Songs with music box-type instrumentation?

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Off the top of my head:
The Velvet Underground - Sunday Morning
Radiohead - No Surprises.

I'm sure I'm missing quite a list.

― DJMonsterMo, Tuesday, 16 August 2005 22:04 (twenty years ago)

Bjork - Aurora
Billy Corgan - Tilt

― The Brainwasher (Twilight), Tuesday, 16 August 2005 22:05 (twenty years ago)

Efterklang - Swarming

― Gerard (Gerard), Tuesday, 16 August 2005 22:11 (twenty years ago)

(And probably a whole bunch of songs by Múm)

― Gerard (Gerard), Tuesday, 16 August 2005 22:12 (twenty years ago)

A lot of Pram stuff.

― Dee Xtrovert (dee dee), Tuesday, 16 August 2005 22:34 (twenty years ago)

Plenty Aphex Twin, including the two "Nannou"s that I know about. And Bjork on Vespertine, I think.

― I Ain't No Addict, Whoever Heard of a Junkie as Old as Me? (noodle vague), Tuesday, 16 August 2005 22:37 (twenty years ago)

FRANK MILLS - 'MUSIC BOX DANCER' is surely the classic of the genre. how was that not the first answer?

― derrick (derrick), Tuesday, 16 August 2005 22:37 (twenty years ago)

Siouxsie and the Banshees - "Mother / Oh Mein Papa"

Isn't there some Roxy Music song on their debut that has a snippet of a music box playing Beethoven's 9th?

― Ian Riese-Moraine: a casualty of social estrangement. (Eastern Mantra), Tuesday, 16 August 2005 23:33 (twenty years ago)

I keep getting that music box variant stuck in my head and that's the only place I can think of it coming from. I'm hoping I didn't make it up in my head.

― Ian Riese-Moraine: a casualty of social estrangement. (Eastern Mantra), Tuesday, 16 August 2005 23:34 (twenty years ago)

"Spin Me Round" from Manifesto I think?

― already disheveled hair projection (wetmink), Tuesday, 16 August 2005 23:43 (twenty years ago)

I think I read somewhere Bjork had a music box made for a tune on Vespertine, and the tune just consists of it playing once?

― already disheveled hair projection (wetmink), Tuesday, 16 August 2005 23:44 (twenty years ago)

Colleen - both albums

― matt2 (matt2), Wednesday, 17 August 2005 13:53 (twenty years ago)

Plenty Aphex Twin,

Flim!

― Jordan (Jordan), Wednesday, 17 August 2005 13:56 (twenty years ago)

Beach Boys - "Wouldn't It Be Nice"
Sigur Ros - Ba Ba Ti Ki Di Do

funny, i was going to start a topic like this one...

― PB, Wednesday, 17 August 2005 13:58 (twenty years ago)

King Harvest - "Dancing In The Moonlight"

― k/l (Ken L), Wednesday, 17 August 2005 14:17 (twenty years ago)

Blue Öyster Cult - "Flaming Telepaths"
Cascades - "Rhythm Of The Rain"

― Myonga Von Bontee (Myonga Von Bontee), Wednesday, 17 August 2005 14:27 (twenty years ago)

Gz and Hustlas

― Billy Pilgrim (Billy Pilgrim), Wednesday, 17 August 2005 14:30 (twenty years ago)

The Kinks, "Father Christmas" (or are those sleigh bells?)

In any case, this is a fun thread.

― k/l (Ken L), Wednesday, 17 August 2005 14:31 (twenty years ago)

Pink Floyd - See Emily Play (the silly speeded-up bit)

― Diddyismus (Dada), Wednesday, 17 August 2005 14:33 (twenty years ago)

Guided By Voices - Mannequin Complaint (Wax Dummy Meltdown) (rubbish b-side)

― Diddyismus (Dada), Wednesday, 17 August 2005 14:36 (twenty years ago)

Karlheinz Stockhausen - Tierkries (For 12 Music Boxes)

― Diddyismus (Dada), Wednesday, 17 August 2005 14:39 (twenty years ago)

The tier kries Mary!

― Sith Vidious, Wednesday, 17 August 2005 15:20 (twenty years ago)

Opening of Beck's "Sweet Sunshine"

― Whiney G. Weingarten (whineyg), Wednesday, 17 August 2005 15:22 (twenty years ago)

City Of Quartz - Marianne Faithfull/Jon Brion (kind of).

