Top Ten Thursday!

March 18th, 2010

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How To Make It In America is my new favourite show, and its theme song is a big reason why. Listen to Aloe Blacc’s I Need a Dollar here and then we can discuss the awesomeness of the song. Go ahead, I’ll wait.

In the meantime, I’ve compiled a list of the top ten theme songs of the last ten years. Totally terribly terrific alliteration on my part.

One Mississippi, Two Mississippi, Jump!

1. California by Phantom Planet – The OC

This is a prime example of the success a band can gain from having their song featured as a theme song. Phantom Planet was bolted out of obscurity and into stardom after the first few episodes of The OC. An amazing song that was perfect for a show that that boosted an impressive musical line up for all four seasons.

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2. Teardrop by Massive Attack – House

This song is as trippy and genius as House himself. It is the calm before the storm that is Dr. House. Enjoy the relaxation while you can!

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3. Little Boxes by Malvina Reynolds – Weeds

The first season of Weeds featured the original version of Little Boxes, which fit perfectly with the backdrop of the upscale California suburbs that main character Mary-Louise Parker lived in with her family. In Seasons 2 and 3, Showtime enlisted the help of over thirty artists, including Regina Spektor, The Shins and Death Cab for Cutie to re-work the song in their own style for each episode. Genius!

WEEDS (season 3)

4. I’ll Be There For You by The Rembrandts – Friends

Yes, it’s cheesy, but it’s likely one of the most memorable TV theme songs of all time. Though The Rembrants gained instant fame after their song was featured on Friends, they were unable to follow up I’ll Be There For You with another hit and became a one-hit wonder. Hopefully they get royalties – when is that show not on?!

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5. You Know I’m No Good by Amy Winehouse – The Secret Diary of a Call Girl

This hit UK show is a little hard to find in Canada, but it’s definitely worth checking out. I was flipping channels one day and caught the opening theme – which made me watch the show. I’d say that’s the markings of a damn good theme song.

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6. Woke Up This Morning by Alabama 3 – The Soprano’s

If the lyrics “Woke up this morning, got myself a gun” doesn’t describe a typical day in the life of Tony Soprano, I don’t know what does. Well, maybe “woke up this morning, cheated on my wife, killed some wise guys, went to a strip club and talked to my shrink.” But that’s really not catchy. Woke Up This Morning is just like The Soporano’s – it’s about really bad things you shouldn’t do, but you can’t help but love it.

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7. Who Are You, Baba O’Reily, Won’t Get Fooled Again by The Who – CSI Las Vegas, NY and Miami

I’m counting this as a three for one because choosing the best Who song out of this list makes my tummy hurt. All three are killer songs that have stood the test of time and fit perfectly with the show. Music trivia – Baba O’Reily is the actual name for the song most people think is called Teenage Wasteland. The song’s title was the result of combining two of the bands musical influences: Meher Baba and Terry Riley.

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8. The Office by Jay Ferguson – The Office

This song is fun, bubbly and a little odd, just like Regional Manager of Dundler Mifflin, Michael Scott. Just try to not bop your head along to this song – it’s infectious (the good kind of infection…betcha didn’t know there was one).

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9. Bad Things by Jace Everett – True Blood

This song is dead sexy, just like the Vampire drama True Blood. I think a lot of people wanna do Bad Things with the gorgeous cast of TB. Just make sure you protect your neck.

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