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Show September5, 1995 RTI Television Theme Songs Sing of Success By David Bianculli New York Daily News One year ago, ABC Entertainment President Ted Harbert announced his intention to do away with theme songs onall pee ABCseries. Theme songs, he saic then, were a waste of time, an un- welcome distraction that take too long and encourage fickle viewers to change channels, A year later, Harbert has reversed his opinion. It themes he was mistaken. “T made a big fuss outofit, but I've learned some things since then,” he said. Actually, he learned one thing — by watching the success of NBC's “Friends.” Since that show wound up as the most successful new sitcom last season, with its repeat telecasts topping the ratings this summer, there seems no basis to argue that it was hurt by having a theme song,or that viewers didn’t wantto sit through it. Just the OE they couldn't get enoughof it. The Rembrandts, who had performed the 42-second “Yi Be There for You” theme song for “Friends,” were persuaded to record a full-length version and delay the release of their new album, “L.P.,” so that it could be added as a bonus track. _ Presto: The album is hot, the single is hotter, and the video, in which the “Friends” cast membere literally steal the spotlight from the Rembrandts, is ali over MTV.In fact, my kids discovered “Friends” this summer, and be- came hooked, by hearing the themesongon the radio, enjoying the video on MTV,then finally finding their way to the NBC series. Almost 30 years ago, NBC benefited from a similar sort of synergy with “The Monkees” — and, though the Rembrandts might eringe at the comparison, both the music and the video for “I'll Be There for You” have a decidedly retro rock feel, as though they're intentionally Monkee-ing around. You don’t have to lock to the pop charts to appreciate what a well-chosen, well-written theme song can do. Right now, the best TV themes include energetic instrumentals (‘TV Nation,” “NYPD Blue,” ““Pales From the Crypt,” “Dream On,” “Homicide: Life on the Street,” “Roseanne,” “The Simpsons,” “ER,” “Melrose Piace,”), soft scene-setters (“Picket Fences,” “The X-Files”), majestic music (“Star Trek: Voyager,” “Lois & Clark: The New Adyentures of Superman"), pop vocals (“Mad About You,” “Friends”), and the rare “Gilligan’s Island”. type explanatory theme (‘The Nanny”). It’s music to a T'V lover’s ears — and now, apparently, Harbert can hear it load and clear. That doesn’t mean ABC will be instantly more successful, though. As Bette Midler once sang, “You've got to have ‘Friends.”” — Associated Press Premier Time Patricia Arquette, right, star of the new film “Beyond Rangoon,” arrives at the world premierof the film with her husband, actor Nicholas Cage, at The Directors Guild of America in Los Angeles. You Too Just Might Like U2’s New Book By Kathlen Sampey Associated Press Writer Bill Flanagan has known U2 since 1980, when the Irish rock group hadits first hit, “1 Will Follow.” And while he admits to being unimpressed by their debut, he unabashedly weaves his current admiration and appreciation for the group into the narrative of “U2: At the End of the World” (Delacorte, $22.95). This book is an account of the 1990-91 Berlin recording sessions of “Achtung Baby,” the band’s seventh studio album, and theensuing “Zoo TV” tour, which ran from 1992 to 1994. All told, Flanagan spent about four years with U2 and their extended recording and touring family, so the book's complimentary tone is by no means a weakness. After all, what U2 fan (presumably the target audience for this book) would want to read 525 pages by an author hostile to his subject? The book isn’t sugar-coated sy- chophancy, either. Flanagan is first and foremost a chronicler of scenes and events, and his unflinching eye for detail reveals perhaps more than he knows. For example, an account of Associated Press “Friends” fans can’t get enough of that theme song. The Rembrandts, who had performedthe 42-second “I'll Be There for You”theme song for the show were persuaded to record a full-length version and delay the release of their new album, “L.P.,” so that it could be added as a bonustrack. Presto: The album is hot, the single is hotter, and the MTV video, in which the “Friends” cast membersliterally steal the spotlight. Donald O’ConnorStill out There ‘Singin’ in the Rain’ selves sit in the “red circle,” sonamed because of its close proximity to the blcodletting. Whether Flanagan intended to illustrate such an obvious contradiction (the unconverted might say, hypocrisy) is unclear and lends credence to accusations By