I adore American Experience on PBS. Sitting down to watch the films presented on the program is always an exciting, enriching and almost reverent experience for me. I enjoy documentaries far more than any normal person of my age really should, I’m a total sucker for a Ken Burns documentary. Every time I sit down to watch American Experience at least once I will be misty eyed with joy, breathless, deeply inspired, outraged, or left sobbing (or any combination of the above). It was not uncommon for many of those emotions to be felt just after watching the opening title sequence.
This sequence, and most importantly the song, were replaced recently with a new opening theme. The new theme is a song which was written by The Chambers Brothers, “Time Has Come Today“. I may be a premature fuddy-duddy, but I think that this is far from the most appropriate or stirring music for the scope of American Experience. ”Time Has Come Today” is a good song on its own and has therefore been used extensively all over the media and television for thousands of different things. But these thousands of different fleeting things are not American Experience, which I feel will stand the test of time for generations as quality media and film-making. I submitted feedback on the program’s home page at PBS and I hope that it will be considered.
I’ve always enjoyed the exceptionally high quality of the subject material, writing, editing, photography and music on American Experience. The program provides some of the most enriching content available on television, and now online, today.
It may seem trivial, but one of my favorite parts of the program has been the opening sequence. Like a good palette cleanser before a fine meal, the two previous sequences helped clear my mind and prepare for the program set before me. They were both exceptionally stirring and worked with the sublime images to pull me from my current surroundings into the story I was about to enjoy. Those themes were classic and timeless and will never age or do injustice to the content of the films shown on the program.
I would politely request that you reconsider the use of “Time Has Come Today” as the theme music for the program. I understand that it is more contemporary and that may have been a deciding factor for its use. I argue that contemporary song, which is often overused for television and radio promotion, does not suit the depth, breadth, and richness of the films presented on American Experience.
Thank you for your time and I look forward to the continued excellence of the films and documentaries which has not changed.
In any case, I strongly recommend that you head over to their site now and watch some of their programs. There are dozens available online in their entirety. If you have never seen American Experience you need to drop what you are doing this instant and go watch a film right now. I would recommend their program on Walt Whitman for your consideration. I cried multiple times.
