Broken Record
ThEre iS nO waY oUt oF hEre. It wilL be daRk soOn. ThEre iS nO waY oUt oF hEre.—Torgo, "Manos" The Hands of Fate
Something is repeated over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over[1] and over again, more often than not to the point of an Overly Long Gag. Some of the more common reasons are a malfunctioning machine, an annoying child, someone who talks too much, or someone who is not right in the head.
For some reason these phrases are often victim of Memetic Mutation.
Due to the advent of CDs, MP3s, and the like, which have largely supplanted actual records, this is something of a dead metaphor.
Often used in Stupid Statement Dance Mixes. Compare Department of Redundancy Department and Overly Long Gag. Not to be confused with Record Needle Scratch.
Advertising
- Used in the late 1970s ad for Orbit sugarfree bubblegum, with the robot going "it's a great-tasting, great-tasting, great-tasting..." until one of the kids in the commercial bonks it in the head to make it finish the line "...sugarfree bubblegum."
- Headon, apply directly to the forehead. Headon, apply directly to the forehead. Headon, apply directly to the forehead...
Anime and Manga
- The bee at the start of Mori no Ando when he's imitating the bear repeats "peropero peropero" over and over again.
- Neon Genesis Evangelion - Non-comedic example: the section of Asuka's dream sequence in the director's cut of Episode 22 that repeats six times in the English version. Almost enough to make you think your DVD is broken.[2] Asuka also seems prone to this: her last words are "I'll kill you!" about a half-dozen times.
- Umineko no Naku Koro ni - Maria Ushiromiya will repeat different lines over and over and over again. Sometimes, it's cute, sometimes it's annoying, but a lot of times, it's just plain creepy.
- Higurashi no Naku Koro ni - "I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry...". There's also a part where Shion screams "You're lying!" about six or seven times in a row to Mion.
- Azumanga Daioh
- "Sata andagi! Sata andagi! Sata andagi!"
- "Today is the first day of the school term. Ehehehehehehe."
- Class Trip to OOKINAWA! OKINAWA! OOKINAWA!
- In Urusei Yatsura (only in the manga version), Ataru reads the fake letter from "Kumino Otoko" out loud:
Ataru: "You make that dork Mendo look like pond-scum!"
Mendo: Hmph!
Ataru: "You're much more wonderful than Mendo, much more wonderful than Mendo, much more wonderful than Mendo, much more wonderful…"
Mendo: Is there a scratch in your CD?!
- Bleach - "Kurosaki-kun, Kurosaki-kun, Kurosaki-kun, Kurosaki-kun"
- Durarara!! - Saika tends to spam repetitious, monosyllabic phrases (Typically "mother mother mother mother mother..." but she later changes her tune to "Shizuo Shizuo Shizuo Shizuo Shizuo...") in chatrooms whenever a Slasher attack occurs. The chatroom users are convinced she's a troll. She's far far worse.
Comedy
- According to Bill Bailey in Part Troll, he becomes a broken record when high on LSD: "Isn't that interesting how it forms an N, forms an N, forms an N, forms an N, forms an N, forms a NNNNNNNNNN NNNNNNNN...". Also: "That's quite interesting, that's quite interesting, that's quite interesting, that's quite interesting, that's quite interesting, that's quite interesting, that's quite interesting, that's quite interesting..."
- A literal example takes place in Another Monty Python Record where side 1 of the record ends with an argument about whether to continue the current sketch, which ends with "Oh, sorry, I've scratched the record" with the record grooves arranged to make this line repeat indefinitely.
- An old joke (to be used with a phone): "Hello? You don't say. Hello? You don't say. Hello? You don't say. Hello? You don't say." "So who was it?" "They didn't say..."
- There's a face, next muffin... There's a face, next muffin...
- Bummed in the face! Bummed in the face? Bummed. In. The. Face! ... Bummed in the face?
- It was very moving and touching... and moving.. and touching... and moving... and touching... and moving and touching and moving... and touching... and moving... and touching... and moving...
Film
- A very nasty example in the movie Spun, where the protagonist leaves a girl tied to his bed, blindfolded, for a full day, with a stereo at full volume playing the first two seconds of her favorite song as a broken record.
- Half the dialogue in Manos: The Hands of Fate is this. It's a bad movie. We all think so. It's a bad movie. It will be dark soon...
