The Best TV Theme Music

Page 1 of 2

The little ditties that open TV shows keep growing littler and dittier, almost disappearing into Lost’s single sustained chord. The assumption may be that we’re just going to fast-forward through them anyway, but part of the charm of shows like Cheers, M*A*S*H and Sanford and Son was the musical intro. Fortunately, not everyone has given up on the theme song. Here are 10 current shows with tunes that make us put down the remote.

10. Friday Night Lights
Veteran TV composer W.G. “Snuffy” Walden has scored music for thirtysomething, My So-Called Life and all three Aaron Sorkin masterpieces. For Lights, the former Windham Hill journeyman mimics Explosions in the Sky, whose “Your Hand in Mind” featured prominently in the film version.

9. Chuck
The music supervisors have used songs by The National and Bon Iver in the same episode, and they nail the opening credits with an instrumental version of Cake’s “Short Skirt/Long Jacket.”

8. Phineas and Ferb
Pop punkers Bowling For Soup have apparently sold many copies of albums like Drunk Enough To Dance and A Hangover You Don’t Deserve. Not the kind of band you want your kids listening to, unless, of course, it’s the manic, 55-second ska song that accompanies this cartoon’s title sequence.

7. Dexter
Rolfe Kent’s creepy carnival tune manages to communicate both “serial killer” and “fun” as the violence of an ordinary morning—shaving, making breakfast—sets the tone.

6. Monk
So what if he’s become a theme-music shill for Disney. If the only people who play a little Randy Newman for us are film and TV producers, then God bless ’em.