | |
| 162 | [[folder:Video Games]] |
| 163 | * The first boss of ''VideoGame/EpicMickey'', the Clock Tower, is driven to madness by having to constantly listen to "It's A Small World". Fittingly enough, the boss theme is [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJte6E2v1Sg a warped and demented version of that very song]]. Interestingly, a rumor once circulated that a Disney employee committed suicide because "It's A Small World" continuously playing drove him nuts, this rumor may be the basis for the battle. |
| 164 | * The Phone Guy in ''VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddys'' suggests that having to play the same idiotic songs for over twenty years might be why the animatronics are so erratic. [[spoiler:Turns out he's wrong -- they've been haunted by vengeful children, as revealed in later installments.]] |
| 165 | * ''VideoGame/KirbyAndTheForgottenLand'': The BigBad is tormented by the sound of [[spoiler:the "Dream Discoveries Tour", a cheery remix of the game's main theme, since they've had to listen to it for ages upon ages while [[TailorMadePrison trapped inside the Eternal Capsule]].]] It has taken such a toll on this character's psyche that [[spoiler:when Kirby and friends confront their [[TheDisembodied disembodied Soul]] within Forgo Dreams, a pocket dimension that comprises their subconscious, the same music is ''still playing'', only disturbingly distorted and jumbled up. "AND HERE WE ARE! AND HERE WE ARE!"]] |
| 166 | * Sigma in ''VideoGame/{{Overwatch}}'' experiences a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMop0I7OdBg constant melody]] in his head as a result of his gravity experiments GoneHorriblyWrong. |
| 167 | * In ''VideoGame/SaintsRowGatOutOfHell'', Vlad the Impaler's punishment before Gat and Kinzie show up to rescue him is to sit on the floor of a daycare (the signage labels it as "Tenth Circle Penitentiary") while the children's song "The Wheels on the Bus" plays repeatedly. If you go in there as Gat he will complain that they only used the "short" version of the song, to Vlad's horror. When you do the missions where you have to rescue your allies, Vlad will once again be singing "The Wheels on the Bus" until the player rescues him. He also complains of the song in one of his collectible audio logs. |
| 168 | [[/folder]] |
| 169 | |
| 170 | [[folder:Web Animation]] |
| 171 | * This hilarious animation from stickdeath.com called [[http://www.dirtybutton.com/animations/1000-becoming-unglued Becoming Unglued.]] |
| 172 | * [[https://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/166521 Banana Phone,]] a flash from the golden age of Newgrounds. A young man mysteriously starts to hear a song nobody else can hear. He winds up going insane after 10 hours of non-stop music until he has some kind of aneurysm. Then his roommates start hearing it... |
| 173 | [[/folder]] |
| 174 | |
| 175 | [[folder:Web Comics]] |
| 176 | * In ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'', Elan often drives his teammates to this. |
| 177 | * ''Webcomic/{{SSDD}}'' has a strip with a Maytec security officer making a log entry about an increasing number of incidents where base personnel suddenly went berserk and attacked others or Maytec property, while Christmas muzak is playing in the background. [[http://www.poisonedminds.com/d/20101221.html Then...]] |
| 178 | [[/folder]] |
| 179 | |
| 180 | [[folder:Web Videos]] |
| 181 | * The [[https://youtu.be/6WpMlwVwydo "Hampster Dance,"]] to the point of it achieving PopCultureOsmosis with an [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARybJ77ykfc Earthlink commercial]] lampshading how annoying the site was. |
| 182 | * ''WebVideo/NightmareTime:'' The episode "Killer Track" has a killer son that torments its victims by constantly playing itself loudly in the victim's head, to the point of insanity. |
| 183 | * During LetsPlay/ProtonJon's LetsPlay of ''Super Kaizo World'', he hears the "Time's Running Out" alarm so many times after reloading save states at the very beginning of the level that he eventually pleads for it to stop. He later adds, "I'm not sleeping tonight, guys. This is my nightmare sound." |
| 184 | * In "The Tiki Room", Theatre/TheLeagueOfSTEAM deals with a tiki idol that emits a drumming sound and ''Will. Not. Shut. Up.'' Fortunately no-one actually goes mad, but it does make it difficult to conduct an interrogation. |
| 185 | * WebVideo/AskThatGuyWithTheGlasses gives us [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsHWjEaNXPU "The Most Annoying Song In The World."]] |
| 186 | [[/folder]] |
| 187 | |
| 188 | [[folder:Western Animation]] |
| 189 | * The WesternAnimation/BugsBunny cartoon "WesternAnimation/LongHairedHare" begins with Bugs playing various instruments (a banjo, a harp and a tuba) and singing while opera singer Giovanni Jones is trying to rehearse, leading Jones to smash Bugs' instruments and beat him up. Bugs decides to get even with Jones by disrupting his performance later that day. |