- One of the manifestations of Howard Hughes' mental illness in The Aviator is a tendency to repeat a sentence over and over, in an uncontrolled fashion. It's quite chilling to see Hughes sitting in a car with his hands clapped over his mouth, eyes squeezed shut as he fights with himself to stop.
- Rain Man. "I'm an excellent driver."
- In the 1975 film, The Stepford Wives tended to do this when something went wrong.
- In Joe Versus the Volcano, Joe's Bad Boss is first encountered in an interminable phone call repeating the same few phrases: "He can get the job, but can he do the job? ... I am not arguing that with you!"
- This was the cover copy for the published script for Westworld: "Nothing can possibly go wrong ... go wrong ... go wrong ... go wrong ... "
- Lindsay Anderson's Britannia Hospital ends with the villainous Professor Millar unveiling his vision of humanity's future; a brain housed in a plastic pyramid. As a demonstration of its intellect, Millar has the brain recite Hamlet's "What a piece of work is a man" speech, but it gets hung up on the final words, repeating "how like a God!" until the film ends.
- The little known 1978 British/Polish film The Water Babies: "Stop thief! Stop thief! Stop thief! Stop thief! Stop thief!..."
- In Hannah Montana: The Movie, during the filming of the video for "The Best of Both Worlds", the CD that they're lip-syncing to keeps repeating, "Best of both, best of both, best of both..." until the CD player gets smacked, and it finally ends, "Best of both worlds."
- This is used very chillingly in The Strangers with a looped segment of "My First Lover" by Gillian Welch. The very same loop was used in the horror short No Through Road.
- The 1996 Doctor Who movie has a record player skipping, repeating one line over and over again until the Doctor (then Sylvester McCoy) got up to fix it.
- Comes back at the end of the movie when the same record skips in the same place. The Doctor (Paul McGann) lampshades it by saying "Not again." To be fair though, after the first time the record skipped, The Master's "remains" were breaking free of it's jar to set the movie into motion.
Literature
- The Ray Bradbury short story "There Will Come Soft Rains" ends with an example of this one. "Today is August 5, 2026, today is August 5, 2026, today is August 5, 2026..." The entire story is the the last cycle of a years long Broken Record.
- Isaac Asimov, that master of robots, used this trope for horror in one of his short stories, "Someday." Most of the story is taken up by the interactions between two boys and a story-telling robot, with the former mocking how crude and out-of-date the latter is compared to newer designs. They try loading data about modern history, technology, and so forth to get it to tell more interesting stories, but to no avail. When the boys leave, the robot tells itself a story, with a strange amount of feeling, about a robot owned by "cruel step-people," and about how one day that robot learned that robot designs were getting better and better, smarter and smarter, and that someday--and then the Broken Record kicks in. "Someday . . ." "Someday . . ." "Someday . . ."
- The Lord of the Rings: "We cannot get out."
- The first line of "Footnote to Howl" by Allan Ginsberg:
Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy!
- In Frank Bonham's Mystery of the Fat Cat, Buddy's brother Ralph is autistic and very concerned about accuracy in written or printed material. When the boys view the crucial picture, Ralph becomes agitated and begins repeating "That is doof God dena tack." Even Buddy thinks Ralph is just raving at random...
Live-Action TV
- In classic Sesame Street there was a "muppet" called Sam the Robot who would tell anyone who was around that Machines Are Perfect...except he'd always get stuck so he'd say "Machines are perfec-are perfec-are perfec-are perfec..."
- Let's not forget the martians. "YIP YIP YIP YIP YIP YIP YIP YIP YIP YIP YIP. UH HUH. UH HUH."
- American Gothic: "There's somebody at the door..."
- An episode of Farscape featured Crichton becoming Unstuck in Time, an experience that began with D'Argo saying, "Crichton! There's no one else aboard! There's no one else aboard! There's no one else aboard! There's no one else aboard! There's no one else aboard!"
- Spitting Image - "The Chicken Song (12 Hour Version)" uses this deliberately, the end of the record was made as a locked grove, meaning that (due to the way the song as laid out for maximum annoyance) the first bar repeated forever until you stopped it.
- Bottom Live: Hooligan's Island Act II:
Eddie: Oh, I see your point...
Richie: Why, have my trousers fallen down? No, they haven't, they're up, I can see they're up -- oh, I see your point!
Eddie: Why, have my trousers fallen down? No, they haven't, they're up, I can see they're up -- oh, I see your point!
Richie: Why, have my trousers fallen down? No, they haven't, they're up, I can see they're up -- oh, I see your point!
