I assigned theme music to a stranger a few months back*. This was a first for me, and I realized I should choose my own theme music before assigning songs to others.
Theme music isn’t a new idea. I worked at a company with a professional events team, and if you walked on stage, you were allowed to choose the music that would play during your walk-on. So, making this kind of choice has occurred to me before. (For people without events teams: It’s like the walk-on music for evening shows, but chosen by you rather than, say, Questlove, who has made some fantastic, context-based choices (only some of which he has regretted), making the song apply on a few levels).
I listen to a surprising amount of instrumental music. La cittá nuda by The Dining Rooms stands out for me as a gliding energetically through a lively city evening, so I’ll put it on my theme list:
*You had to be there, it was a “vibe” – the weather was fantastic, I finished work , SF bay was serene, this person was relaxing in front of me, Massive Attack was in my headphones – it was just a perfect moment.