NPR Needs Better Music

I’m a big fan of several NPR radio shows: ‘Fresh Air’, ‘The World’, ‘The Treatment’, ‘All Things Considered’, etc. But while all these shows have great guests, information and basically pretty good hosts, the theme music for these shows fundamentally blows (and not just because they over-use the horn section). I mean, take ‘Fresh Air’ for example, the music for that show makes me feel like I’m in a stagnant, noisy traffic jam. The ‘Diane Rehm Show’ has equally grating music that seems to get worse the more I listen. “All Things Considered” did not obviously consider their theme music. But of course we always know some really sad story is coming when you hear the music played slowly, softly in a flat key. I know this seems like a small, pesty thing to bitch about, but having to hear excruciatingly bad executed music everyday brings it to the forefront. I mean, take the BBC’s ‘World Service’. Now that is some music that kicks ass! I even hum it when in the shower or in the car! It’s epic, catchy uplifting and powerful… It doesn’t sound like you downloaded it for free from Napster. But doesn’t the best music always seem to come from the U.K.? So why can’t NPR have some David Gray, Death Cab for Cutie track or perhaps some Nelly Furtado beats introducing a show? Better yet, NPR should have a contest for new theme music for each show! Then, I’d have nothing at all to complain about when it comes to NPR, other than that guy that sounds like he’s holding his nose whenever he says “… this is NPR… National Public Radio”… oh and the fact that they’re still too liberal.  ¶ 4:21 PM