Jami Sings Along with the TV

Did you notice that most shows don’t have theme songs any more, I mean songs with words? Just theme music. It's definitely a change from whem most had original lyrics. M*A*S*H had an instrumental theme, but it was a real song that has words. Hill Street Blues started it all, in my humble and probably wrong opinion. The Simpsons theme, to which the lyrics are "The Simpsons!" seems to have more singing than most of the other shows today.

I assume this is a time consideration, as the ad rates go up, every second counts, and who wants to waste story-telling time on a song that most people are going to fast forward through? I do consider this to be a bit of a loss, though, because who among us (and by us, I mean the people in my generation) can't finish this line "Well I bet we've been together for a millions years. . . . " I don't know how long most theme music time is now, but I know that the themes to Facts of Life, Happy Days, Family Ties and Growing Pains all took me at least 35 seconds to sing, without any intro music. So there ya go.

The Big Bang Theory has a theme song right now, but it's the Barenaked Ladies and they sing it really fast. I think that the lack of sing-along theme songs is quite a loss for us. I've based several party games around TV theme songs, but as the old classics fade away and the new ones have no words, what will become of them? What will the kids of today drunkenly sing in college when they remember the shows of their youth?

There are several instrumental theme songs I really like, that I feel really "fit" the show. Angel is a great one. It's no longer on the air, but from the first time I could hear in the music how it ached. It's so perfect for that show. The Office's pithy music sounds both like fun and somehow like coming home. So I guess the point is, if you can't sing it, at least make sure it feels right.