Eddie: Why... have my trousers fallen down... Help! Help! Rich, we're caught in some sort of knob-gag Bermuda Triangle!
Richie: Quickly, change routine! Change routine!
- The climax of the Doctor Who episode "Silence in the Library" has Hey! Who turned out the lights? Donna Noble has left the library. Donna Noble has been saved. Hey! Who turned out the lights? Donna Noble has left the library. Donna Noble has been saved...
- Also, from that same episode... Ice cream. Ice cream. Ice cream.
- Prisoner Zero will vacate the human residence, or the human residence will be incinerated. Repeat: Prisoner Zero will vacate the human residence, or the human residence will be incinerated. Repeat: Prisoner Zero will vacate the human residence, or the human residence will be incinerated. Repeat...
- In "Journey's End", the first sign that something's wrong with Donna (or the Doctor-Donna) is when she starts to talk like this during her Doctor-like babble.
- Kamen Rider Double "Trigger. Maximum drive. Heat. Maximum drive. Maximum drive. Maximum drive. Maximum drive. Maximum drive. Maximum drive. Maximum drive."
- A more positive version shortly thereafter: "Cyclone, Maximum Drive! Heat, Maximum Drive! Luna, Maximum Drive! Joker! Maximum Drive!"
- Power Rangers Operation Overdrive: This is the first step in Mac's Robotic Reveal. "Good thing. Good thing. Good thing."
- Power Rangers RPM: Hilariously subverted when Doctor K contacts the Rangers via hologram when Colonel Truman is out for her blood. She fakes doing this until he leaves, which takes longer than she would've liked. "After what I've seen - good, I thought he would never leave!"
- In The Little Rascals short "The Pinch Singer" the gang auditions for a talent show and during Buckwheat's act he pretends to whistle to a prerecorded tune on a record but it gets stuck at one point and he has to pretend to go along with it for a long time until Porky finally hits the record allowing him to finish the song.
- iCarly: "Nora! This is supposed to be a party. A birthday party. That will go on forever...and ever. And ever...and ever...and ever...and ever...and ever..."
- American Idol brings us a contestant who only knew two lines from a song...
Music
- "We got repetition in the music and we're never gonna lose it..."
- The Dollyrots's "Rock Control" goes on for a while. "Oh just try to scream along / This is not rock & roll / It's rock control / Oh just try to scream along / This is not rock & roll / It's rock control / Oh just try to scream along / This is not rock & roll / It's rock control..."
- Iron Maiden's "The Angel and The Gambler", also known as "The Angel And The Never-Ending Chorus" for ending with ten repetitions of the chorus. In the same album, "Don't Look to the Eyes of a Stranger".
- Feed the fire. Break your vision. Throw your fists up. Come on with me. Feed the fire. Break your vision. Throw your fists up. Come on with me. Feed the fire. Break your vision. Throw your fists up. Come on with me. Feed the fire. Break your vision. Throw your fists up. Come on with me. Feed the fire. Break your vision. Throw your fists up. Come on with me. Feed the fire. Break your vision. Throw your fists up. Come on with me. Feed the fire. Break your vision. Throw your fists up. Come on with me. Feed the fire. Break your vision. Throw your fists up. Come on with me.
- "I gotta feeling / That tonight is gonna be a good night / That tonight's gonna be a good good night / That tonight's gonna be a good good night / That tonight's gonna be a good good night / That tonight's gonna be a good good night / That tonight's gonna be a good good night / That tonight's gonna be a good good night / That tonight's gonna be a good good night / That tonight's gonna be a good good night / That tonight's gonna be a good good night / That tonight's gonna be a good good night / That tonight's gonna be a good good night…
- Imma Be, Imma Be, Imma Be, Imma Be, Imma Be, Imma Be, Imma Be, Imma Be, Imma Be, Imma Be, Imma Be, Imma Be, Imma Be, Imma Be, Imma Be, Imma Be, Imma Be, Imma Be, Imma Be, Imma Be... (repeat ad nauseum; Todd in the Shadows pointed out the Title Drop happens 106 times, and that by the time he finished his review he would have listened to the phrase "Infinity plus one times")
- Brazilian band Los Pirata has the song "Nada". The lyrics are roughly:
Nada,nada,nada,nada,nada,nada,nada,nada,nada,nada,nada... en mi corazón! ("nothing in my heart")
- In Bill Withers' "Ain't No Sunshine": "I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know..."
