We all love TV theme songs, but we usually prefer the ones that have lyrics to sing along with (I prefer them as well, not going to lie). Most instrumental theme songs usually seem like an afterthought, or are three seconds long. It takes a special instrumental theme to warm its way into the hearts and heads of viewers, usually "The Office" or "Game of Thrones."
But there are more catchy instrumental themes than those two. A lot more. Here are a few of my favorite instrumental themes, that don’t get mentioned a lot.
1. 30 Rock
Seriously, this song would be my ringtone if I weren’t too cheap to spend money on ringtones. Jeff Richmond really knows how to write catchy, simple tunes for this absolutely amazing show. It’s basically a more up-tempo, jazzy version of the background music you hear on "Glee." In other words, it’s perfect.
2. Buffy The Vampire Slayer
A badass sci-fi show deserves a badass instrumental intro, and this one delivers. It’s a perfect 90’s rock instrumental theme, and the graphics pop out. I also love the werewolf-like howl at the beginning, and the last few chords ending with Buffy posing in a badass way.
3. Will & Grace
The piano intro works wonders for this New York City comedy that feels perfect to watch in a jazz club with your friends. It’s short, sweet, and simple. I also love that they only used a piano for the intro.
4. So You Think You Can Dance
This intro sounds like an acapella group over a hip-hop track, and it strangely works. It’s played over clips of highlights from past seasons and some dancers, whose faces are not highlighted, doing choreography. I love that you can basically shout the melody a la Jimmy Eat World’s hit song “The Middle.” Yeah, I know that’s a confusing analogy.
5. Big Brother
This theme has gone through many different evolutions over the years, and each one is pretty unique to the era of "Big Brother." The themes have remained somewhat similar from season six onward, and the ones from the first five seasons seem a little foreign, but they’re all strong.
For the first 15 seasons, the intro showed clips of the contestants in the house, and when they were eliminated, their clip was when they exited the house. I personally preferred this to the current version, which is the contestants doing stupid poses surrounded by water. Mainly because the previously eliminated contestants are still present in the intro even though they’re mostly irrelevant.
6. Survivor
The ultimate instrumental theme along with "Game Of Thrones." Russ Landau hit it out of the park with this and it is available for download on iTunes. The song is powerful and I love that it incorporates elements from the local country of the season. The most powerful and epic intros are Micronesia and Heroes vs. Villains, and the intros that best represent the local culture are China, The Amazon, and Samoa. I also want to give a shout-out to Combined with stills of the season’s castaways and beautiful scenery.
