Tag: soundtrack

The Ventures | Theme from “Hawaii 5-0”

Regular contributor JB writes: “This track really ticks all the boxes: A one-hit wonder surf rock band in psychedelic costumes, playing a track with a ladder of ascending mods. All in all, an important historical/cultural artifact. They really should have included this one in the Voyager space probe — it tells alien intelligences all they need to know about life on earth in the ’70s … ” The Ventures’ website proclaims the band “the best selling instrumental rock band in music history.”

The band’s nominal regular rock instrumentation had plenty of orchestral help, including the opening bars’ signature syncopated tympani hits, brass poking out of just about every corner, and a piccolo flourish on the piccardy third D major ending. Starting in C minor, we climb up by half steps, starting at 0:36.

The theme as heard at both the opening and closing of Hawaii 5-0 is somehow even more bombastic. IMDB summarizes the show’s premise: “The investigations of Hawaii Five-0, an elite branch of the Hawaii State Police answerable only to the governor and headed by stalwart Steve McGarrett.” Scoring four Emmy wins out of 23 nominations, the show ran 12 seasons (1968 – 1980). The theme also won TV Land Awards for “TV Theme Song You Want for Your Ringtone” in both 2007 and 2008, and was nominated in 2003 for “Drama Theme Song You Can’t Get Out of Your Head.”

Theme from “Buckaroo Banzai”

From Genregrinder‘s review of The Advuentures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension (1984): “Neurosurgeon. Physicist. Rock Star. Hero. Buckaroo Banzai (Peter Weller) is a true ‘80s renaissance man. With the help of his uniquely qualified team, The Hong Kong Cavaliers, Buckaroo is ready to save the world on a moment’s notice. But after his successful test of the Oscillation Overthruster – a device that allows him to travel through solid matter – he unleashes the threat of “evil, pure and simple from the 8th Dimension”… the alien Red Lectroids. Led by the deranged dictator, Lord John Whorfin (John Lithgow), the Lectroids steal the Overthruster with the intent of using it to return to their home of Planet 10 ‘real soon!’ But, no matter where you go, there Buckaroo Banzai is… ready to battle an interdimensional menace that could spell doom for the human race.”

Was the movie a comedy, a sci-fi geekfest, or a fast-paced race-against-time thriller with sky high stakes? Yes. Was it so visually jam-packed with cutting-edge tech trinkets while simultaneously so light in plot continuity that it confused audiences? Also yes. But for audiences happy to see a movie with the look and feel of a cartoon book come to life — particularly one that featured an all-new universe where the effortlessly charismatic hero was somehow a top neurosurgeon by day and also a guitar-slinging rockstar by night — the movie was a cult hit. In addition to Weller and Lithgow, the cast’s other A-list actors include Ellen Barkin and Jeff Goldblum. Descriptions of the film pretty much can’t cut it, so watch the trailer, below!

The theme, which played under the movie’s closing credits, features the high-pitched three-note call of Buckaroo’s abovementioned overthruster (first heard at 0:26 as the theme starts), which was so centrally important to the plot that it should have been listed in the credits itself. After a start in A major, 1:04 brings a shift to Eb major for the B section. The modulation is ushered in by sudden shift to a I minor chord and then a V chord in A major just before the key change. So somehow, the improbable modulation feels more like a gentle exhale down a half-step to the new Eb tonic than a jarring shift. The overthruster’s call chimes in often as the two sections alternate again throughout. At 3:24, the regal fanfare which brings the theme to an end still features the now-iconic three-note chirp.

for Roger

Eleanor McCain | Up Where We Belong

In 2017, as a celebration of Canada’s 150th anniversary, Toronto-based singer Eleanor McCain released her sixth studio album, True North: The Canadian Songbook, a collection of 32 songs on CD, along with a stylish, bilingual coffee-table book. Each song was written by a Canadian, and ten different Canadian orchestras provided the lush musical accompaniment. The songs run the gamut of Canadian popular music, including covers of tunes by Leonard Cohen, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, k.d. lang, and The Guess Who. McCain’s classical training is evident throughout the performances.

