SPOILER ALERT: Do not read if you have not seen the first two episodes of “Euphoria” season 2.
In HBO’s “Euphoria,” the music isn’t just a supplemental factor to the plot, it’s just as important as the characters themselves. For proof, look no further than the episode titles: most are named after songs, like “Stuntin’ Like My Daddy” by Birdman and Lil Wayne (Season 1, Episode 2), “’03 Bonnie and Clyde” by Jay-Z and Beyonce. (Season 1, Episode 5) and Bob Dylan’s “Tryin’ to Get to Heaven” (Season 2, Episode 1). But more than anything, the show’s intense cocktail of high school drama, countless drugs, outright violence, and unrequited romance lends itself perfectly to a stellar soundtrack.
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Complemented by a beautiful original score by Labrinth, music supervisor Jen Malone has selected needle drops from across the musical spectrum to further the emotions of the characters and connect with the show’s audience, from Generation Z to Generation X and beyond. beyond. Only in the world of “Euphoria” would Anderson .Paak’s “Bubblin” and Bronski Beat’s “Smalltown Boy” play, and make sense, in the same Halloween party setup. And one doesn’t have to look far to find the impact of the show’s music: Search almost any song on this list on YouTube, and there’s bound to be a comment from someone saying it’s here from ‘Euphoria!’” Until So far, the show’s musical hot streak has continued into its second season, which reached a peak premiere of 2.4 million viewers last week.
From Bobby Womack to Billie Eilish, these are the 10 best musical moments from “Euphoria” so far.
“I Know There Will Be (Good Times)” — Jamie xx featuring Young Thug and Popcaan
Season 1, Episode 1
The first time audiences see the East Highland team together is at McKay’s (Algee Smith) party at the end of the pilot, where the stories begin to intertwine. When Rue (Zendaya) arrives at McKay’s house, Jamie xx’s banger club intro, which samples The Persuasions’ “Good Times,” plays softly in the background. But when Rue snorts drugs from her key chain, the music comes into focus and becomes the thread of the scene as the camera shifts from character to character. In an amazing display of camera work, Rue defies gravity and appears to be standing on the ceiling, exemplifying the effects of drugs. Meanwhile, on-and-off couple Nate (Jacob Elordi) and Maddy (Alexa Demie) try to get jealous by dancing with other people, but Maddy goes one step further by having pool sex with Tyler (Lukas). Calibrate). The song’s hypnotic beat and rap verses from Young Thug and Popcaan make it the best sync to offset and highlight the chaos of the party.
“Fly Me To The Moon” – Bobby Womack
Season 1, Episode 2
When Rue is asked in speech class to recall a specific memory that had an impact on her from last summer, she reluctantly talks about listening to Bobby Womack’s 1968 version of “Fly Me to the Moon” with her family. He recalls the day he left the hospital after an overdose, while singing the song in the car with his sister Gia (Storm Reid) and his mother (Nika King). “Fly Me to the Moon” then becomes the soundtrack to other memories of that summer, both good and bad. The clips quickly cut to the three of them laughing together, but soon intercut with Rue taking drugs and having a violent screaming match with her mother, ending with her waking up in a hospital bed. The song gives audiences a closer look at the family dynamic and how Rue has the power to keep them together and tear them apart.
“Work” — Charlotte Day Wilson
Season 1, Episode 3
When Jules (Hunter Schafer) unknowingly begins texting Nate after meeting him on a gay dating app under his pseudonym ShyGuy118, a split-screen montage of their internet flirtation set to “Work” brings a feeling of innocence to a program that is otherwise very explicit. Though the two aren’t interacting in person, seeing how each reacts to messages on screen evokes real-life butterflies, especially in a slow-paced R&B love song. The cuteness of it all shows a sweeter side to Nate, who asks Jules when he started transitioning while getting ready for soccer practice, though he still tells her he’s not gay, despite the platform on the one they met.
“Champagne Coast” – blood orange
Season 1, Episode 3
As Jules and Nate get closer to meeting in person, Jules plans to tempt him by sending him some sexy photos. Naturally, he enlists Rue to take them, oblivious to the fact that he is in love with her. Blood Orange’s “Champagne Coast” is the soundtrack to the intimate session, and Dev Hynes singing “come into my room” four times in a row as Rue helps Jules painfully change her bra highlights that while Rue may be physically in the Jules’ room, she’s still a stranger. romantically. The situation worsens when Jules asks Rue, “Do I look sexy? Like, hot enough that you want to fuck me, or, like, cute?
