Line #39 Main/SteelDrumsAndSunshine


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6	[[quoteright:317:[[Franchise/TomAndJerry https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tomandjerrycalypsocat1.jpg]]]]
7	[[caption-width-right:317:Oh, to be a grinning cat playing the steel drum on a tropical island.]]
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9	The [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steelpan steelpan]], more commonly known as the steel drum, is a percussion instrument originating from UsefulNotes/TrinidadAndTobago. The steel drum is just that - a steel drum with an open lid, with multiple concaves that the pannist (the name for a steelpan/steel drum player) hits with mallets to play notes.
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11	The steel drum is commonly used to play catchy and fun tunes in real life, particularly in the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calypso_music calypso]] style, and that often translates into fiction. Steel drums will often be used for upbeat background music.
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13	Since the steel drum comes from the [[UsefulNotes/TheCaribbean Caribbean islands]], it is often associated with tropical places. Because of that, in fiction, you're likely to hear steel drums in [[TropicalIslandAdventure island]], jungle, ocean, and especially beach settings. This means that in video games, they'll likely be used in PalmtreePanic and UnderTheSea levels.
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15	Compare with BangingPotsAndPans and TrashCanBand. For other music in tropical settings, see JungleJazz, JungleDrums, and WaltzOnWater. See also RegionalRiff.
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17	!!Examples:
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19	[[foldercontrol]]
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21	[[folder:Comic Strips]]
22	* ''ComicStrip/{{Foxtrot}}'': One arc has Roger take the family to the Carribeany Resort, a hotel more than a thousand miles away from any ocean. Roger is the only one not to see past the tourist trap nature of the place, and when he asks his wife if she wants to go to a steel drum concert, argues that it isn't fake because it's a real guy playing the synthesizer... [[SubvertedTrope who had just hit the "bagpipes" setting]].
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25	[[folder:Films — Animation]]
26	* ''WesternAnimation/TheLittleMermaid1989'': "[[https://youtu.be/3XiFxrOYZpA Under the Sea]]", Sebastian the crab's song about how it's great to live in the ocean, prominently features steel drums. The song is also popular with pannists in real life.
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29	[[folder:Films — Live-Action]]
30	* The UsefulNotes/{{Jamaica}} sequences of ''Film/CoolRunnings'' are set to plenty of steel drum music.
31	[[/folder]]
32
33	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
34	* ''Series/DeathInParadise'': The theme song is full of bright horns and steel drums to better sell the place the series is set on rather than the subject matter (which is murders being committed on the island).
35	* In ''Series/TheOfficeUS'', Michael, who just came back from a trip to Sandals, Jamaica with his girlfriend Jan, is reminiscing in his office playing the titular riff from The Merrymen's "Feeling Hot Hot Hot" on a steel drum.
36	[[/folder]]
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38	[[folder:Music]]
39	* Steel drums are Ebony Steel Band's speciality. Many people who once used the Creator/{{Microsoft}} Encarta encyclopedia in The90s will remember [[https://youtu.be/vpA-uiUNHSg "Dollar Wine"]] from the quiz game in the software's WorldMusic section.
40	* Downplayed in "Kokomo" by Music/TheBeachBoys, where the steel drum is mostly percussion, in the background of the multilayered mix, but the first verse ends on the lyrics "We'll be falling in love / to the rhythm of a steel drum band" and there's a big steel drum hit in the middle of the second verse.
41	* Music/SethEverman posted a video where he tests out the sounds on a keyboard by playing Music/{{Toto}}'s [[https://youtu.be/8jafRIOpxoc "Africa" in different styles]]. For the genre simply labelled "Jamaican", Everman uses the "steelpan" setting on the keyboard.
42	* Music/JeanMichelJarre, usually known for electronic music (''Music/{{Oxygene}}''), teamed up with the Trinidad and Tobago -based steel drum band Amoco Renegades on his 1990 album ''Waiting For Cousteau''. The opener, "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLulE8_KAZc Calypso]]", is this trope in spades. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNIjDUSIOzY It got even better]] when Jarre got the Amoco Renegades to Paris for his mega-concert the same year.