The selection here, “Up Where We Belong”, was composed by songwriter, singer, and activist Buffy Sainte-Marie, along with Americans Jack Nitschke and Will Jennings.

We’ve featured the original version of the song, by Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes, from the An Officer and a Gentleman soundtrack. The original version features one modulation towards the end; Joe Cocker’s gruff vocals couldn’t be more different than McCain’s polished delivery. In this version, McCain is supported by the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. There’s a whole-step modulation from D major to E major for the chorus at 1:32, followed by a reversion to D major for the next verse at 2:07. The pattern holds for the second verse and chorus. 3:24 sees a shift to G major for the bridge, then another transition into F major for an instrumental chorus at 3:39 before settling into Ab major for the duration at 3:23.

Maybe It’s My Turn Now (from “Schmigadoon!”)

“Maybe It’s My Turn Now” is featured in the fifth episode of the second season of the Apple TV+ series Schmigadoon!, which aired this summer.

The musical comedy series blends satire of and homage to the musical theater catalog, with this season focusing on the Post-Golden Age musicals of the 1960s-1980s.

Written by Cinco Paul and performed by Cecily Strong, this track is a pastiche of the Kander and Ebb anthem “Maybe This Time,” written for the movie adaptation of their 1966 Broadway musical Cabaret. It begins in G major and modulates up a half step to Ab at 2:03.

Billie Holiday | Easy Living

“A tender ballad, ‘Easy Living’ has forthright lyrics that declare just how wonderful life can be when living for someone you love,” (MusicTales). “The songwriting team of Ralph Rainger and Leo Robin wrote ‘Easy Living’ in 1937 for the film of the same name which was well-reviewed and is best characterized as a screwball comedy classic. Their partnership was a productive one, producing a number of hits in the 1930s, and lasted until Rainger’s tragic death in a plane crash in 1942. 

Upon the film’s release, the song did not garner much public attention due to the fact that (it was) an instrumental track. That same year, however, Billie Holiday did a vocal cover of the song with Teddy Wilson’s Orchestra, and their version stayed in the charts for two weeks, peaking at 15th position. It is with her that ‘Easy Living’ is associated with to this day.” Ella Fitzgerald, Peggy Lee, Chet Baker, and Wardell Gray also covered the tune, contributing to its status as a jazz standard.

Perhaps as a nod to its original status as an instrumental, Holiday’s version features a sizeable instrumental intro which encompasses both melody and solos and spans the entire form of the tune. The AABA form is built in G# major for the A sections and E major for B section (0:53 – 1:14). Holiday’s iconic vocal adds to the mix at 1:36.

Crazier Than You (from “The Addams Family”)

“Crazier Than You” is from the 2010 Broadway musical The Addams Family, with a Tony-nominated score by Andrew Lippa. The song, sung by Lucas and Wednesday in Act 2, gives them an opportunity to express their love for each other.

The verses of the tune are set in D while the choruses modulate down to different keys: the first chorus, at 0:41, is in Bb, and the second at 1:26 is in C. The third chorus returns us to Bb at 2:07, and the final chorus subverts expectations by shifting up a half step to B at 2:24.

Theme from “Pee Wee’s Playhouse”

Paul Ruebens, a one-of-a-kind actor and comedian and creator of the 80s hit television show Pee Wee’s Playhouse, passed away over the weekend. “Pee-wee’s Playhouse debuted in September of 1986 and ran five seasons and 45 episodes,” (80sXChange.com). “It aired on Saturday mornings on CBS as one of the few live-action shows among mostly cartoons. (It featured) the iconic Pee Wee Herman character alongside all of his friends and neighbors. Pee-Wee’s Playhouse was designed as an educational yet entertaining and artistic show for children, but the show quickly acquired a dual audience of kids and adults.