- That was a Throw It In, oddly enough: Withers couldn't think of a way to transition between the verse and chorus, so he went for repetition.
- We all know, yeah we all know, we all know, we all know, we all know we all know we all know we all know we all know, we all know, we all know, we all know. (Genesis)
- Foster the People's "Pumped Up Kicks"
All the other kids with the pumped up kicks
You'd better run, better run, outrun my gun
All the other kids with the pumped up kicks
You'd better run, better run, faster than my bullet
All the other kids with the pumped up kicks
You'd better run, better run, outrun my gun
All the other kids with the pumped up kicks
You'd better run, better run, faster than my bullet
- Several examples from The Beatles:
- The last three minutes and eleven seconds of "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" is the same six-note guitar riff. Over and over again. Until of course, the riff cuts out half-way th...
- "Number nine, number nine, number nine..."
- "Why Don't We Do It in the Road?" because of short looping lyrics. Fortunately, it's also an Ear Worm.
- "Blue Jay Way" has a lot of "Please don't be long" and "don't be long" in it!
- The secret "Inner Groove" track, if played as originally intended, will be this. Good thing auto-return was invented...
- Na na na na na na na, na na na na, hey Jude...
- The last part of "Tomorrow Never Knows". Of the beginning, of the beginning, of the beginning...
- Many Armand Van Helden songs, eg "The Funk Phenomena", "The Ultraphunkula", and "The Witch Doktor".
- Daft Punk's "Around The World", "Phoenix", etc.
- They Might Be Giants's "Ana Ng": "Everything sticks like a broken record, everything sticks like a broken record, everything sticks..." Lampshade, anyone?
- The 1995 remix of Nightcrawlers - "Push The Feeling On" uses a Singing Simlish looped vocal. It's a wonder this was more popular than the original.
- There's actually an entire song that was built on this very trope: "This is the song that doesn't end/Yes it goes on and on my friend/Some people started singing it not knowing what it was/And they'll continue singing it forever just because/This is the song that doesn't end..."
- And the Animaniacs version: "I know a song that gets on everybody's nerves. Everybody's nerves, everybody's nerves. I know a song that gets on everybody's nerves. And this is how it go-o-oes."
- Brotbrotbrotbrotbrotbrotbrotbrotbrotbrotbrotbrotbrotbrotbrotbrotbrot
- The Who's Who Sell Out end groove is an almost endless repeat of "Trackrecordstrackrecordstrackrecords"
- Pick a Rage Against the Machine song, any Rage Against the Machine song...
- HEY MAAAMAAAAAAA I WANNA GO SUUUURRRFFFIIIIIIIIIING.
- Some artists do/did this intentionally on vinyl editions of their album by ending their albums with a locked groove, which causes a part of a song to repeat indefinitely until the listener stops the record. As a couple of examples, Pink Floyd did this on Atom Heart Mother, looping the end of "Alan's Psychedelic Breakfast" with the sound of dripping tap water. The infinity symbol of Godspeed You! Black Emperor's first album F♯A♯∞, comes from the infinite loop at the end of the second side of the disc.
- Beck's "A Western Harvest By Moonlight" has an infinite runout groove entitled "Styrofoam Chicken (Quality Time" that is only about a second long, but is looped forever. The only way to stop is to literally lift the needle off the record.
- The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band ends with studio chatter. It's quite disturbing.
- Vocaloid Miku's song "Wide Knowledge of the Late, Madness". Watashi watashi watashi watashi watashi...
- Nirvana's most glorious example is "Sliver" (49 repetitions of "Grandma take me Home! Grandma take me home!"). But many of their songs feature repeated phrases - most times, increasing the shrieking on each one.
- Kurt Cobain seemed to love this trope. He used it regularly from his early work right up until his last song "You Know You're Right".
- When all of your wishes are granted, many of your dreams will be destroyed...
- One of the S4 League soundtracks has a funky remix of "Super Sonic". It goes something like this:
Go let's go let's go let's SUPASO
Go let's go let's go let's SUPASO
Go let's go let's go let's SUPASO
Go let's go let's go let's SUPERSONIC
SUPERSONIC SUPERSONIC SUPERSONIC SUPERSONIC
SUPERSONIC SUPERSONIC SUPERSONIC SUPERSONIC
- The John Lennon song "John Sinclair" has the line:
What else can the judges do?
