Lost In Translation & Syndication

Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Disney-ABC Domestic Television, Sony Pictures Television Distribution

My heart is on a roller coaster ride with music licensing, tortured by love with limits. I've fangirled Alexandra Patsavas who has sprinkled her musical fairy all dust over my favorite tv shows and I've given props to binge watching outlets like Netflix. All should be right and peaceful in my dreamy-eyed, fangirling, pop culture kingdom. Instead, I am heartbroken, surrounded by empty boxes of chocolates and a slew of expired music licensing agreements. Innocently re-watching familiar episodes, I'm shocked to realize I no longer know all the words.

The greatest casualties of expired music licensing agreements are shows from the 80's and 90's. Unfortunately, they fell victim to a lack of foresight. They couldn't see the digital and streaming tidal wave headed towards them. Here’s some top let downs of that gross misstep – remember I warned you of the low brow:

ALIAS Season 2, Episode 5, the closing track was once Joni Mitchell’s River is now…it just doesn’t matter, it’s not Joni Mitchell. Our hero, Sydney walks in the rain after being absolutely devastated by her father. When set to Joni Mitchell, this scene once leveled me, now I’m completely detached, the arrangement doesn't match nearly as well.

21 JUMP STREET Season 3, Episode 9, the closing track was once once Blind Faith’s Can’t Find My Way Home is now an empty instrumental. I specifically looked up this episode a few month’s ago, must have been on a Johnny Depp tear. I remember the scene as hard hitting with the track, but upon finding it with the new instrumental, I hardly recognized it. In fact I kept searching for the right scene before realizing I had already passed it.

FELICITY Season 1 Episode 11, once Ella Fitzgerald’s Wishing You A Swinging Christmas, is now the Swingtips’ Santa Swings. This holidays/finals cram session episode was especially fun featuring tracks entirely from the Ella Fitzgerald album – the best damn holiday album ever (close tie is A Charlie Brown Christmas). The episode zipped and crackled to Ella’s playfully festive beats. I purchased the album immediately after watching and ever since, it has been a holiday staple at family gatherings.
I recently referenced this episode, so I had to do a little digging to reacquaint myself. I was highly disappointed to find the tracks had been replaced – no zip, no crackle – just some holiday tracks to check off the holiday box.

DAWSON’S CREEK Holy crap. This is the worse offender – yes, dear reader, I know, in many ways. The music license for – not just a mere episode or scene – the music license for the theme song expired. The Paula Cole 90’s hit, synonymous with Dawson’s Creek, I Don’t Want To Wait, is now only used in the two-part series finale. The rest of the six season series opens with a featherweight track, Run Like Mad by Jann Arden. I can't even get through the new opening credits. And I can't believe new viewers will never know the simultaneous love and torture that is Paula Cole's I Don't Want to Wait. Sure it bore it's way into my ears like a virus, but that doesn't mean it doesn't belong in lockstep with Dawson, Pacey, Joey, and Jen!
Other shows that lost their theme songs: Charmed and The Andy Griffith Show

I mean no disrespect to the artists whose tracks now replace the originals. But I'm a purist and I have memories with the original tracks. To distort those with something else, as if I wouldn’t notice, is ludicrous. 

When it comes to music licensing let's take this relationship to the next level – in perpetuity. Music often provides the words we can't bring ourselves to say. Same goes for our favorite TV characters. To change the track, is to take away their words. All meaning of a scene gets evaporated and all we're left with is a pretty picture. While pictures in the 80's and 90's were pretty, I'd much rather them be accompanied by their gut wrenching, musical counterparts. Help me put down this box of chocolates and restore our friends of yore to their original music and artistic intention. Come on people, I don't want to wait.

The Season of Reinvention

Buena Vista Home Entertainment Disney–ABC Domestic Television, Warner Bros. Television Distribution, 20th Century Fox Television

Finally headlong into Fall TV, I’m inspired by this season of reinvention – from Meredith Grey dusting herself off, to Damon going solo, to Ryan Murphy shaking off Glee. And I’ve been working on a reinvention of my own.

