Overused sounds in prog you love/hate

[Czyszy]

Splicer's "Adolph Hitler voice in prog" thread was locked but it almost gave birth to an interesting topic for a discussion. Sampling dialogue/speeches/misc sfx in music has for a long time been super common and prog rock isn't an exception. :P And there are those sounds that every band ever has used at one point and we're kinda sick of them. xD My list:

• politicians' voices
• baby crying/laughing
• the sound of a huge door being slammed shut
• the sound of doors creaking
• rain/thunderstorm (come on, enough of this cliché!)
• gunshot (especially machine gun sfx)
• cash register
• radio tuning
• iMovie kids yelling "yaay!" (used not only on Darskapens Monotoni by Kaipa DC but also trillions of YT content creators)

On the other hand, there are of course immortal classic sound effects that evoke the opposite reactions:

• explosions
• sea/ocean (with seagulls or not)
• water bubbling
• evil laughter
• windchimes
• howling winds (or a noise oscillator with a sweeping filter)

Send in your examples. I'm all (progressive) ears.

[Mister Triscuits]

Splicer's "Adolph Hitler voice in prog" thread was locked

...which is irksome, as there was no political content in that thread. Are we not allowed to even mention ol' Schicklgruber?

[*]rain/thunderstorm (come on, enough of this cliché!)[*]radio tuning

I once read that the Doors wanted to open an album with the sound of someone driving in the rain, and tuning the car radio until bingo, the new Doors album comes on. I wonder if the sound effects on "Riders on the Storm" were a remnant of this idea.

[Steve F.]

[*]evil laughter

You like evil laughter? Do I have an upcoming Present release for you!

[Dave (in MA)]

Does anybody remember evil laughter?

[MudShark22]

Does anybody remember evil laughter?

lol

[Mstove]

Does anybody remember evil laughter?

Ha!

I can’t think of all that many bands that have used politician voices. Definitely not enough to include in a list of overused sounds.

[llanwydd]

Never thought about it before but the Hammond organ gets a little tiresome after a while.

[Soc Prof]

Carnival sounds
Cuckoo clocks
Children's toys

I don't have strong feelings about any of them. But I am considering recording a song that features my daughter's old toy tea kettle that makes the sound of tea pouring and then says: "Mmm-mmm. More, please." The song will have three sections, and I was thinking of putting the toy kettle right before the third section.


PS Guilty of using the wind sound generated by a noise oscillator!

[Halmyre]

Never thought about it before but the Hammond organ gets a little tiresome after a while.

You are Jon Anderson AICMFP.

[bigbassdrum]

Overused that I love:
Mellotron strings
Mellotron chorus
Ribbon controller 'wars'

[Mascodagama]

The sound of wanking.

[Splicer]

I didn't realize the thread referring to the Little Corporal was locked. I guess (as usual) I just sort of drifted away to yell about Law & Order on Reddit.

[Soc Prof]

Never thought about it before but the Hammond organ gets a little tiresome after a while.

The OP can clarify if instruments count as "sounds" or not. If we are counting instruments, bass pedals are definitely overused, but I still love them.

[Splicer]

Put me in the camp of those who roll their eyes a bit when an album begins with the nature effects. Don't know why, I've heard it before and I'm done with it.

On the other hand, I love the sound of a Mellotron - real or sample. It's a thing.

[Gizmotron]

Does anybody remember evil laughter?

Yes, I hear it when we go “walking through the park every day”

[progmatist]

Overused that I love:
Mellotron strings
Mellotron chorus

On the other hand, I love the sound of a Mellotron - real or sample. It's a thing.

We use digital simulations of the Mellotron. Which itself was an analog simulation of real instruments. That's a bit like using a phone to record video of a TV screen, then watching the phone video. Not saying that's either good or bad, it's just a thing we do.

[Czyszy]

We use digital simulations of the Mellotron. Which itself was an analog simulation of real instruments. That's a bit like using a phone to record video of a TV screen, then watching the phone video. Not saying that's either good or bad, it's just a thing we do.

It's like a xerox copy of a photo.

[Halmyre]

Yes, I hear it when we go “walking through the park every day”

Children following you, with their laughter so cold?

[Unfrankie Valli]

The sound of wanking.

Because a vision softly creeping
Left its seeds while I was sleeping
And the vision that was planted in my brain
Still remains

[Gizmotron]

This morning I was on an errand in the car and had a local rock/pop station on. During the course of my drive, I heard many of these sounds, instruments, and effects on plain Jane songs. There was not a single Progressive song in the bunch.

This all reminds me of other discussions that are similarly over-arching in their scope and applicability. For instance, the often-mentioned “Soprano sax should be banned from all of music because Kenny G has made it horrendous” comes to mind. While I dislike his bland music, I immediately think of the thousands of amazing soprano sax solos and ensemble playing in rock, jazz, classical, and other genres.

As Freud said, Sometimes, a cigar is just…a cigar.

Ok, I’ll leave y’all to your storms, seagulls, cash registers, and in my case, crickets.

[Sturgeon's Lawyer]

Heart beating.
Hoofbeats.

[Progbear]

I so don't understand the appeal of the flatulent BWAAAAAAWWWHHH! Taurus bass pedal sound. I mean, with Genesis it made sense when Mike's hands were occupied by a 12 string. But neo-prog acts with dedicated bass players just using it gratuitously for no good reason? Why?

[Czyszy]

I so don't understand the appeal of the flatulent BWAAAAAAWWWHHH! Taurus bass pedal sound. I mean, with Genesis it made sense when Mike's hands were occupied by a 12 string. But neo-prog acts with dedicated bass players just using it gratuitously for no good reason? Why?

Because it sounds good (YMMV). I personally love these bass pedal textures in prog.

[Digital_Man]

Spoken word. Sometimes I like it but it can be used too much or not appropriate. I guess I feel the same way about nature sounds in prog. If something fits the mood of the piece by all means use it but please don't force it and don't overdo it.

[stickman393]

Astounded no-one has suggested "Footsteps" yet.