Theme music is a musical composition which is often written specifically for radio programming , television shows , video games , or films and is usually played during the title sequence , opening credits , closing credits , and in some instances at some point during the program. The purpose of a theme song is often similar to that of a leitmotif .
22-508: TV Terror: Felching a Dead Horse is a various artists compilation album released on September 23, 1997, by Re-Constriction Records . The idea came to fruition when Permission founder Jayson Elliot discovered Monochrome - A Tribute to the Sisters of Mercy via a car ride through Chicago in June 1994 and compiled the music on the second disc. Its release was the cause of the first utterance of
44-416: A TAG Heuer stopwatch . Another recent exception is Body of Proof which has no theme song, and barely even has a title sequence. In most television series, the theme song is played during the opening sequence. One exception to this rule is Regular Show , the theme music of which is played only during its ending credits in most episodes. In lieu of its theme music, its opening sequence instead features
66-535: A compilation-only label called If It Moves... which featured Torture Tech Overdrive (1991), The Cyberflesh Conspiracy (1992), Rivet Head Culture (1993) and Scavengers in the Matrix (1994). The Cyberflesh Conspiracy featured the only song that Stabbing Westward released on CD prior to being signed to a major label, while Rivet Head Culture was notable for popularizing the term "rivet head" (a descriptor for fans of industrial dance music) and featuring
88-473: A division of Cargo Music, to arrange for product servicing for the station which led to him getting a job with Cargo. While doing promotional work for their KK label in North America , Chase convinced Cargo Music to allow him to start a new division called Re-Constriction Records. The first band signed to the label was Diatribe , followed by 16 Volt and The Clay People . All of which helped to define
110-474: A large variety of styles, sometimes adapted from existing tunes, and with some composed specifically for the purpose. A few have been released commercially and become popular hits. Other themes, like the music for The Young and the Restless , Days of Our Lives , and Coronation Street have become iconic mostly due to the shows' respective longevities. Unlike others, these serials have not strayed from
132-417: A national scandal when broadcaster CBC Television lost the rights to use the theme in 2008. Most television shows have specific, melodic theme music, even if just a few notes (such as the clip of music that fades in and out in the title sequence for Lost , or the pulsing sound of helicopter blades in the theme music for Airwolf ). One exception is 60 Minutes , which features only the ticking hand of
154-411: A song by Raw Dog , an unreleased side-project by Nivek Ogre and Dave Ogilvie of Skinny Puppy . Theme music The phrase theme song or signature tune may also be used to refer to a signature song that has become especially associated with a particular performer or dignitary, often used as they make an entrance. From the 1950s onwards, theme music, and especially theme songs also became
176-565: A sport include Johnny Pearson 's " Heavy Action " (used for many years as an intro to Monday Night Football ), " Roundball Rock " (composed by John Tesh ) as the theme for the NBA on NBC during the 1990s and early 2000s, and for Fox College Hoops (from 2018–19 to present) and Jr. NBA Championships (2019–present), " Bugler's Dream " (used in ABC and NBC's coverage of the Olympic Games ) and
198-519: A tone played on a synthesizer overlaid with a ticking sound effect. Notable is the theme for the game show The Price Is Right , reimagined as Crystal Waters 's " Come On Down " which marked the first time that lyrics were added to The Price Is Right theme song and was the first song based on a television theme song (and the first to come from a game show) to reach number 1 on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart on
220-448: A valuable source of additional revenue for Hollywood film studios, many of which launched their own recording arms. This period saw the beginning of more methodical cross-promotion of music and movies. One of the first big successes, which proved very influential, was the theme song for High Noon (1952). Theme music has been a feature of the majority of television programs since the medium's inception. Programs have used theme music in
242-493: Is often used to introduce each segment, and the music (usually popular music of some sort) will often relate to the topic being discussed. John Batchelor is noted for his use of highly dramatic orchestral scores leading in and out of each segment of his weekly show. Many video games feature a theme song that is distinctive to the series. A popular one to date is the " Prelude Theme " from the Final Fantasy series, which
