One of the biggest shows to be produced during the 1990’s was The X-Files. Initially starting out as a suspenseful crime type show based on the unusual or unexplained events, it soon transformed into a complete alien farce that drove this particular author away from the television screen. I mean, don’t get me wrong, a lot of the show was amazingly awesome, but the transfixed focus on aliens and alien abductions, in every episode over the latter half of the series just drove me mad with boredom. But despite that, the early part of the series was intriguing and certainly enticing. The moment you heard the theme song, you knew that you were in for a treat. Which brings us to this fact. Did you know that the X-Files theme song was created by accident? Well not all of it, but part of it certainly was. So how did this happen?
We know that the show was great early on, and still managed to gather a huge audience, even over several feature length movies. But to add to the eeriness of the show, there was an equally eerie theme song. But writing the song proved to be rather difficult.
Whether you are writing music or a book, the person who is buying the finished product has to be happy with it. If they aren’t, you can pretty well forget ever getting another job from that particular customer again, if not any customers. While you could be very happy with the final piece, if the one paying for it isn’t, you’re in trouble, and will have to rectify it. Sometimes the picky buyer can drive you to utter frustration. This is what happened with the X-Files theme song. Part of the theme song to the X-Files was created by pure accident due to frustration.
The part of the X-Files theme song that was made by accident was the echo. Mark Snow, who composed the song for the television program, had gone through several revisions trying to perfect the music for series creator Chris Carter. Unfortunately for Snow, Carter felt as though something was not quite right with the score he had composed, and ordered yet another revision. As Carter walked out of the room Snow put his hand and forearm on the electronic keyboard in frustration. Wouldn’t you know it. Perfection. Snow had accidentally stumbled upon the now famous echo in the X-Files theme song.
The song went onto chart topping success. It reached 37 in the US, 27 in Australia, 2 in the UK and topped the charts at number 1 in France.
