Contrary to popular belief, “The Scrantones” who are behind The Office’s theme song, are not a real band; below are a few songs that were featured on the show.
The Office aired between 2005 and 2013. For the nine seasons that the hit NBC sitcom ran for, The Office had a single theme song which was by “The Scrantones.”
For fans of the show that never invested in finding out about the band, it might be of interest to learn that The Scrantones are not a real band.
Moreover, the sitcom was not necessarily praised for its musical score, however, there are fans out there that want to listen to the music used in the sitcom throughout the years.
Since the sitcom did not release a soundtrack album, various fans have tasked themselves with creating a playlist consisting of most, if not all of the songs used in the sitcom.
What was The Office?
The Office first premiered in 2005 on NBC, following the end of its 10-year running sitcom Friends in 2004.
The story and premise was loosely based on the English original version of the same name created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant. Greg Daniels, however, developed the local spin-off and sits as one of the executive producers of the series.
The premise was, “A mockumentary on a group of typical office workers, where the workday consists of ego clashes, inappropriate behavior, and tedium.”
Steve Carell would front the sitcom as Michael Scott for seven seasons, until he left the show to spend more time with his family.
Diving into The Office’s theme song and other featured songs
One element that always makes a sitcom memorable is the soundtrack. More so if the song is an original score that was specifically made for the show in question.
In terms of The Office theme song, the funky, mid-tempo tune was created by The Scrantones. A band which featured during The Office Convention and later during season two in an episode titled Booze Cruise.
However, a fun fact is that the band is actually fictional. The name of the band was conceptualised during the shooting of the Booze Cruise episode. This is as the creation of the theme song was spearheaded by musician and music producer, Bob Thiele.
He and Greg Daniels heard the initial soundtrack and believed that the song needed elements that they could not hear on the original score. This prompted Thiele to get into the studio to work on the song that would become the theme song.
Bob Thiele describes working on The Office’s theme song
In 2009, Bob Thiele shared a blog post detailing the creation of The Office’s theme song and in extension The Scrantones.
On creating the song, he addresses the members of his band stating, “Greg asked if I had any ideas that might make more of Jay’s theme. I got my friends Dillon O’Brian (piano, organ, accordion, theremin), Brian Macleod (drums), and Hal Cragin (bass) together, and we met at the Record Plant in Hollywood to record the theme.”
Going on to add, “That’s me on the guitar, by the way.”
Bob Thiele on the creation of The Scrantones
In the blog post, Bob Thiele also revealed that The Scrantones are not a real band by writing, “Not long after that, Hal, Dillon, Jimmy Paxson and I appeared in the Booze Cruise episode.
It was on that boat that we became THE SCRANTONES.” Adding, “We’re all pretty busy doing what we need to do to make a living, but we love the idea of the Scrantones despite the fact that there is little evidence of the band anywhere outside of our imaginations.”
Since the song is not available on digital streaming platforms, The Office has made the song available here.
Where can I listen to songs featured on The Office?
Due to the sitcom not being lauded over its musical score, the show did not focus on sharing its music.
More so as at the time of its premiere, the use of creating playlists to be shared on digital streaming platforms (DSP) was not popular.
However, there is currently a playlist on Spotify which features the complete soundtrack of all the songs played throughout the nine seasons of The Office.
There are a total of 189 songs, including The Office’s theme song.
Alternatively, you can listen The Office official EP on Apple Music.
Final thoughts
The Office is considered one of the best sitcoms of all time to have been on television. It can be argued that the sitcom is considered so for its humour, its portrayal of the mundane and realistic activities of office life, and the relationships that were featured during the nine seasons.
However, for some fans, the sitcom’s musical score and theme song are included in that brilliance.
The theme song was composed by Bob Thiele, who gathered some of his industry friends to work on the score.
However, they would be dubbed as “The Scrantones”, following their cameo experience on the show. Though very believable, The Scrantones is not a real band.
Moreover, with the advent and popularity of the sitcom years after its conclusion, fans have used DSPs to create playlists of songs that were featured on The Office.