43	* In "Beachfront Celebration" by Music/KevinMacLeod, the melody is handed off from a jazzy piano to steel pans to mariachi trumpets, then a combination of all three.
44	* "[[https://youtu.be/LDU_Txk06tM Crab Rave]]" by {{Music/Noisestorm}}, uses a steel drum-esque sound for its catchy, grooving main melody. The music video features dozens of crabs dancing on a tropical island.
45	* CountryMusic duo The Bellamy Brothers were fond of this, starting off with [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PaY1smJNZyo&ab_channel=TheBellamyBrothers-Topic "You're My Favorite Star"]]. Surprisingly, they averted this on "Get into Reggae Cowboy".
46	* "Then What?" by Music/ClayWalker, despite being an otherwise-normal song questioning a man's choice to commit adultery, uses steel drums prominently throughout.
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49	[[folder:Video Games]]
50	* Treasure Trove Cove from ''VideoGame/BanjoKazooie'' prominently features steel drums in its melody, as does its remix in ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate''.
51	* ''VideoGame/TheCurseOfMonkeyIsland'': The opening theme is a remix of the theme song from the first game, ''VideoGame/TheSecretOfMonkeyIsland'', with live instruments that include a steel drum.
52	* ''VideoGame/GoddessOfVictoryNikke'' has [[https://youtu.be/2-qKb4vgj7M "HOLY CRAB"]] as the battle theme for its "Blue Water Island" BeachEpisode, which pays homage to Noisestorm's "Crab Rave" by featuring a very similar melody and instruments.
53	* ''VideoGame/GoldenSunTheLostAge'': The tropical Apojii (Garapas in Japanese) Islands (standing in for the Fiji / Galapagos Islands) [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDYTqxqeNAs use steel drums]] in their BGM.
54	* In ''VideoGame/HuniePop'', steel drums dominate the theme for sunny Turtle Beach.
55	* ''Franchise/{{Kirby}}'':
56	** ''VideoGame/KirbysEpicYarn'''s remix of Ice Cream Island uses steel drums for part of the main melody to fit the tropical level Meta Melon Isle.
57	** ''VideoGame/KirbyMassAttack'' has different variations of a map theme. The third world containing tropical levels uses steel drums.
58	* ''VideoGame/JazzJackrabbit'': [[https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://m.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DVKwHe-r6oRw&ved=2ahUKEwj16bjygLHoAhXko4sKHUQbB44QwqsBMAF6BAgFEAc&usg=AOvVaw1_0BtIRh_qq4SCJFBfvDSx The soundtrack of]] the tropical levels Exoticus features steel drums.
59	* ''VideoGame/PizzaTower'' makes use of steel drums for two themes in the Tropical Resort: "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-nmCMOXlQw Wednesdays]]" for the {{hub level}}, and "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRS8H_d7vdg Tropical Crust]]", for [[PalmtreePanic Crust Cove]].
60	* ''VideoGame/RomancingSaga3'': The theme of Great Arch, a summer resort town located on a sandy beach, uses steel pans for the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqyga-s81Ig main melody.]]
61	* ''VideoGame/SeaWorldTycoon:'' The main menu theme features steel drums.
62	* ''VideoGame/Sonic3AndKnuckles:'' The music for Angel Island Zone has a steel drum playing part of the melody (or rather, the best approximation of a steel drum sound that the Genesis sound chip can synthesize) befitting a tropical island jungle stage. [[SoundtrackDissonance It's slightly less fitting]] for the second half, where the jungle gets napalmed and becomes a raging forest fire.
63	* ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'':
64	** ''VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiBowsersInsideStory'' prominently features steel drums in the melody for Plack Beach.
