Forum Debuts Its New Theme Song

KQED's Forum

KQED

News Commentary, News, Politics

4.2 • 727 Ratings

🗓️ 16 May 2022

⏱️ 56 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

For about a quarter century, KQED Forum listeners have been getting dressed, brushing their teeth and driving to work to the sounds of “Peter Pan” by musician Mike Marshall. On Monday, they will have a new soundtrack. Each hour of the show is getting its own new theme song, composed by NPR’s Ramtin Arablouei. To mark the occasion, we’ll talk about what makes a great theme song, including the best TV themes through the decades. And we’ll open the phone lines to ask our listeners: What TV theme song do you never skip? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Support for KQWED podcasts comes from Landmark College, commemorating 40 years of educating people who learn differently, with programs on campus and online for both students and professionals.
0:12.0	Learn more at landmark.edu.
0:14.7	Support for forum comes from Broadway SF, presenting Parade, the musical revival based on a true story. From three-time Tony-winning composer
0:24.0	Jason Robert Brown comes the story of Leo and Lucille Frank, a newlywed Jewish couple struggling to
0:30.8	make a life in Georgia. When Leo is accused of an unspeakable crime, it propels them into an
0:37.1	unimaginable test of faith,
0:39.3	humanity, justice, and devotion. The riveting and gloriously hopeful parade plays the Orphium
0:46.1	Theater for three weeks only, May 20th through June 8th. Tickets on sale now at BroadwaysF.com.
0:55.6	From KQED.
1:12.9	From KQED. Hey Francisco, I'm Alexis Madrigal.
1:18.5	Hey everyone, right this second, you're listening to our new theme music, which we're refreshing after many years.
1:23.4	So we're taking this moment to talk about theme songs, both with the composer who created ours and with heavy-hitting cultural critics Wesley Morris, Jen Cheney, and Dave Schilling,
1:28.3	what do theme songs do? Why do they come to mean so much to us? And which ones can you not get
1:33.3	out of your head, whether you want to or not? That's all coming up next, after this news. Welcome to Forum. I'm Alexis Madrigal. So with our new theme song out there in the wild now,
2:04.0	we're taking a show to talk about theme songs in general. And the most recognizable of all themes
2:09.6	are the TV shows that we grew up with. Here first to discuss what makes a great theme. We've got Dave
2:15.8	Schilling, a contributing writer at Image Magazine
2:18.3	from the Los Angeles Times. Welcome, Dave. Thank you for having me. So let's just start
2:23.9	with the obvious. What makes a great theme song? Well, I mean, I think it's obviously something
2:29.4	that's catchy, something that sticks in your head and it makes you hum it when the show is over,
2:34.5	but something also that sets a tone and a mood for the show you're about to watch.
2:39.3	If the song doesn't fit with the tone of the show, the song is not going to be memorable.
	...

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