I was looking around my Windows folder as I wanted to retrieve copies of the sounds Windows uses. I discovered three very strange sounds:
- C:\Windows\Media\FLOURISH.MID
- C:\Windows\Media\ONESTOP.MID
- C:\Windows\Media\TOWN.MID
I searched around the web and I couldn’t find much about these files. They just seem to be some MIDI songs and I’ve no idea if they are even used by Windows and if so, where.
I found a Windows Feed Discovered.wav file too which I thought was kinda wierd as XP doesn’t have any feed integration but I wouldn’t be surprised if this came from Internet Exploder 7.
I also came across CLOCK.AVI in the Windows folder a while ago; googled around for this one and apparently some Windows drivers use this for internal timing or something.
- Check out some cool music Microsoft commissioned for the release of XP Media Centre.
I searched my computer for Windows Feed Discovered.wav and couldn’t find it – so I guess your assumption that it’s from IE7 is correct as I don’t have it installed.
I think you have the same three sound files I have? I don’t know who created them or what the real names of the pieces are. I wish I did.
onestop: the music in this piece starts off kind of stressed, in a way, like a piece you might hear in a movie when the main character’s being hunted by someone (I can’t think of any other way to describe it) then swing into these pieces in order: 2: rock and roll/3: a kind of sultry, ‘hot mama’ piece/4: ‘boogie-woogie’/5: Classical music/6: circus music/7: blues music/8: some kind of creepy music/9: light rock on piano
town: this piece sounds light, upbeat with kind of a caribbean rhythm behind the music
flourish: this piece is upbeat too, but is has a lot of xylophone (?) music in the background
I searched around the web and I couldn’t find much about these files.
I was searching for this msword easter egg, when I came across these files too. They’re quite well made, I would say, but I don’t know where they come from either. I think they are the easter eggs, although they should have different name. Oh well…
My friend and I found town.mid on his HP computer probably a good 7 years ago, I’m pretty sure it was a Win98 PC. We’ve always been wondering where it came from and who wrote it, we love this song!
C:\Windows\system32\oobe\images\title.wma
Try this one! Maybe you get the Deja Vu effect (you probably heard it when installing XP)
hi! it’s been some time since I found those MIDs you are talking about but I have still no idea where they come from. There’s not much about it on the internet. I only could find this http://www.numenorean.net/blog/archives/miscellany/index.html (search for “flourish”)
I actually use flourish.mid as a ringtone on my mobile. it’s a fantastic piece of music, with a 7/4 rhythm. I have a score of the piece (made with a score-writing software). the strange thing is that these files are never used anywhere else in in MS Windows. I guess the composer might be either someone from Passport Designs, you probably know Canyon.mid which I think has something in common with Flourish, though it’s a less sophisticated composition. Or Brian Eno, who used to do some music for Microsoft.
Flourish is used when you run a DirectX diagnostic test for DirectMusic.
Flourish and Town were made by Nathan Grigg. And Onestop by David Yackley.
Both of them for Microsoft Corp. in 2000. I guess they were employees. Nathan Grigg seems to have been part of the Microsoft Game Studio.
I don’t think they are related to Passport Designs BTW.
thanks for putting up the artist names!
I have a copy of FLOURISH.mid
And the midis are on Vista.
im windows 7 too.
And believe it or not, Windows 8 too!