― mike t-diva (mike t-diva), Wednesday, 17 August 2005 15:34 (twenty years ago)

The Jon Brion-produced closing number on Marianne Faithfull's last album.

― k/l (Ken L), Wednesday, 17 August 2005 15:35 (twenty years ago)

(x-post, obviously)

― k/l (Ken L), Wednesday, 17 August 2005 15:36 (twenty years ago)

Michael Jackson's "Little Susie" (or whatever it's called).

― Hillary Brown (Hillary Brown), Wednesday, 17 August 2005 16:51 (twenty years ago)

Badly Drawn Boy - "Interlude" and "Kerplunk By Candlelight"

― Mr. Snrub (Mr. Snrub), Wednesday, 17 August 2005 16:52 (twenty years ago)

Does the beginning of Plone's "Plock" sound like a music box or is it just me?

― rentboy (rentboy), Wednesday, 17 August 2005 17:05 (twenty years ago)

music box like? john morton composes for actual modified music boxes. very much worth checking out.

― na, Thursday, 18 August 2005 01:58 (twenty years ago)

Oneida - "Run Through My Hair"

― joseph cotten (joseph cotten), Thursday, 18 August 2005 02:04 (twenty years ago)

no ones mentioned that Arcade Fire song? the song w/ the "You Better Look Out Below" bit at the end? It could be xylophone, but I don't think so.

― Jamey Lewis (Jameys Burning), Thursday, 18 August 2005 02:14 (twenty years ago)

Fad Gadget "4M" (track is very foreshadowing of AFX)

― donut ferry (donut), Thursday, 18 August 2005 02:15 (twenty years ago)

Also, Mr. Bungle "Golem II: The Bionic Vapour Boy"

― donut ferry (donut), Thursday, 18 August 2005 02:17 (twenty years ago)

one month passes...

The Christmas song on the Tribalistas album, whatever it's called.

― k/l (Ken L), Monday, 10 October 2005 00:29 (twenty years ago)

One of the 100 or so Naked City one-minute numbers features a (truly sweet) music box.

― blunt (blunt), Monday, 10 October 2005 00:40 (twenty years ago)

The Smiths, "Asleep" (I think it plays auld lang syne)

― douglas eklund (skolle), Monday, 10 October 2005 00:58 (twenty years ago)

Human League— Dreams of Leaving. It's a synth, but sounds kind of musicboxey.

― naus (Robert T), Monday, 10 October 2005 01:09 (twenty years ago)

seven years pass...

Music Boxes, Carousels, and Hand Organ (available on Spotify) has some lovely recordings of 19th century music boxes. I wonder how many of the artists upthread recorded the music boxes themselves and how many just sampled the sounds from old Folkways-type records.

― faster, it's alright (unregistered), Thursday, 16 May 2013 17:27 (thirteen years ago)

Lennon's My Mummy's Dead from the Plastic Ono Band album

― Dr X O'Skeleton, Thursday, 16 May 2013 17:30 (thirteen years ago)

R.E.M. - Get Up

― Liquid Plejades, Thursday, 16 May 2013 17:44 (thirteen years ago)

can't find it on Spotify - is it available in the U.S.???

― ḉrut (crüt), Thursday, 16 May 2013 17:44 (thirteen years ago)

ok never mind I found it

― ḉrut (crüt), Thursday, 16 May 2013 17:45 (thirteen years ago)

did my link work, or did you have to search for it?

I'd also recommend Mechanical Music Hall: Street, Penny & Player Pianos, Musical Boxes & Other Victorian Automata (Spotify link)

― faster, it's alright (unregistered), Thursday, 16 May 2013 17:52 (thirteen years ago)

five years pass...

A terrible goddamn song.

― morning wood truancy (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 2 July 2018 01:37 (seven years ago)

surprising no direct mention of Björk's "Frosti" - first thing that came to mind, and gorgeous.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QU8J0eS9Sm4

― an incoherent crustacean (MatthewK), Monday, 2 July 2018 02:09 (seven years ago)

You are so wrong, "Music Box Dancer" is great.

― the word dog doesn't bark (anagram), Monday, 2 July 2018 08:42 (seven years ago)

The quieter songs on Motherhead Bug's Zambodia

― Stevolende, Monday, 2 July 2018 09:07 (seven years ago)

Chemical Brothers - Asleep From Day

― imago, Monday, 2 July 2018 09:38 (seven years ago)

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