Gotta, gotta, gotta, gotta,
gotta, gotta, gotta, gotta,
gotta, gotta, gotta, gotta,
gotta, gotta, gotta set him free
- The intro track of Orbital's second album:
There is the theory of the Moebius, a twist in the fabric of space where time becomes a loop, where time becomes a loop, where time becomes a loop, where time becomes a loop...
- Da da da-da da da "Feel good ..."
- What Fatboy Slim is doing In Heaven.
- "Are we not men?" "We are Devo!" "Are we not men?" "We are Devo!" "Are we not men?" "We are Devo!" "Are we not men?" "We are Devo!" "We must repeat!" "D-E-V-O!" "We must repeat!" "D-E-V-O!" "We must repeat!" "D-E-V-O!" "We must..."
- Best part? They once managed to keep this one going for about a half hour at a live show. But that point the whole audience was just about ready to storm the scene and beat them senseless.
- Zac Brown Band - "No, we don't have a lot of money / No, we don't have a lot of money / No, we don't have a lot of money / No, we don't have a lot of money / No, we don't have a lot of money / No, we don't have a lot of money / No, we don't have a lot of money..."
- Milli Vanilli is the Trope Codifier of this: it was a skipping CD that instantly destroyed their lip-syncing career. Girl you know it's- Girl you know it's- Girl you know it's- Girl you know it's-
- These New Puritans. In practically every song they have written, at least one lyric is repeated at least four times.
- Michael W. Smith's "Let It Rain" from his Worship album almost falls into this trope with the single repeated line "let it rain, let it rain, open the floodgates of heaven", with the exception of a spoken interlude taken from Psalm 97:1-6.
- "This is the story of a young heart, this is the story of a young heart,..."
- The Sisters of Mercy "Heartland", "This Corrosion", and "
- An instrumental example: "The Guilty" from DJMAX Technika 2. TAN TAN TAN! TAN TAN TAN! TAN TAN TAN! TAN TAN TAN!
- "Barack Obama" by Radio 1 DJ Chris Moyles was the first verse of "LSF" by Kasabian scored for strings and percussion with the lyrics replaced with the words "Barack Obama" repeated over and over. He would challenge both guests and the people that worked on the show to sing along to this. When he released his album The Parody Album, this song was included, except it had been re-scored for full orchestra. Oh, and the album version isn't just the first verse. It's the full track. That's three minutes singing nothing but "Barack Obama".
- "Na na-na-na-na na-na-na-na na-na-na na-na-na na-na-na-na"
- The Police do this all the time. I can't, I can't, I can't stand losing, I can't, I can't, I can't stand losing...
I'll send an SOS to the world, I'll send an SOS to the world, I hope that someone gets my, I hope that someone gets my, I hope that someone gets my message in a bottle, message in a bottle...
- 850 Double Pumper Holley, 850 Double Pumper Holley, 850 Double Pumper Holley...
- TV On the Radio does this at the end of a song appropriately titled "Repetition".
- In "Whip My Hair", Willow Smith repeats the phrase "I whip my hair back and forth" 70 times.
- Radiohead's "Sit Down, Stand Up" ends with Thom Yorke singing the phrase "The raindrops" 46 times in a row.
- "WHEN IT'S TIME TO PARTY WE WILL ALWAYS PARTY HARD! PARTY HARD! PARTY HARD! PARTY HARD! PARTY HARD! PARTY HARD! PARTY HARD! PARTY HARD! PARTY HARD! PARTY HARD! PARTY HARD! PARTY HARD! PARTY HARD! PARTY HARD! PARTY HARD! PARTY HARD! PARTY HARD! PARTY HARD!"
- Electric Six's "Nuclear War (On The Dance Floor)" features the line "You're a pretty pretty pretty pretty pretty pretty pretty pretty pretty pretty pretty pretty pretty pretty girl!". That part of the song actually goes by quicker than you'd think, but still approaches Overly Long Gag territory.
- The final minute and a half of Mr. Bungle's "My Ass Is On Fire" (not counting a Spoken Word in Music coda) is Mike Patton screaming "Redundant!" in increasingly screechy tones. "Egg" does much the same with "there's no place like home"
- B-B-Big Sean, b-boy how big is you? Gimme all yo money and gimme all yo residuals then slap it on my ass ass ass ass ass ass ass ass ass ass ass ass ass ass ass ass ass ass ass ass ass ass ass ass ass
- Why does my heart feel so bad? Why does my soul feel so bad? Why does my heart feel so bad? Why does my soul feel so bad? Why does my heart feel so bad? Why does my soul feel so bad?
