This is the 14th post in a series on Cartoon Theme Songs. On the occasional Thursday I examine a popular cartoon TV theme song and discuss what about it does and does not work.

Huckleberry Hound is yet another cartoon series from Hanna-Barbera. Not surprisingly, then, the theme is by Hoyt Curtin (who also had a hand in two themes we’ve looked at already, Yogi Bear and Josie & The Pussycats)

The theme kind of sounds like it’s being played at a circus. Some of the instruments in the band that contribute to a circus sound are a small brass section, snare drum playing in a military pattern, glockenspiel, clarinet, and what sounds like a calliope.

Group singers. Always a fan of this in a cartoon theme song.

There’s a breakdown about 3/4 of the way through where the vocals stop and the calliope is still going. I’m sure it’s for an opportunity for Huck to say a catchphrase and makes sense in the context of the show, but just listening to it is kind of disorienting.

The lyrics are pretty weak. On the plus side, they say the main character’s name 4 times so you can’t possibly miss it. But check out how vague this is:

“It’s Huckleberry fun, it’s for everyone,
So come on, gather ’round.
Get yourself all set,
Turn on your TV set
For Huckleberry Hound.”

You could pretty much substitute ANY cartoon character’s name for Huckleberry Hound and it would work. Some people consider Hanna-Barbera to be the downfall of animation because of the shortcuts they took to output content quickly and cheaply, known as the “limited animation” technique. Perhaps this “fill in your character’s name here” type of lyric fit well with their model, a “limited specific information” technique.

Overall the theme from Huckleberry Hound gets a medium rating. Not bad, but not standout either.

This is the 13th post in a series on Cartoon Theme Songs. The second Thursday of each month I examine a popular cartoon TV theme song and discuss what about it does and does not work.

The theme song from the 1970s cartoon series Josie & The Pussycats is actually not bad for an era specific theme. The theme, written by Denby Williams, Joseph Roland and Hoyt Curtin, is not good enough to be considered a classic but it does have some good things going for it.

• Group singers. This time there is a lead singer and background singers instead of everyone all singing in unison. Obviously this makes sense for the band that the show is about.
• There’s a catchy hook on the name of the show. The word “Pussycats” is on a cool syncopated rhythm that makes it interesting.
• The lyrics summarize all you need to know. “Guitars and sharps and flats”, “We could be in India or perchance be with us in Bangkok”. You get the idea that their a band, but they also fight crime. “We’re involved with this or that, everywhere the action’s at.”
• Key change on the second chorus. This keeps things moving forward and keeps the energy level up.

Although there are some elements right out of the 70s (space-age synths and the happy go lucky dream beat), overall the theme is not stuck in it’s era like some other themes have fallen victim to. As was proven in the 2001 movie, it can be pretty easily updated.

This is the 12th post in a series on Cartoon Theme Songs. On the occasional Thursday I examine a popular cartoon TV theme song and discuss what about it does and does not work.

The theme from 1959’s Snagglepuss is kind of surprising. The typical Hanna-Barbera theme follows a group of male and female singers telling a quick story summarizing what their character is all about, with big band punches between lines and a catchy melody on the name of the character.

The theme has no lyrics, which I think is generally a big mistake. While it may not matter much in the moment the theme is written, once the show is off the air there’s little left of the theme to identify it with its show.

To the theme’s credit, the bouncy melody is catchy. It’s also used over and over so there is no avoiding having it drilled into your head. In 25 seconds we hear the motif (which shares the same rhythm as Shave and a Haircut) 8 times.

The orchestration still fits the usual Hanna-Barbera big band set up, using drum set percussion and glockenspiel to add some silly cartooniness to it. Having the melody on low brass also gives it a silly sluggish feel.

I realize this post is a little shorter than most of the other theme articles, but there really isn’t much going on here. I’d rate this theme a medium minus.

This is part of a regular series of “Weekly Links” postings. On most Fridays I post links to stories and articles that I find interesting. Though I try to keep them mostly animation, music, or entertainment industry related I will also share the occasional link that I find useful or helpful in other ways. I hope you enjoy and please feel free to leave a comment about any of the links you’ve checked out.

A few new tutorials I wrote have been published at Audiotuts:

• Audiotuts: iTunes for Composers
• Audiotuts: An Introduction to Creating Beats Audio Plus

And a bunch of other fun stuff from the past few weeks:

• Storyboards from Where the Wild Things Are
• Dark but awesome: Luxo Jr. gets the chair via @cartoonbrew
• Snowtape: Internet Radio Done Right
• The Art of Kissing, an indie comedy I scored last year, is now available through Video on Demand.
• How to Explain Your Business in Two Sentences
• I love this short animated film Skhizein, take a few minutes to watch!
• Wallace And Gromit: The Complete Collection
• New trailer for Devil’s Racecourse has been posted

This is part of a regular series of “Weekly Links” postings. On most Fridays I post links to stories and articles that I find interesting. Though I try to keep them mostly animation, music, or entertainment industry related I will also share the occasional link that I find useful or helpful in other ways. I hope you enjoy and please feel free to leave a comment about any of the links you’ve checked out.

Not a whole lot to report this week.

• I wrote a new article for audiotuts about Secondary Dominants and How to Use Them.
• “Fort Knox” is a very fun animated music video for the band Goldfish which I discover via cartoonbrew.
• Check out 9 Mind Mapping Tools for Mac. My current favorites NOT on that list (mostly like them cause they are free as opposed to $100+ like some of those) are Mind Meister and XMind.
• The Disney World Video Treasure Trove.

This is the 11th post in a series on Cartoon Theme Songs. The second Thursday of each month I examine a popular cartoon TV theme song and discuss what about it does and does not work.

The theme from the 1966 series Gigantor cracks me up. Just the name “Gigantor the Space Age Robot” is awesome.

