Music 11 | ***Dave Does the Blog

TV Theme Songs

SONN takes on the thankless task of identifying the Best TV Theme Song evah. Thankless in that the corpus is so huge, and the associations between given tunes and their…

SONN takes on the thankless task of identifying the Best TV Theme Song evah. Thankless in that the corpus is so huge, and the associations between given tunes and their shows (and the title sequences themselves) is so tight, that it’s exceedingly difficult to come up with a “best.”

That said, just thinking of “classic” TV (which then includes current faves like “Firefly”), I can’t argue too much with his first choice of “Hawaii Five-O,” though I’d likely give the nod to “Mission: Impossible.” Or, maybe the oiriginal “Jonny Quest.” “Doctor Who,” perhaps. Even “Maverick.”

But, damn, I’ve got a ton of TV show MP3s I could point at, not to mention audio and video tapes of main title sequences I love, and I know I’m forgetting eleventy-dozen I like even better than those.

The flip side to the discussion, the Worst TV Theme Song, the nominees are even more endless, and though I don’t fear leaving out something I love, I find it hard to actually force myself to think of them.

So … what are your nominees (in either category)?

Posted by Dave-o-Tron.

Shuffle me timbers

It’s the “Party Shuffle” meme (10 random songs via the Party Shuffle control from one’s iTunes or other MP3 library system). Today’s winners: “Dot’s Song” (on the Animaniacs Variety Pack)…

It’s the “Party Shuffle” meme (10 random songs via the Party Shuffle control from one’s iTunes or other MP3 library system).

Today’s winners:

“Dot’s Song” (on the Animaniacs Variety Pack)
“Joy to the World” (perf. by the Yuletide Lounge Band, on The Gift)
“Hary Janos Suite” (by Kodaly, perf. by Ormandy and the Philadelphia, on Classics for Kids)
“You Only Live Twice” (by Barry and Bricuse, perf. by Nancy Sinatra, on The Best of James Bond, 30th Anniv. Collection)
“We Got the Beat” (by the Go-Go’s on Beauty and the Beast)
“The Home Stretch” (by Louden Wainwright III, on So Damn Happy)
“Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah” (by Allan Sherman, on the Dr Demento 20th Anniversay Album)
“Day-O” (perf. by the Pomona College Men’s Choir, on Silence Profound)
“Words of Love” (by the Mamas and the Papas, on All the Leaves are Brown)
“You’ve Got a Way” (by Shania Twain, on Come On Over)
“Fish” (on Television’s Greatest Hits VI)

Hmmm. No more than mildly embarrassing. And fairly representative, at that.

Sic transit Jerry Goldsmith

Jerry Goldsmith, composer of more great soundtracks and theme songs than one could shake a stick at, has died. Just to list the ones that I find are particularly noteworthy…

Jerry Goldsmith, composer of more great soundtracks and theme songs than one could shake a stick at, has died.

Just to list the ones that I find are particularly noteworthy would take a while, but just a few off the list includes:

The Mummy
Mulan
Star Trek: Voyager (theme)
Total Recall
Star Trek the Motion Picture (thus, the theme to Star Trek: Next Generation)
Aliens
The Omen
Barnaby Jones (theme)
Patton
Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (TV theme)
Perry Mason (theme)
Have Gun, Will Travel (theme)

And eleventy zillion others. Impressive, both in scope and length. I’ll miss him.

Lists of Four Things

4 things you would eat on the last day of your life: 1) A bag of Mother’s “Taffy” cookies. 2) A pepperoni pizza. 3) Haagen-Dazs Rum Raisin ice cream. 4)…

4 things you would eat on the last day of your life:
1) A bag of Mother’s “Taffy” cookies.
2) A pepperoni pizza.
3) Haagen-Dazs Rum Raisin ice cream.
4) Margie’s pepper steak.

4 CDs from your collection that you will never get tired of:
1) John Barry/Moviola
2) Pet Shop Boys/Actually
3) Eurythmics/Greatest Hits
4) Bangles/Greatest Hits

4 movies that you watch over and over:
1) Princess Bride
2) Undercover Blues
3) Judgement at Nuremberg
4) The Shadow

4 vacations you have taken:
1) Britain, with Margie.
2) The Grand Canyon, with my folks
3) My honeymoon, with Margie
4) Santa Fe, with Margie

4 things you’d like to learn:
1) To hit a golf ball straight, consistently.
2) Japanese
3) Philosophy (formally)
4) How to draw faces

4 beverages you drink frequently:
1) Coffee
2) Barq’s root beer
3) Grapefruit juice
4) Coke

4 TV shows that you liked when you were a kid:
1) I Love Lucy
2) Mission Impossible
3) Doctor Who
4) Star Trek

4 places to go in your city:
1) The Zoo
2) The Botanic Gardens
3) Lo-Do
4) Cherry Creek North

4 things to do when you’re bored:
1) Read
2) Watch TV
3) Blog
4) Read some more

4 things that never fail to cheer you up:
1) Margie’s smile
2) Katherine’s smile
3) Praise
4) Knights of the Dinner Table

(Via sillycow)