How Did “Bad Things” Get to be True Blood’s Theme Song?
By Lividity on Jul 20 2010 | 1 Comment »
Jace Everett & Gary Calamar PC: KCRW
We all know and love Jace Everett’s “Bad Things” and sing along with it during True Blood’s opening. Well, some of us do anyway. But did you ever wonder how that song became the True Blood anthem? Gary Calamar, the musical supervisor of the show (and KCRW DJ) explains how it all happened below. Oh, and BTW, Jace Everett is performing at the Santa Monica Pier on Thursday, July 22nd, so go check him out if you’re in the area.
“Jace Everett wrote and recorded THE PERFECT song for the opening theme for True Blood, although we didn’t realize it at first.
Alan Ball, the creator of the HBO show “True Blood,” told me a little bit about his writing habits. He said he will work on a script for a while and when he needs a break he’ll take a little trip to iTunes do some exploring and $99.00 later will get back to his script.
It was on one of these excursions that Alan found Jace Everett’s “Bad Things” for his then new seriesTrue Blood. We all thought it was super-cool but wasn’t sure it was “the one.” Second guessing is second nature for me. So, I as music supervisor of the show, went on a search for some other options, and found some bloody fantastic songs. We listened, we grooved, we dug, but in the back of our minds we were all still humming Jace’s “I Wanna Do Bad Things With You.”
Soon it became very clear that Jace’s song was ‘the song.” It’s perfect. A devilish blend of sex, menace, romance and humor…and it kicks ass. In a way i think it helped Alan and the writers find the unique tone for our show. I think “Bad Things” will go down in television history as one of the best tv theme songs…right up there with Green Acres and Mr. Ed.
I do love “Bad Things,” but if I had my druthers they’d have chosen CC Adcock’s “Bleed 2 Feed.” Adcock wrote it specifically for the show and, IMO, it’s as good a fit as Everett’s tune.