Petey J. Cool (Perfect Buzz)
SPB: What is the best TV theme song?
Petey J. Cool: I’ve still never seen an episode of Hawaii Five-O, but when I was a kid I’d get to catch the opening sequence just before I was marched off to bed. I was fascinated because it was off-limits and clearly for adults. Fast cuts, giant waves, guns, cars, airplanes, serious men looking real serious. So cool! And not the Hawaii I learned about from The Brady Bunch. That theme song comes in full blast! Pounding drums, blaring horns -- no buildup, no subtlety. Cinematic and confident in the coolest way. This wasn't just a TV show, it was an adventure!
The Ventures version is what most people are probably familiar with, but it's just one of the hundreds of covers they phoned in and [it] loses the bombast of the original. Radio Birdman’s Aloha Steve & Danno proved I wasn’t the only one who saw how great that song really is. They co-opt the theme perfectly for the best song ever written about being a couch potato. And that guitar solo somehow evokes Hawaiian vibes more than the other versions while still shredding your face off.
Writing this has inspired me -- I’m finally going to track down episode one right now, dammit! Gotta see if the show lives up to that killer theme!
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