A song (the genre of the song can be rock and roll, heavy metal, pop, country, alternative rock, etc.) has intervals of music that sound like they came from a music box. These music box intervals may sound light-hearted, nostalgic, or calming compared to the rest of the song. Sometimes it can serve as a creepy contrast to the actual song, or it may actually go well with the general theme/sound of the song.
Compare Ominous Music Box Tune.
Examples:
open/close all folders
Anime and Manga
- Gravitation's "Sleepless Beauty".
- Naruto: Sadness And Sorrow, Grief And Sorrow, Man Of The World, Loneliness, etc.
- The SHUFFLE! anime has the song "Kabe no Mukou", which is quite creepy.
- "Lilium", the opening song used in the Elfen Lied anime.
- Bleach: Soundscape To Ardor (Morning Remembrance)
- A music-box theme plays periodically in Cowboy Bebop, and the box itself is shown in one episode to belong to a certain character. It has a tune designed to invoke nostalgia.
Film
- Hedwig's Theme, although it is actually played on a celesta (a large music box that you can play like a piano).
- The song "I Am Listening" from I Am Legend.
- The theme song of the movie Requiem for a Dream.
- The theme song of the movie Forrest Gump, that plays in the opening.
- Titanic's "My Heart Will Go On".
- Anastasia's "Once upon a december".
Music
- The British group Muse tends to have introductions like this.
- The song "Blue" by The Birthday Massacre.
- Secret Treaties by Blue Öyster Cult'' has tinkly little music-box rhythms linking the tracks.
- "Nemo" by Nightwish.
- Also, "Taikatalvi"
- From Tarja Turunen's solo output, "I Walk Alone."
- "A little pain" by Olivia inspi' Reira (Trapnest).
- "Saeglopur" by Sigur Rós.
- "Bizarre Love Triangle" by New Order.
- "No Don't Shoot" by Foxy Shazam.
- Frank Mills - "Music Box Dancer."
- The Alan Parsons Project: "Eye In The Sky", "Don't Answer Me", the main theme of "The Turn Of A Friendly Card" suite.
- Emerson, Lake & Palmer, "Bitches' Crystal".
- The Dresden Dolls, "Coin-Operated Boy."
- A few Evanescence songs. Most notably, "My Immortal" and "Bring Me To Life".
- "Flyswatter" by eels.
- "Golem II: The Bionic Vapour Boy" by Mr. Bungle (complete by winding up and down).
- "Kuso Breakin No Breakin Lilly" by Maximum the Hormone opens with this.
- Frosti by Björk—actually much of Vespertine.
- The song "Music Box" by Thrice opens and closes with a music box playing.
- "Kid A" and "No Surprises" by Radiohead.
- "Every day", by Buddy Holly.
- The Protomen song "Father of Death" from Act II.
- The beginning of "Gz and Hustlas" by Snoop Dogg.
- "Sunday Morning" by Velvet Underground.
- "Just Trying To Be" by Jethro Tull.
- "Like An Angel Passing Through My Room" by ABBA.
- Black Sabbath, of all bands, has a moment with this in "Fluff".
- "Time In A Bottle" by Jim Croce.
- Ozzy Osbourne: "Mr Tinker Train" opens with some music-boxish music. The song itself is kinda creepy, though.
- The opening riff to "Sweet Child Of Mine" by Guns N' Roses.
- "Wahrheit" by Yousei Teikoku starts off with these, intersperses them within the chorus, and ends with them.
- "Listen To My Song" by Arthur Lee and Love.
- "Old" by Starflyer 59 begins with a music box getting wound up and playing a few notes. The music box continues, very faintly, for the whole song, even after the rest of the instruments stop at the very end.
- The second half of "Spanish Caravan" by The Doors has an organ that sounds like a music box.
- "Streamline" by Pendulum ends with one of these.
- "Freak", by Molly Sandén, especially at the beginning. The music video also prominently features a ballerina music box.
- "Song 2" and "Nothing Passes" by The Body, provided in both cases by ambient artist Braveyoung.
- A music box arrangement of the Chorale from "Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity" Bookends Isao Tomita's version of Gustav Holst's The Planets, playing at the start of "Mars, the Bringer of War" and the end of "Neptune, the Mystic.''
Video Games
- Castlevania: Lords of Shadow has an entire level set in a music box. The music for this level is, fittingly, a slowed down music box rendition of series mainstay "Vampire Killer".
- A lot of Kingdom Hearts songs: Kairi's theme, Namine's theme, Roxas's theme, Dearly Beloved, Hikari, etc.
- This song from The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. The ocarina songs in The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask (Song of healing, Stone Tower Temple theme, Elegy of Emptiness, etc. ) and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (Zelda's lullaby, Song of time, etc.); no doubt there's more songs in the Zelda video games that fit this trope.
- The Song of Storms is technically played on a music box when you first hear it, but the device lacks the iconic tinny sound and more resembles a concertina.
- "Burning Heat! (3 Option Mix)", a remix of a song from Gradius 2 heard in DDRMAX 2: DanceDanceRevolution 7th Mix, drops back to NES-style bleeps for eight seconds.
- In NieR, there are several songs with music box arrangements, such as "Dispossession" and "The Shadowlord's Theme."
- Virtue's Last Reward has "Blue Bird Lamentation," a sad song which begins and ends with a music box melody. It's the melody that Luna's music box pendant plays in-game.
- Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Gates to Infinity has Despair, its Simple Score of Sadness, done in this fashion for the light and super light arrangements of it.
- Bravely Default has "Eternity's Moment." the menu theme.
- Bloodborne has "Mergo's Lullaby", the theme for one of the final bosses. In this case it actually does come from a music box, making an Early-Bird Cameo as the song played by the music box Gascoigne's daughter gives you.
Western Animation
- Atlantis: The Lost Empire uses a gamelan during the Crystal Chamber sequence.
- "Fixing WALL•E" by Thomas Newman.
- "Tears To Shed" from the movie Corpse Bride.
- A majority of the songs in the movie Coraline.
- Mrs. Potts singing Beauty and the Beast in the movie's ballroom scene.