Eun-Kyung Kim Associated Press Writer SEDONA, Ariz. (AP) — Donald O’Connor still finds it odd to be called a song and dance man The 70-year-old actor says it’s a fluke he landed so many roles in musicals — among them ‘Singin’ in the Rain” with Gene Keily. “T started out as a ‘straight’ actor, as they used to call it. I didn’t learn to dance until I was 15,” O’Connorsays. “It was very embarrassing making mistake after mistake and not being able to do what some 5-year-old kid could.” O’Connor moved to Sedonalast year after he andhis wife lost their Los Angeles home in huried at the band for years: that an earthquake. During a recent interview, he U2's ringside presence at a Las Vegas prizefight seems curious, considering the band’s well-publicized passion for pacifism. While celebrities around them seream for more carnage, some U2 members fumeat such a blatantthirst for violence, even as they them- they are posturing, self-righteous spoilsports, Such passages are rare. More plentiful are anecdotes highlighting why millions of people connect to the music produced by Bono, Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen, Jr. reminisced about his career as he sat in his living room overlooking the red stone colurans of Bell Rock. O'Conner was born to vaudeville parents and placed on stage when he was 3 days old. He started making movies 13 years later after a talent scout spotted him in anact. “I had three dance routines and I looked like the world’s greatest dancer, but I never knewanyofthebasic steps. I just didn't have the formaltraining,” he said. “I come froma circus and vaudeville family andthat’s really ail I can do.” It was enough to land him roles in several dozen films and tag him a “‘song and dance” man, a characterization he appreciates but doesn’t necessarily care for. “Back then, when you were typecast that way, it was very difficult to get dramatic parts,” he recalled. ‘Look at Fred Astaire, who was a darn good actor. Gene Keily was even better, although he did get do some dramatic things.”” Many still remember O'Connor for his “Make ’Em Laugh” routine with Kelly in “Singin’ in the Rain,” but his severa] dozen movie roles are varied. O'Connor made his movie debut in 1938 with Bing Crosby and Fred MacMurray in “Sing, You Sinners.” A yearlater, he was in “Beau Geste” as the young versionof the character played by Gary Cooper. Otherfilm credits include “On Your Toes,” “There’s No Business Like Show Business” and six Francis the Talking Mule movies. O’Connor was one of the few stars who was under contract to three studios at the same time. He made movies at Twentieth Century Fox, Universal Pictures and MGM. Hestarred ontelevision at the sametime he performed in such big musicals as ‘Singin’ in the Rain” and “Call Me Madam.” He won an Emmy as host of TV’s “Colgate Comedy Hour” and starred in the show, ‘Here Comes Donald.” O'Connorsaid he now only accepts projects that he feels would be fun anddifferent, such as appearing in an episodeof “Tales From the Crypt.” He had a part in “Toys” with Robin Williamsin 1993. Hesaid hestill sifts through scripts but has little desire to leave his desert home for more than a few weeksat a time. “Revivals are so popular now. But doing one would mean being outin cold, cold New York for a year, a year and a half,” he said. “i'd rather do something where I go in and work a week, maybethree days. Get it done and come back home.” ‘Straight Edge’: Kids Dedicated to Hard Rock, Clean Living By Lynne K. Varner “clean” fun with the only mind- Seattle Times Darkness fell on Golden Gardens Park in North Seattle, and families began leaving, some glancing back at the youths — wearing their universal couture of sagging jeans and hooded sweatshirts ~~ emerging from the shadows. From a nearby clubhouse, the altering influences coming from eut-to-the-bone percussion and bass. That's because Straight Edgers don't use drugs. They don’t drink aleohol. They don’t smoke. And they don’t eat meat. Someadhereto an evenstricter form of vegetarianism in which all animal products, including cheese, eggs and milk, are shunned. Fur and leather are avoided A smallersect practices celiba- energetic, growling synthesis of punk rock and heavy-metal music roared through the park. The families packedfaster. A lone Se. attle police officer lamented the absence of earplugs. “Get ready: It's going to be another Straight Bdgenight,” said a smiling Werdy Colton, a Seattle Parks Department employee and concert organizer. For those in the heavy-metal and punk-rock scenes, a Straight Edge party means a night of weekly supplement to 7 Deseret y be addressed Ww; Bie Editce