I transcribed the entire music reveal monologue to the Disney Channel Theme defunctland documentary for a friend so now I offer it to you, Tumblr, you're welcome. 👍 😭
I love what I do. I get to make videos, for a living, on subjects that I'm passionate about, that people watch. I am so lucky and I am eternally grateful for every second that I am able to do this, but I'd be lying if there wasn't a small part of me that hates that this is called a video and not a documentary or a film. That I am referred to as a YouTuber or a contact creator, not a filmmaker or documentarian, or an artist.
Because the truth is that I could do this, make videos on this platform every day until I died, and I would be happy everyday. But that small part of me: that selfish, arrogant, pretentious, miserable part of me, would not be happy if that were my legacy when I'm gone. Because living my dream looks a lot different than I imagined as a kid or even 10 years ago.
I didn't know Alex Lasarenko, and unfortunately, I never will. I made this video 2 years too late and I missed my chance to interview him. I can't ask him what it was like composing for commercials and networks. I can't ask him how he came up with the Disney channel theme.
But I think the first question that I would ask would be, are you ok with this? Do you even want to be credited with writing the theme?
Because this was his most popular work. He composed for other networks and shows and commercials and films, some of which some people may recognise. But nothing comes close to these four notes. How could you compete with something that has been playing non-stop for millions of people for 20 years? And according to everyone I've spoken with, he probably wrote it in a day. And he might not have thought about it again after that. It was just another job.
Alex is well remembered by his friends and family and coworkers, but on a broader public and cultural scale, he does not have a well-defined legacy. There's the tribute that Fritz Doddy wrote, the IMDb page, the archived website, and one single photo, but when I release this video and credit him for composing this theme, it will likely become the thing that he is known for - and I'm hesitant to do that. I'm hesitant to condemn someone else to the fate that I fear for myself.
And worse, in this case, it's just four notes.
There is an obvious solution to this, and that is to expose you to some of Alex's other work while I have your attention, to give you a broader sense of his talents and artistry outside of this four note mnemonic. I could play a few clips from other compositions. I could link to some of his work and encourage you to go listen to it on your own.
But I don't have to, because you've already listened to his music. In fact, you're listening to it right now, and you have been, the whole time, since the beginning.
You've been listening to the music of the late Alex Lasarenko.
