Stellar Soundtracks: Mystery Science Theater 3000
How can a theme song be so damn catchy?
Then again, it’s probably the best way to grab your attention. Over the various incarnations of Mystery Science Theater 3000, from its origins to the Netflix reboot, the theme song has remained the same, save a few lyrical tweaks to reflect changes in the show. It acts as a summary to introduce viewers to the show — the protagonist has been trapped by a heinous villain whose dastardly plan is to force him to watch bad sci-fi movies as an experiment. It’s fun and upbeat, better than some actual pop songs, and not an anomaly in the show. Even brief musical interludes are a delight to listen to.
In short breaks from the movie, the cast often breaks into song, continuing the commentary on what they’re watching or the sci-fi genre as a whole. Among the best of these is “Every Country Has a Monster,” an ode to monster movies stylized as a rap that gives a rundown of famed monsters and their homelands. The show also excels at parody, whether it’s the du-wop “The Magic in You” or riffing on the style of The Music Man.
MST3K is also peppered with music references, from the obvious to obscure. In the Netflix reboot, Jonah is trapped on the dark side of the moon, a reference to the classic Pink Floyd album, and he’s living on the Satellite of Love, named for the Lou Reed song. “I just thought the song had such a strange quality to it so I really wanted to drop a reference to Lou Reed, he launched so many ships musically,” creator Joel Hodgson told L.A. Weekly in 2014. Even the iconic silhouettes of the characters sitting in a theater has its roots in music — Hodsgon first got the idea from an illustration of a man and woman touching each other watching a movie for the song “I’ve Seen That Movie Too” on Elton John’s Goodbye Yellow Brick Road.
“I remember seeing that and saying ‘you could green screen this and have people there saying stuff,’” Hodgson said.
MST3K may be a show devoted to the worst the sci-fi genre has to offer, but it also has a lot to offer musically, from its original songs to the theme that is a true earworm, sure to be stuck in your head on a loop long after the credits to the awful film of the week have ended.