Does reinvention require a new Meredith Grey haircut? No. Unfortunately, it also comes without an Alexandra Parsavas soundtrack nor swift time jump. How I would LOVE a swift time jump. Mine has been slow, and much less glamorous. My season cliff-hanger was to Rx or not to Rx. Fans were stunned. I decided, however, that I needed to take the chemicals away, not add more. I decided, the chemicals in my food may be having an effect on the chemicals in my brain. With the threat of the Rx closing in, I decided to go vegan.

I wish my reinvention looked like this: Scream Queen’s Hester ditching her back-brace for a glamorous KKT insta-makeover, forevermore known as Chanel #6. Stepping down the staircase of the sorority house, the newly dubbed Chanel #6 glittered with grace, stunning her fellow pledges and sisters, all to a kicky, ‘80s new-wave soundtrack.

Instead, my reinvention looks like this: Felicity and crew cramming for finals in Season 1, with Noel on the verge of a beet-induced breakdown, all to the merriest-making holiday album ever, Ella Wishes You A Swinging Christmas. Sans cocktail-worthy soundtrack, my cram session includes studying menus, wandering farmers markets, breaking up with coffee and dabbling in meditation. With food as an integral part of culture, going vegan is a significant, emotional change. It affects nearly every choice throughout the day and becomes a hotbed for conversations and questions among friends, family and even strangers. It's actually a good exercise in standing up for myself. But with no grand Chanel #6 staircase reveal moment, I had to find other ways to motivate. Fortunately, the resources and motivation are out there. This collection also proves that just as I can fangirl Must-See TV, I can also fangirl these vegan-fueled champions:

•   RICH ROLL is at the helm of keeping me inspired and motivated. His guests of paradigm breakers join him for conversations that average about two hours. They're all fascinating, educational and surprisingly calming. The story of his journey, Finding Ultra, was the catalyst. He narrates the Audible version of his book and has just released a new cookbook and lifestyle manifesto with his wife Julie Piatt, The Plant Power Way.

•   THE FOOD BABE A guest of the RRP, Vani Hari is the Food Babe who investigates the harmful ingredients in our food and fearlessly stands up to the big corporations to affect change. She has gathered an amazing wealth of knowledge to share.

•   FULLY RAW KRISTINA A guest of the RRP, Kristina Carillo-Bucaram believes in the power of beautifully, colorful and alive – not cooked – food. I should have gotten down with her a long time ago - would have saved me from many, many kitchen disasters. In addition to a ton of recipe videos, she also runs the Rawfully Organic Co-Op in Houston, adding one, big mark to the PROs list should I ever want to move to Houston.

•   HEADSPACE APP It's founder was also a guest on the RRP. How does one meditate? By taking the 10 minutes for 10 days challenge. I'm up to 20 but have recently stumbled. Plus I keep asking myself, am I doing this right? I guess like making the shift in food, you just have to have faith and pick yourself back up.

• DOCUMENTARIES ON NETFLIX Thank you Netflix for helping to keep me inspired, motivated and informed. Here's a few that I found particularly impactful in my explorations:
FORKS OVER KNIVES This documentary focuses on the impact processed foods has had on our health including obesity and diabetes.
FOOD INC. This oscar-nominated documentary focuses on the food industry's harmful effects on our health, our ethics, and the environment.
COWSPIRACY This documentary focuses on how factory farming is decimating the planet's natural resources and why no one is wiling to talk about it.
GMO OMG This documentary examines the risk of GMOS and follows one father's search for answers to the question, 'What are we feeding our families?' 
FED UP Examining childhood obesity, this documentary actually made my chest hot with anger about how our food system is betraying our children.

