Tram Music
When Malcolm is driving his own tram home from work at the start, what was the instrumental piece playing?
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Cats don’t come when called. They take a message and get back to you later.
That song is called, "Telephone & Rubber Band" by the Penguin Cafe Orchestra. It's very interesting how they made that, too. From what I remember, they used two British phone lines; called a ring on one & a busy signal on the other (the "du-du-du-du...du!...du!"). It was found that these would sync up, perfectly. So from there, they set it to a piece of music.
shareI came onto this piece rather late.
In actual fact Simon Jeffes, the co-founder of Penguin cafe orchestra and it's musical inspiration, happened to hear the crossed signals one day whilst on the phone, and liked the interplay so much that he quickly switched on his answering machine to record the tones. The rest, as they say, is history.
Anyone interested in acquiring the piece should get hold of the group's eponymous album released in 1981. It's far and away the group's best and most accessible work, and sure to please anyone with an ear and an interest for alternative music styles.
I came across the music almost by accident in the early 80's, and became quite taken with its quirky and minimalist blend of styles and instruments. Seeing the music from this particular album pop up some years later in movies like 'Malcolm' added another flavor to the work - and certainly made the film more entertaining to watch!