The "Dragon Tattoo" duo say their icy, ominous score wasn't intended as a rebuke of symphonic schmaltz.

WSJ: Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross's 'Dragon Tattoo' Score

According to The Guardian's critic, the ballet's score features "house and trance, wild synths, romantic schmaltz and mercurial dissonances".

BBC: Pet Shop Boys launch first ballet

At first blush, opening number "Good Morning Baltimore" smacks of schmaltz.

CNN: Review: 'Hairspray' rises high

Progress marches ever onward with 62 percent of couples planning to also spread the schmaltz via text message or social media, according to a survey conducted by American Express.

FORBES: Size Matters On Valentine's Day

She dabbled in Las Vegas schmaltz, made an ambitious album with Quincy Jones and came bouncing back with the assertive "She Works Hard for the Money" at the dawn of the MTV era.

CNN: A diva who defined the disco moment

He preferred quotidian debris tram tickets, bureaucratic forms, dishevelled bird feathers, all sorts of cultural kitsch and schmaltz which he transfigured with a subtle and daring use of colour into rhythmic, vibrant works of art that speak movingly of their time, yet transcend it.

ECONOMIST: Kurt Schwitters

Many ads feature kids, like the recent Marriott International spots that show a young guest trying on, and misplacing, her father's shoes. (A Marriott employee comes to the rescue with a new pair.) Sometimes they deliver a dose of schmaltz, using music to great effect.

FORBES: The Men in The Gray Flannel Suits