Although police and detective TV series are as popular in the United States as in Britain, while generally British characters and plots tend towards the realistic, their American equivalents have always tended towards surrealism or just plain silliness with improbable characters and ludicrous or even awful dialogue. The detective series Monk is a definite contender for, if not the outright winner in, the surrealist stakes. Its hero, private consultant Adrian Monk, although an outstanding sleuth, is beset with all manner of phobias from milk to harmonicas, from tap water to cracks in the sidewalk. Monk was first screened on the USA Network in July 2002, and ran for eight seasons. Obviously it needed theme music or a theme song, preferably something original. With the wisdom of hindsight, only one man could have done such a character justice; although Newman is a performer in his own right, he has spent much of his career scoring films, and with this short, snappy ode to Monk's phobias, captures the essence of this latter day ultra-neurotic Sherlock Holmes.
"It's A Jungle Out There" rewarded Newman with yet another award, this time the 2004 Emmy for Best Main Title Music.
A hip-hop style version of the song was performed by Snoop Dog who guested in the 2007 episode Mr. Monk And The Rapper.
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