I’m not sure about you but I love songs that have the word ‘theme’ in them (well I don’t love them all as some can be well rubbish) but as I posted yesterday’s single of the day (Glass Candy’s Theme From Deep Gems) I pondered about my favourite songs with the word ‘theme’ in them. Well folks this is my attempt to try and seperate the wheat from the wotsits and compile a selection of tunes that show why every band, group, ensemble, family should at least have one song title including ‘Theme’ in it. Here’s the reasons why;

1. It Looks Cool

2. Gives the song a head start in terms of intent and you can tell the world what you’re really about.

3. Makes you and your band/whatever look clever

4. Hey, you get my vote everytime. No reasons needed here pal.

5. It Looks Cool.

 Those are the reasons and here are my choices but first here’s a quick explanation on why I picked these ‘theme-atic’ beauties. A mix of disco, house, breaks, soundtracks and some odd miscellanious stuff, this is just a selection – a glimpse if you will of the possibilities of the word ‘theme’ (I’ve said that too much now). There were a few songs that I omitted for various reasons ( some too obvious, some were needed for future posts – you get the idea). So let’s get cracking eh?

KLEIN & MBO – MBO THEME. (ATLANTIC)

Not much more to say about Klein & MBO (as I think I have talked about them before in another post) except to say sit back, put on your shades, light a cigarette and enjoy this cracker of a ‘theme’.

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NEW ORDER – SALVATION THEME (INTERPHON)

Taken from the 1988 film ‘Salvation!’  (it was a flop in case you were scratching your heads trying to remember), Even though the film was crap, the soundtrack was amazing, with New Order providing the bulk of the soundtrack (it includes ‘Touched By The Hand Of God and ‘Let’s Go’)  and with the likes of Cabaret Voltaire and Arthur Baker helping out it’s a soundtrack worth checking out. ‘Salvation Thme’  is a simple and beautiful theme which just serves to remind us what an amazing band New Order were. Can I still say ‘were’? Oh and what a theme.

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STILL GOING – STILL GOING THEME (DFA)

Aaaaah, the track that brought back the word theme into our consciousness (well mine anyway). Huge last year, this piano-flecked disco beauty never fails to be irresistable. What a theme.

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LOVE UNLIMTED ORCHESTRA – THEME FROM KING KONG (DANNY KRIVIT EDIT) (REPRISE)

A toss-up between this and the ‘Orchestra’s ‘Love’s Theme’  I decided to go with this one mainly because it has the words ‘King’ and ‘Kong’ in it and it’s a swirling, sumptuos disco stomper. This was actually the theme to Dino De Laurentiis’ 1977 remake of ‘King Kong’ – how cool is that?! I had to put this is my list and with the legendary Danny Krivit on re-editing duties it would have been foolish of me to omit this absolute ‘gorilla’ of a theme. Geddit? Gorilla? Nevermind.

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WALLY BADAROU – THEME FROM COUNTRYMAN (MANGO)

To wrap up part one we have dub legend Wally Badarou’s theme to 1983′s cult reggae movie ‘Countryman’. Dubby, mystic and sometimes cosmic this theme is perfect running music (watch the film) and is sometimes awe-inspiring. Wally is a genius (he was in Grace Jones’ band y’know) and if you can get your hands on any of his material you’ll be richly rewarded. Oh and before i forget – What a theme.

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So that’s it for part one. Taking our cue from Wally Badarou, part two will feature more themes from films and maybe some surprises…. ooohhhhh…aaaahhhh.

If there are any themes that you like or would like to recommend let us know and we’ll see what we can do. So, see you next time Theme fans!