Who really remembers a theme song for a show since 2000? Okay, maybe Chappelle's Show...but there were only two words. Now, think back to the 80s. I bet everyone reading this knows the first line from The Golden Girls. Most all of us can hum the theme from The Cosby Show or sing thr theme from Charles in Charge. Our parents can likely do the same with (going back to the 70s now) All In The Family. Good Times, The Jeffersons...there are just songs we'll always remember. And don't even get me started on non-sitcoms: The Greatest American Hero, The A-Team, Dallas, even The Young and The Restless...everyone over 30 should know those. The TV theme song game, though, seems to have gone the way of popular music - actually, it's even worse. Why?
I. Explosion of Cable Options (and other things)
There aren't as many of us watching the main three networks as there used to be. Too much other stuff to do: watch cable, surf the web (I swear, that sounds so old school)...okay, just those two things. We don't do anything else either (if you need further explanation of this, look up a guy named Robert Putnam). Without the same number of eyeballs watching, people just don't put forth as much effort. Case in point: how many of y'all keep your houses in tip-top shape when you you're not expecting company? Thank you. Speaking of lack of effort...
II. Reality TV
It is the epitome of lack of effort. You don't have to hire - or pay - trained actors, you don't have to write scripts or develop stories...it's basically "point a camera and let it go", especially when the people featured want to make themselves into brands and giftwrap (what many people consider to be) compelling television. You don't need memorable theme songs for shows in which there are no memorable - or even static - themes. Reality shows win off unpredictability and craziness, so any action toward a nice theme song is a fait accompli.
III. Music In General
No disrespect to GaGa - who I like - but she's not cranking out classics like Material Girl, Holiday, and Borderline. Beyonce isn't singing The Greatest Love of All, I Wanna Dance With Somebody, or So Emotional. Drake ain't LL. I could go on, but y'all get the point. If the music in general isn't as good, how are you going to squeeze blood out of a turnip and get good theme songs for TV shows? As a matter of fact, the best music on TV (obviously excluding music-themed programming) is the set of wrestler theme songs I hear every week. I play Miz's theme song in public. Matter of fact, it's on a playlist between Beyonce's husband and GaGa. But music in general...meh.
Bonus. Movie Soundtracks
If anyone under 25 reads this, what I'm about to get into next will be a foreign concept. For those of us who can rent a car on our own, we remember a time when movie soundtracks were among the best things going in music. Boomerang. The Bodyguard (I never said the movies were good). Poetic Justice. CB4. Boyz N The Hood. Jason's Lyric. New Jersey Drive. Panther. Higher Learning. Space Jam. How To Be A Player. High School High. The Player's Club. Going back further, I could also mention classics like Footloose, Saturday Night Fever, and Cooley High. The only movie soundtrack I remember from the last 10 years is from Idlewild. I'm not counting ATL since TI used the King album as the movie soundtrack, and I'm not couting Trapped In The Closet because the movie wasn't in theaters.
Another problem with movie soundtracks is the direction in which movies have gone. Most of the big movies now feature comic book heroes. Such movies require scores more than actual songs.
---
These seem mostly irreversible, sadly. I think there's a better possibility of an iconic movie soundtrack popping up sometime in the future than a TV show theme song. Speaking particuarly of the rap and R&B genres (and let's be honest: most great music soundtracks have focused on these genres)...well, part of the problem is that there's no great R&B. I'm not sure I'd even say anyone is good, other than R Kelly. Rap: well...um...yeah. Extending this out to all types of music, who can name 12-15 artists that they'd like to hear on one album? After that, what's the chance that all those artists agree to get on the same project?
TV shows don't even stay on the air long enough for the songs to catch the necessary traction to become memorable anymore. It's just sad...only word I can think of to describe it all. Sad.
Can't agree here. Beyonce has cranked out some very memorable songs. There is To the left(see I didn't even use the title), Dangerously in love, survivor and her list goes on. Her production is better and she is over singing just like the rest of the RnB cast.
ReplyDeleteIDK if you'd count family guy or any other cartoon but overall, our society has grown more intelligent and become more accepting in almost every way.
The wire and plenty other shows changed their intro with the seasons. The Cosby show did it back in the day.
Overall, I think there is some merit to what you say but I just don't see it as being as bad as you do. Nothing wrong with that...I'm still under my thirties...that may be impairing my judgment.
I see what you're saying, but modern stuff hasn't had the chance to stand the test of time yet. Bey has some songs that are memorable now, but in 2040 they might not have the same ring as a Deniece Williams song does now (sorry, been stuck on her stuff since Unsung). I'll also say that modern pop music is much better than modern TV themes (although I don't watch much modern TV). Even though you're under 30, I bet you know the Good Times theme. I know it, even though 1) the show premiered before I was born, and 2) you couldn't pay me to actually watch an episode.
ReplyDeleteI guess the short, incomplete, but actually correct answer is to say that we'll revisit this topic in 25-30 and see where things stand. You did make me think of something that I probably didn't highlight as much as I should have: there aren't enough shows (particularly sitcoms and dramas) to facilitate the deep pool that there were in earlier decades. There may not be as many great TV themes because...there aren't as many TV themes. Maybe it's that simple.