I like the show a bunch, but that theme music over the opening credits just doesn’t work. You can tell that they were going for a sort of John Barry vibe, but the cut-up, programmed beat is far too techy and hip hop-derived to fit the rest of the mood and aesthetic of the show’s production. What a misstep!
There was an interesting column about Mad Men in our local paper. It goes into a discussion on the viewer’s ironic tension, or whatever the correct phrasing is – the fact that we, as viewers, with our modern knowledge sees what the characters in the show are actually doing to eachother and to themselves, without themselves knowing it. This is a big part of the lure of Mad Men and I think the opening titles are telling us that. We’re really watching the descent of a man’s character, a fall through adultery and alcoholism.
Could not agree more. I came to the show late after the buzz started and saw the opening thinking “hunh?!”
I think some sort of early avant-garde jazz sound would be better.
It’d be nice if it didn’t have the drum beat.
Hustle’s one of my favourite stylish opening title music sequences.
intentionally or not, it does filter the early 1960’s thorugh the 1980’s by strongly referencing Robert Longo
Clearly the type of sound and vibe they were going for with Mad Men, but failed at achieving.
The music’s ok. After all, the dialogue isn’t written in a period style. Nor do the characters try to talk like someone from their mothers’ or granddads’ era. It’s a re-imagination of the period, more than a re-creation. And it has to be, in order for people to really relate to it.
I really like the music (and the visuals) in the titles, and it doesn’t bother me that it’s anachronistic because it’s in the background of something that is highlighting the fact that this is a television show, if that makes any sense – you’re not listening to modern music while watching period action.
Conversely, the use of a Cardigans song at the end of one episode (the second of the first season, IIRC) really jarred me.
There’s music? I fast forward through the titles. I thought everybody did. 
Seconding what gallows fodder said. I love the music – it’s evocative of the show’s emotional sensibility rather than its era. The silhouette of a guy falling from the top of the building, the downward-moving strings that sound like someone sighing … it all seems like a person trying – and failing – to walk on a tightrope. The banal, manufactured Madison Avenue lifestyle is about to crash and nothing these people do is gonna stop it.
Great show. Haven’t seen any of Season 2 yet but I can’t wait.
I usually do, but I love these titles. While looking around to find out who did them (Imaginary Forces), I came across a designer who said that the titles remind him of the work of Saul Bass. I’d never heard of Saul Bass so I looked some more. He did Psycho and The Man With the Golden Arm, so I’m going “Oh, yeah, that fits.”
I agree with the OP; I’ve felt that way from the start, and I disagree with this post:
Do you listen to the characters talk at all - especially Pete and Don’s wife? It’s very period in word choice and delivery.
While I disagree with you on the music, Cisco, I agree about the dialogue. The characters both appear and sound quite at home in their era. The dialogue is accurate (or at least stylized retro) enough to make the rare modernism seem very much out of place, e.g. Joan saying “I am so over 1960” and Peggy’s “I can’t believe I’m having this conversation” – both sounded to my ears like lines you wouldn’t hear in a real 1960 film or TV show.
I love the theme song and the open credits graphics. Sometimes the show uses songs that are not from the time period depicted, and the theme music evokes a mood that I think is appropriate for the show. Certainly not something I’d nitpick about even if I didn’t like it… thanks to the miracle of DVR, you don’t have to watch the credits, ever, if you don’t want (but for this show, I always do).
YMMV, obviously. Yes, every now and then they’ll throw in a cliché or stock phrase. But compare them with characters in a movie actually made in 1962 – they just sound different. Maybe it’s just that acting today is more naturalistic.
Oh, I see what you mean. Well, despite all the shit Hollywood gets for its lack of talent, the average actor these days is about a hundred times better than the average actor back then. There were lots and lots of exceptions, but on average, acting has come a long way.
I noticed that especially with Pete’s wife. Something about her delivery that really evokes that era, like the way people talked in commercials, or on newsreels.
Do you think they also talk more slowly, and maybe even more quietly? I haven’t been paying close attention to this, but this discussion is interesting, and I’m gonna start.