| 190 | * ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'', episode [[Recap/SpongebobSquarepantsS1E7HallMonitorJellyfishJam "Jellyfish Jam"]]. [=SpongeBob=] and a jellyfish keep Squidward up all night playing loud music. When more jellyfish show up and play the music even louder, Squidward has had enough and counterattacks by playing his clarinet. This angers the jellyfish, and when [=SpongeBob's=] pleas to stop result in Squidward playing even louder, the jellyfish goes over to Squidward's and stings him. |
| 191 | --> '''Squidward:''' [=SpongeBob=] is the only guy I know that can have fun with a jellyfish...'''''[[SuddenlyShouting FOR TWELVE HOURS!!!]]''''' |
| 192 | * In early seasons of ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'', one of Homer's catch phrases was "Will you cut out that infernal racket?!" directed at Lisa rehearsing her sax. In "One Fish, Two Fish, Blowfish, Blue Fish", where he thinks he's dying from having poisonous sushi, he goes to her room as she's playing. "Hi, Dad. Want me to cut out this infernal racket?" |
| 193 | ** "Jazzy And The Puzzycats" has Bart take up the drums, which drives everyone in the house crazy. |
| 194 | ** In the episode "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS15E8MargeVsSSCCATAG Marge Vs. SSCCATAG]]", the first act revolves around Maggie being obsessed with a child singer named Roofi and Marge playing a CD with his songs at all hours of the day in a CD player with [[ItWontTurnOff multiple backup power sources so the rest of the family can't sabotage it]]. Bart even begs Mrs. Krabappel at one point to give him detention so he won't have to listen to the song for a few more hours, but Krabappel refuses. |
| 195 | ** In "Maximum Homerdrive", Marge and Lisa buy a doorbell that plays Music/TheCarpenters' "(They Long To Be) Close To You", hers and Homer's love song. Annoyed that nobody will ring the bell, Lisa decides to do that herself. However, it won't stop ringing, and when Marge tries to unplug it, it makes it play faster and louder, annoying their neighbors. Thankfully, Señor Ding Dong, the mascot to the doorbell shop, arrives and stops it himself. |
| 196 | * In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheFlintstones'', Fred and Wilma find the perfect maid/cook, and everybody's happy--except that Fred keeps singing (badly) an inane song he made up. The hired help finally quits. |
| 197 | -->'''Fred:''' Oh, Lola Brigada/Your food I dig-ada! |
| 198 | * On ''WesternAnimation/{{Arthur}}'', Arthur's little sister, DW, likes the song "Crazy Bus", which drives Arthur crazy. Everyone else his age enjoys it too, but not as incessantly as DW. |
| 199 | * ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'' has one episode that plays the rap song "Straight Blanchin'" by a rapper named Little Big Dawg, which drives Wendy crazy. At one point, while driving with Soos, Wendy gets so tired of the song that she ejects the CD out of the radio and promptly tosses it out of the window. By the end of the episode, Wendy states that going on the adventure got the song out of her head, only for Soos to play a spare CD in the car, much to Wendy's annoyance. |
| 200 | * ''WesternAnimation/{{Histeria}}'' had a CivilWar skit accompanied by violin music - eventually the soldier [[SorryILeftTheBGMOn started complaining about the music]] and wound up eating his own head so he wouldn't have to hear it (PlayedForLaughs). |
| 201 | * On ''WesternAnimation/InvaderZim'', as Zim flies to Earth, [=GIR=] decides to sing the "Doom Song" on the way... ''for six months straight.'' Zim is just about to lose it when they finally arrive. |
| 202 | * In the ''WesternAnimation/AquaTeenHungerForce'' episode, "Multiple Meats", Shake splits Meatwad into several dozen pieces - each of which survives and becomes a mini-Meatwad. Frylock gets them to sing "Three Million Bottles of Beer on the Wall" (and then leaves), driving Shake insane and causing him to cut his (non-existent) ears off and eventually commit suicide. |
| 203 | * "Goodness Makes The Badness Go Away" in ''WesternAnimation/TheSmurfs Christmas Special''. It really does a number on the mysterious stranger who was holding two children and Gargamel hostage while he was trying to open his {{Hellgate}}. |
| 204 | * The ''WesternAnimation/GoofTroop'' episode "Dr. Horatio's Magic Orchestra" features Pete winning a set of sentient instruments at an auction. They constantly play "When the Saints Go Marching In." Pete is less upset by how incessant the song is, and more because that specific one reminds him of one time in a school band where he ruined a concert during the song. It causes him to give the instruments to Goofy and Max (which doesn't actually stop him from hearing it), threaten to seriously injure PJ when he (innocently) decides to whistle along, and finally tries to destroy the instruments or abandon them in the middle of nowhere. The other characters, however, help him get past his hatred of the song. |
| 205 | * ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitansGo'' has Beast Boy compose and sing a song to win over Terra, entitled “Fade Away”. By the time of her next appearance, he’s played it so much she’s grown sick of it and dumped him. |
