Music, Music and More Music: Tunes from September TV Shows

It’s been a while since I’ve posted TV music here mostly because it’s been quite slow in terms of tunes. Now that the new season has started, however, there is a glut. A three week glut, to be exact because I’m a little late in the starting.

Sorry for the onslaught, but there is some great music out there, and I have to share it. I hope you find something you like.

Revenge – This show has always been on point with their soundtrack and the first episode is no different. From the moody Chromatics song to the jamming Soft Swells and Tame Impala, I’m so glad Revenge is back.

Soft Swells – “Shake It Off, Turn It Up”

Chromatics – “Into the Black”

M. Ward – “There’s the Key”

Tame Impala – Elephant

How I Met Your Mother – Sure, everybody has used Band of Horses at some point in their show. And no, Band of Horses isn’t my favorite band. But some people like them and this song worked well against the final scenes of “Farhampton.” So, take a listen.

Band Of Horses – “The Funeral”

Bones – I’ve loved “Ho Hey” since last year when it was used on Hart of Dixie. And now the song is all over the place. David O Russell is even using it in his trailer for Silver Linings Playbook. But I have yet to get sick of the song. And that is the hallmark of a classic.

The Lumineers – “Ho Hey”

The Mindy Project – My new favorite show of the fall has some promising music. The highlight of the pilot, by far, was MIA. Poppy, fun, and slightly Indian: it represents the show perfectly.

MIA – “Bad Girls”

Private Practice – Lots of the music on Private Practice is too adult acoustic-y for me. But I managed to pick out some good ones, I think. I always have a soft spot for Bonnie “Prince” Billy and the Divine Fits song is just pure fun. Well done, Shonda Rhimes.

Bonnie “Prince” Billy – “Death to Everyone”

Divine Fits – “Flaggin a Ride”

Raising Hope – Not a show you think of for good music, but I’m cool with exceptions. This played over Jimmy’s proposal to Sabrina, and I think it’s great. And hey, I’ll take good songs where I can get them.

The Postelles – “White Night”

Grey’s Anatomy – The gold standard of good TV music is back with a vengeance. So many good choices. I’ve picked my favorites, two upbeat ones, and two sad songs that played over even sadder scenes. I love all four.

Mynabirds – “Body of Work”

Miss Li – “My Heart Goes Boom”

One Two – “Without You”

Kodaline – “All I Want”

Fringe – Another left field show in terms of music, but whatever. Only Fringe could make a new wave 80s hit into a haunting elegiac song lamenting the loss of Walter’s mind. Brilliantly used.

Yazoo – “Only You”

Parenthood – For this show, I’m four weeks behind. Yikes. Here, I’ve distilled about 16 songs into my top picks. Allie Moss because it makes me smile. Andrew Bird because, well, he’s Andrew Bird and you should like him. And Foreign Fields because it was the perfect song to play over the scene where Jasmine explains racism to Jabar. If you want to hear all the other songs I didn’t pick, head over to tunefind.com. They’re all there waiting for you to listen.

Allie Moss – “Corner”

Andrew Bird – “Orpheo Looks Back”

Andrew Bird – “Lusitania”

Foreign Fields – “Names and Races”

Well, that’s it, everybody. I definitely have some new things to listen to on my iPod, and I hope you take away some too.

Until next time,

Mary

Nerdiness, Thy Name is Excel

Ok, first off, I know, I know, I’ve been missing for most of the summer. But whatever, I’ve been very busy with a relatively new job, and plus, TV is on hiatus. My logic is that their summer off gives me the summer off, given that this blog is about TV.

But what about Breaking Bad, you say? Or Newsroom? Or True Blood? Well, really it came down to scheduling for me. Sundays are bad for me.  So many shows means that I catch up on Monday, and then I don’t have any time before Friday to write. So, I decided that rather than being a day late and a dollar short, I just wouldn’t pay at all. Forgive me if you missed me this summer.

Summer, however, is coming to a close. You know how I know this? Well, because today I got my Entertainment Weekly Fall TV Preview in the mail. Personally, I think it came a little late this year, but that doesn’t negate the significance it has for me. Every year, I sit down with the magazine open and plan my fall TV watching.

This is more scientific than you would think. I already have a block of shows that I watch, plus all the new shows coming up in the new season. My philosophy is to give any new show that sparks interest in me a three week trial period. With the magazine, I first eliminate all new shows that I don’t ever, ever want to watch. This year that includes Beauty and the Beast (I think that is pretty self explanatory), Call the Midwife (Copper has given me a bad taste in my mouth for period BBC America dramas), and Malibu Country (I didn’t watch Reba, I won’t watch this). At that time, I also leave off any shows from previous seasons which didn’t make the cut the first time around, like Once Upon a Time and Person of Interest. This leaves me with a pretty hefty, but not unruly docket of shows.

Now, this is where the nerdiness comes in. I then sit down and make a spreadsheet. I know. I understand how this looks, but you wouldn’t believe how helpful it is. All the shows go in a column for their appropriate night and time; returning shows go in bold because they will stay there, unchanged; new shows get “penciled in” and everything gets color coded by network. I also create a list of start dates, so I know what to set on my Tivo and when to expect a new show to arrive in my Now Playing list.

And voilà. I’m ready for fall. And for the first time ever, I’m going to share the list with you. If you find it helpful, you may even consider doing this next year yourself. I swear, it makes TV life much easier.

View the full size worksheet here.

I look forward to starting the new season. And I promise, I won’t disappear for two months again. There’s just too much to talk about for that.

Happy viewing,

Mary