ie ‘onporation, 138 South Mate Stee, Salt Lake City, UT #8111, Mavagiag Editor: Cycthis M Cook Editor Amy . Stewart Production Sapervisor Jaimie L. Marin Produetion Avsistaet Kathleen Doolin Ary opiniins expressed in Etc are those oF he indivktwal wrncers and do not necessary reflect the ‘editorial views of The Sat: Late Tribune or Desers News To dixcontiaae deliv sry of ¢: oF to report ebvery ornblems, prense call 237-2908, To subscribe to The Sali Lake Tribune or Deseret News, plerse call 237-2900 Yor informacion om advertising m Etc, pase eal 237-2815, To spent withthe Fic caitor, phen cat 237 20 cy. “Its a real pure kind of lifestyle,” said Kate Becker, who cften hires Straight Edge bands to play at the Old Firehouse in Redmond. Straight Edgers say their life choices stem froma desire to be true to themselves and not from anyreligious beliefs, And while loosely considered an organization, Straight Edgers have no meeting places or even planned meetings. Some are musicians; nearly all are devoted to the hard-core music scene, At concerts, Straight Edge youths can usually spot one another by the black that most wear on the backs of their hands —- in mach the same fashion that marijuana smokers wear pot-leef symbols. “We're like a large family even though outsiders may call us a " said Melissa Bloss, a 17‘schoolsenior. Howlarge is the fatnily” It’s impossible to say how many young peopie consider themselves part of an unstructured, international movementlike this. In the Seattle avea, the concerts — the main way Straight Edgers gather together ~— fend to attract 150 to 200 people. Bloss and her boyfriend, Brian Bean, spend most of their free time listening to heavy-metal mu- sie by Straight Edge bands and eating eggless noodles and tofu, or candy withoutgelatin. In the itinerant world of young adults, this movement stands out on one important point: Kids don't join Straight Edge, they become Straight Edge, one youth explained, In some ways,this puritanlifealyle is an apropos answerto the excesses of the 1980s and ‘90s that for many Straight Edgers created parents addicted to drugs, aleohol and careers. “Big” Jon Orton, a heavyset, pony-tailed 19-year-old known for throwing parties that attract Straight Edge bands from as far away as Sweden to the basement of his Fall City home, is a perfect example. “I've drank and done drugs long enough to know that I don't want to live my life that way, not surrendering my body to some substance," he said. Orton and his girlfriend, Tara Bookter, plan to raise their 1year-old daughter, Crysta Rain, Straight Edge. “T never want to wake up in the bushes and not know how I got there or why my dog won't come when I call,” Orton said. The Straight Fage movement grew out of the 1980s East Coast punk-rock seene. In New York City, teenagers lined up by the hundreds to get into dance clubs, and their hands were stamped with a black X so bartenders would knowthey were minors — unable to buy cigarettes or alcohol. As the young punk rockers turned 18, many continued to avold alcohol and tobacco. “Theystill wore the X’s on their hands because they wanted to show they were different, not like greasy, crusiy pi rockers,” Orton explained. But punk-rock and heavy-metal music, with its angrylyrics hurled into the audience like verbal stilettos, is what draws Straight Edgers. “The lyrics spoke to things I was going through in mylife. 1 wouldn't be alive if it wasn’t for hard-core bands and being Straight Edge.It’s that personal,” Orton said. Melika, who asked that her last namenot be used, stands outside the park's brick clubhouse Saturday waiting for the third band of the evening, Nineironspitfire, to begin Playing. “] myself had been into crystal (methamphetamine), pot and beer since the fourth grade,” she said, her stare never leaving the und, “Myfather sold drugs and my mother drank constantly.” it was at a concert by Undertow, a hard-core band, that the Redmond, Wash., teen noticed the wave of kids shouting the words fo every song as woe their lives depended on it. She was told they were Straight Edge kids end were often ridiculed by other youths. “IT remember thinking, ‘Well, at least their lives have meaning.’” Melika eaid she immediatelyquit doing drags and smoking cigarettes. Straight Edge has been 2 crutch for her, she said, shoring up herfragile ona and creating an family. b Honest Success Dar Williams poses with her guitar in New York’s Washington Square Park. Williams’first album, “The Honesty Room,” which is selling weil across the country, is a favorite among DJ's in musically hip cities like Seattle and Los Angeles (and Sait Lake?). |