“You should see me with a crown” – Billie Eilish
Season 1, Episode 5
After Kat (Barbie Ferreira) starts making big money as a camgirl, she leans into her newfound confidence by going to a place that always used to scare her: the mall. As she struts around the square in a red sheer top and leather harness, the thrashing bass and empowering lyrics of “You Should See Me in a Crown” add to the scene’s message of body positivity. Instead of people whispering about her like she feared, Kat draws attention as men and women stare at her in amazement. “I spent my whole life afraid that people would find out I was fat,” says Kat. “But honestly, who gives a shit? There’s nothing more powerful than a fat girl who doesn’t give a fuck.”
“Small Town Boy” – Bronski Beat
Season 1, Episode 6
Turning into one of the show’s most unexpected synchronicities, the British synth-pop trio’s hit “Smalltown Boy” sets an ethereal tone at the Halloween bash as Jules dances heavily intoxicated, Rue cries in the bathroom, Cassie (Sydney Sweeney ) almost cheats on McKay and Kat has a messy relationship with Ethan (Austin Abrams). With everyone in costume and the party bathed in blue and purple light, the rhythm of the song becomes the pulse of the scene and the repetitive lyrics of “Runaway, turn away” underscore what many of the characters are doing, or thinking about. do.
“My body is a cage” — Arcade Fire
Season 1, Episode 8
In perhaps the show’s most powerful sync yet, Arcade Fire’s “My Body Is a Cage” is the soundtrack to a particularly intense and emotional scene in the season 1 finale in which Cassie has an abortion. The song begins as the abortion begins with the doctor warning Cassie of “a little pinch”, and she soon enters a fantasy where she is ice skating, one of her lost passions. The song’s apt lyrics and beautifully filmed skating routine form a stunning portrait of the complicated feelings behind the track: an overwhelming mix of loss and freedom.
“Responsibility” — Lorde
Special Episode Part 2
Lorde’s ballad about being a burden has an especially poignant effect when used at the beginning of Jules’ special episode, as she sits through a therapy appointment. “Why did you run away?” the doctor asks, and instead of answering, a close-up of Jules’s eye reveals all the things he can’t say. Reflected in her pupil, images of her and Rue appear as “Responsibility” begins to play. The audience literally sees the events of the final season through Jules’ eyes, and Lorde’s lyricism of being “too much” for the people she loves fits the moment perfectly. Although it is a scene that seems boring, the combination of the emotion of the song with the non-stop images and a tear slowly forming in Jules’s eye makes it impossible to look away. Like the icing on a beautiful scene, the title card slowly fades to black as Lorde sings, “You’re gonna watch me disappear into the sun.”
“Death of the Night” – Orville Peck
Season 2, Episode 1
Although Season 2 starts off incredibly strong music-wise with sync-ups from Tupac, Gerry Rafferty, Steely Dan and the Notorious BIG, the show’s use of Orville Peck’s “Dead of Night” takes the cake. When Nate offers to take Cassie to the New Year’s Eve party after she falls out with her sister Lexi (Maude Apatow), the two share a very intense moment as Nate drinks beers and drives faster and faster while making eyes. Contact. The song’s vibrant guitar tones and Peck’s low, wistful voice give the moment a sultry yet haunting feel as the two establish the tension between them, while also hinting at the possibility of Nate’s repressed sexuality. with the lyrics: “Look at the boys as they walk”. by/ It’s enough to make a young man…”
“She Brings the Rain” – Can
Season 2, Episode 2
It’s also quite unexpected to hear the krautrock band Can on an episode of “Euphoria,” but “She Brings the Rain” brings even more secrecy to the dark and rainy night when Nate and Cassie decide to get together in secret, or so they think. The scene begins with Rue riding her bike to the song’s intro and seeing Cassie running to Nate’s car parked across the street, to which she says, “What the fuck?” As the two drive, Maddy tries to Facetime Nate and then Cassie, which makes her reasonably suspicious. Meanwhile, the melody’s drooping bassline gives the scene a sense of foreboding, like a dark sky before a thunderstorm.
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