There's no word yet on whether or not How to Make It in America, which aired its season finale on Sunday, will be renewed by HBO, but one thing's for sure: Aloe Blacc's "I Need a Dollar"--the story of my life right now--was a great choice for the show's opening credits.
In fact, the Truth & Soul-produced "I Need a Dollar" was a last-minute pick after HBO rejected the HTMIIA producers' original choice for the theme song. In an interview with Complex magazine's blog in which Aloe discussed "I Need a Dollar" and the buzz surrounding his jam, the Stones Throw recording artist said the HTMIIA music supervisors turned to his label for existing songs they could use to replace the rejected theme, and Stones Throw responded with about 20 tracks, including "I Need a Dollar."
Aloe wrote "I Need a Dollar" before the recession, yet it captures well how many of us who don't have a job or have had to take a low-paying one are feeling right now: both skeptical and hopeful.
At about the same time as Washington D.C. rapper Marky added his own lyrics to "I Need a Dollar" and retitled it "Rasta Monsta" (after the Rasta Monster energy drink Luis Guzman's HTMIIA character is trying to sell), Aloe dropped an "I Need a Dollar" music video (directed by Kahlil Joseph).
"I Need a Dollar" can be heard during "The F Zone" on A Fistful of Soundtracks (Mondays at 4-6am, 9-11am and 3-5pm and Fridays at 5-7am, 9-11am and 3-5pm).
I wonder what would have happened if the HTMIIA producers didn't go with the pitch-perfect Aloe track and decided to have someone write a really info-dumpy theme like Sherwood Schwartz's sitcom themes or Alan Thicke's Diff'rent Strokes theme:
Hey, Ben is bored
He's been folding jeans
Then along comes Cam
He's got nothin' but the schemes
Okay, ick. I can't believe I just wrote that. See? That's why I stream theme tunes instead of write them.
[Via Complex]
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