Top 10 best theme songs of a TV show
After my "top 10 best opening titles" list, here is the list of my favorite songs used in the opening titles of a TV show. Two two lists somewhat overlap, but not too much. Note that the criteria was both the song itself, and the way it is used in the credits and fits the show.
Honorary mention: "Sour Times" by Portishead is a great song, and was wonderfully used in the title sequence of the UK cop drama The Vice, but it's not on the list because I knew the song years before it was used on the show, so it doesn't feel as connected to it as the others on the list do.
10. Only Fools and Horses
These are actually two songs: the one in the opening credits and the one in the end credits. The lyrics pretty much describe what the show is about - they even explain the title itself. The vocals John Sullivan, the creator and showrunner of the show, who also wrote both songs.
9. Firefly
Another one written specifically for the show. At first I wasn't too impressed, it took me a while to warm up to the song, but when I did, it was in my head for weeks.
Written by Joss Whedon, performed by Sonny Rhodes.
8. The Royle Family
- "Half the World Away" by Oasis
I normally hate Oasis, but this is one of their songs I can bear... I even *gasp* like it! This may be partly because it fits so well with the show, a dramedy about a lazy, TV-addicted lower class family (the similarity of the name to "royal family" must have been deliberate, and ironic).
7. The 10th Kingdom
- "Wishing on a Star" by Miriam Stockley
A few years later, Paul Weller had a hit single with his cover of this song, originally recorded by Rose Royce in 1978. But this version was beautiful and fit this fantasy drama/comedy perfectly.
6. Battlestar Galactica
Bear McCreary's music for Battlestar Galactica was always one of the most compelling aspects of this great show. Some of the tracks used on the show were even better than the theme song, but the main title song is amazing in itself. What makes it even better is that it has Raya Yarbrough singing the lyrics in Sanskrit - which are actually the rendition of the Gayatri mantra. Lyrics in dead languages would become one of the trademarks of the BSG music.
5. Angel
- "Sanctuary" by Darling Violetta
This dark pop band from California apparently wrote the theme song specifically for the show. I couldn't find a good video of the opening titles, but I've got something even better: the full song, which I like even better now that I've heard it in full.
4. Dollhouse
- "What You Don't Know" by Jonatha Brooke
The lyrics fit the themes of the show perfectly. This is the full song, but I have to say that I actually like the part used on Dollhouse the best (the part that sounds like a lullaby and starts around 2:50). As a full song, I might prefer "Sanctuary", but this song in the opening titles had me mesmerized and contributed a lot to my liking of the show.
3. The Sopranos
- "Woke Up This Morning" (Chosen mix) by Alabama 3
The original version of this song was released on their album "Exile on Coldharbour Lane". They made this version for the show, changing the lyrics from 1st person to the 2nd. There are some musical changes as well, and I prefer this mix to the original album version.
2. True Blood
- "Bad Things" by Jace Everett
Originally released in 2005 (in a slightly different version), it became a worldwide hit only after it was used on True Blood in 2008.
1. The Wire (season 1)
- "Way Down in a Hole" by Five Blind Boys From Alabama
I've recently started to watch The Wire (I'm still in season 1), and I can't get this song out of my head - not that I would want to!!! It is originally a Tom Waits song, and I know that the other seasons of the show used different versions of the song - the original by Waits and the covers by The Neville Brothers, someone called DoMaJe, and Steve Earle... which disappoints me a bit: I've listened to the other versions on Youtube, and this one is the best by far! Too bad I'll only get to hear it in the credits for a few more episodes...
This entry was originally posted at http://timetravellingbunny.dreamwidth.org/. Comment here or there, as you like.
Honorary mention: "Sour Times" by Portishead is a great song, and was wonderfully used in the title sequence of the UK cop drama The Vice, but it's not on the list because I knew the song years before it was used on the show, so it doesn't feel as connected to it as the others on the list do.
10. Only Fools and Horses
These are actually two songs: the one in the opening credits and the one in the end credits. The lyrics pretty much describe what the show is about - they even explain the title itself. The vocals John Sullivan, the creator and showrunner of the show, who also wrote both songs.
Click to view9. Firefly
Another one written specifically for the show. At first I wasn't too impressed, it took me a while to warm up to the song, but when I did, it was in my head for weeks.
Written by Joss Whedon, performed by Sonny Rhodes.
8. The Royle Family
- "Half the World Away" by Oasis
I normally hate Oasis, but this is one of their songs I can bear... I even *gasp* like it! This may be partly because it fits so well with the show, a dramedy about a lazy, TV-addicted lower class family (the similarity of the name to "royal family" must have been deliberate, and ironic).
7. The 10th Kingdom
- "Wishing on a Star" by Miriam Stockley
A few years later, Paul Weller had a hit single with his cover of this song, originally recorded by Rose Royce in 1978. But this version was beautiful and fit this fantasy drama/comedy perfectly.
6. Battlestar Galactica
Bear McCreary's music for Battlestar Galactica was always one of the most compelling aspects of this great show. Some of the tracks used on the show were even better than the theme song, but the main title song is amazing in itself. What makes it even better is that it has Raya Yarbrough singing the lyrics in Sanskrit - which are actually the rendition of the Gayatri mantra. Lyrics in dead languages would become one of the trademarks of the BSG music.
5. Angel
- "Sanctuary" by Darling Violetta
This dark pop band from California apparently wrote the theme song specifically for the show. I couldn't find a good video of the opening titles, but I've got something even better: the full song, which I like even better now that I've heard it in full.
4. Dollhouse
- "What You Don't Know" by Jonatha Brooke
The lyrics fit the themes of the show perfectly. This is the full song, but I have to say that I actually like the part used on Dollhouse the best (the part that sounds like a lullaby and starts around 2:50). As a full song, I might prefer "Sanctuary", but this song in the opening titles had me mesmerized and contributed a lot to my liking of the show.
3. The Sopranos
- "Woke Up This Morning" (Chosen mix) by Alabama 3
The original version of this song was released on their album "Exile on Coldharbour Lane". They made this version for the show, changing the lyrics from 1st person to the 2nd. There are some musical changes as well, and I prefer this mix to the original album version.
2. True Blood
- "Bad Things" by Jace Everett
Originally released in 2005 (in a slightly different version), it became a worldwide hit only after it was used on True Blood in 2008.
1. The Wire (season 1)
- "Way Down in a Hole" by Five Blind Boys From Alabama
I've recently started to watch The Wire (I'm still in season 1), and I can't get this song out of my head - not that I would want to!!! It is originally a Tom Waits song, and I know that the other seasons of the show used different versions of the song - the original by Waits and the covers by The Neville Brothers, someone called DoMaJe, and Steve Earle... which disappoints me a bit: I've listened to the other versions on Youtube, and this one is the best by far! Too bad I'll only get to hear it in the credits for a few more episodes...
This entry was originally posted at http://timetravellingbunny.dreamwidth.org/. Comment here or there, as you like.