- The Buzzcocks' "I Believe" spends its final three minutes on Pete Shelley repeatedly singing "There is no love in this world anymore!" in an increasingly agitated manner.
- Parry Gripp does this a lot. Often his songs contain no other lyrics than one word or phrase repeated again and again.
- Nom nom nom nom nom nom nom
- Squirrels, squirrels, squirrels, squirrels, squirrels, squirrels, squirrels, squirrels, squirrels, lalalala, S-Q-U-I-R-R-E-L-S, S-Q-U-I-R-R-E-L-S, S-Q-U-I-R-R-E-L-S, lalalala...
- Frozen banana, frozen banana, frozen banana, frozen banana
- Overload, overload, it's a cute overload, don't you want to take us home, cute-cute-cute-cute overload
- Van Morrison was a frequent user.
- "You breathe in you breathe out you breathe in you breathe out you breathe in you breathe out..."
- "The love that loves to love to love that loves to love that loves to love..."
- "Dry your eyes your eyes your eyes your eyes..."
Toys
- In Bionicle, the Bohrok swarms keep telepathically chanting "Must clean all. Everything must be cleaned."
Video Games
- In games where the characters call their attacks, the player can often cause this at will by simply using the same attack over and over again (Especially likely to happen if the attack in question is a Game Breaker).
- Denning of Fire Emblem 7 is a morph created specifically to tell the heroes "This is a message from Lord Nergal. "I await you on the Dread Isle"", something he repeats over and over again, the only variation being his death quote, where he stops midway through. He is beloved by the fandom because of this.
- In Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones, Orson's dead and reanimated wife said nothing but "Darling."
- EarthBound: Giygas, having completely lost it, spouts seemingly random phrases as you fight him, most prominently: "Ness, Ness, Ness, Ness, Ness, Ness, Ness, Ness, Ness, Ness, Ness, Ness, Ness, Ness, Ness, Ness, Ness, Ness, Ness, Ness, Ness, Ness, Ness, Ness..."
- In Mother 3, during your Mushroom Samba on Tanetane Island, one of your hallucinations says to you, "You haven't eaten? You haven't eaten? You haven't eaten? You haven't eaten? You haven't eaten? You haven't eaten? You haven't eaten? You haven't eaten?"
- In Kirby and The Amazing Mirror, the final boss is Dark Mind. When you defeat him (rather easily), you end up in a regular level, after which you fight Dark Mind again. Then, you get another small regular-looking level, and fight Dark Mind again. This repeats for a few more times before he goes One-Winged Angel on you.
- This kind of thing happens in Metal Gear Solid.
- Shu in Blue Dragon has "I won't give up!" as his personal motto. And he says it at virtually every opportunity. It's into the double digits by the time you finish the first disc.
- User alert. User alert. User alert.
- In the Sam and Max Freelance Police game Reality 2.0, if you knock Bosco cold in real life, his internet avatar will do this.
- A more literal example than most (i.e., due to something actually being broken in the game), Team Fortress 2 had the announcer endlessly repeating "Overtime! Oooverrrtiiime... Overtime! Overtime! Oooverrrtiiime..." during overtime in King of the Hill mode for about a day and a half. (Apparently the line was triggered whenever anyone got on or off the point, which was almost constantly.)
- Used in the intro to Fallout, right after the camera ends its long zoom-out from a black-and-white TV to a ruined living room and surroundings with The Ink Spots song, "Maybe."
Maaaaayyyyybbbeee...you'll sit, and sigh
wishing that I were near...
then...maybe/maybe/maybe/maybe/maybe/maybe...
- O-over dr-drive...
- One of the many Beatmania inside jokes is a part of the song Red Rocket Rising being repeated for 4 minutes, in all it's glory.
- TAKAKU.
- Flight sims such as Falcon and F/A-18 Hornet have the "Altitude! Altitude!" warning ad nauseum when you're flying low.
- Rebel Strikes version of Rogue Leaders Battle of Endor mission seems to have a bug that causes one particular voice clip to play repeatedly:
WE GOTTA BUY MORE TIME! WE GOTTA BUY MORE TIME! WE GOTTA BUY MORE TIME! WE GOTTA BUY MORE TIME! WE GOTTA BUY MORE TIME! WE GOTTA BUY MORE TIME! WE GOTTA BUY MORE TIME!
