Having come to the end of an era last week, with the slow crumbling of the TV theme song in the 2000s, we felt the obligation to end this mini-series with a bang by going back to what was surely the golden age of the form — before the ‘90s, before the ‘80s, all the way back to the 1970s. Back then they knew how to make a theme song, for goodness’ sake — those songs told stories, set a mood, and were often downright funky (and the best ones did all three).
Again, our criteria for the list is not necessarily the best show or even the best song, but the ones that stick in your head, every word and/or instrumental break at the ready for mass sing-alongs and quiet moments alone. (We’ve all been there.) For the first time, we expanded the list to twelve entries—and even doing that, we had to make painful judgment calls and leave off such classics as Diff’rent Strokes, One Day at a Time, The White Shadow, S.W.A.T., The Electric Company, Happy Days, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Three’s Company,The Love Boat, Fat Albert, Starsky and Hutch, and The Six Million Dollar Man. Check out what made the cut after the jump:
1. Amy Winehouse has recorded a new song! It’s a cover of Lesley Gore’s 1963 hit “It’s My Party” for the upcoming Quincy Jones tribute album Q: Soul Bossa Nostra, which is due out on November 9. [via Rolling Stone]
2. We’d watch that: JJ Abrams is working on a crime-thriller series created by Jonah Nolan, Christopher Nolan’s brother and frequent collaborator. [via EW]
3. Y tu mama tambien costars Gael Garcia Bernal and Diego Luna will join Will Ferrell in Casa de mi padre, a Spanish-language comedy that “will be told in an overly dramatic telenovela style and feature English subtitles.” [via THR]
4. The first photos of the Captain America costume are online. What do you think? [via ComingSoon]
5. House’s Jennifer Morrison is joining the cast of How I Met Your Mother and producers are calling her “the biggest female character we’ve maybe ever added to the show in Ted’s life.” [via Vulture]
The evening commenced with oddball musician Peter Stampfel and the Ether Frolic Mob. The farcical performance of the eponymous Stampfel, who howled and grimaced comically while playing souring notes throughout the set, made one wonder if Christopher Guest was filming a sequel for A Mighty Wind from somewhere in the back. Read More »
Today at Flavorpill, we were so patriotic that we decided to read about how much White House staffers get paid, until that is, we read that Reggie Love makes over $100k, and come on, all he does is freaking play basketball with Obama! Then we read a mixed review of the new Yankee stadium’s design. We listened to Quincy Jones say all sorts of crazy things about his protege, Michael Jackson. We OMG’ed at the news of the first Jonas brother engagement before becoming implicated in a lively debate among the interns about how much the JoBros suck (It was three to one in favor of “a lot”). We wondered how New York City’s discontinuation of film and television tax breaks would affect our dear sweet Ugly Betty. We thought this Katy Perry doll was freaky, but whatever, we’re not gonna let it ruin our long weekend. May the 4th be with you all.
