Posted in: FX, TV, What We Do In The Shadows | Tagged: fx networks, Jermaine Clement, Norma Tanega, taika waititi, what we do in the shadows, You're Dead

What We Do in the Shadows: How "You're Dead" Became Franchise Theme

Norma Tanega's "You're Dead" is probably one of the catchiest and most appropriate themes ever selected in the case of FX's What We Do in the Shadows. The song originally caught the ears of creators Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement to use for their 2014 film of the same name as well as adapt it later on for the TV spinoff, which captures the macabre themes. The FX series, which is currently in its fourth season, exists in the same universe as the film. It follows the misadventures of a quartet of vampires in Nandor (Kayvan Novak), Laszlo (Matt Berry), Nadja (Natasia Demetriou), Colin (Mark Proksch), and familiar-turned-vampire hunter Guillermo (Harvey Guillén) in Staten Island, New York. Far Out Magazine chronicled the story of the late American folk singer-songwriter and how her music gained a new generation of fans.

Tanega was a multi-talent, starting out as a piano prodigy at the age of nine, became an accomplished painter, and broke out of the folk scene in the early 1960s. She joined New Voice Records in 1966 after being introduced to songwriter Bob Crewe, who also worked with Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. Her career only spawned one hit in her single "Walkin' My Cat Named Dog' landing in the top 40 in the US and UK in 1966, which was covered by the likes of Art Blakely and the Jazz Messengers and They Might Be Giants. The album would also include "You're Dead," which was meant as her sarcastic indictment of the competition and consumerism that had engulfed the New York folk scene.

Waititi and Clement tracked down Tanega, who granted permission to use her song for the film and TV, getting to see her song gain popularity before her passing in 2019. For more on Tanega's career, including her collaboration with Dusty Springfield, you can check out the whole piece here. What We Do in the Shadows airs Tuesdays on FX.

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