A section relating to the music relating to
works relating to Douglas Adams, most specifically those that
would not exist today if it were not for a certain author's
warped imagination.
See X.15. Marvin the
Paranoid Rock Star for details of Marvin the Paranoid
Android's brief recording career.
The soundclips are not included in the takeaway ZIP format of
the FAQ for reasons of space and time.
A short sample of this and the other Marvin
songs can now be found here.
Marvin:
- I'm just a robot and I know my place
A metal servant to the human race
I work my can off trying to satisfy
I know they'll disconnect me by and by
Chorus (wailing female vocal):
- Marvin
Marvin
Aaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhh
Marvin:
- Chip on my shoulder made of silicon
My printed circuits like a lexicon
Ten billion logic functions, maybe more
They make me pick the paper off the floor
Chorus:
- Marvin
Marvin
Aaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhh
Aaaaaahhhhhhh
Marvin:
- Solitary solenoid
Terminally paranoid
MarvinKnow what really makes me mad?
They clean me with a brillo pad.
A carwash wouldn't be so bad.
Life, don't talk to me about life!
I'm so depressed I could expectorate
My moving parts are in a sorry state
I want to rust in peace, switch off and lie
In that great junkyard in the sky
Chorus:
- Marvin
Marvin
Aaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhh
Aaaaaahhhhhhhh
Marvin:
- Solitary solenoid
Terminally paranoid
Marvin
Nothing left to be enjoyed
Every diode rheumatoid
Marvin
Outer alloy, inner void
Marvin
Happiness has been destroyed.
Chorus:
- Marvin
Marvin
Marvin
Marvin
Marvin [fade]
A short sample of this and the other Marvin
songs can now be found here.
Radio message:
- Roger [footnote 1], your ship is out of
control. Robot override imperative, repeat imperative,
suggest you assign control to Marvin.
Female vocal:
Captain:
Female vocal:
Captain:
Female vocal:
Captain:
- Metal man I cannot read you
Female vocal:
- Metal man
(Metal man)
[this continues for much of the song]
Captain:
- Listen man I really need you
Please answer!
OK man here's the plan
You make it hard to love you
Raise your hand, metal hand, to the controls, the control
panel above you,
I can't move I'm trapped here dammit Marvin! Marvin!
Please acknowledge!
Marvin!
Marvin this is your captain, please acknowledge!
Just nod your head if you hear me!
Make it soon old pal
My vision's cloudy
Blurry
And my speech is slurring
Please help me!
Marvin:
- Marvin here
Never fear
All systems clear
Don't lose your cool, captain
You know this is only the second time in thirty million
years that I've had anything even remotely challenging
enough to absorb my massive brain for more than two
minutes.
You know, old skipper, these black holes are really bad
news to be trapped in.
Captain:
- Oh, Marvin, I was always your biggest fan, you old son of
a bitch!
Marvin:
- I thought you'd like that.
Captain:
- What the hell was going wrong, do you know Marvin?
Marvin:
- It doesn't take me long to get nothing done.
Captain:
Marvin:
- Look at her go
It's a good thing you did hand to me isn't it?
Captain:
- OK Marvin... (incoherent)
Marvin:
- This is some ship isn't it captain?
Crew:
- (cheers & general my-life-has-been-saved type
happiness)
Marvin:
- OK crew let's settle down and get on with the business of
running a spaceship.
footnote: 1. In the absence of
any persons called Roger, it is presumed that this is a reference
to radio etiquette; alternatively, that it is a case of mistaken
identity. (back)
2. presumably Roger. (back)
With the exception of four "Marvin"s
by an unidentified female vocalist near the end of the song, all
of the speaking and singing in this song is Stephen Moore's
Marvin's responsibility. In other words, all voices are Marvin
unless otherwise stated.
A short sample of this and the other Marvin
songs can now be found here.
'Rap':
- Reasons to be miserable give my brain a pain.
Very little turns me on, Marvin is my name.
I'm a robot, it's my lot, a robot full of cares,
I'd feel a little better if they broke me up for spares.
Everything I say or do I find the world condemning-
If I had my time again I'd rather be a lemming.
Moaned:
- I'm just a menial robot
Ohhhh well
Angry chorus:
- They drive me crazy with their
"Marvin close the door!"
Well isn't it enough to make me
Tidy up the floor
You know it spoils a robot's day...
Marvin when you've finished you can put yourself away.
Moaned:
- I'm going to flip my lid.
They treat me like a kid.
'Rap':
- Robot naughty, robot bad,
Robot happy, robot sad,
"Who's a clever robot lad?"
It would drive a human mad
'Chant':
- Robots are inhuman
Robots are inhuman
Human, robots are in-
human, robots are in
Moaned:
- I get no satisfaction
I'm bored
Angry chorus:
- Can't bear these humans when they
Make me do their work
I'd rather me a calculator
Treat me like a jerk
Ohohoh that'll be the day.
- Pat me on the head
I'd rather be a percolator
It'd be no trouble
Just to bubble life away
Moaned:
Sarcastic:
Female vocal:
Moaned:
Female vocal:
More sarcastic:
Female vocal:
Even more sarcastic:
Female vocal:
Guitar-screamy sort of largely instrumental break, during
which Marvin can be heard commenting, just when you
thought he couldn't get more sarcastic:
Back to the spoken bile:
- I really hate it when they
Underload my brain
Washing up the dirty dishes
Diodes give me pain
Walking dogs and feeding fishes
Driving me insane
Just a metal slave is what a robot is
And always
Will remain.
A short sample of this and the other Marvin
songs can now be found here.
