It may sound a little difficult to believe but Rube Goldberg also leave influences on music but somehow he was able to. Well, it was a music video that Goldberg manages to put his stamp on.
In this day and age, even YouTube offerings can have a strong influence on people. With the Internet, it is easy to become popular without having to work for a professional studio. Ok Go, a rock band that started out over the Internet, featured a Rube Goldberg machine in the “This Too Shall Pass – RGM Version” music video. The video features a toy trunk that runs towards an assembly line of upright dominoes. This triggers a chain reaction of haphazard events that result to the band’s singers being throttled with paint balls.
Even though Rube Goldberg did not influence music directly, there are some music videos such as the This Too Shall Pass video that are associated with him. Some music, while not directly influenced or inspired by Rube Goldberg, has been associated with his types of works. For example, the 1937 composition Powerhouse by Raymond Scott has been and is still associated with assembly line cartoons including those that feature Rube Goldberg machines. The music is appropriate for fast and hilarious action with a sense of urgency and fun.
Rube Goldberg may not have been a composer but his invention comics manage to create a sense of rhythm. There is that continuous movement from one point to the next that reminds one of an assembly line. Composers, who do know their music, will take a look at that movement and think up of rhythms and tunes that will fit it perfectly. So, it would not be a surprise if there are musical scores that have been inspired by Rube Goldberg machines. Maybe some of them have not yet been reached by the radar of Goldberg fans. Continue to next page.