I don't know if there's already a site dedicated to this sort of thing. There's whosampled.com which traces the millions of songs that have appeared in other songs, sampled. That's a great website, but I haven't noticed one yet that examined the soundtracks of film and television in their original glory and sometimes bizarre re-scoring.
What is re-scoring? It's when the original score or music is replaced in a tv show or film due to money and music rights issues, among many other reasons. It can really damage a mood that was originally intended by the filmmakers.
For example, upon watching TV, there's a repeating infomercial for the long awaited "The Wonder Years" series. I've heard that it was released overseas, but not here in America where it was made. The music rights have held it back because there is a massive soundtrack of 1960s songs that they may not have written in a contract considering the DVD releases, or even possibly syndication. The thing is, you don't know how a show will turn out, if it'll succeed or not, so these details aren't always worked out, especially with older series and films. That's my guess anyway, I'm not an expert, just a nerd that notices this stuff. haha.
Sometime last year, with much excitement, "The Wonder Years" was available to watch on Netflix instant streaming. Upon watching it, you can immediately tell that not all the music rights were worked out and thus the show was re-scored with different, pale imitations of the original songs, or replaced with stock music. Like a punch in the face, the opening theme, originally Joe Cocker's cover of The Beatles' "With A Little Help From My Friends" is covered by someone else. Really poorly I might add. I also recall hearing something that was supposed to resemble "Blackbird" by The Beatles, but just sounded like someone mumbling it and trailing off. haha.
I couldn't seem to get the YouTube link to work here for the re-scored cover of the theme (which is also the overseas version I've read), so click HERE!
This is a paragraph from Wikipedia about the soundtrack:
Home video releases[edit]
For many years, The Wonder Years remained unreleased on DVD as official season box sets, allegedly due to music licensing issues.[33] Because of this issue, The Wonder Years routinely appeared high on the list of TV shows in-demand for a DVD release.[34][35][36] Some episodes of the series were included in two official "best-of" DVD sets (The Best of The Wonder Years and The Christmas Wonder Years) without the original music.[35][37] Anchor Bay also released two volumes (four episodes total) on VHS in 1997.[38]
In a blog update on the Netflix website on March 30, 2011,[39] and a press release issued the next day,[40] Netflix stated that they would be addingThe Wonder Years to their instant streaming service. The other three 20th Century Fox series noted as part of the deal were added to the Watch Instantly service by April 2,[41][42][43] while The Wonder Years remained unavailable. On October 1, 2011,[44] 114 full-length episodes of the series were added to Netflix streaming. The clip show from the end of Season 4, which was released on DVD, has not been included.[45]
On September 26, 2011, it was announced that Amazon Prime's streaming video service would be adding The Wonder Years, describing the series as "available on digital video for the first time",[46] although Netflix added the series ahead of Amazon's release. All 115 episodes (including the clip show) became available to Prime members starting October 6, 2011.[47]
On both digital streaming services, portions of the soundtrack have been replaced. The show's opening theme, Joe Cocker's rendition of The Beatles' "With a Little Help From My Friends," has been replaced on Netflix[48] and Amazon with the version of the song that played in the UK and other overseas airings. The majority of the show's soundtrack remains unchanged. Songs such as "Light My Fire" by The Doors and "Foxy Lady" by Jimi Hendrix have been replaced by generic sound-alikes with different lyrics.
On February 11, 2014, StarVista/Time-Life announced the upcoming DVD release of the complete series in the second half of the year, noting that they were "painstakingly securing the rights for virtually every song."[49] On June 11, packaging details for complete set were revealed. The packaging will consist of a miniature school locker featuring a replica yearbook with signatures from cast members, behind-the-scenes photos and classic show memorabilia. Also included are two notebooks similar to those carried by the two lead characters, each featuring detailed episode information, production photos, all 115 episodes plus over 15 hours of bonus features on 26 DVDs. Customized Wonder Years magnets will also be included. October 10th 2014 was the given release date.[50]
On October 7, 2014, Star Vista will release season 1 on DVD in Region 1 for the very first time.[51]
Here's an entry from Soundtrackseries.com about "The Wonder Years"
Even Winnie Cooper actress Danica McKellar sounded off about the soundtrack rights on her Facebook page.