Marvin:
- Long ago in another galaxy there lived a gloomy robot-
his name was Marvin. He was getting old and a bit rusty
and nobody liked him. One day, being very bored, he
thought it would a good idea to tidy up all his old
programs in his dusty old data bank. There were tapes in
there he hadn't played for years; checking them through
he accidentally pushed a wrong button and suddenly he
heard:
Chorus (female vocal):
- Marvin I love you
Marvin I love you
Marvin:
- Well, he was sure he hadn't heard that ever
before, he wasn't even sure he'd heard it that time
because being a bored and gloomy robot he hadn't really
been listening. What was worse, he couldn't remember what
button he'd accidentally pressed. Anyway, he tried a few
switches at random and suddenly:
Chorus:
- Marvin I love you
Marvin I love you
Remember I'm programmed for you
I know we're worlds apart
Still you could break my heart
Loving you is all I can do
Marvin:
- Well, he heard it that time alright, no doubt about it-
who was singing these strange words? Was it another robot
or some strange life form from the distant past when he
was a young robot and people still made the occasional
attempt to like him? He couldn't make it out at all, so
he pushed a few buttons and:
Chorus:
- Marvin I love you Marvin I love you
Marvin:
Wistful female vocal, spoken:
- I tried to contact Marvin
I don't know why but he never replied
Perhaps one day he'll answer
'Til then I guess I'll keep on trying
Chorus:
- Marvin I love you
Marvin I love you
Remember I'm programmed for you
Marvin:
- "Does not compute", he thought, miserably, but
at least he knew where to find it in his data bank. From
then on, he could play it whenever he wanted, think about
what he'd missed, and live miserably ever after.
Chorus:
The theme music to the radio series is the
opening to a song called "Journey of the Sorceror",
written by Bernie Leadon, and originally performed by the Eagles
on their album "One of those Nights". When Original
Records rerecorded the show for the LP release, they used a new
version arranged and performed by Tim Souster, in order to avoid
paying the Eagles significant wodges of cash. The TV series also
used a Tim Souster arrangement, which was released as a 7"
single by Original Records, backed with "Only the End of the
World Again" (a section of The Book narration) and Max
Quordlepleen warblng. This is a very rare record.
One some versions of an Eagle album (can't
remember which), "Journey of the Sorceror" is
mislabelled "Journey to the Sorceror". The
former is the correct title.
As detailed in the radio scripts book, when
Arthur and co. first set out onto the barren landscape of
Magrathea, a bit of atmospheric music sets in, thie intro to
"Shine on You Crazy Diamond" by Pink Floyd (from
"Wish You Were Here"). This kind of music-swiping was
standard practice for the first radio series. The joke is tha
Arthur then remarks "Did you know that robot can hum like
Pink Floyd?" When asked what else he can do, Marvin hums
"Rock and Roll Music" by the Beatles. A few moments
later, when Zaphod does a dramatic speech about entering into the
subterranean depths of Magrathea, "Also Sprach
Zarathrustra" (used in the film "2001") begins,
dramatically, to play under this speech. As the music peaks,
Zaphod mutters "Can it, Marvin!" and the music cuts
out.
This is one of fans' favorite gags in the first
series, but had to be cut from commercial pressings of the radio
series on cassette and CD because although Douglas Adams himself
has long been on good terms with Pink Floyd and counts most of
them as friends, the lawyers didn't know that and rather than
suffer under the incomprehensibly torturous Pink Floyd copyright
laws, they removed the entire bit. The section is still heard
whenever HHG plays on the radio. They just cannot legally sell
it.
On the first record album rerecord of the
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy a similar sequence survives,
minus the Beatles tune. An atmospheric (if not terribly PInk
Floydish) riff plays, Arthur says "Do you know that robot
can hum like Pink Floyd?" Zaphod goes into his spiel, 2001
plays and Zaphod says "Can it, Marvin."
If you're looking for the original radio version
you would have to get a bootleg off of someone who taped it from
the radio. It's tough going and not really worth it. Just let it
be known that the segment exists. A short WAV of the Pink
Floyd/Beatles scene in its radio form has been distributed over
America Online.
Thanks to Bug for writing this answer.
My name is Michael Caine. Not a lot of people
know that. Not many people know that the horrible music in the
background during the party scene during the second radio series
is actually made from the Bee Gees track Stayin' Alive
played backwards, and spliced up so that parts are in 5/4 time.
Arthur plays Dire Straits' "Tunnel of
Love" from their Making Movies album to Fenchurch in So
Long And Thanks For All The Fish. The Radio Scripts book has
plenty of information on music used in the show.
This selection of samples will hopefully grow over
time (within certain limitations of space), and is intended as a
selection of difficult-to-hear material, rather than just (for
example) the 'obvious' samples from radio and TV productions of Hitch
Hiker's Guide. If there are any samples you'd like to see
hear, please e-mail,
but please don't send binaries to this address without checking
first.
There may also be copyright problems with these samples
(hopefully not), but at the first whiff of trouble I'm outta
here.
- Marvin the Paranoid Android: Marvin
(0:36, 11025Hz, mono WAV, 304k ZIP
decompresses to 392k)
Marvin the Paranoid
Android: Metal Man (0:53, 22050Hz, mono WAV, 758k ZIP decompresses
to 1151k)
Marvin the Paranoid Android: Reasons
to be Miserable (0:52, 22050Hz,
mono WAV, 853k ZIP decompresses to 1123k)
Marvin the Paranoid Android: Marvin
I Love You (0:59, 22050Hz, mono
WAV, 1042k ZIP decompresses to 1286k)
NEW!
Stephen Moore reads Life, the Universe and Everything- extract (0:20, 22050Hz, 241k ZIP decompresses to 459k)
Journey Of The Sorceror 1995 dance remix! Extract. (0:50, 22050Hz, 922k ZIP decompresses to 1102k)
Depending on public response, different versions (higher/lower
quality) may replace the versions seen above.
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