Television

The Ventures: “Hawaii Five-0”

A post on television show themes is an exercise in nostalgia for those of us old enough to have seen the series when they originally aired.

While there’s nothing wrong with that, there is far more to it then reminiscing. For one thing, program themes are the original music videos. They also are commercials: A television theme has to sell the show and set the mood. It has to do all this in about a minute. A bad theme can sink a good show, and a good one can at least delay the demise of a bad one.

Among the classics are the themes from All in the Family, The Sopranos, Miami Vice, The Jeffersons, The Beverly Hillbillies and The Addams Family.

The theme from WKRP in Cincinnati may not be in their league, but it has a great line (albeit one with some questionable grammar: I think “me” in the first line should be “I”). Regardless, it’s great:

Maybe you and me were never meant to be,
But baby think of me once in a while.

Two masters of the genre — Neal Hefti (Batman, The Odd Couple) and Lalo Shifrin (Man From U.N.C.L.EMission Impossible) — were legitimate jazz heavyweights. That’s just the tip of the iceberg. The talent involved in creating television theme songs is staggering and shouldn’t be overlooked.

Our New Things: Links to Music Sites and Info on Analog Tech and Vinyl

TDMB has focused on music and musicians. We will continue to do that, of course. We're also expanding our coverage to include vinyl and analog equipment.

More specifically, we'll look at this huge and interesting world from the perspective of music lovers who want a better experience, not committed non-audiophiles.

Check out is some of what we've written so far:

-- Assessing the Value of Vinyl Records: An Overview

-- 7 Quick Tips on Optimizing Your Turntable Cartridge

-- Why Vinyl Records Continue to Thrive

-- Finding the Best Amplifier

-- Finding the Best Phono Preamp

-- What Speakers Do I Need for My Turntable?

Check out more articles on analog equipment and vinyl.

The site also is home to The Internet Music Mapping Project, an effort to list and describe as many music-related sites as possible.

Our Music

--A Tribe Called Quest to The Dick Hyman Trio (In other words, A to H)

--Indigo Girls to Queen Ida (I to Q)

--Radiohead to ZZ Top (R to Z)

Reading Music

The stories of the great bands and musicians are fascinating. Musicians as a group are brilliant, but often troubled. The combination of creativity and drama makes for great reading.

Here are some books to check out.

Duke Ellington brought class, sophistication and style to jazz which, until that point, was proudly unpolished and raucous. His story is profound. The author, Terry Teachout, also wrote "Pops," the acclaimed bio of Louis Armstrong. Click here or on the image.

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What else is there to say? Here is the story behind every song written by The Beatles. Click here or on the image.

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The Grateful Dead don't get enough credit for the profound nature of its lyrics. Many of the band's songs are driven by a deep and literate Americana ("I'm Uncle Sam/That's who I am/Been hidin' out/In a rock and roll band" and "Majordomo Billy Bojangles/Sit down and have a drink with me/What's this about Alabama/Keeps comin' back to me?").

David Dodd's exhaustive study tells the story, song by song. Click here or on the image.

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