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Ode to Cathode: The Best TV Theme Songs Ever
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Number one for me is the theme to Taxi, "Angela" by Bob James. Taxi Theme Song sound bite Taxi sound bitesHonorable mention to MASH theme "Suicide is Painless" by Johnny Mandel and Mike Altman
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Here's part of the Wikipedia entry for "Doctor Who theme music":
"Each and every note was individually created by cutting, splicing, speeding up and slowing down segments of analogue tape containing recordings of a single plucked string, white noise, and the simple harmonic waveforms of test-tone oscillators which were used for calibrating equipment and rooms, not creating music. The swooping melody and pulsating bass rhythm was created by manually adjusting the pitch of oscillator banks to a carefully-timed pattern. The rhythmic hissing sounds, "bubbles" and "clouds", were created by cutting tape recordings of filtered white noise. [1]
"Once each sound had been created, it was modified. Some sounds were created at all the required pitches direct from the oscillators, others had to be repitched later by adjusting the tape playback speed and re-recording the sound onto another tape player. This process continued until every sound was available at all the required pitches. To create dynamics, the notes were re-recorded at slightly different levels.
"Each individual note was then trimmed to length by cutting the tape, and stuck together in the right order. This was done for each "line" in the music - the main plucked bass, the bass slides (an organ-like tone emphasising the grace notes), the hisses, the swoops, the melody, a second melody line (a high organ-like tone used for emphasis), and the bubbles and clouds. Most of these individual bits of tape making up lines of music, complete with edits every inch, still survive.
"This done, the music had to be "mixed". There were no multitrack tape machines, so rudimentary multitrack techniques were invented: each length of tape was placed on a separate tape machine and all the machines were started simultaneously and the outputs mixed together. If the machines didn't stay in sync, they started again, maybe cutting tapes slightly here and there to help. In fact, a number of "submixes" were made to ease the process - a combined bass track, combined melody track, bubble track, and hisses. Eventually, the piece was finished."
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"Each and every note was individually created by cutting, splicing, speeding up and slowing down segments of analogue tape containing recordings of a single plucked string, white noise, and the simple harmonic waveforms of test-tone oscillators which were used for calibrating equipment and rooms, not creating music. The swooping melody and pulsating bass rhythm was created by manually adjusting the pitch of oscillator banks to a carefully-timed pattern. The rhythmic hissing sounds, "bubbles" and "clouds", were created by cutting tape recordings of filtered white noise. [1]
"Once each sound had been created, it was modified. Some sounds were created at all the required pitches direct from the oscillators, others had to be repitched later by adjusting the tape playback speed and re-recording the sound onto another tape player. This process continued until every sound was available at all the required pitches. To create dynamics, the notes were re-recorded at slightly different levels.
"Each individual note was then trimmed to length by cutting the tape, and stuck together in the right order. This was done for each "line" in the music - the main plucked bass, the bass slides (an organ-like tone emphasising the grace notes), the hisses, the swoops, the melody, a second melody line (a high organ-like tone used for emphasis), and the bubbles and clouds. Most of these individual bits of tape making up lines of music, complete with edits every inch, still survive.
"This done, the music had to be "mixed". There were no multitrack tape machines, so rudimentary multitrack techniques were invented: each length of tape was placed on a separate tape machine and all the machines were started simultaneously and the outputs mixed together. If the machines didn't stay in sync, they started again, maybe cutting tapes slightly here and there to help. In fact, a number of "submixes" were made to ease the process - a combined bass track, combined melody track, bubble track, and hisses. Eventually, the piece was finished."
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I nominate a prime time drama and a game show.
First, the game show... The Joker's Wild.. the original one.. the theme? "The Savers" by Perrey & Kingsley
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-o6Q-Qtf…
And the rivethead/industrual in me LOVES the theme to The Equalizer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uB1NiNKwu…
Honorable mention:
America's Most Wanted... it sounds a bit like Nitzer Ebb and more dancy Cabaret Voltaire. Can't find a youtube though. :(
First, the game show... The Joker's Wild.. the original one.. the theme? "The Savers" by Perrey & Kingsley
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-o6Q-Qtf…
And the rivethead/industrual in me LOVES the theme to The Equalizer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uB1NiNKwu…
Honorable mention:
America's Most Wanted... it sounds a bit like Nitzer Ebb and more dancy Cabaret Voltaire. Can't find a youtube though. :(
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I like this list, Dave. Sanford & Son, and Banana Splits top it for me. Taxi too, but it does make me sad. It makes me miss Latka.
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You missed "The Price is Right." That bassline frequently gets caught in my head, especially after the Butthole Surfers repeated it 119 times in the minutes before they took the stage last month.
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@12
That is tight—and kind of Perrey-Kingsley-esque in its insane chipperness. I never watched Price Is Right. Game shows work my last nerve.
That is tight—and kind of Perrey-Kingsley-esque in its insane chipperness. I never watched Price Is Right. Game shows work my last nerve.
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Old school: The Munsters, Peter Gunn, the Addams Family, Hawaii Five-O, Mission Impossible, Bonanza, Laverne and Shirley
80s: Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Star Trek the Next Generation, Malcom in the Middle, Square Pegs, The A Team, Greatest American Hero, Welcome Back Kotter
80s: Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Star Trek the Next Generation, Malcom in the Middle, Square Pegs, The A Team, Greatest American Hero, Welcome Back Kotter
17
rockford files!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
and better than the Iron Man theme, i think The Hulk & Captian America ones from the same series are sweet.
and not the tv version, but i like this -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qx6XeBhZE…
and better than the Iron Man theme, i think The Hulk & Captian America ones from the same series are sweet.
and not the tv version, but i like this -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qx6XeBhZE…
18
Y'know, the theme to The Daily Show (courtesy one Bob Mould) is pretty classic.
I'm not sure how everyone missed this, though: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7oDuGN6K3… . It's not like it's set in the state that we fucking live in or anything.
I'm not sure how everyone missed this, though: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7oDuGN6K3… . It's not like it's set in the state that we fucking live in or anything.
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