Imagine you just woke up in a hospital after being in a coma for who knows how long, and while you were asleep, zombies had taken over the world. You've got a few things to take care of. First, what type of weapon can you find? Second, what's going to be on your zombie-whacking soundtrack?
While zombies and the movies have been a popular combo in pop culture since George A. Romero's Night of the Walking Dead, nobody had managed to make a successful zombie television show. That is until AMC and Frank Darabont came up with the brilliant idea to bring Robert Kirkman and Tony Moore's cult-classic Image comic book The Walking Dead to life.
After three seasons, the show's popularity continues to grow, bringing zombie popularity to an all-time high. The gritty horror series follows sheriff's deputy Rick Grimes as he survives his way through a post-apocalyptic world overrun with "walkers" (zombies). His humanity is tested as he encounters his family and other walking dead (survivors), as they all make sense of the horrific new world around them.
The music for the show is composed by Bear McCreary, who was responsible for the "theme song." It's that little bit of music that starts before the main title, getting you ready for the upcoming episode (it got the remix treatment from UNKLE on The Walking Dead: AMC Original Soundtrack, Volume 1, but I didn't have the rights to share it). The show has also included some Americana from Wye Oak, Tom Waits and Jamie N Commons, as well as a track from Canadian singer-songwriter Patrick Watson and electroclashers Black Strobe. This all provides the perfect Southern sounding, pick-up-your-shotgun-and-hunt-some-zombie type of background music.
So grab your nearest blunt or projectile object and prepare for the zombie apocalypse with these tracks!