Without these amazing resources, my reinvention progress would look like this: Vampire Diaries’ Damon Salvatore day-drinking for the next twenty-two thousand days, give or take. Though my beverage, my vice of choice, would be coffee. Maybe Irish coffee.

I started this journey in the battle for my brain, and that is still my top motivation, but everyday, I continue to realize that going vegan is a greater call to action and it represents the person I am and want to be. When it comes to animals, our fellow occupants, I am a compassionate person and when it comes to our environment, I want to know I did everything I could to support the earth, not just watch our home and land deteriorate.

Mother of Reinvention: Madonna has made a career out of reinvention. But there's another trailblazer who deserves recognition in this conversation, Lisa Simpson. After 27 seasons of setting off the 'Independent Thought Alarm', Lisa Simpson, bucking Homer and the rest of her family to go vegetarian, has been leading her own charge. She proved you can go your own way no matter how long the previous path has been paved. At 4’5, Lisa Simpson stands pretty damn tall and is inspiring me to stand even taller.

The Fills Are Alive...

Warner Bros. Television Distribution, Buena Vista Home Entertainment Disney–ABC Domestic Television

As I impatiently wait in the purgatory that is the pre-Fall TV season, I decided it's about time I sent an 'Elevator Love Letter' to Alexandra Patsavas. Music supervisor extraordinaire, Alexandra has selected, mixed and supervised tracks of some of the most beloved TV shows. With The OC, she led the trend for the return of music promotion through TV integration. The OC's theme song, California by Phantom Planet, made it impossible to get through the opening credits without singing at the top of my lungs. And while Seth Cohen was dubbed uncool, his love for Death Cab absolutely was. 

With the first six seasons of Grey's Anatomy, Alexandra had music lovers clamoring to itunes immediately after each episode. Tracks from Grey's Season's 1 and 2 swung so hard, they still sting so good. She dropped the gauntlet and set the tone with the pilot's opening track 'Portions for Foxes' by Rilo Kiley. That was the beginning of the long tracklist synonymous with Grey's Anatomy, rising well beyond the background and soundtrack of the show. Listed below are some of the early favorites 1. because I can't control myself and 2. because with these particular tracks, it's almost impossible to separate them from the show.
‘Somewhere Only We Know’ Keane
‘You Wouldn’t Like Me’  and ‘Where Does the Good Go’ Tegan and Sara
‘Sunday’ Sia
‘Breathe’ Anna Nalick
‘How to Save a Life’ The Fray
‘Chasing Cars’ Snow Patrol
'Break Me Out' The Rescues (this live performance is way sweet too)

Alexandra even featured a Taylor Swift track before she went pop. And that's only Grey's! F me, Gossip Girl! Again, with the pilot's opening track – gauntlet dropped, tone set with Peter Bjorn and John's 'Young Folks.' Like Grey's, there are far too many excellent tracks to list, I can only scratch the surface, otherwise I'll go so deep, I'll dig a tunnel right out of the Internet. Here's a few highlights:
‘What Comes Around’ Justin Timberlake
‘You’re a Wolf’ Sea Wolf
‘Rolling in the Deep’ Adele
‘We Are Young’ Fun

Alexandra took her love of music and turned it into her own firm, Chop Shop Supervision, later leveling up to her own music label, Chop Shop Records. She's supervised music for movies including The Twilight Series, Hunger Games, and Perks of Being a Wallflower. And for a slew of other TV shows including Mad Men, Selfie, Scandal, iZombie, and Chuck. Her IMDB page reads like a dream resume.

In the very simplest of terms, Alexandra made a career out of fangirling music. Fucking awesome. Meanwhile, my fangirling efforts – including a long history of camping overnight for concert tickets or hands shaking over the keyboards for the clock to strike ten – still takes the form of drawing hearts and stars, making over-earnest proclamations and nicknaming favorite rock heroes – Jackie Jack, Ry Ry, and Dave. You know, Alexandra, we all show our love of music in different ways. But sending a love letter for all the ways you've shared your love with us.