| 206 | -->'''Terra:''' That song used to be so beautiful and you ruined it. |
| 207 | * ''WesternAnimation/TinyToonAdventures'': |
| 208 | ** In the short, "My Brilliant Revenge" from the episode, "Fox Trot", Plucky is practicing his [[Main/EverythingsLouderWithBagpipes bagpipes]] for the Acme All-Bagpipe band outside Hamton's house. Hamton is trying to watch his favorite show, ''Swine Search'', and can't hear it over Plucky's bagpipes. At first, he politely asks Plucky to stop, but Plucky ignores him and continues practicing. When Hamton misses the entire show, he destroys Plucky's bagpipes in a fit of rage. [[spoiler:At the end of the cartoon, it is revealed that Hamton taped the show...and that he somehow missed Plucky's final musical attack: a tape recording of bagpipes cranked up (Plucky ends up setting it off himself).]] |
| 209 | ** The short, "Ruffled Ruffee" from the episode, "Music Day" begins with Buster playing his electric guitar and inadvertently interrupting a children's concert hosted by the Raffi Main/{{Expy}} Ruffee, who yells at him to be quiet and tosses his electric guitar and speakers into his burrow in response. |
| 210 | * In the ''WesternAnimation/RockosModernLife'' episode "Road Rash", Rocko is gradually driven up the wall by Heffer's idea of road-trip music: a tape of [[EverythingsLouderWithBagpipes bagpipe versions]] of [[DiscoSucks disco's greatest hits]]. It gets to the point where he snaps and trashes their motorcycle trying to get the tape out of the stereo. |
| 211 | * ''WesternAnimation/DarkwingDuck'': In "A Revolution in Home Appliances", Goslyn, Honker and Tank starts a garage band, and the noise quickly gets on Drake's nerves. |
| 212 | -->'''Goslyn:''' Hi, Dad. I didn't hear you come in.\ |
| 213 | '''Drake:''' No, really? Gee, I heard ''you''. I bet ''the whole city'' heard you!\ |
| 214 | '''Goslyn:''' Great, that's just what we want. Wide exposure! |
| 215 | * ''WesternAnimation/TheLoudHouse'': In "The Crying Dame", Lori hands over her old singing fox toy to cheer up Lily, who's constantly crying. Unfortunately, the siblings' parents explain that the toy drove them so nuts they almost didn't have any more kids, and indeed, Lily ends up playing the toy's song so much it drives the other ten kids insane after three days. |
| 216 | -->'''Lola:''' Three nights of torture! I cannot lose any more beauty sleep! [..] You guys, [[ICantBelieveImSayingThis I hate to say it]], but we have no choice: the fox must go! |
| 217 | * Happens in ''WesternAnimation/TheMagicRoundabout'' CGI episode "Chilled-Out Brian" where Brian plays loud music at his house at night whilst trying to be cool, and this woke up Dougal, Florence, Dylan and Ermintrude who all got very annoyed with this, as well as his "cool" attitude. |
| 218 | [[/folder]] |
| 219 | |
| 220 | [[folder:Real Life]] |
| 221 | * Ask anyone who works in retail what it's like during the holidays, when the same dozen Christmas songs play over... and over... and over... |
| 222 | * Bagpipes, for many. (They were used by armies for just that reason, another example of this trope being weaponized.) |
| 223 | * Yodeling, for many. (Also [[LoudOfWar weaponized]] in ''Film/MarsAttacks'', but for the Martians it was more of a BrownNote.) |
| 224 | * [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Most_Unwanted_Song The Most Unwanted Song]] combines elements that were revealed in a survey to be the least desirable elements in a song. Answers included extremely high or low voices, child singers, lyrics about cowboys, lyrics about holidays and commercial jingle lyrics; the song therefore includes [[BreadEggsBreadedEggs a soprano rapping about cowboys and children singing holiday-themed jingles advertising Wal-Mart.]] Extreme length was another turnoff, so it ended up being 22 minutes long. |
| 225 | * There have been several instances where radio stations have a "stop the music" donation for charity, where they'll play a song that is considered annoying on repeat until their goal has been met. (The most common example is [=MMMBop=] by Music/{{Hanson}}.) |
| 226 | * In 2014, a 10-year-old boy named Willie Myrick was kidnapped. He got out of it by singing the gospel song "Every Praise" over and over for 3 hours, until [[PityTheKidnapper the kidnapper gave up and threw him out of the car.]] |
| 227 | * People with neighbors who like to play music very loudly in the middle of the night are all-too-familiar with this trope. Especially in apartments with thin walls. |
| 228 | * Hold music on telephone lines. |
| 229 | * The U.S. Government used "I Love You" to torture various Iraqi P.O.Ws. |
| 230 | * In [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Nifty_Package Operation Nifty Package]], loud music was used as part of a psychological warfare campaign by the U.S. Navy Seals to get Manuel Noriega to surrender himself after he took shelter in the Vatican's diplomatic headquarters. |
| 231 | [[/folder]] |
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