How many times have you disregarded a TV show, only to have its theme song pop in your head at a maddening frequency over the next few weeks? Most of the time this music is composed by talented if anonymous Hollywood rent-a-composers or artist who have lent previously-released music, giving their songs a chance to rise from obscurity. However, a fair amount of prominent bands/musicians have written completely original material as exclusive TV show themes, some becoming ubiquitous in pop-culture and others interesting just for the famous name attached.

We’ve made a list of some of the most notable TV theme songs by real bands for you to peruse and compare after the jump. Which of your favorite musicians would you want to hear take a stab at TV themes?

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Today at Flavorpill, we learned 50 facts about the 50 United States. We loved “Shoes,” the new song that art punk darlings Les Savy Fav wrote for their turn on Yo Gabba Gabba. We were jealous of all of the scooters and snacks at Google’s New York HQ. We mouthed along with the top 100 quotes from The Wire. We remembered the 7 shortest running sitcoms of all time. We wondered if having Jay-Z and the Smiths (as in Will and Jada Pinkett) producing Broadway’s Fela! will guarantee it’s a smash. We were excited to read that Chuck is coming back in January. We followed a purple vintage brocade jacket across the country. We watched Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance” video as soundtracked by Skinny Puppy. And finally, we saluted Pink Floyd’s The Wall. The album — which inspired the film still above — turns 30 this month.

Bobby Boris Pickett’s “Monster Mash” has been a Halloween staple since its release in October, 1962. Have you ever heard the Misfits’ cover? Or the Beach Boys’ version? Even the Smashing Pumpkins gave it a spin. While these are all classics, sometimes you don’t want to rock out on Halloween; you want to listen to some hip-hop. That’s why we’ve come up with a list of ten Halloween rap songs that might surpass Pickett’s legendary tune. Add to our roundup in the comments.

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Some rappers can dive right into the acting world; Ice T is lovely as a detective, Ludacris (errm, Christopher Bridges) was good in Crash, and once upon a time, before he was the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Will Smith rapped. The opposite isn’t usually true. If you can’t flow, don’t flow, please. With that in mind, after the jump and in no particular order, a look at five of the worst celebrity rap attempts. Read More »

Books: Empire of the Sun author J.G. Ballard dies at 78 [via The Times]
Dance/Opera: The brainy dancers behind the cover [New York Times Magazine]
Design: French architect Jacques Rival’s giant inflatable mouse [via Guardian]
Film: Slumdog Millionaire kid up for sale at 300K [via The Daily Beast]
Music: A brief history of the spoken-word pop hit. [via Slate]
Television: FOX apologizes for canceling Arrested Development [via THR]
Theatre: Colin Hanks is as boring as we are! [via NYT]
Visual Arts: Shepard Fairey plays Coachella [via The Desert Sun]
Web: Larry King and Ashton Kutcher talk Twitter, and reinforce the fact that King is a crusty old dinosaur [via .TV]

We have no idea what the weather’s like where you live, but in New York it’s snowing so hard that we can’t see the building directly across the street from Flavorpill. Translation: the odds that someone you know is going to suggest “taking it easy” tonight and going to see Will Smith’s new movie Seven Pounds just rose exponentially.

Admitting that you don’t like Will Smith in a movie is kind of like saying you hate puppies or the elderly — especially with the world-saving roles he’s taken on in recent years. Nevertheless, after the jump you’ll find the final paragraphs from seven reviewers who don’t think his performance is anything you should pay to see. EVER.

Remember this when you get that call later, and suggest renting a new DVD like Baghead instead.

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WILL SMITH and STEVEN SPIELBERG are in talks to team up for a remake of a Korean drama about a man imprisoned for 15 years and then released with a cell phone, some money and no explanation. It will be a nice change of pace for Spielberg who is next slated to work on a TINTIN movie with the incredibly shrinking PETER JACKSON. [Variety]

JACK BLACK has been cast as the lead in a “contemporary re-imagining” of GULLIVER’S TRAVELS where he’ll play a travel writer who gets lost in the Bermuda Triangle. Is this just a badly-veiled excuse to pair Black with a cast of little people? [Cinematical]

TOM CRUISE and CHARLIZE THERON are in talks to join forces in an upcoming thriller called THE TOURIST, based on the 2005 French flick by ANTHONY ZIMMER. The exciting part is that Theron will be playing a tough Interpol agent; Cruise her bumbling tourist sexual pawn. He better hope that she doesn’t go all Wuornos on his ass. [Variety]

PETER and BOBBY FARRELLY have written a screenplay for a THREE STOOGES movie that MGM is looking to greenlight which provides the back story for Moe, Larry and Curly. The brothers will direct the film, but there’s no word yet on casting (we’re choosing to ignore that strange bit about RUSSELL CROWE and MEL GIBSON as possibilities). [THR]