Oh, Where Did You Go, theme song for a TV show

Oct. 12, 2008

Oh, Where Did You Go, Theme Song For TV Show?
A recent Billboard feature pointed out a fact that you may not even have consciously noticed - popular TV theme songs are something of a dying (or even dead) breed. Taking a different approach, that of using existing songs for TV show openings, has taken over for the “dedicated” television theme song. This trend can apparantly be blamed on mid-’90s show “Dawson’s Creek,” which kicked off the trend by adapting a Paula Cole song, the earworm-y “I Don’t Want to Wait,” as its track of choice. Other current shows followed suit, leaving authentic TV theme songs in the digital dust. In a tribute of sorts, Billboard put together a list of the Top 10 Original Television Theme Songs. among them were Jan Hammer’s “Miami Vice Theme,” John Sebastian’s “Welcome Back” (from the ‘70s John-Travolta-starring show “Welcome Back Kotter”), and a pair by composer Mike Post, who contributed theme songs for “The Rockford Files” and “Hill Street Blues”...
The V Fest is branching out from its events in the UK and the U.S., having confirmed the launch of the first V Fest set to take place in South Africa in two locales: Johannesburg December 13, and Cape Town December 16. The V Fests, expected to draw an audience of 60,000 across both cities, are being helmed, as usual, by Sir Richard Branson, and will feature live sets from OneRepublic, Snoop Dogg, Eddy Grant, The Parlotones, and Maroon 5...
Matchbox Twenty frontman/solo artist Rob Thomas has mostly wrapped work on his sophomore solo set, the follow-up to his 2005 solo release, Something to Be, and hopes to have the album in-stores early 2009. The new album, tentatively titled Cradle Songs, brings in a more global sound to Thomas’ tunes, throwing in some South American and African rhythms and being influenced, in part, by Paul Simon. Matchbox Twenty is also prepping to begin work on their next record, which they expect to record with producer Steve Lillywhite next year...
And a pair of American legends - songwriter Woody Guthrie and writer John Steinbeck - were honored late last month at the This Land Is Your Land concert, which took place at the Sleep Train Pavilion in Concord, California. The two talents were feted musicially by the likes of Son Volt, The Black Keys, and Sheryl Crow, among others; the plan is for the event to be an annual show that “celebrates their work and highlights the relevancy of what they did.” The all-day event also featured a cool display of historical Guthrie/Steinbeck artifacts that included copies of lyric sheets, signed novels, and rare photos...

MODERN ROCK LINK OF THE WEEK:
Well, autumn is here, and it’s time to make those autumn mix tapes - but what songs to include? UGO’s got a few ideas, including tracks by U2, Carbon Leaf, and The White Stripes - see if you agree with their picks for Top Songs About Autumn at http://www.ugo.com/channels/music/features/top11/songsaboutautumn/...

MINI BUZZ:
Stevie Wonder is set to be honored next February with the second-ever Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song (Paul Simon was the first recipient); Wonder will receive the award on February 23rd, with a concert to follow...
Cage the Elephant have announced that they’ll embark on a UK tour throughout November, including stops in Leeds (11/8), Aberdeen (11/14), and London (11/18)...
Ben Folds Five is set to reunite for the first time in 8 years to perform a concert in their hometown of Chapel Hill, NC September 18; the trio will play their third album, The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner, in its entirety as part of the “Front to Back” Concert Series, where artists are being tapped to play entire albums live...
Free of Velvet Revolver but still rockin’ with Stone Temple Pilots, Scott Weiland is also set to release his second solo album, Happy, November 18. the album, which will include songs “Paralysis” and “Missing Cleveland,” will also feature appearances from No Doubt’s Tony Kanal and Tom Dumont...
The Pigeon Detectives will release their latest single, “Say It Like You Mean It,” on October 20, the third track from their sophomore album, Emergency...
NYC modern rockers Vampire Weekend are set to follow up their U.S. tour with 10 UK shows this autumn, kicking off in Birmingham, England October 20...
And now it’s time to kick off this week’s new releases... ON CD: Keane’s Perfect Symmetry... Cranes’ Cranes... Attack! Attack!’s Attack! Attack!... The Secret Machines’ The Secret Machines (lots of originality this week, eh?)... Electric Six’s Flashy... and Kaiser Chiefs’ Off With Their Heads... and ON DVD: Glasvegas: Glasvegas... Boomtown Rats’ On a Night Like This... McFly’s Radio:ACTIVE... and Graham Nash - Songs for Beginners... and that’s the buzz for this week’s Modern Rock.
Questions, comments, rants, raves, suggestions on this column or your fave musicians? Send ‘em to Kristi at modernrocker@gmail.com