Like, the way you sang in the ’40s is so open, and then you’re screaming in the 2000s. Like, “OK, we can’t get toilet paper, so we’re ( sings) making it up as we go along! The kids can’t go to school, so we’re making it up as we go along!” And as a performer, it was so interesting to realize how we make sound with our voices has changed over the decades. Then for Kathryn Hahn to sing “Agatha All Along” and for it to rise above Cardi B and Justin Bieber on the iTunes chart …ĪNDERSON-LOPEZ Kathryn Hahn was like, “What is happening!?” While with the ’80s one, “Making It Up as We Go Along,” that became the theme song of our pandemic. SHAKMAN And then to connect the musical theme of Wanda in each one in a way that’s recognizable, whether it’s the Modern Family/ The Office-inspired one or the Bewitched-inspired one - it’s a work of genius. It must have been tricky to have multiple theme songs covering multiple eras while avoiding sounding like parody. It was kind of amazing the way this project was for that moment.
There’s the bright happy sitcom, plus the underlying sense of dread that everything’s not right and beneath that, this underlying grief and sadness - not just for this story and character but for all of American culture that just felt like it was in a deep crisis.ĪNDERSON-LOPEZ Without being able to tell the future, somehow they knew we were going to be in our own Westview situations during quarantine enclosed in our own bubbles, dealing with emotions and our families. LOPEZ When Matt took us through the story, there were so many ingredients. We needed something that would be perfectly authentic because Wanda had created a television show based on the DNA of all the things she grew up loving to watch, which were basically the same things Bobby, Kristen and I grew up loving to watch. MATT SHAKMAN They sat in that wonderful weird Venn diagram of people who understood big pop culture but also had a deep love for classic television. For me, it was the perfect job because I can sing absolutely any TV theme song or commercial jingle from my childhood.
KRISTEN ANDERSON-LOPEZ Matt called out of the blue and said, “Do you want to be involved in this Marvel project?” We were just fascinated and thought we had to do it. I wrote the music for the songs, but the whole thing was done in the Yale swimming pool it was the most echoey thing you’ve ever heard. ROBERT LOPEZ I knew Matt from college long ago, where we had done a production of The Tempest that Matt directed and starred in.
How did you get involved with the series, and what excited you about it?
Robert and Kristen, you’ve been writing songs for major theatrical films. LeBron James Boards Disney+ Basketball Drama 'The Crossover' as EP
The duo, along with series director Matt Shakman, discuss pulling off the score and reveal some of their favorite themes of all time. This was the task confronting songwriters Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez when tackling Disney+’s debut Marvel Cinematic Universe series WandaVision, a trippy exploration of grief that stylistically skips through TV history from the black-and-white 1950s I Love Lucy-era through early 2000s fourth-wall-breaking Modern Family-age. Oh, and they should all still feel unified … somehow. Try making seven, each representing a different sitcom era and performed in an entirely different style. 1.Composing one iconic TV show theme song is difficult enough.
‘Gurenge’ comes in second and is the theme song to one of the most popular animes currently Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba.Ĭheck out the first 10 songs from the full list below, and pay special attention to the view count, many of which crush You Tube plays from some of the biggest western artists. Originally sung by Yoko Takahashi, the song was released in 1995 as the theme song to the hit anime which have now both achieved cult-status. The list was compiled through votes collected from over 130,000 anime fans.Īssuming the title of the best anime song of all time is ‘A Cruel Angel’s Thesis’ from Neon Genesis Evangelion (which you can watch on Netflix). The list is called ‘Animation Songs General Election’ and ranks 30 of the most popular tunes. TV Asahi Network, one of Japan’s largest television networks, has put together a list of what it considers to be the “best anime songs” of all time. Despite our best attempts, we’ll probably never fully grasp the significance of Japanese anime to the country's culture as a whole, but we can try - and we can certainly enjoy the music. Also a subculture that the rest of the world so desperately wants to understand and be a part of, yet is criminally underrated outside of Japan. Welcome to Japan, the manga capital of the world.