- Tsukihime: This chair is an eyesore. Disappear! This chair. This chair. This chair. This chair. This chair. This chair. This chair. This chair. This chair. This chair. This chair. This chair. This chair. This chair. This chair. This chair. This chair. This chair. This chair. This chair. This chair. This chair. This chair. This chair. This chair. This chair. This chair. This chair. This chair. This chair. This chair. This chair. This chair. This chair. This chair. This chair. This chair!
- Portal 2 gives us the Space Core, a personality core who is obsessed with... well, guess. Even more amusingly, it's a Foreshadowing of the ending.
"Space, space, wanna go to space."
"SPAAAAAAAAAAACE!"
- HEY! LISTEN!
- One reviewer said the first skin of Lumines ("Shinin', shinin', shinin', shinin'...") "almost turned me into Jack from The Shining."
- The PC port of Silent Hill 2 has an annoying glitch that causes the ambient music to do this. Also intentionally done with one of the musics in the alternate hospital (3rd floor main wing).
- Any given Eggman boss fight in Sonic Adventure. GET A LOAD OF THIS! GET A LOAD OF THIS! GET A LOAD OF THIS! GET A LOAD OF- GET A LOAD OF- GET A LOAD OF THIS!
Web Comics
- Starslip's Cutter Edgewise can't seem to get through to Vanderbeam that last time she was here, she tried to blow up the ship!
Web Original
- Diabetus' commentary becomes this in one video, regarding savestate scumming:
Diabetus: We should try savestating our commentary.
Diabetus: We should try savestating our commentary.
Slowbeef: We should try savestating our commentary, you said?
Diabetus: We should try savestating our commentary -ing our commentary -ing our commentary -ing our commentary.
- In Zero Punctuation, specifically in his review of S.T.A.L.K.E.R: Clear Sky, he uses this twice to demonstrate how annoying the bugs are.
- The general concept of the Stupid Statement Dance Mix, including such gems as "They're taking the hobbits to Isengard!"
- Eros in Thalia's Musings when Thalia gives him a talking-to about his "relationship" with Psyche.
Thalia: Besides, it wouldn’t just be your soul’s babies she’d have. Have you two thought about that?
Eros: Babies?
Thalia: And she’s mortal. She’s going to get old and eventually die. Not only that, but your kids will be demigods. That means they can be killed. Have you thought about that, either?
Eros: Babies?
Thalia: Yes, little screaming nuisances who take a whole year to grow up. A year! Sometimes two, or even as many as five.
Eros: Babies?
Thalia: Do you need me to tell you how babby is formed?
Western Animation
- Marge once said
Bart, you have roots in this town and you ought to show respect for it. This town is a part of us all. A part of us all. A part of us all! Sorry to repeat myself, but it'll help you remember.
[later, Bart skateboards]
Marge: [in Bart's head] This town is a part of us all. A part of us all. A part of us all!
Bart: Wow, that does work.
- "Can't sleep, clown will eat me"
- "Dental Plan!" "Lisa needs braces!"
- Also in Lisa's dream after falling asleep in class about her enrolling in Brown County College "No not brown, brown, brown, brown" cut to Miss Hoover waking her up and asking "Are you okay? You're saying "brown" an awful lot".
- SpongeBob Squarepants does this a number of times, usually with Spongebob being the one to repeat phrases ad nauseum.
- "I'm ready! I'm ready! I'm ready! I'm ready! I'm ready! I'm ready!..."
- "*big gasp* Part Two?! Parttwoparttwoparttwoparttwopartt*mouth covered*"
- "I've soiled the good name of the Krusty Krab!! Soiled it! Soiled it! Soiled it! Soiled it! Soiled it!..."
- "The power within, the power within, the power within, the power within..."
- In a literal example...
I say "I'm already halfway there!" *cut to a record player with a broken needle, repeating the "halfway there" portion*
- From Animaniacs, in the Wally Llama episode:
Wakko: Well we have a very very very very very very * Dope Slap* important question to ask you.
- The dragon! The dragon! The dragon! The *klang*
- After Eva's failed Brainwashing, Igor laments, "It's just failure after failure." Scamper continues, "...after failure after failure after failure." When Igor shoots him a look, he just replies, "I thought we were counting off all your failures." Igor takes up the line again himself after Eva demands a bigger trailer, but stops once Scamper starts doing it, too.
- Dora the Explorer is guilty of this trope, ad nauseam. The worst culprit is The Map.
