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Tell Me More Theme Song Secrets Revealed

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

And now it's time for BackTalk. That's where we lift the curtain on what's happening in the TELL ME MORE blogosphere. Editor Ammad Omar is back with us. What's going on today, Ammad?

AMMAD OMAR, BYLINE: Hey, Michel. You know, we talk a lot about some big issues on this show, like war and peace, or education or reality TV. Well, our Beauty Shop ladies talked about some new reality TV shows this week and then we got a letter from Paul Wood. He's from Woodbury, New Jersey and, frankly, Michel, he didn't like the tone of the conversation. He said he listened to the women in the Beauty Shop "cackle disparagingly" about the current genre of reality TV shows, sounding like "a bunch of elderly church ladies from a Mike Myers skit." His quote, not mine. And he said the point is that the old guard is reacting to the point of view of the new guard's reality, just like when older people criticized Elvis Presley for his sinful gyrating hips. Here he is. I caught up with him on the phone.

PAUL WOOD: At a bare minimum, TV for me is finally maturing to the point where it is hiding and censoring less and less, while showing life as the truly absurd thing that it is. I, for one, would rather watch the biased, sad and absurd reality of Honey Boo Boo, as opposed to the equally biased, sad and absurd reality of Ricky and Lucy sleeping in separate beds.

MARTIN: Well, Paul, we certainly appreciate that comment, but the fact that somebody thinks that this is reality, for example, shows that show women slapping each other over lunch dates is exactly why a lot of people have a problem with these shows. And we are going to talk more about that with a writer who's actually done kind of a study on the effect that these shows may be having on people's relationships with each other and sense of the way people are supposed to act. So please stay tuned for that.

What else, Ammad?

OMAR: All right. When I'm going through the inbox, the TELL ME MORE inbox, I get this question a lot, Michel. People always want to know what's the name of that theme song and where can I get it? Let's play a little bit that you hear at the top of every show.

(SOUNDBITE OF "TMM THEME SONG")

OMAR: Well, the truth is there's no name. It was composed specifically for us. We just call it the theme song and we have different spin-off versions that we use throughout the program, like this jazz version.

(SOUNDBITE OF "TMM THEME SONG")

OMAR: This little guitar number.

(SOUNDBITE OF "TMM THEME SONG")

OMAR: Or what our director tells me is a very rarely used Asian instrumental.

(SOUNDBITE OF "TMM THEME SONG")

OMAR: So that theme song was composed by Underdog Entertainment and Ian Honeyman did those additional arrangements that you heard there, as well, and if you want to hear the music, you pretty much have to tune in to TELL ME MORE.

MARTIN: Well, you have five times a week, so you get plenty of chances, right?

OMAR: Absolutely. Last bit, Michel. We had DREAMer Gaby Pacheco on our program a few times. She was born in Ecuador and she was brought here when she was very young, about seven years old, and she's been fighting for people like herself to get legal status in this country.

Well, she wrote to tell us that she's gotten married. She's waiting for her work permit under the new Deferred Action rule President Obama put in place and she's waiting for another year before she goes on her honeymoon, so...

MARTIN: Well, best wishes to Gaby and her new husband. We obviously hope the best for them and that they'll be very happy. Thank you, Ammad.

OMAR: Thank you.

MARTIN: And, of course, remember, at TELL ME MORE, the conversation never ends. To tell us more, you can visit us online at NPR.org/TellMeMore. Please remember to leave us your name. We're on Twitter. Just look for TELL ME MORE NPR. Thanks, Ammad. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.