There’s a general mix of positives and negatives:

• Of the whole piece, the opening is the best part, with men singing a deep “Gigaaantoor”. It’s really the only part of the theme that’s memorable, as the rest sort of turns into fluff.
• The use of all men singers is a good idea for expressing how large and masculine Gigantor is. The extremely deep bass is a nice deep sound, but it’s also a bit comical. I’m not familiar enough with the show to really know if it was meant to be funny or tough.
• The piece is pretty much all percussion and bass driven, with a little rhythm guitar and a flute that’s playing lines all over the background. The orchestration evokes a tribal setting, which is not really what I associate with a Space Age Robot. Perhaps electronic instruments are a cliché idea, but I still think they’d work.
• The lyrics are pretty weak. “Bigger than big, taller than tall.” Couldn’t we figure that out just by his name? I’d rather know about what kind’s of enemies he’s battling or if he’s got any personality quirks. Nothing very useful in the lyrics here.
• The rhythm that opens the theme is very remeniscent of George of the Jungle. I guess it’s the same era, but it’s still a bit suspect.

Overall the Gigantor theme is pretty silly (note: Gigantor theme) but it’s fun. I wouldn’t mark it as the top 10 best TV Themes of all time but it’s certainly not among the worst.

This is part of a regular series of “Weekly Links” postings. On most Fridays I post links to stories and articles that I find interesting. Though I try to keep them mostly animation, music, or entertainment industry related I will also share the occasional link that I find useful or helpful in other ways. I hope you enjoy and please feel free to leave a comment about any of the links you’ve checked out.

Wow, October already.. here’s some of the latest from the past week.

• This looks pretty good and all, but I’m not sure we really needed *another* Christmas Carol movie..
• Animating “Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs” w/ Mr. Bernstein
• Please make sure to vote for Maurine at funnyordie.com (I wrote the music for this quirky short)
• I really enjoyed this animated short Danger Planet (the main character sounds suspiciously like Shake..)
• This sounds like an awesome event, the Halloween Animated Spook-tacular! Animated Halloween themed cartoons screening at the Silent Movie Theater in Hollywood Oct 8th.
• And lastly, Cartoon Brew always find the best shorts. Check out episode 2 of “Lui Lui in Amelica”, it’s charming and fun.

This is part of a regular series of “Weekly Links” postings. On most Fridays I post links to stories and articles that I find interesting. Though I try to keep them mostly animation, music, or entertainment industry related I will also share the occasional link that I find useful or helpful in other ways. I hope you enjoy and please feel free to leave a comment about any of the links you’ve checked out.

Gather ’round for another small set of interesting or entertaining links for the week of September 25th.

• I discovered an interesting article from Film Music Magazine titled “The New Editors: When Composers Stop Composing”. Personally I have a tough time avoiding the “looping” rut, it’s just so easy and convenient to drop down drum loops or even to just hit L and repeat music you’ve already written. The result tends to be stiff and tiresome. I intend to figure out how exactly to break out of that “looping” rut and write a tutorial for Audiotuts with the results. The New Editors: When Composers Stop Composing
• This preview from Kentaro Sato for an orchestration book he may or may not write is fantastic. Hands down the best guide on how to orchestrate I’ve ever read. This is EXACTLY the kind of thing I have always looked for but never found. I was extremely disapointed with all of my instrumentation and orchestration classes in college. I feel like I learned the range of the flute 15 times but never actually learned anything about when or why to use it. If you write music, you MUST read this. Orchestration by Kentaro Sato
• They Might Be Giants have come out with yet another kids album. I used to be offended when I said I liked TMBG and people asked “Aren’t they a kids band?”. Now, they actually are. And I am sad. Here Comes Science

This is the 10th post in a series on Cartoon Theme Songs. The second Thursday of each month I examine a popular cartoon TV theme song and discuss what about it does and does not work.

The theme from the 1967 series Spiderman is one of the most well known cartoon themes in the world, and for good reason. Not only is the tune catchy but the lyrics do a great job summarizing the story and telling you something about the characte. The chord progression is a basic standard blues progression, which proves yet again how useful the blues progression can be. It’s the same 3 chords we’ve heard a million times but we’re not bored by it at all because it has a perfect balance of tension and release.

• A catchy hook on the name of the show, which they say twice in a row just in case you missed it
• A secondary hook on “Look out!” “Hey there!” “Tune in!”, which keeps it interesting through to the end of the verse
• Uses the character’s slogan “Friendly neighborhood Spiderman”
• Solid form: Intro A A Bridge A Coda. In only one minute they have a perfectly complete song with a beginning, middle, and end
• Both men and women singing the theme in octaves

As has been proven by the various covers other people have done of the the song, the “swingin’ 60s” style doesn’t ruin it. The theme stands up just as well without the “boogie” going on behind it.

This is part of a regular series of “Weekly Links” postings. On most Fridays I post links to stories and articles that I find interesting. Though I try to keep them mostly animation, music, or entertainment industry related I will also share the occasional link that I find useful or helpful in other ways. I hope you enjoy and please feel free to leave a comment about any of the links you’ve checked out.

It’s been a while since the last weekly links so there’s a lot to share this time!

• What Happens When You Don’t Give to Prayer Hour starring Pastor Shepherd, title character of the feature film I recently scored
• Cartoon Brew has posted a review of Walt and El Grupo
• Waking Sleeping Beauty is a documentary about the Disney Renaissance of the late 80s and 90s
• I haven’t seen 9 yet but it looks visually amazing
• My latest tutorial has been published at Audiotuts, 7 Ways to Use and Edit MIDI Velocity
• Man vs. Debt gives us Tyler Durden’s Guide to Personal Finance
• And lastly a hilarious promo for Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs in which Bill Hader interviews himself