Map: I'm the map! I'm the map! I'm the map! I'm the map! I'm the map! I'm the map! I'm the map! I'm the map! I'm the map! I'm the map! I'm the map! I'm the map! I'm the map! I'm the map! I'm the map! I'm the map! I'm the map! I'm the map! I'm the map! I'm the map! I'm the map! I'm the map! I'm the map! I'm the map! I'm the map! I'm the map! I'm the map! I'm the map! I'm the map! I'm the map! I'm the map! I'm the map! I'm the map! I'm the map! I'm the map! I'm the map! I'm the map! I'm the map! I'm the map! I'm the map! I'm the map! I'm the map! I'm the map! I'm the map!
- In the old Looney Tunes movie Quack Busters, Porky and Sylvester stay for a night in a haunted hotel. Sylvester tries time and again to warn Porky that they were in danger, but is rebuffed every time by the stubborn pig. Eventually, as Porky sings 'Home on the Range,' Sylvester, out of fear, cracks him over the head with his guitar, loads him into their car, and drives off, with Porky dazedly repeating the line he was singing before he was struck.
Porky: (semi-comatose) And the deer and the antelope p-p-p-pl- And the deer and the antelope p-p-p-pl- And the deer and the antelope p-p-p-pl-...
- Also in "Invasion of the Bunny Snatchers" the clones made by the aliens constantly repeat the character's catchphrases over and over, they also get stuck when talking in normal sentences, "I spwed sunshine and happiness whenever I can, I can, I can" and "Take some some o' these strange-looking wild cactus carrots! They're good for ya, for ya, for ya."
- "I'm hunting wabbits. I'm hunting wabbits."
- "Rackin-frackin' varmint. Rackin-frackin' varmint."
- "You're despicable (BZZT) You're despicable (BZZT)".
- The short "Thugs With Dirty Mugs" features this:
- Also in "Invasion of the Bunny Snatchers" the clones made by the aliens constantly repeat the character's catchphrases over and over, they also get stuck when talking in normal sentences, "I spwed sunshine and happiness whenever I can, I can, I can" and "Take some some o' these strange-looking wild cactus carrots! They're good for ya, for ya, for ya."
Bank Clerk: You're a very bad boy shame on you, I'm going to tell! (thug hits him with a club) I'm going to tell!, I'm going to tell!, I'm going to tell!.
- Shrek Forever After has a kid incessantly asking: "Do the roar!"
- In the Screwy Squirrel cartoon "The Screwball Squirrel" at one point when he is being chased by Meathead the dog the animation frames and music repeat over and over until Screwy moves the needle on the record.
- DESTROY US ALL! DESTROY US ALL! DESTROY US ALL! DESTROY US ALL!
- "Grape Ape, Grape Ape! Grape Ape, Grape Ape!, Grape Ape, Grape Ape!"
- "YOW! A GORIL-IL-IL-IL-IL-IL-IL-ILLA!"
- In the Phineas and Ferb episode "Mom's Birthday", Candace goes to buy her mom a cute little sun dress that they saw in the window of a store. So, she keeps repeating, "Cute little sun dress, cute little sun dress, cute little sun dress..."
- During The Stinger for the episode "It's About Time!", Lawrence (the dad) keeps rewinding the end of the audio tour tape he got from the museum so he can hear the part that goes "Fossils! Dun, dun, dun!"
- When God takes a dump on your head, you just got to craft it into a hat that says "when God takes a dump on your head, you just got to craft it into a hat that says 'when God takes a dump on your head, you just got to craft it into a hat that says 'when...
- "I'm Dib! I'm Dib! I'm Dib! I am Dib! I'm Dib! I'm Dib! I am Dib! I'm Dib!"
- "I'm gonna sing the Doom Song now!"
Real Life
- The Ig Nobel award ceremonies employ a Deliberately Cute Child named Miss Sweetie Poo to cut off long speeches by repeating, "Please stop. I'm bored. Please stop. I'm bored. Please stop. I'm bored..."
- A medical condition, Palilalia is the repetition or echoing of one's own spoken words. It can be a symptom of Tourette syndrome, obsessive–compulsive disorder, or autism.
- ↑ AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER
- ↑ In the original, it wasn't exactly that. The lines were indeed being repeated, but each time they were spoken by a different voice actress on the show, resulting in Asuka speaking in Rei's, Hikari's, Maya's, Misato's, etc. voices. This added more meaning to her repeated statement of "No! This isn't me!" The dub apparently missed the memo on this, though.