Nose-talgia: Are TV Jingles a Dying Breed?

We started a rousing conversation about TV jingles on Facebook and thought it would be fun to bring the discussion over here (where it belongs) to The Flaming Nose. TV jingles and theme songs seem to have gone the way of all our favorite weird 60's items. They are floating around cyberspace along with wistful remnants of Colorforms, Slinkys, dusty Gumbys and Chatty Cathy dolls.

However, thanks to YouTube and the Internet, many of the catchy tunes that kept our toes tapping and our brains in a dizzy auditory loop, are still there to be enjoyed. Or endured.

Once of the most unforgettable ditties from the 60's was actually a TV and radio commercial for the unforgettable Palisades Amusement park. Any boomer who grew up in the Northeast remembers this place. It was on the cliffs of Jersey, just over the George Washington Bridge from Manhattan. For a delightful blast from the past, here's the tune that made you beg your parents for a (pre-Disneyland) trip to roller coaster heaven. I went to PAP as a kid, and I saw a real animal freak show. We were lured inside by a dwarf standing on a box. I remember being utterly transfixed by the two headed cow. One head ate 90% of the cow's food and the other small head chewed all day on a damp piece of straw. It was awesome.



I don't believe that TV theme songs and jingles are entirely dead. The opening sequence for the "Sopranos" on HBO, while not an original tune, certainly had a morbid and riveting attraction that one could never tire of, even after hundreds of viewings. Who could forget the pounding grind of the blues (woke up this morning...) and Tony's desolate drive through the industrial moonscape of Northern Jersey.



How about you? Any favorite TV theme songs or jingles to report? There are hundreds of them!