Television Theme Music and Nostalgia

I have been thinking about how hearing a specific song can evoke memories and create a sense of nostalgia. I began thinking about this the other day when I heard the original theme song for Sesame Street. It brought me right back to when I was little girl glued to the television screen every morning for my daily dose of puppetry and finding out which letter and number the show was brought to me by. I think it is relevant in terms of this paper and can think of plenty of shows and their distinctive choice of theme song. For me some highlights are Seinfeld’s unique little ditty as well as the theme song for Full House, in particular the drum beats at the beginning. It is fair to say that the song choice or particular sound, such as the sound of clicking fingers at the beginning of the Adams Family, is a distinctive characteristic of an individual show. When they finally stop playing reruns of Friends, and give us time to miss it, I will no doubt reminisce about the show that encapsulated my high school years when I hear the Rembrandts’ ‘I’ll Be There for You’. It would be interesting to find out what other television theme songs stand out in people’s minds.