65	** The main themes of both ''VideoGame/MarioGolf'' [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2KCXrPtwqTs for the Nintendo 64]] and ''[[https://youtu.be/mGx754Q7zlI Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour]]'' are played on steel drums and set an upbeat mood for the games.
66	** ''VideoGame/MarioKartDoubleDash'': The music for the tracks Peach Beach and Daisy Cruiser, which take place on a beach and a cruise ship respectively, have steel drums playing the main melody, accompanied by guitar, maracas, and drums.
67	** ''VideoGame/MarioKartDS'' has steel drums in its melody for [[https://youtu.be/QDQZleFBa8g Cheep Cheep Beach]]. They're even more prominent in the updated ''VideoGame/MarioKart8'' version.
68	** Most ''VideoGame/MarioParty'' games have one board (usually themed around PalmtreePanic or UnderTheSea) whose background music utilises steel drums:
69	*** ''VideoGame/MarioParty1'' and ''Superstars'': Yoshi's Tropical Island
70	*** ''VideoGame/MarioParty2'': Pirate Land
71	*** ''VideoGame/MarioParty4'': Koopa's Seaside Soirée
72	*** ''VideoGame/MarioParty5'': Undersea Dream
73	*** ''VideoGame/MarioParty6'': Castaway Bay
74	*** ''VideoGame/MarioParty7'': Due to its vacation theme, steel drums are present in numerous tracks in the game. Interestingly, the theme for PortTown board Grand Canal goes by AccordionToMostSailors instead.
75	*** ''VideoGame/MarioParty8'': Goomba's Booty Boardwalk
76	*** ''VideoGame/MarioParty10'': Whimsical Waters
77	*** ''VideoGame/SuperMarioParty'': Megafruit Paradise
78	** ''VideoGame/NewSuperMarioBros'': Tropical levels in all five games, as well as the map theme for World 3 in ''[[VideoGame/NewSuperMarioBros1 DS]]'' and Sparkling Waters in ''[[VideoGame/NewSuperMarioBrosU U]]''.
79	** ''VideoGame/SuperMarioAllStars'': The swingy [[https://youtu.be/l1okEJWz1SA overworld theme]] from ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros3'' is remixed to have steel drums play the melody.
80	** ''VideoGame/SuperMario64'' is a notable subversion since its resident water levels, while still employing steel drums as the primary instrument, are foggy and gloomy, leading to a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBPbJyxqHV0 more melodic tune]].
81	** ''VideoGame/SuperMarioSunshine'': [[https://youtu.be/el_r5y_AcrE Gelato Beach]] has a relaxing tune on steel drums and saxophone.
82	** Beach levels in ''VideoGame/SuperMario3DWorld''.
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85	[[folder:Webcomics]]
86	* ''Webcomic/CrossTimeCafe'' used steel drum accompanying music for its pirate week comics (at least before [[PermanentlyMissableContent the player broke]]), labelled [[http://www.whiteponyproductions.com/ctc/ctc0412.htm "Steel Drum, Brazil"]], "Steel-Drum, Marianne Matilda", et cetera.
87	[[/folder]]
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89	[[folder:Western Animation]]
90	* ''WesternAnimation/Animaniacs2020'': In "Warners Unbound," when the Warners are travelling to an island for a vacation, a steel drum rendition of [[DiegeticSoundtrackUsage the show's theme song]] plays in the background.
91	* ''Franchise/TomAndJerry'': In the Gene Deitch short "Calypso Cat", the titular duo and Tom's love interest for the episode arrive via cruise to a Carribean island, where a musician cat plays a funky beat on the steel drum. Unfortunately for Tom, his girlfriend falls in love with the Calypso cat and leaves Tom for him.
92	* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': The episode "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS4E21MargeInChains Marge in Chains]]" has Mayor Quimby giving a news conference from his office proclaiming to the public that he has postponed his trip to the Bahamas due to the flu outbreak... only for TheReveal to show he ''is'' there as a steel drum player walks through the shot.
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