… One of the musicians who provided music for the show was Mark Mothersbaugh from Devo who most remember for their biggest hit “Whip It”. Since Devo, Mothersbaugh has developed a successful career writing musical scores for film and television and that really started after he worked on Pee-wee’s Playhouse. In film, he went on to work frequently with filmmaker Wes Anderson, scoring four of his feature films … Mothersbaugh was tasked with writing the opening theme song for Pee-wee’s Playhouse … (the theme) introduces us to most of the other characters and really sets the tone for the fun, colorful show … The opening prelude theme is an interpretation of Les Baxter’s ‘Quiet Village’. The Pee-wee’s Playhouse theme song was actually performed by Cyndi Lauper imitating Betty Boop” with a side order of Edith Bunker. Lauper was credited as Ellen Shaw.

The frenetic theme bounces along, following a classic (if sped up) songwriting template during its 90-second length. After a few verses, a bridge unfurls at 0:43, leading into a half-step key change at 1:06 for the final verse and ending tag.

Wild Uncharted Waters (from “The Little Mermaid”)

A live-action adaptation of Disney’s beloved 1989 animated film The Little Mermaid, starring Halle Bailey, was released this past May. Alan Menken, who wrote the music for the original film, collaborated with Lin-Manuel Miranda on some additional songs, including the one we are featuring here. Menken’s trademark soaring melody is performed by Jonah Hauer-King, who portrays Prince Eric.

The track starts in F minor and modulates up a 4th to Bb at 2:08

Start of Something New (from “High School Musical”)

The TV movie High School Musical premiered on the Disney Channel in 2006 and was the most-watched premiere in the network’s history; there have since been two spin-offs. “Start of Something New,” written by Matthew Gerrard and Robbie Neil, is the first track on the film’s soundtrack, which was the best-selling album of 2006.

The song begins in C, modulates to D after 8 bars at 0:28, and shifts up to E for the last chorus at 2:26.

Diana Ross | Theme from “Mahogany” (Do You Know Where You’re Going To)

“(Diana) Ross had always been something of an actress — a voice capable of conveying the entirely fictional emotional weight of the circumstances that the songs described,” (Stereogum). “She was beautiful and driven and precise and galactically famous, and it was only natural that she should become a movie star, too.” Ross had acted before, starring as jazz chanteuse Billie Holiday in Lady Sings the Blues. But her Motown boss and romantic partner, Berry Gordy, was a first-time director for 1975’s Mahogany.

“Mahogany bombed. It got terrible reviews and did bad business. Gordy never directed another movie. Ross only took one more big-screen role, in the 1978 musical The Wiz. These days, Mahogany has its defenders, but it’s mostly just remembered for its camp value. The movie did, however, spawn one unqualified success: The soft and elegant theme song,” co-written by Michael Masser and Gerry Goffin, “became Ross’ third solo #1 … a slight song, but it’s a pretty one … It’s a song that practically drowns in its own drama, filling up the mix with sighing strings and wailing backup singers and fluttering acoustic guitars and pianos. Musically, the song has nothing to do with the effervescent pop-soul of Motown’s ’60s past. It’s closer to down-the-middle Los Angeles pop, and at its biggest crescendo, it sounds a bit like the work of Gerry Goffin’s old collaborator Phil Spector.”

Modulations between C minor and C major are front and center in this track, nearly from start to finish. The first shift to C major (0:44) is accentuated by the addition of percussion to the instrumentation, while the first transition back to C minor (1:10) is ushered in with an odd-metered measure. At 2:32, a long, string-saturated instrumental outro cycles through multiple keys as multiple instruments take the lead on the now-familiar theme.

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Our thanks once again to the late Chris Larkosh, an energetic and consistent supporter of MotD. This submission is one of several he sent in over the years, even though we’re only now getting around to featuring it.