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Guiding Light's New Music Tuesday, April 15 2008

Guiding Light set the standard for soap opera music early on in the genre's development. Over the years, the show has tried to keep in temper with the times, employing all varieties of music to do so. Its use of the organ, for the religious connotations which it easily roused in viewers, became a staple of the genre, even as background music moved from the spiritual to elevator music and disco. In recent years, the music itself has become quite popular and the show received Emmy nominations for its almost omnipresent Jammy-themed songs.

Along with Guiding Light's new look, aimed at pulling in a new generation, viewers have also been getting something the show never had in quite the same way: A barrage of accompanying songs. Although the series has always had music, whether it was simply background music or theme songs, it has rarely had as overwhelming a role as it's played lately, which has been the delight of some and the chagrin of others. In addition to the new opening theme by Katie Mac, the show has been heavily featuring several other bands. Young New York singer-songwriter Colin McShane has been getting extensive play with several of his songs showing up repeatedly. Songwriter Gabriel Mann, best known for his songs on the MTV teen soap The Hills, has also been featured on several occasions recently. However, the most dominant act used to set the new tone of the series has been Vesta Varro. The five piece Irish band released their first album last year and have been touring extensively since then, receiving accolades from the music press and receptive audiences. Producer Ellen Wheeler reportedly heard them by chance on the radio one day and ran out to buy their album. She liked what she heard so much that she contacted them and set up a licensing deal between them and the show. Unlike much of the show's music in the past, the new music is available on discs by the artists as well as for download. So far no plans to release a show related compilation have been announced.