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#1732782370790264-456: The industrial , aggrotech and EBM genres. After the label folded, Chase went to work for Access Communications where he worked for 14 years doing video game-related public relations, including helping to launch Twitch in 2011. In May 2013, he took a staff job at Twitch overseeing all of their PR efforts. In 2019, he left Twitch and shortly thereafter joined StreamElements. Chase contacted Belgium -based industrial label KK Records ,
286-563: The "Re-Con" sound of heavy guitars over electronics with vocalists who did not overprocess their voices. Chase adhered to this blueprint throughout much of the label's existence. The label's debut release was the 1992 EP Nothing by Diatribe . The top selling release on his label was Shut Up Kitty , the first domestic industrial dance cover song compilation. This would help to inspire other compilations, notably 21st Circuitry's Newer Wave and Newer Wave 2.0 releases. Other unique industrial cover song releases that predated
308-529: The M.G.'s ), motorsport (Roger Barsotti's Motor Sport and the bassline from Fleetwood Mac 's " The Chain "), tennis ( Keith Mansfield 's "Light and Tuneful"), snooker (" Drag Racer " by the Doug Wood Band), skiing ( Sam Fonteyn 's "Pop Looks Bach", the theme to Ski Sunday ) and gaelic games ("Jägerlatein" by James Last ). Themes in the United States that have become associated with
330-452: The album a positive review. A critic at Black Monday was largely negative towards the compilation, noting the covers by Numb and Alien Sex Fiend as being highlights but saying " TV Terror is to be taken lightly, with most of the music lacking in quality and merit." Sonic Boom criticized the inconsistent production while noting "there are quite a handful of selections on both discs which should both amuse and incite you to go postal near
352-620: The neighborhood kids." Adapted from the TV Terror: Felching a Dead Horse liner notes. Re-Constriction Records Re-Constriction Records was a division of Cargo Music based in California . The label was founded in 1992 and headed by Chase, who was previously the Music Director at KCR , a student radio station on the campus of San Diego State University . They specialized in releasing bands belonging to
374-554: The original theme mix much, if at all, allowing them to be known by multiple generations of television viewers. In the United Kingdom and Ireland, iconic sports shows have such strong associations with their theme music that the sports themselves are synonymous with the theme tunes, such as association football (The Match of the Day , Grandstand and The Big Match theme tunes), cricket (" Soul Limbo " by Booker T. &
396-516: The popularity of this trend included Operation Beatbox (covers of Hip Hop songs), TV Terror (a 2 CD compilation featuring covers of Television theme songs ), Cyberpunk Fiction (A satirical spoof of the Pulp Fiction soundtrack ) and Nod's Tacklebox o' Fun (assorted pop hits). Re-Constriction Records folded in 1999 after having released approximately 40 records. While running Re-Constriction, Chase founded, owned and ran
418-497: The theme to ESPN 's sports highlight show, SportsCenter . A notable theme that was once associated with a sport, but because of its popularity, spread network-wide was the NFL on Fox theme, which was used for Major League Baseball on Fox (2010–2019) and NASCAR on Fox (2011–2015) and Fox UFC (2012–2018) and Premier Boxing Champions (December 2018 to July/August 2019) and Jr. NBA Championships (unknown-2018) broadcasts, and
440-538: The week of December 29, 2001. Radio programs with notable theme music include Just a Minute , which uses a high-speed rendition of the Minute Waltz by Frédéric Chopin ; The Archers , which has Barwick Green ; Desert Island Discs which has By the Sleepy Lagoon , and The Rush Limbaugh Show , which uses the instrumental from " My City Was Gone ." In talk radio , a different theme song
462-503: The word " felch " on national television when Kurt Loder reported its release on MTV News . Aiding & Abetting said "there are more good shots than bad ones. This is one of those pseudo-tribute albums that actually works, mostly because the artists involved didn't feel constrained by convention." Lex Marburger of Lollipop Magazine praised the tracks for the "way they hit you, make you shudder or howl with laughter, then depart before they get tiresome." Jeff Stark of SF Weekly gave
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#1732782370790484-538: Was regarded as the network's single theme by October 2010. CBS's longtime March Madness theme is considered one of the masterpieces of Americans sports theme music, said to deliver a euphoric feeling to many sports fans. In Canada, the soaring backbeats of the Hockey Night in Canada theme, " The Hockey Theme ", became so iconic that the piece was sometimes called Canada's second national anthem. It became something of
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